Defending champion Swiatek knocked out of Wimbledon

Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek and second seed Elena Rybakina suffer surprise third-round defeats at Wimbledon; defending champion Swiatek lost in straight sets to Alexandra Eala, 21, who becomes the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a major

>Defending women's champion Iga Swiatek has been knocked out of Wimbledon after suffering a straight-sets defeat to 29th seed Alexandra Eala.

>Six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek lost the first set on an epic tie-break to Eala, 21, before capitulating in the second set to lose 7-6 (11-9) 6-2.

>Eala has made history by becoming the first player from the Philippines to reach the fourth round of a major.

>Swiatek claimed her first Wimbledon title last summer when she delivered a crushing 6-0 6-0 final victory over Amanda Anisimova.

>But this week she has struggled to produce her best level and went close to going out in the first round to Taylor Townsend before winning through in three sets.

>The 25-year-old sobbed into her towel at the end of that victory and later admitted to nerves ahead of opening Centre Court as the defending champion on Tuesday afternoon.

>Against Eala she was made to pay for a number of forehand errors and a series of double faults - five in total across the match.

>Emotions got the better of Swiatek again, this time an angry outburst during a thrilling first-set tie-break when she was trailing 4-2 and threw her racket into her bag.

>A grand statement. 🇵🇭

Alex Eala defeats defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-6(9), 6-2 with a stunning display on Centre Court#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/IRTMLrgZTk

>Swiatek had already fought back from trailing 5-3 in the opening set to force a tie-break and then dug deep to level in the breaker at 5-5. She even earned two set points only to squander them and lose the tie-break 11-9 after 85 minutes of brilliant action.

>Eala, who had beaten Serena Williams' conqueror Maya Joint to book her place against Swiatek, looked right at home throughout on her first appearance on the main show court at Wimbledon.

>Serena Williams is the last women's player to successfully defend the women's title in 2016. Since then, there have been eight different winners.

>And when she broke in the opening game of the second set and raced to a 4-0 lead, there was only going to be one winner.

>In fact, the only time Eala showed any sign of nerves was when attempting to close the match out, needing three match points to get the job done.

>Eala was emotional in her on-court interview and reflected on her younger days when she could only dream of such a moment.

>"I'm really emotional. For someone like Iga Swiatek, who has won so many Grand Slams, this achievement may seem small but for someone who grew up in the Philippines it is huge," she said.

>The first Filipino to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam 🇵🇭

Alex Eala. 👏 pic.twitter.com/rA0NQOKlj7

>"I went to train with my brother and my grandfather every day after school with my ruffled socks, light-up shoes and chubby cheeks, so to younger me this is everything. But, obviously, just because I'm emotional does not mean I'm satisfied, so next round let's go!"

>Eala is a huge star in the Philippines and has a massive social media following. By the end of her victory over Swiatek she had 1.1 million followers on Instagram and that number is sure to rise after her stunning success.

>"It is incredible to have my countrymen cheering me on, knowing that we are all in this together. This goes out to them, my family and all the girls with ruffled socks and chubby cheeks. It means the world."

>While Swiatek was slipping to defeat on Centre Court, over on Court One there had already been one huge shock as second seed Elena Rybakina suffered defeat in straight sets.

>Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022, was beaten by 25th seed Elise Mertens 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in one hour and 36 minutes.

>"It's impossible to win everything," Rybakina reflected after her defeat.

>"I just try to move on. I mean, I lost so many times. I'm sure I'm still going to keep losing.

>"I'm of course upset, but it's not going to take more than one, two days [to get over it]."

>Rybakina's defeat ensures Aryna Sabalenka will keep her No 1 ranking after the tournament.

>Sabalenka faces Naomi Osaka in the fourth round on Sunday.

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