Upset Alert
Play on Day Three stayed mostly to form with only a few relatively minor upsets. Eleventh seeded Karolina Pliskova was bounced by American Coco Vandeweghe while seventh seeded Ana Ivanovic was ousted by Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Mattek-Sands, who is currently ranked 158th in the world after an injury last year, notched her 6th career win over a top ten player. On the men's side, 32nd seeded Dominic Thiem was overcome by Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco. During the five set match, Thiem showed why he's regarded as one of the top prospects in men's tennis; he simply couldn't quite get over the hump as Verdasco heated up in the latter stages of the match.
Nishikori Withdraws
Perhaps the biggest story of the day was world number five Kei Nishikori's withdrawal from The Championships yesterday, due to a lingering calf injury that first showed up in Halle. K-Nish's withdrawal gave Santiago Giraldo a walkover into the third round where he'll face American wildcard Denis Kudla. Kudla beat German teenager Alexander Zverev to move into the third round at a Slam for the first time. Giraldo reached the third round at Wimbledon last year.
Too Darn Hot
Unbearable heat is usually a much bigger story at the Australian Open and the US Open, but temperatures at this year's Wimbledon have been much hotter than usual. According to Britain's official weather service, yesterday's high temperature of 96.26 degrees was the hottest day ever at Wimbledon, breaking the previous record of 94.28 degrees set in 1976. Most players have shrugged off the heat, rightly claiming that's typically worse in Melbourne and New York, but a ball kid was wheeled off court 17 yesterday after collapsing in the heat.
Speaking of heat…
There was a small electrical fire at the All England Club yesterday evening that caused the evacuation of Centre Court. Fortunately, the fire was quickly brought under control by the London Fire Brigade and no one was injured.
Kyrgios at It Again
Australian Nick Kyrgios has undeniable talent, but he's quickly passing Fabio Fognini to become tennis' undisputed drama king. On the opening day of play, Kyrgios was heard muttering "dirty scum" after arguing with the umpire—he later stated it was addressed at himself—and yesterday, Kyrgios got after the officials again. It all started when a linesman stopped play and spoke to the umpire about Kyrgios' foul language. Kyrgios confronted the linesman and then turned his attention the umpire on the changeover, apparently asking the umpire what the linesman had said. He then followed up with "Is that a threat? Is that a threat? Does it feel good to be in the chair up there? Does it feel strong to be up there?"
Happy Canada Day!
Yesterday was Canada Day and Milos Raonic celebrated by uncorking the third fastest serve in Wimbledon history at 145 MPH during his four set win over Tommy Haas. Americans Taylor Dent and Andy Roddick hold the top two spots with 148 MPH and 146 MPH serves respectively. In a rematch of last year's quarterfinal, Raonic will next face Nick Kyrgios in a match that's sure to sport plenty of big serving.