Wimbledon: It’s Already Time for Surprises—Luciano Darderi Is Among the Top 20 Players Knocked Out in the First Round

The Wimbledon tournament has just begun, but on the grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, it’s already time for surprises—in both the men’s and women’s draws. On the men’s side, the elimination of Luciano Darderi, ranked No. 16 in the ATP, is worth noting, but the upsets involving Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie, and Casper Ruud, while on the women’s side, it’s Maja Chwalinska, a Roland Garros finalist, who has found herself in the headlines against her will following a defeat that was as sensational as it was marred by bad luck.

The Polish tennis player was, in fact, on the verge of victory against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew, but at 6-2, 5-2, on a match point in her favor, she slipped badly, spraining her ankle. Chwalinska tried to hang in there anyway, but her deteriorating physical condition allowed Sawangkaew to mount a comeback, winning 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Turning to the men’s draw, Luciano Darderi—Italy’s fourth-ranked player in the world and the tournament’s No. 14 seed—suffered a decisive defeat: He was defeated by American Ethan Quinn, fresh off a loss in the Mallorca final to Davidovich Fokina, who prevailed 7-6(7), 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and eighteen minutes. Darderi confirmed his struggles on grass, which he had already shown in Mallorca where he was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Nuno Borges, despite being the tournament’s top seed.

Meanwhile, world No. 13 Andrey Rublev of Russia suffered a five-set defeat at the hands of his compatriot Roman Safiullin after a four-hour marathon: 6-4, 6(6)-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(14-12) in favor of the 28-year-old from Podolsk, who achieved his best Grand Slam result at Wimbledon, reaching the quarterfinals in 2023 (which, incidentally, is also Rublev’s best result in London).

For home favorite Cameron Norrie, the loss was even more unexpected: the world No. 29 was defeated by No. 144 Michael Zheng of the United States, who prevailed 6(7)-7, 6-2, 6(2)-7, 6-3, 7-6(10-4) after four hours and five minutes on court. Wimbledon was also a bitter experience for Casper Ruud: the No. 12 ATP player, facing Hubert Hurkacz, lost 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7), confirming his struggles on grass, a surface on which he has never won a tournament.