Wimbledon 2025 Review: Carlos Alcaraz, Aryna Sabalenka Emerge Top Contenders After Initial Rounds

Last night was an eventful one in Wimbledon as men's and women's second-round matches were in full swing. A total of 32 matches were played, and here is the general round-up from yesterday’s action. 

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Women’s Matches:

Former world No.1 Iga Swiatek survived a first-set scare against American Caty McNally, as she came back from a set down to win the match in three sets (5-7,6-2,6-1). Iga will face another American in the next round as she is set to play against Danielle Collins. Swiatek, who is all of 24, already has five Grand Slam titles to her name, but is yet to lift the coveted Wimbledon Trophy. Iga will be eager to overcome Collins as she looks to take another step towards adding the silverware to her cabinet.

In another game, World No.11 Elena Rybakina breezed past Maria Sakkari, defeating her in straight sets (6-3,6-1). The 2022 Wimbledon champion now faces a difficult task as her next match is against world No.23 Clara Tauson from Denmark. Tauson has been playing in the pro circuit for a few seasons now, but the 22-year-old has only burst onto the scene and rapidly worked her way up the rankings in the past year or so. Tauson recently won her third career title at the ASB Classic in Auckland and will pose a serious challenge for Rybakina. On Thursday, Clara earned herself a hard-fought two-set victory over Anna Kalinskaya, where she won the first set 6-3 and the second set in a tiebreaker. 

World No.7 Mirra Andreeva also advanced as she defeated Lucia Bronzetti. In the first set, Andreeva blew Bronzetti away winning it 6-1; however, the second set wasn’t as straightforward as Bronzetti fought back and forced a tiebreaker, in which Andreeva eventually won. Mirra will face the American, Hailey Baptiste, in her third-round matchup. 

Favourites For The Tournament:

With world No.2 Coco Gauff, fresh off her French Open triumph, stunned in the opening round, as well as Paolini, Zheng, and Pegula’s early exits, the women’s tournament has become wide open, with the title now up for grabs. Sabalenka, as the world No.1 is the favorite, but with four of the top five players in the world being knocked out, talents such as Rybakina, Andreeva, Madison Keys, Swiatek, and Navarro mustn’t be disregarded. 

Men’s Matches:

World No.1 Jannik Sinner comfortably prevailed against the Australian Alexsandar Vukic, winning the game in straight sets (6-1,6-1,6-3). Sinner will be desperate to bounce back from his devastating French Open final defeat, and will continue his quest to reach his first ever Wimbledon final on Saturday, where he will face the Spaniard, Pedro Martinez. 

Ben Shelton left court 2 furious as he was one game away from victory against Rinky Hijikata (6-2,7-5,5-4). The match was suspended at 9:29 pm due to the Wimbledon curfew, even though it was still light outside, and Shelton was just one service game away from victory. The match was suspended due to the fact that the court does not have a roof or artificial lights. The American will have to finish the job today, back on court 2. 

Huge Upset:

Englishman and world No.4 Jack Draper was stunned by Marin Cilic as he was defeated in four sets(4-6,3-6,6-1,4-6). Marin, the former world No.3 and 2014 US Open Champion, rolled back the years as at 36 years old he defeated the 23-year-old English prospect. It was expected of Draper to have a great tournament, so this result will disappoint many tennis fans. Cilic is set to face off against Jaume Munar in the next round. 

World No.11 Alex de Minaur would have been surprised to have dropped the first set against unseeded Arthur Casaux before fighting back strongly and winning the next three sets comfortably(4-6,6-2,6-4,6-0). De Minaur will face August Holmgren in the third round. 

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Favourites For The Tournament: 

While there are multiple players with strong chances of winning the tournament, the general expectation is that Carlos Alcaraz will defend his title. Alcaraz is a player who thrives on grass, as at just 22 years old, he is already a two-time Wimbledon champion. However, the veteran experience of Novak Djokovic must be taken into consideration as well. At 38 years old, Novak still performs at an elite level as he was the runner-up last year and recently won the Geneva Open, which was his 100th ATP title. Jannik Sinner is another one of the favorites, being the world No.1. Sinner has three Grand Slam titles to his name but is yet to win Wimbledon. Dark horses such as De Minaur, Rublev, and Khachanov have the potential to shock the world, and the American talents, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton mustn’t be forgotten either.