Canadian singles hopes end at Wimbledon with Auger-Aliassime, Mboko both eliminated
Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski still alive in women's doubles with partner Erin Routliffe
Canada's singles hopes at Wimbledon ended Thursday as lucky loser Victoria Mboko and 25th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime were both eliminated in second-round matches.
The 18-year-old Mboko, who earned her place in the main draw after a late withdrawal, fell 7-6 (6), 6-3 to Hailey Baptiste of the United States. The Toronto native led 5-2 in the first-set tiebreak, but couldn't convert, dropping five of the next six points to lose the set.
Auger-Aliassime dropped a 3-6, 7-6 (11), 6-3, 6-4 decision to unseeded German Jan-Lennard Struff in a match suspended Wednesday night due to darkness. The Montreal product had 16 aces, but converted just three of 13 break-point chances.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime ousted in 2nd round:
Auger-Aliassime was trying to reach the third round at the All England Club for the first time since his 2021 quarterfinal run.
Also Thursday, Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and New Zealand's Lulu Sun lost their women's doubles opener 6-2, 6-1 to Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands and American Asia Muhammad.
Montreal's Gabriel Diallo is also out of the competition after he and Belgium's Zizou Bergs fell 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3 to the French duo of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in men's doubles.
Ottawa's Gabriela Dabrowski is still alive in women's doubles with partner Erin Routliffe of New Zealand.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at Wimbledon, will face Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez and Russia's Polina Kudermetova in the second round on Saturday.
WATCH | Mboko's Wimbledon ends:
Djokovic adds another record
Novak Djokovic added another record to his name by reaching Wimbledon's third round for a 19th time with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 win over Dan Evans on Centre Court on Wednesday.
It was Djokovic's 99th match win at Wimbledon overall, and the 19 third-round appearances put him one ahead of Roger Federer for most by any man in the Open Era.
It's hardly the most prestigious record for Djokovic, whose 24 Grand Slam titles — including seven at Wimbledon — are the most by a male player. But he could at least use it to poke fun at his new, and much younger, main rivals.
"Nineteen times, that's a great stat," said the 38-year-old Djokovic. "That's probably almost as much as Sinner and Alcaraz have years in their lives."
Well, not quite.
Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Djokovic in the last two Wimbledon finals, is 22, while No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner — who was playing later on Centre Court — is 23.
But Djokovic is too focused on proving he can still win another Slam to sit back and reflect on everything he has accomplished at Wimbledon.
"I don't pause to reflect, to be honest. I don't have time," Djokovic said in an on-court interview. "I would like to. But I think that's going to come probably when I set the racket aside and then sip margarita on the beach with Federer and Nadal and just reflect on our rivalry and everything."
Later in his news conference, Djokovic said he might choose a different drink if the three former rivals do get together.
"I don't know why I said margaritas because I never had a margarita in my life," he said. "I don't necessarily like that drink, but I guess it sounds good."
Against Evans, Djokovic failed to convert his first nine break points in the first set. But once he got the breakthrough for a 5-3 lead — raising both arms in the air as if to say "finally" — he went five-for-six on break points the rest of the way.
"You have these kinds of days where everything goes your way," said Djokovic, who didn't face a break point of his own until the final game. "Everything flows."
What else happened Thursday at Wimbledon?
The top women's players all avoided further upsets, after four of the five highest seeds went out over the first three days. No. 7-seeded Mirra Andreeva and No. 10 Emma Navarro both advanced in straight sets. The 18-year-old Andreeva earned a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over Lucia Bronzetti of Italy, and Navarro cruised past Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2.
Former No. 1 Iga Swiatek, seeded eighth as she bids for a first Wimbledon title, had to come from a set down to beat Caty McNally 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 on Centre Court. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was also taken to a third set before beating Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, while 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina beat Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-1.
In the men's draw, it was a good day for the old guys. Aside from Djokovic, 34-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, 35-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff and 36-year-old Marin Cilic all advanced.
Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion and 2017 Wimbledon runner-up, stunned British No. 4-seed Jack Draper 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 on No. 1 Court.
No. 11 Alex de Minaur ousted 115th-ranked Arthur Cazaux 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 and 19th-seeded Gregor Dimitrov outlasted Corentin Moutet 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Sinner eased past Aleksandar Vukic 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in the late match on Centre Court.
Who plays Friday at the All England Club?
Alcaraz, the two-time defending champion, faces 35-year-old Jan-Lennard Struff on Centre Court, before No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faces British home favorite Emma Raducanu in the late match. Australian Open champion Madison Keys faces Laura Siegemund on No. 2 Court.
With files from The Associated Press
