Wimbledon 2016: Five biggest upsets from Week 1
The 2016 Wimbledon Championships are halfway done with the first week coming to an end and so far, it has seen many nail-biting encounters with some of the tournament’s contenders making their way through to the fourth round of the tournament. However, like every other year, a number of players have been shown the door by relatively lower ranked players. Current World No. 2 and last year’s runner-up Garbine Muguruza, two-time Champion Petra Kvitova, and World No.4 Stan Wawrinka are some of the big names who were beaten by lower ranked players.
However, the biggest upset of the tournament and probably one of the biggest in Wimbledon history was the defeat of two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic at the hands of 28th seed Sam Querrey which has boosted the chances of Federer and Murray of winning the Wimbledon. Let’ s take a look at the 5 biggest upsets from the first week of Wimbledon Tennis.
#1. Novak Djokovic’s defeat to Sam Querrey
The best tennis player at present Novak Djokovic had a brilliant year so far and by winning both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, this year was Djokovic’s best opportunity to do a calendar Grand Slam. The Serb was the heaviest favorite ahead of the Wimbledon Championships and had won his first two matches comprehensively with straight set victories over James Ward and Adrian Mannarino.
In the third round, the World No.1 was up against big-serving American Sam Querrey who was seeded 28th. Djokovic began the match well, being 4-0 up in the first set before Querrey bounced back and took the first set 7-6. The 6ft 6in tall American took the second set 6-1 before play was suspended.
As play resumed, Djokovic tried to make a comeback by taking the third set 6-3 and was 3-1 up in the fourth before Querrey took the set to a tiebreak which he won courtesy of a wide forehand by Djokovic. It was one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history and it ended Djokovic’s 30-match winning streak at Grand Slams. It also meant that for the first time since the 2009 French Open, Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. Querrey will now take on Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the fourth round.