What a bummer! For which players did this year’s Wimbledon grass have a bitter taste?

Sport doesn’t just bring wins. Defeats are also a necessary part of it. However, not every loss is equally painful. Which tennis players said goodbye to Wimbledon this year unexpectedly quickly and in a way they would like to forget very quickly?

Sebastian Korda

Some tennis players arrive at Wimbledon in the position of favourite, but rarely does a player appoint himself to such a role. Sebastian Korda will certainly remember this unpleasant experience for years to come. After his success at the previous tournament at the Queen’s Club, he felt he was one of the favourites for Wimbledon. Which, unfortunately for him, he publicly declared.

But on the London grass, he met Jiri Vesely in the first round, who can take care of some surprises here. The Czech tennis player has ended the ambitions of favourites like Thiem and Zverev in the past. And this year his list of scalps was extended by the confident Korda.

Vesely won 7:6, 4:6, 6:2, 6:3, and even though he dropped the very next match, he wrote one of the most interesting stories of the opening rounds of Wimbledon. Korda is again one experience richer.

The London loss will at least allow the Florida native to continue his career in line with his parents’ philosophy. It says there’s no rush. The 23-year-old can focus on the American concrete. In the upcoming part of the season he will not defend too many points from last year and it is realistic that he will attack the position in the elite world top 20.

Casper Ruud

Norwegian Ruud has never been a fan of grass. But he entered this year’s Wibledon as a tournament top four seed and was determined to make a good result here. The luck of the draw was quite favourable. When he got past France’s Lokoli in the first round without too much trouble, it looked like he could have a solid grand slam.

But that feeling changed in round two. Ruud faced Britain’s Broady. The latter was playing a wild card at the All England Club and took control of the match against the Norwegian favourite. In the deciding set, he even blew him away 6-0.

Ruud ended up at the third major of the season much earlier than he would have liked and he is certainly glad that he won’t see the traditional surface long enough. But it can be assumed that he hasn’t said his last word this year. He can correct his taste this week on clay in Bastad, Sweden.

Frances Tiafoe

The American arrived in London as a fresh member of an elite top ten ranking club. A week before Wimbledon he triumphed on the grass in Stuttgart and wanted to confirm everything at the most prestigious tournament of the season.

It didn’t happen. Tiafoe finished on the racket of Dimitrov of Bulgaria. And in a way that he himself described as depressing. He lost his serve five times in the match, and didn’t reach a single break point himself.

The American tennis player lost 2:6, 3:6, 2:6 and his belief that he is one of the best tennis players on the grass courts got a big crack. In less than a year, tennis fans will be looking forward to seeing how Tiafoe’s game on the fastest surface really is.

Sources: Wimbledon, Queen’s Club