The Japan Times - Keys latest to fall in Wimbledon wipeout as Alcaraz resumes title bid

Keys' 6-3, 6-3 defeat by Germany's Laura Siegemund means only world number one Aryna Sabalenka is still alive at the All England Club out of the top six women's seeds.

Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Jasmine Paolini and Zheng Qinwen had already fallen by the wayside.

On the men's side, half of the top-10 seeds have gone, though defending champion Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner are still standing.

US sixth seed Keys had won 13 of her 14 Grand Slam matches this year, but made 31 unforced errors in a lacklustre display on the grass against 37-year-old Siegemund, ranked 104 in the world.

Sabalenka will be desperate to buck the trend later on Centre Court when she faces a potential tricky encounter against former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the third round.

Raducanu ousted 2023 Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in the second round and is in the mood to cause an upset.

"I think having won against Marketa, she's also a really top opponent, so that gives me confidence. I feel amazing," said the 22-year-old.

"Of course, Aryna is number one in the world, she's been so dominant in the women's game," she said. "I know it's going to be a massive challenge."

- Alcaraz winning streak -

Alcaraz was taken to five sets by Italy's Fabio Fognini in his opening match at the All England Club before dispatching Britain's Oliver Tarvet in straight sets.

The Spaniard is on a fearsome 20-match winning streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.

He is seeking to match Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in winning three Wimbledon crowns in a row.

Alcaraz's third-round opponent on Friday is Jan-Lennard Struff, ranked 125th in the world, who at 35 is 12 years older than the Spaniard.

The world number two, who has three wins against his German opponent in four matches, is still not 100 percent happy with his game on grass.

"I'm struggling a little bit with the serve," he said. "I'm feeling really different between Queen's and here with the balls, with the speed.

"On grass the serve is probably the most important shot. At Queen's I started to serve unbelievable. But after the first round here, I left the court not happy at all with the serve."

In early third-round action at the All England Club, Japan's four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka lost in three sets to Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 50th in the world.

Osaka has not reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam since she won the Australian Open in 2021 but is still hungry for success.

"I feel like while I still have the opportunity to try to do it, I want to, even though I get very upset when I lose, but I think that's my competitive nature. That's also the younger sister syndrome," she said.

It took US men's 10th seed Ben Shelton just 71 seconds to complete his second-round match, sealing a 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 win against Australia's Rinky Hijikata after the match was halted on Thursday due to failing light.

Elsewhere in the third round, US fifth seed Taylor Fritz hoped to avoid a third successive five-set marathon against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Fritz last month won a fourth title on the grass at Eastbourne but has had two punishing outings at the All England Club this week.

M.Ito--JT