LONDON — A stunning upset unfolded at Wimbledon on Saturday when 25th-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens knocked out second seed Elena Rybakina, handing the Kazakh star a 7-6(4) 6-1 defeat in the third round of the prestigious grass-court tournament.
The loss crushed Rybakina’s dual ambitions of capturing a second Grand Slam title this year and climbing to the top spot in the WTA world rankings. To have any shot at overtaking Aryna Sabalenka at number one, Rybakina needed to advance at least to the quarterfinals.
Rybakina, who had won this year’s Australian Open to go along with her 2022 Wimbledon championship, never found her footing after dropping the opening set in a tiebreak. Mertens, the savvy 30-year-old, used a wide range of shot-making to keep her opponent off balance throughout the match — a contrast to what was described as a flat showing from Rybakina on Court One.
Mertens, who currently holds a Wimbledon doubles title, was dominant during one stretch of the second set, reeling off nine consecutive points. Though she showed some nerves while serving out the match, she closed things out emphatically with an ace. It marked just her second victory over Rybakina in nine career meetings between the two.
With Czech player Marie Bouzkova standing between her and the quarterfinals, Mertens has a real opportunity to post the deepest Wimbledon singles run of her career.
