Alberto Pezzali/Associated Press
Roger Federer extended his winning streak of sets over Richard Gasquet to 25 with his straight-set victory at Wimbledon on Thursday.
The No. 6 seed in the men’s singles draw moved to 19-2 in head-to-head matches with the Frenchman to set up a third-round clash with Cameron Norrie from Great Britain.
Federer’s second-round triumph was a much easier victory than the one he got from the first-round battle with Adrian Mannarino, who retired prior to the fifth set.
The victories by Federer, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev headlined a relatively easy day for the seeded men in London.
More chaos took over the women’s singles draw, as No. 3 seed Elina Svitolina was knocked out in straight sets, as was French Open semifinalist Maria Sakkari.
Only two of the top six women’s seeds are left in the draw entering the third round, which will begin Friday after the tournament got back on schedule following Monday’s rainouts.
Men’s Singles
No. 2 Daniil Medvedev def. Carlos Alcaraz, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 Alexander Zverev def. Tennys Sandgren, 7-5, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 Roger Federer def. Richard Gasquet, 7-6 (1), 6-1, 6-4
No. 7 Matteo Berrettini def. Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (2)
No. 8 Roberto Batista Agut def. Miomic Kecmanovic, 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-3
Pedro Martinez def. No. 13 Gael Monfils, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (5)
No. 14 Hubert Hurkacz def. Marcos Giron, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4
No. 16 Felix Auger-Aliassime def. Mikael Ymer, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1
No. 17 Cristian Garin def. Marc Polmans, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (5)
Alexander Bublik def. No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (4)
No. 23 Lorenzo Sonego def. Daniel Elahi Galan, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-1
No. 29 Cameron Norrie def. Alex Bolt, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2
No. 31 Taylor Fritz def. Steve Johnson, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4
No. 32 Marin Cilic def. Benjamin Bonzi, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
Federer continued one of the most one-sided matchups on the men’s circuit by downing his French foe in three sets.
Gasquet has not taken a set off the Swiss legend in 11 straight matches, and his last victory over Federer came on Rome clay in 2011.
The unseeded Frenchman tested Federer in the first set by forcing a tiebreak. However, he could not touch the Swiss in the tiebreaker, when he won a single point.
Once Federer grabbed the momentum in the match, he never let it go. He outscored Gasquet 12-5 in the second and third sets to move on to the third round.
Federer faces a potentially tricky opponent in Norrie, who breezed through his second-round match in straight sets.
Although Federer is a fan favorite, Norrie should have the backing of the crowd at his home major. The match seems to be made for Centre Court with the eight-time champion taking on a challenger from the host nation.
If Federer wins two more matches, he could land in a quarterfinal showdown with Medvedev, who turned in one of the most impressive performances on the men’s side Thursday.
The second-seeded Russian dominated his matchup with Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz to set up one of three seeded meetings in the third round in the bottom half of the draw. Medvedev faces Marin Cilic next.
Zverev is the third high seed with a ranked foe ahead in the next round. The No. 4 set up a match with American Taylor Fritz by blowing through another American, Tennys Sandgren, in three sets.
Like Federer and Medvedev, Zverev got stronger as the match went on. Sandgren won five games in the first set and five total games in the following two frames.
Matteo Berrettini has the easiest path to the final eight of the four top-10 seeds in the bottom half of the draw. The seventh-seeded Italian is the only ranked player left in his section following the losses of three seeds in the first round.
Berrettini reached the quarterfinals at the French Open and he could be in position to knock to challenge Zverev in the final eight if he extends his dominance into the next two rounds.
The first set of fourth-round matches will be decided Friday when the top half of the draw takes over the grass courts. Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev are the top ranked players in that portion of the bracket.
Women’s Singles
No. 1 Ashleigh Barty def. Anna Blinkova, 6-4, 6-3
Magda Linette def. No. 3 Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 6-4
Sorana Cirstea def. No. 12 Victoria Azarenka, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4
No. 14 Barbora Krejcikova def. Andrea Petkovic, 7-5, 6-4
Shelby Rogers def. No. 15 Maria Sakkari, 7-5, 6-4
No. 16 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Kristyna Pliskova, 6-3, 6-3
No. 19 Karolina Muchova def. Camila Giorgi, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
No. 20 Coco Gauff def. Elena Vesnina, 6-4, 6-3
No. 25 Angelique Kerber def. Sara Sarribes Torno, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4
No. 30 Paula Badosa def. Yulia Putintseva, 6-4, 6-1
Jelena Ostapenko def. No. 31 Daria Kasatkina, 6-1, 3-6, 8-6
Another day, another stunner in the women’s draw.
Svitolina, a two-time major semifinalist in 2019, joined Sofia Kenin, Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams, Belinda Bencic and Petra Kvitova on the list of top-10 seeds to exit the women’s draw.
The No. 3 seed has not made it past the fourth round in any of the season’s three majors, which is a similar theme with most of the top players who left Wimbledon in the first two rounds.
Svitolina’s loss to Magda Linette opened up the top half of the draw more for top seed Ashleigh Barty, who cruised past Anna Blinkova in straight sets.
Barty is one of seven seeded players left in the top half. Only one of them would be in her path in the next three rounds.
That one is a dangerous opponent in Barbora Krejickova. The French Open champion continued her Grand Slam winning streak with back-to-back straight-set wins on the London grass.
French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and major winners Jelena Ostapenko and Angelique Kerber are still alive in the top half and could be dangerous foes for Barty if they reach that far.
American teenage sensation Coco Gauff is also on the list of top contenders to Barty in the top part of the draw.
Gauff has not lost a set through two rounds, and her path to the fourth round was made easier by Bencic’s first-round loss to Kaja Juvan.
Gauff is one of five American women left in the draw. Shelby Rogers, Madison Brengle, Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens all reside on the bottom half and will be in action Friday.
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