Frances Tiafoe’s Historic Comeback Highlights Early Wimbledon 2024 Victory
Frances Tiafoe makes a historic comeback from 2 sets down at Wimbledon, while top seeds Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, and Grigor Dimitrov cruise to straight-set victories.
Is a Wimbledon comeback from a two-set deficit going to give Frances Tiafoe the momentum he needs?
On Monday, the native of Hyattsville, Maryland, rallied to upset Matteo Arlandi, 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, preventing another heartbreaking major departure. Tiafoe has never come back from a two-set deficit to win a best-of-five match before.
Tiafoe had to leave the Queen’s Club tournament early in the third set due to a hip injury he suffered after taking a hard fall. This was his most recent tournament appearance. The former world No. 10 has only twice this season earned back-to-back triumphs prior to that unfortunate run of luck.
In the fourth set, Arnaldi had one chance to break for 3-2, but Tiafoe kept him at bay. The Italian would go as near to striking distance as possible because the No. 29 seed won the following five games.
Tiafoe put the contest on his racquet after his backhand drop shot forced an error, giving him a 4-3 lead in the decider. Then, with a body serve that missed the net, he completed the victory.
Daniil Medvedev, the fifth seed, made a grand entrance to his campaign on the top court. In one hour and forty-seven minutes, the 2023 semifinalist defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
The eighth seed In his 2024 grass-court debut, Casper Ruud has a second-round matchup with Fabio Fognini scheduled. Ruud handled qualifier Alex Bolt, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4, in two hours and 13 minutes.
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After the game, Ruud remarked, “It’s nice to stand here now as the winner of the match.” “Any victory I can muster here boosts my self-esteem.
“It almost hurts to wreck these courts when we arrive here because they are so ideal. You have to do what needs to be done. I tried to move quickly and not cause too much harm. It’s fortunate that I did not trip or fall.”
The first player in the ATP to 40 victories this season is Ruud. Fognini, on the other hand, defeated fortunate loser Lucas Van Assche 6-1, 6-3, 7-5.
With assured performances, Grigor Dimitrov and Denis Shapovalov, two previous semifinalists, also advanced. Tenth-seeded Dimitrov triumphed 6-3, 6-4, 7-4 over Dusan Lajovic. The Canadian defeated Nicolas Jarry, the 19th seed, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
The ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari defeated American qualifier McCartney Kessler, 6-3, 6-1, in the women’s draw. The No. 18 seed Marta Kostyuk defeated Rebecca Sramkova with ease, 6-3, 6-2, while Dayana Yastremska, ranked 28th in her own nation, defeated Nadia Podoroska, 6-1, 7-6 (1).
