Such a scenario could hardly be expected. Arina Sobolenko reached the third round of Wimbledon, but was very tired of Varvara Gracheva from Moscow. It was close to saying goodbye to the tournament of the great rival Iga Swiatek.
Over the past few days, we have been reporting new surprises on the Wimbledon courts. In the singles tournament, they quickly said goodbye to m.in. American Coco Gauff, Greek Maria Sakkari or Czech Karolina Muchova and Barbora Kreychikova. On Friday, there was one step before the loud sensation and early departure of Arina Sobolenko from London.
The sensational defeat of Arina Sobolenko hung in the air
The Belarusian played on court number 1 with Varvara Gracheva. A native of Moscow, the tennis player recently represented the colors of France, where she could count on much more support from the national federation. It is interesting that while the best result at Wimbledon was the performance in … the first round. However, as it turned out, on Friday, July 7, 2023, she did a really big thing in London.
Gracheva started the match with a losing serve. A quick break by Sobolenko could mean that the Belarusian would even “run over” her opponent. Nothing could be more wrong, the tennis player representing France responded by crushing Sobolenko (1:1). Moreover, Gracheva managed to beat off the favorite’s serve twice (4:2 and 6:2), successfully defending her application.
After the first game it smelled like a big sensation in London.
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The second set confirmed that Gracheva showed good tennis that day. The Russian, playing for France, mostly followed her own application, winning games very confidently. Sobolenko could not find a way out against her opponent, becoming more and more irritated on the Wimbledon grass.
The Belarusian managed to break Grachev only in the eleventh game, having gone through the set 6:5. A native of Moscow, the tennis player could not answer in the same way as the opening of the first game. Sobolenko could breathe a sigh of relief, equalizing the score. It was the key moment of the whole meeting. In the third installment the Belarusians showed strength. Sobolenko won with a score of 6:2, although both athletes deserved applause after the match, showing an example of good tennis. The match lasted almost exactly two hours.
Recall that a Minsker is a tournament “deuce” in London. Sabolenko may face Iga Swiatek soon in the Wimbledon final. On her side of the Belarusian ladder is a year-old title defender. Elena Rybakina plays in London at number three.
Source: Wprost
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