3 underperformers from Wimbledon 2024 ft. Jessica Pegula
Wimbledon 2024 came to an end with the crowning of Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday (July 14), who successfully defended his title with a win over Novak Djokovic in the final. It was a re-match of last year's final, though the 21-year-old was fully in control this time, aside from a brief wobble towards the end.
Alcaraz led 5-4 in the third set and had three championship points but Djokvoic broke back to keep himself afloat for a bit. The Spaniard regrouped quickly as he came out on top in the tie-break to win the match 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
The women's singles final was contested between Barbora Krejcikova, a former French Open champion, and Jasmine Paolini, who was the runner-up in Paris this year. The Czech beat her opponent 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to claim her second Major title in singles.
While the singles titles were won by established players, some big names didn't even make it past the first couple of rounds. Here's a look at three players who underperformed at this year's Wimbledon:
#1 - Marketa Vondrousova
Vondrousova had an unexpected run to the title at the All England Club last year. Her run to the final saw her getting the better of Jessica Pegula and Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals and the semifinals respectively. She beat Ons Jabeur in the summit clash to capture her maiden Major title.
The Czech's prep in the lead-up to her title defence went awry as she sustained an injury at the ecotrans Ladies Open in Berlin. She fell during her quarterfinal clash against Anna Kalinskaya, and was forced to retire. However, she managed to recover in time for Wimbledon.
Vondrousova was drawn against World No. 83 Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in her opener, a match everyone predicted her to win. The Spaniard had other ideas and beat the defending champion 6-4, 6-2 in a massive upset to kickstart the tournament.
While Vondrousova's chances of a successful title defence weren't high, no one predicted her to go out this early. She was in decent form, and had made the last eight of the French Open as well. Her swift exit was certainly a poor result given her past performances.
Vondrousova became the second player in the Open Era to lose in the first round as a defending champion at SW19. Lori McNeil's stunning upset of Steffi Graf in the 1994 edition of the tournament was the first time a defending champion bowed out in the first round here.
#2 - Andrey Rublev
Rublev performed quite decently in the first couple of months of the season, during which he won a title and reached the Australian Open quarterfinals. He hit a rough patch following his disqualification from the Dubai Tennis Championships, which lasted until he won the Madrid Open.
The Russian bowed out of the French Open in the third round, and started his grass swing with an opening-round exit in Halle. A quarterfinalist at last year's Wimbledon, he was expected to put up a respectable showing at the very least this time around as well.
Rublev was up against World No. 122 Francisco Comesana in the first round, who was making his Grand Slam debut. An easy win on paper produced an unexpected outcome as the Russian lost the match 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5).
This was a missed opportunity for Rublev as he could've made a deep run given the draw. He's not wasting any time licking his wounds and is back in action already, and is currently participating in the Swedish Open.
#3 - Jessica Pegula
After missing the clay swing due to an injury, Pegula returned to the tour for the grass swing. After a second-round exit from the Libema Open, she captured her first title on grass in Berlin. The in-form Emma Raducanu ousted her in the second round of the Rothesay International after that.
Pegula made the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year, and given her results on grass in the lead-up to the season's third Major, she was expected to perform well once again. The American started off strong as she made light work of Ashlyn Kreuger in the first round, beating her 6-2, 6-0.
The 30-year-old took on Wang Xinyu in the second round, and found herself on the backfoot as she dropped the first set. She fought back to take the second set but went down meekly in the decider to lose the match 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-1.
It was a missed opportunity for Pegula, given that she's a pretty competent player on grass. While she underperformed in singles, she did make the quarterfinals in doubles with Coco Gauff, their first at Wimbledon as well.