Wimbledon 2023: Medvedev, Rybakina reach quarterfinals as Lehecka, Haddad Maia retire

IANS

London, July 10

The men’s and women’s third seeds, Daniil Medvedev and Elena Rybakina advanced to quarterfinals in their respective sections in Wimbledon on Monday as their opponents retired from their matches because of injuries.

Medvedev reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time when Czech Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire at the end of the second set of the pair’s fourth-round clash due to injury.

Rybakina was leading 4-1 in the first set when Beatriz Haddad Maia retired to hand her a place in the last eight.

The third-seeded Medvedev, who is making his fifth appearance at The Championships, led Lehecka 6-4, 6-2 on Court 1 when the 21-year-old retired. With his 80-minute win, Medvedev earned a Tour-leading 45th victory of the season.

“I honestly did not know until he retired,” Medvedev said. “I mean, I saw that his movement was a little bit restricted, but the way he struck the ball, I thought it was not going to cause him [too much] trouble. But when he retired, I was like, ‘OK, I see it’s different’. Unfortunately during a match, you don’t have any other choice than to fight for every point, because of how many times it happened, even with me, that you think you are injured and then you win one game, one break, and get back into the match. You think, ‘OK, maybe I should continue playing’, and then you win the match,” Medvedev was quoted as saying on the ATP Tour website.

Medvedev, who is chasing his second major title this week after triumphing at the US Open in 2021, will meet the winner of the clash between fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and American Christopher Eubanks. By reaching the last eight, the 27-year-old Russian has become the 10th active player to advance to the quarterfinals at all four majors. He is a two-time Australian Open finalist and has advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2021.

Women’s defending champion Rybakina was expecting a tough fight from Haddad Maia having lost to the Brazilian twice in this season. The 27-year-old from Brazil is an accomplished grasscourt competitor, with the 2022 Nottingham and Birmingham titles on her record. Among active players, only Caroline Garcia (with 21) has won more matches on grass.

But it was a heart-breaking injury, not Haddad Maia’s dangerous left-handed form, that ultimately proved the defining factor in an abbreviated encounter. After dropping serve in the fourth game, the 27-year-old clutched her back and immediately requested a trainer.

She left the court for a medical timeout but was clearly in pain and physically hampered when she resumed the match. She played just one more game, Rybakina easily winning it, before tearfully conceding she couldn’t continue.