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Monday, July 6, 2026

W.8- Czech, Please?














=DAY 8 NOTES=
...there was no racing against the clock on the second day of Round of 16 play, though the image of Coco Gauff's ability to get her win in under the wire on Sunday will live forever.



Of the four women's matches today, only one went three sets, and experience -- save for one match (not the same one) -- generally prevailed on the day. (And, in an odd occurrence, seven of the nine sets played ended with 6-4 scores.)

First up was #12 Marta Kostyuk, a non-factor in the grass court lead-up events since she didn't play in any. After back-to-back three-setters vs. Anna Blinkova and Emma Navarro, though, the Ukrainian showed that her clay court momentum (and RG semifinal form) could carry over through what might inevitably be several summertime runs, as well.

With 3rd Round finishes at SW19 in 2023 and '24, Kostyuk arrived on the day having already posted her best result in the event, completing her career set of Round of 16 runs at all four majors. Today against qualifier and first-time major second week participant Ashlyn Krueger, quite the opposite of Kostyuk in that she came in having been quite busy this grass season (going 16-1 after her three Wimbledon MD wins), Kostyuk took the opening set but saw Krueger grab a 4-2 lead in the 2nd.

But once Kostyuk put a bit of pressure on Krueger, the Bannerette went away fairly quickly. Kostyuk swept the final four games to reach the QF at her second straight major with a 6-4/6-4 victory. She's reached the stage at three different events now, after the AO in '24 and RG last month. She came up a round short at last year's U.S. Open, losing in the 4th Round.



Of course, now that Kostyuk is back into the flow of playing matches, here's where we're reminded that she's actually gone 20-1 in her last 21 matches.



...after posting her biggest career win over #2 Elena Rybakina one round ago, veteran Waffle Elise Mertens didn't just go quietly into the good night today. Nope, instead the #25 seed went out and took down a Czech -- #21 Marie Bouzkova, a title winner in Nottingham a few weeks ago -- to reach her first slam QF in nearly six years.

Bouzkova had taken an early break lead in the 1st, but then lost her serve in three of her final four service games. In the 2nd, it was Mertens who grabbed the early lead. Serving at 5-4, the Belgian got a little good fortune, as well, as in a single rally on MP she had *two* net cords bounce in her favor as she finished off a 6-4/6-4 win.



This is Mertens' fourth career major QF, but her first since back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2019-20. Before today, she'd gone 0-9 in 4th Round matches in slam play since.

...#29 Alex Eala was one of the stars of the opening week of the fortnight, but Jasmine Paolini knows the deal with that. Two years ago, it was the Italian (w/ an extra decade of time on tour under her belt) who was the sudden new star at not just one, but two, majors as she made unexpected runs to finals in both Paris and London.

A foot injury and overall inconsistency, as well as a lack of confidence-building doubles results, has pulled Paolini back all season long, dropping her nearly out of the Top 20 and forcing her '26 record to bob above, at and below .500 on a weekly basis. But she's seemed to have turned a corner at Wimbledon, with her three wins the most she's had in succession since last fall. Her resurgence has often left her emotional at times during this run as she's started to right her wayward season ship.

Back on Centre Court, Paolini played like the experienced veteran she's become. She jumped to an early lead on the Filipina in the 1st, going up 3-1. After saving a BP and holding for 5-2, Paolini served for the set at 5-3. Eala managed to get the break on her third BP (w/ a Paolini forehand error), but then couldn't back it up as Paolini immediately broke back to take the set 6-4.

But Eala is here for a reason, and she bounced back in the 2nd. She quickly gave away an early break lead, but then upped the pressure on the Italian with consistently deep groundstrokes and got her break lead back at 4-3. She then held from 15/40 down to take a 5-3 lead. Two games later, Eala served out the set at 6-4 and seemed ready to push through to yet another career-first.



The two played a tight 3rd. Paolini recovered from love/30 to hold for a 3-2 lead, even while beginning to stretch and fiddle with the foot that gave her problems earlier in the year (Eala, for her part, was already playing with a big wrap on her right thigh, and during the match was seen occasionally flexing and stretching her left leg, as well).

In game 8, Paolini netted a second serve return on a BP, but on her second chance saw an Eala backhand fly long to give the Italian the necessary break advantage. Serving at 5-3, Paolini fell behind love/30, but seized upon a handful of loose errors from Eala, getting the hold to complete the 6-4/4-6/6-3 victory and reach her third career major QF (and second in the last three Wimbledons).



Afterward, Paolini's past good vibes and smiles graced Centre Court once more, as she pointed out the rather conspicuous presence of a certain eight-time Wimbledon champion from Switzerland from the Royal Box.



...for decades, Czechs have always had a special connection to Wimbledon. The relationship continues, as they've won two of the last three titles at SW19 (and neither of those champions were named Kvitova, either).

On Monday, #9 Linda Noskova added her name to the growing list of her countrywomen with an affinity for the lawns of the AELTC as the Berlin champ played her way into her maiden Wimbledon QF with a surprisingly routine win over #26 Madison Keys, the reigning Eastbourne winner.

Keys was seemingly rolling along in the 1st set, firing off eight aces, but her inability to get to Noskova's serve proved to be her undoing. One wayward half-game late in the order tripped her up, and she never really recovered. In game 10, Noskova rallied from 40/love to reel off five straight points and secure the only break of the set. It just so happened that it occurred when she was leading 5-4, so the set was suddenly hers and Keys was left holding an empty bag.

Noskova broke Keys from 15/40 down in game 2 of the 2nd set, firing a forehand into the corner off a scrambling Keys' outstretched racket to lead 2-0. She held for 3-0, and seemed ready to coast to victory. But Noskova suddenly fell behind 15/40 at 3-1, a game in which she had four DF alone after giving no indication of nerves prior to that moment. She saved three BP, but DF #4 came on Keys' fourth BP, getting the Bannerette veteran back on serve in the set at 3-2.

Noskova didn't let her one bad service game start a trend, though, forcing Keys to make the move if things were going to go three. At 5-6 down, Keys saw back-to-back net cords go her way at 30/30, giving her a GP rather than facing a MP. She got the hold to force a TB, but came up totally flat once it began.

Keys' early DF handed the Czech the second of two points on her serve in the early going, giving Noskova a 3-0 lead. She pushed it to 4-0 before a pair of Noskova backhand errors kept Keys' hopes alive, but only barely. And only briefly, too. Another Keys DF made the score 5-2, and Noskova took the gift and finished off the party, winning both of her service points to win 7-2 and advance with a 6-4/7-6(2) victory.



Noskova is one of two Czechs still alive in the QF, marking the first time we've had an actual "Crush of Czechs" sighting (you *only* need two to form a group, you know) at this stage at SW19 since 2021.

With the losses by Keys and Bouzkova, four of the six pre-Wimbledon title winners have now been eliminated. The remaining two? Why, Noskova and her fellow Czech Crusher Karolina Muchova, of course.

...meanwhile, there were some big knock-outs in the 2nd Round of junior action today, as AO girls' champ and #2 seed Ksenia Efremova fell to Bannerette Chukwumelije Clarke, #4 Victoria Luiza Barros was taken out by Romania's Maia Ilinca Burcescu, and #12 Mika Stojsavljevic, the '24 U.S. Open junior champ who has played in the women's MD at the last two Wimbledons, fell to Austrian qualifier Anna Pircher.

Still alive in the draw: #1 Sun Xinran and #3 Jana Kovackova.







*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#14 Naomi Osaka/JPN vs. #10 Karolina Muchova/CZE
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA vs. #7 Coco Gauff/USA
#12 Marta Kostyuk/UKR vs. #13 Jasmine Paolini/ITA
#9 Linda Noskova/CZE vs. #25 Elise Mertens/BEL

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #16 Muhammad/Stollar (USA/HUN)
#10 Guo/Mladenovic (CHN/FRA) def. Detiuc/Khromacheva (CZE/RUS)
(PR) Neel/Olmos (EST/MEX) def. #3 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB)
Jiang X./Xu Y. (CHN/CHN) def. #7 Siegemund/Zvonareva (GER/RUS)
#9 Perez/Schuurs (AUS/NED) w/o Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU)
#13 Aoyama/Liang (JPN/TPE) def. Hsieh/Wang Xin. (TPE/CHN)
Noskova/Sramkova (CZE/SVK) vs. Piter/Siskova (POL/CZE)
#14 Hunter/McNally (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Stefani (CAN/BRA)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Hunter/Polmans (AUS/AUS) def. Sutjiadi/Andreozzi (INA/ARG)
Stollar/Pavic (HUN/CRO) def. #6 Krawczyk/Skupski (USA/GBR)
#3 Zhang S./Harrison (CHN/USA) def. Fernandez/Salisbury (CAN/GBR)
#2 Ostapenko/Arevalo (LAT/ELS) def. Siegemund/Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA)

*GIRLS' SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Sun Xinran/CHN vs. Thea Frodin/USA
(Q) Anna Pircher/AUT vs. (WC) Daniella Britton/GBR
#3 Jana Kovackova/CZE vs. Emily Victoria Eigelsbach/GER
#10 Charo Esquiva Banuls/ESP vs. Janae Preston/USA
#7 Mariia Makarova/RUS vs. Shao Yushan/CHN
#15 Polina Skliar/UKR vs. Maia Ilinca Burcescu/ROU
Qu Yihan/CHN vs. #9 Mariella Thamm/GER
#14 Anna Pushkareva/RUS vs. Chukwumelije Clarke/USA









...THE EALA CENTRE COURT EMBARCATION (for now)... ON DAY 8:




...I KNOW THAT DUDE!... ON DAY 8:






...THE U.S. TENNIS MEDIA MAKES SUCH AN OVERLY BIG DEAL OF U.S.-vs.-U.S. MATCH-UPS IN TENNIS... ON DAY 8:



Meanwhile, in literally *every* other sport it's a common, everyday occurrence that no one even brings up. And I'm not even just talking about team sports/leagues, but in international/mixed nation sports like track & field, golf, auto racing, etc.

Doesn't really make a whole lot of sense in 2026.


...MEANWHILE, CONSPICUOUS IN THEIR LACK OF NOTING THE DATE: Wimbledon and WTA, of course... ON DAY 8:























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kosova-font

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "COMEBACK" WINNERS*
2018 Serena Williams, USA
2019 Alona Ostapenko, LAT (MX)
2021 Angelique Kerber, GER
2022 Simona Halep, ROU
2023 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2024 Paula Badosa, ESP
2025 Amanda Anisimova, USA
2026 Jasmine Paolini, ITA

*RECENT WIMBLEDON "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2015 Serena Williams, USA
2016 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK & Aga Radwanska/POL
2017 Arina Rodionova, AUS
2018 Katerina Siniakova, CZE
2019 Elina Svitolina, UKR
2021 Kristie Ahn, USA
2022 Elise Mertens, BEL
2023 Lesia Tsurenko, UKR
2024 Marta Kostyuk, UKR
2025 Solana Sierra, ARG (LL)
2026 Linda Noskova, CZE



*2026 WI FINAL 8*
[by career slam QF]
11 - Coco Gauff
10 - Jessie Pegula
8 - Karolina Muchova
6 - Naomi Osaka
4 - Elise Mertens
3 - Marta Kostyuk
3 - Jasmine Paolini
2 - Linda Noskova

[by career WI QF]
3 - Muchova
2 - Paolini
2 - Pegula
1 - Gauff, Kostyuk, Mertens, Noskova, Osaka

[w/ consecutive slam QF]
2 - Kostyuk

[w/ consecutive WI QF]
none

[2026 slam QF - unseeded]
AO - none
RG - Chwalinska (Q)
WI - none

[2026 1st-time GS QF]
AO - Iva Jovic (6th MD)
RG - Maja Chwalinska (3rd MD)
RG - Diana Shnaider (12th MD)
WI - none

[2026 multiple slam QF]
2 - Gauff (AO/WI)
2 - Kostyuk (RG/WI)
2 - Pegula (AO/WI)
2 - Sabalenka (AO/RG)
2 - Svitolina (AO/RG)

[2026 slam QF - by nation]
6...USA (4/0/2--) - Gauff,Pegula
4...UKR (1/2/1--) - Kostyuk
3...RUS (0/3/0--)
2...BLR (1/1/0--)
2...CZE (0/0/2..) - Muchova,Noskova
2...POL (1/1/0--)
1...BEL (0/0/1--) - Mertens
1...ITA (0/0/1--) - Paolini
1...JPN (0/0/1--) - Osaka
1...KAZ (1/0/0--)
1...ROU (0/1/0--)

[WTA career slam QF - active]
54...Serena Williams, USA
39...Venus Williams, USA
18...Victoria Azarenka, BLR
16...Aryna Sabalenka, BLR
15...Elina Svitolina, UKR
14...Iga Swiatek, POL
12...Madison Keys, USA
11...Coco Gauff, USA
11...Karolina Pliskova, CZE
10...Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, RUS
10...Jessie Pegula, USA
8...Karolina Muchova, CZE
7...Sara Errani, ITA
7...Ons Jabeur, TUN
7...Elena Rybakina, KAZ
7...Sloane Stephens, USA
6...Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
6...Naomi Osaka, JPN
6...Alona Ostapenko, LAT
6...Vera Zvonareva, RUS

[WTA slam QF & W/L in 2020s - 26 events]
16 - Sabalenka (13-2+W)
14 - Swiatek (9-5)
11 - Gauff (5-5)*
10 - Pegula (3-6)*
9 - Svitolina (2-7)
7 - Jabeur (3-4)
7 - Muchova (4-2)*
7 - Rybakina (4-3)
6 - Krejcikova (2-4)
5 - Keys (3-2)
5 - Pavlyuchenkova (1-4)
4 - M.Andreeva (2-2)
4 - Anisimova (2-2)
4 - Barty (3-1)
4 - Osaka (3-0)*
4 - Ka.Pliskova (1-3)
4 - Vondrousova (1-2+L)
4 - Zheng Q. (1-3)
3 - Badosa (1-2)
3 - Halep (2-1)
3 - Kostyuk (1-1)*
3 - Navarro (1-2)
3 - Ostapenko (0-3)
3 - Paolini (2-0)*
3 - Tomljanovic (0-3)
2 - Azarenka (2-0)
2 - Bencic (1-1)
2 - Brady (2-0)
2 - Cirstea (0-2)
2 - Collins (1-1)
2 - Fernandez (1-1)
2 - Haddad Maia (1-1)
2 - Kalinskaya (0-2)
2 - Kenin (2-0)
2 - Kvitova (1-1)
2 - Mertens (0-1)*
2 - Noskova (0-1)*
2 - Sakkari (2-0)
2 - Siegemund (0-2)
2 - Trevisan (1-1)
2 - Vekic (1-1)
2 - S.Williams (2-0)
1 - Boisson (1-0)
1 - Bouzkova (0-1)
1 - Chwalinska (1-0)
1 - Cornet (0-1)
1 - Garcia (1-0)
1 - Golubic (0-1)
1 - Hsieh (0-1)
1 - Jovic (0-1)
1 - Kanepi (0-1)
1 - Kasatkina (1-0)
1 - Kerber (1-0)
1 - Kontaveit (0-1)
1 - V.Kudermetova (0-1)
1 - Linette (1-0)
1 - Maria (1-0)
1 - Muguruza (1-0)
1 - Niemeier (0-1)
1 - Pironkova (0-1)
1 - Podoroska (1-0)
1 - Putintseva (0-1)
1 - Raducanu (1-0)
1 - Rogers (0-1)
1 - Samsonova (0-1)
1 - Shnaider (1-0)
1 - Stephens (0-1)
1 - Sun (0-1)
1 - Yastremska (1-0)
1 - Zidansek (1-0)

[WTA slam QF by nation in 2020s - 26 slams/208]
44 - USA (Gauff,Pegula)
26 - CZE (Muchova,Noskova)
18 - BLR
16 - POL
15 - RUS
13 - UKR (Kostyuk)
8 - KAZ
7 - AUS
7 - TUN
5 - GER
5 - ITA (Paolini)
5 - ROU
4 - CHN
4 - ESP
3 - FRA
3 - JPN (Osaka)
3 - LAT
3 - SUI
2 - BEL (Mertens)
2 - BRA
2 - CAN
2 - CRO
2 - EST
2 - GRE
1 - ARG,BUL,GBR,NZL,SLO,TPE

[WTA slam QF W/L by nation in 2020s]
44 - USA (21-21)**
26 - CZE (9-14+L)**
18 - BLR (15-2+W)
16 - POL (11-5)
15 - RUS (5-10)
13 - UKR (4-8)*
8 - KAZ (4-4)
7 - AUS (3-4)
7 - TUN (3-4)
5 - GER (2-3)
5 - ITA (3-1)*
5 - ROU (2-3)
4 - CHN (1-3)
4 - ESP (2-2)
4 - JPN (3-0)*
3 - FRA (2-1)
3 - SUI (1-2)
3 - LAT (0-3)
2 - BEL (0-1)*
2 - BRA (1-1)
2 - CAN (1-1)
2 - CRO (1-1)
2 - EST (0-2)
2 - GRE (2-0)
1 - ARG (1-0)
1 - BUL (0-1)
1 - GBR (1-0)
1 - NZL (0-1)
1 - SLO (1-0)
1 - TPE (0-1)





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TOP QUALIFIER: Robin Montgomery/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (two straight sets wins; extends slam TB win streak to 21)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Anastasia Gasanova/RUS def. Varvara Lepchenko/USA 2-6/6-1/7-6(12-10) - Lepchenko led 5-3 in the 3rd, twice served for the match, led 5-1 in MTB and at 9-6 held four MP over a 5-point stretch. Gasanova wins 12-10.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Maya Joint/AUS def. Serena Williams/USA 6-3/6-7(6)/6-3 - 20-year old Aussie, 1-13 in her last 14 matches, defeats returning 44-year old Williams in her first singles match since 2022
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI (def. Stojsavljevic/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Maja Chwalinska/POL (1st Rd. - hurt ankle/foot on MP up 6-2/5-2 vs. Sawangkaew/THA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Anastasia Gasanova/RUS (2nd MD), Tyra Grant/ITA (1st MD), Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA (2nd MD), Lanlada Tararudee/THA (2nd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: Southeast Asians
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GBR (1-7 1st Rd., after 0/7 through qualfiying; Kartal DNP, Raducanu w/d and started 0-7 in MD play)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Ashlyn Krueger/USA (4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Karolina Pliskova/CZE, Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP (both 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: Darja Semenistaja/LAT(L)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "Filipina": Alex Eala/PHI (first PHI to slam Round of 16)
COMEBACK PLAYER: Jasmine Paolini/ITA
CRASH & BURN: #2 Elena Rybakina/KAZ, #3 Iga Swiatek/POL and #6 Amanda Anisimova/USA ('22 champ and both '25 finalists lose in 3rd Round on middle Saturday)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Linda Noskova/CZE (3r- saved MP vs. Cirstea)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
LAWN COURT ROLLER: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Maja Chwalinska/POL (devastating loss in 1st Rd. after having MP at 6-2/5-2 before fall injuries ankle); Additional nominees: Muchova, Noskova, Bouzkova








All for Day 8. More tomorrow.
Posted by at

Sunday, July 5, 2026

W.7- Last Eight Dates














=DAY 7 NOTES=
...on a day at the end of which she'd be the highest seed remaining in the women's draw, #4 Jessie Pegula was put to an early test by #16 Iva Jovic in their Round of 16 face-off on Sunday, as the 18-year old opened the match by claiming the very first set lost by Pegula at this Wimbledon.

The 1st set was a literal break-fest, as the two combined for four consecutive breaks of serve from games 2-through-5, then closed it out with three more from games 8-through-10. Pegula held just once in her five service games, but quickly turned her fortunes around in the 2nd, going out to a quick double-break lead at 4-1.

Jovic cut that lead in half, but Pegula eventually broke her fellow Bannerette to close out the set. She then assumed control of the 3rd, again taking a 4-1 lead (but w/ only a single break advantage), and closed out a 4-6/6-3/6-1 come from behind win to reach her tenth career slam QF, and her second at Wimbledon (w/ '23).



After going 0-6 in her first half dozen slam QF appearances, Pegula has gone 3-0 in last three attempts (at the 2024-25 U.S., and AO26).

...meanwhile, in a battle of Czechs, #10 Karolina Muchova was doing Karolina Muchova things.



Muchova's Wimbledon career began with great promise, with QF finishes in her first two appearances in 2019 and '21. But since then, as has often been the case over the years, Muchova's continual stream of injuries, or comebacks from injuries, or limited ability to play at 100% due to lingering injuries (you know, all that) held her back at SW19 just like it has when it's come to her piling result upon result over the course of a long season and benefitting from such momentum and any resulting draw placement. Muchova played at SW19 the last four years, but rarely without something holding her back, choosing to throw her proverbial hat into the ring but coming up short in the 1st Round all four times.

But 2026 has been different, as the Czech has been able to stay on tour all season long, producing between the lines and then coming back to do it again and again soon afterward, and right on schedule.

In January, she reached her first AO second week since her 2021 SF, then soon after won her maiden 1000 title in Doha (her first tour title of any kind since '19), and played in her first Sunshine Double SF (at Miami). She's racked up five Top 10 wins (more than in 2024-25 combined) and returned to the Top 10 for the first time since 2024. As the season's third major rolled around, Muchova had already played in three finals (more than in any other season, doing it in just the first half of '26) on three different surfaces.

Playing in the 4th Round today against countrywoman Barbora Krejcikova, the last remaining former Wimbledon champion in the women's draw, Muchova faced an opponent who employs many of the same point contructing tactics that she does, only with greater efficiency and far less of Muchova's unique (and sometimes magical) flair.

The two found themselves in a stalemate late in the 1st, having combined to go 0-for-5 on BP opportunities while holding serve in the first eleven games. But Muchova finally cracked the code in game 12, breaking to claim a 7-5 set and then also getting the maiden break of serve in the 2nd set in game 6 (on BP #4) to take a 4-2 lead. She led 5-2, and served for the win at 5-3. But it was then when Muchova's game became a bit more tentative, if not shaky, while Krejcikova took advantage of her opponent's touch of nervous tension.

Krejcikova rallied to make a match of things again, breaking Muchova in consecutive games to take a 6-5 lead. With Krejcikova serving for the set, Muchova staved off a pair SP with a scramble and winner off a drop shot, then a spectacular volley. But Krejickova got the hold to send things to a 3rd.

But in the final stanza, Krejcikova's movement was hampered down the stretch, and Muchova again took control. This time she held her ground and finished off the 7-5/5-7/6-3 win to reach her third Wimbledon QF, and eighth of her slam career. She remains in the mix to become the third different Czech winner of this event in the last four years.



Krejcikova's exit means that another first-time Wimbledon champion will claim the crown, with a tenth different winner in the ten years since Serena Williams' last title in 2016. Only Jasmine Paolini remains in the draw as a former SW19 *finalist* (so I guess I'm an Eala 4th Round win away from the "Prop Pick" of the champion being a "first-time Wimbledon finalist" getting the "W").

...in what was sold as the marquee match-up of the day, #14 Naomi Osaka continued to play a pretty fine game of tennis on the grass.



While #1 Aryna Sabalenka didn't collapse in any sort of awkwardly memorable way as she has in recent events, she surely didn't produce the level of play that will anywhere near suit her own assessment of things. Of course, a great deal of that had to do with the clean game of Osaka, who suddenly looks absolutely unbothered by the surface beneath her feet, with her shots flowing on grass just as the bottom of her walk-on kimono attire has elegantly brushed across the blades of grass at the start of each of her matches over the first seven days of play at this Wimbledon.

Osaka took her initial lead with a break of Sabalenka's serve to lead 2-1 in the 1st. After saving a BP in the next game, she coasted to the finish. A double-break lead at 4-1, helped along by too many ill-timed Sabalenka errors, ultimately led to a 1st set win.

In the 2nd, both women minded their own serve. Sabalenka saved a pair of BP at 2-2, but they would be the only BP faced by either woman in the set. For her part, Osaka only saw Sabalenka get to 30 once in any of her six service games as the set headed to a tie-break.

Once there, Sabalenka's usual mastery of the format never showed up. Osaka jumped out to a 4-1 lead by taking back-to-back points on Sabalenka's serve, and never looked back en route to a 7-2 win that ended Sabalenka's Open era record of 21 consecutive tie-breaks won in grand slam play and brings to an end the Belarusian's streak of fourteen straight QF+ finishes in majors.

Osaka took the 6-2/7-6(2) victory to reach her first Wimbledon QF, notching her third career #1 win (first since 2019) and first Top 10 victory on any surface other than hard court. Of her now sixteen career Top 10 wins, this is just Osaka's fourth collected this decade.



Osaka's QF is her first in slam play outside of the AO/US hard courts. In four of her five QF runs in those events, save for last year's U.S. SF, she went on to win the title.

Could she be looked upon as the legitimate SW19 favorite now? Maybe not yet, but for the first time -- ever at this major, really -- you *can* see such a possibility from here.

Meanwhile, the doors at the top of the women's rankings are swinging open *big time* right now. Sabalenka is in a bad mental patch, with her U.S. Open title defense coming up. #2 Rybakina has been "off" since the spring, while #3 Swiatek has been struggling for two years (save for a three-month span last summer which now seems like about five years ago). Meanwhile, #4 Pegula has been (largely) the most consistent player all season, the likes of Gauff finds ways to win when she's not at her best, the schedule's turn to Osaka's *best* surface is right around the corner, and Muchova is still holding together physically and sthreatening a "Peak Muchova" season campaign IN JULY. And I'm only now mentioning the reigning RG champ, Mirra Andreeva.

Summer hard courts are gonna be inter-resting.

...in the final women's Round of 16 match of the day, it turned out to be a race against the clock.

On Court 1, #7 Coco Gauff and #11 Belinda Bencic played a three-setter late into the Wimbledon village evening, with Bencic taking the opening set before Gauff rebounded to push things to a decider. Gauff took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd, saw Bencic knot the score at 2-2, then Coco went up 4-2.

Gauff served at 4-2, with the tournament curfew quickly approaching at the top of the hour as Bencic threatened to break serve, which she did to close to 4-3 with about twelve minutes left before play would be called at the first break in the action at 11 p.m.

Two games later, Gauff served for the match at 5-4, knowing that if she could hold she'd win and head home for the night with a date for her QF two days away. If Bencic broke to knot the set at 5-all, play would be suspended and they'd have to return on Monday to finish this one off. While Gauff seemed super determined in the game, Bencic seemed a tad flustered by the moment. Gauff played right through it, easily holding at 15 to complete the 4-6/6-3/6-4 win.

As the clock stood at about two minutes before 11 p.m., Gauff tapped her wrist and the "invisible watch" there, signaling that she knew the score and the situation, and brought it home just under the wire.



The win sends Gauff into her first Wimbledon QF, finally completing her Career QF Slam in her 28th major draw.

....a round-up of the events outside of SW19:

Junior play has already started at Wimbledon, but the tune-up winner at Roehampton was crowned a few days ago. The honor was claimed by Bannerette Janae Preston, as the 15-year old (girls' #26) claimed her fourth J300 win of the season on a third different surface with a win over China's Yu Jun Lin.



RG doubles champions Jana Kovackova & Katerina Zajickova took the Roehampton doubles, and the Czechs are now at the AELTC with Kovackova looking to potentially become the first player to ever complete a Career Junior Doubles Slam.

If the duo were to take the title in London they'd also become the first team to win RG/WI back-to-back since another Czech twosome, Barbora Krejcikova & Katerina Siniakova in 2013. Kovackova is looking for her *fourth* straight girls' slam win, having won the US/AO with her sister Alena, and in Paris this spring with Zajickova.

In the Roehampton wheelchair competition, Diede de Groot advanced to the singles final only to retire down 7-5/3-1 vs. Wang Ziying. She also withdrew from the doubles final (w/ Aniek Van Koot) against Wang & Li Xiaohui.

Hopefully it's just a precautionary decision ahead of Wimbledon, as it's worth noting that she lost a set in two of her three pre-final matches (to Jiske Griffioen and Kgothatso Montjane, before def. Van Koot in two), so maybe it was a lingering issue she was playing with that eventually became something that it was smart to push no longer mid-way into the final.

The Wimbledon wheelchair event takes place in week two, where de Groot is scheduled to be the #4 seed (though she's actually back up to #2 in the rankings).







*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#14 Naomi Osaka/JPN def. #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
#10 Karolina Muchova/CZE def. Barbora Krejcikova/CZE
#4 Jessie Pegula/USA def. #16 Iva Jovic/USA
#7 Coco Gauff/USA def. #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI
(Q) Ashlyn Krueger/USA vs. #12 Marta Kostyuk/UKR
#13 Jasmine Paolini/ITA vs. #29 Alex Eala/PHI
#26 Madison Keys/USA vs. #9 Linda Noskova/CZE
#21 Marie Bouzkova/CZE vs. #25 Elise Mertens/BEL

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Siniakova/Townsend (CZE/USA) vs. #16 Muhammad/Stollar (USA/HUN)
#10 Guo/Mladenovic (CHN/FRA) vs. Detiuc/Khromacheva (CZE/RUS)
#3 Danilina/Krunic (KAZ/SRB) vs. (PR) Neel/Olmos (EST/MEX)
Jiang X./Xu Y. (CHN/CHN) vs. #7 Siegemund/Zvonareva (GER/RUS)
Kostyuk/Ruse (UKR/ROU) vs. #9 Perez/Schuurs (AUS/NED)
#13 Aoyama/Liang (JPN/TPE) vs. Hsieh/Wang Xin. (TPE/CHN)
Noskova/Sramkova (CZE/SVK) vs. Piter/Siskova (POL/CZE)
#14 Hunter/McNally (AUS/USA) vs. #2 Dabrowski/Stefani (CAN/BRA)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Hunter/Polmans (AUS/AUS) vs. Sutjiadi/Andreozzi (INA/ARG)
Stollar/Pavic (HUN/CRO) vs. #6 Krawczyk/Skupski (USA/GBR)
Fernandez/Salisbury (CAN/GBR) vs. #3 Zhang S./Harrison (CHN/USA)
Siegemund/Roger-Vasselin (GER/FRA) vs. #2 Ostapenko/Arevalo (LAT/ELS)









...YES, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND... ON DAY 7:

I was almost hoping that the all-Czech match would be on at a time when I couldn't watch it because I hated for one of them to lose, and I was suspicious that the Czech Curse would manifest. It did--Barbora Krejcikova, who has been quite ill lately, struggled with her breathing (also a Czech thing),

— Diane Elayne Dees (@womenwhoserve.bsky.social) July 5, 2026 at 11:35 AM

and was visibly hampered, but she just kept fighting. As for Karolina Muchova, she was her brilliant self, winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Will we ever see Muchova and Krejcikova (and Vondrousova, but that's another matter) fully healthy at the same time? The Czech Curse needs to end. #Wimbledon #WTA

— Diane Elayne Dees (@womenwhoserve.bsky.social) July 5, 2026 at 11:35 AM


While I didn't wish to see either Krejcikova or Muchova lose, this was one of those cases where I was good with *whatever* the final result was, and just hoped that the winner would be left in good enough shape to have a better than average chance to continue with her success at least another round, and maybe a few after that.

Muchova was *probably* the most likely there, considering her full season of work to date, so...


...ANOTHER ANGLE (w/ AN ACTUAL PHOTO, VIDEO AND ART COMPANION) OF THE SCREEN GRAB FROM YESTERDAY... ON DAY 7:























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*2026 WINS OVER #1*
Australian Open F - #5 Rybakina d. Sabalenka (W)
Madrid QF - #32 Baptiste d. Sabalenka
Rome 3rd - #23 Cirstea d. Sabalenka
Roland Garros QF - #23 Shnaider d. Sabalenka
Berlin SF - #4 Pegula d. Sabalenka
Wimbledon 4th - #14 Osaka d. Sabalenka

*"CAREER SLAM" FEATS IN 2020s*
=QF=
2021 WI - Karolina Pliskova, CZE (36th slam MD)
2022 AO - Kaia Kanepi, EST (53rd)
2023 RG - Ons Jabeur, TUN (24th)
2023 RG - Aryna Sabalenka, BLR (21st)
2023 WI - Jessie Pegula, USA (19th)
2023 WI - Iga Swiatek, POL (18th)
2023 US - Karolina Muchova, CZE (19th)
2023 US - Alona Ostapenko, LAT (31st)
2024 WI - Barbora Krejcikova, CZE (18th)
2026 AO - Amanda Anisimova, USA (24th)
2026 WI - Coco Gauff, USA (28th)





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Football... ;)











TOP QUALIFIER: Robin Montgomery/USA
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Aryna Sabalenka/BLR (two straight sets wins; extends slam TB win streak to 21)
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): x
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1 - Anastasia Gasanova/RUS def. Varvara Lepchenko/USA 2-6/6-1/7-6(12-10) - Lepchenko led 5-3 in the 3rd, twice served for the match, led 5-1 in MTB and at 9-6 held four MP over a 5-point stretch. Gasanova wins 12-10.
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - Maya Joint/AUS def. Serena Williams/USA 6-3/6-7(6)/6-3 - 20-year old Aussie, 1-13 in her last 14 matches, defeats returning 44-year old Williams in her first singles match since 2022
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): x
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.-WC): x
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #11 Belinda Bencic/SUI (def. Stojsavljevic/GBR)
FIRST SEED OUT: #20 Maja Chwalinska/POL (1st Rd. - hurt ankle/foot on MP up 6-2/5-2 vs. Sawangkaew/THA)
FIRST SLAM MD WINS: Anastasia Gasanova/RUS (2nd MD), Tyra Grant/ITA (1st MD), Mananchaya Sawangkaew/THA (2nd MD), Lanlada Tararudee/THA (2nd MD)
UPSET QUEENS: Czech Republic
REVELATION LADIES: Southeast Asians
NATION OF POOR SOULS: GBR (1-7 1st Rd., after 0/7 through qualfiying; Kartal DNP, Raducanu w/d and started 0-7 in MD play)
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Ashlyn Krueger/USA (in 4th Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
PROTECTED RANKING WINS: Karolina Pliskova/CZE, Sara Sorribes Tormo/ESP (both 2nd Rd.)
LUCKY LOSERS: Darja Semenistaja/LAT(L)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Katie Swan/GBR (2nd Rd.)
Ms. OPPORTUNITY: xx
IT "Filipina": Alex Eala/PHI (first PHI to slam Round of 16)
COMEBACK PLAYER: x
CRASH & BURN: #2 Elena Rybakina/KAZ, #3 Iga Swiatek/POL and #6 Amanda Anisimova/USA ('22 champ and both '25 finalists lose in 3rd Round on middle Saturday)
ZOMBIE QUEEN OF LONDON: Nominees: Krueger (1r- trailed Vekic set and 5-3, twice served for match); Gauff (2r- Sierra at 5-4 in 3rd, 7-4 in MTB); Noskova (3r- saved MP vs. Cirstea)
DOUBLES STAR: x
VETERAN PLAYER (KIMIKO CUP): xx
LAWN COURT ROLLER: x
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: x
SPIRIT OF JANA (NOVOTNA) HONOREE: Maja Chwalinska/POL (devastating loss in 1st Rd. after having MP at 6-2/5-2 before fall injuries ankle); Additional nominees: Muchova, Noskova, Bouzkova








All for Day 7. More tomorrow.
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