WIMBLEDON, England — Three-time Wimbledon runner-up Andy Roddick was eliminated 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2), 6-4 yesterday by Feliciano Lopez in the third round, the biggest upset of the men’s tournament so far.
The 44th-ranked Lopez served 28 aces and piled up 57 winners to defeat Roddick on Centre Court, the American’s first loss to the Spanish left-hander in eight matches.
“He played an outstanding match,” Roddick said. “I feel like he played as complete a match as he’s played against me. He served about as well as someone has.”
The eighth-seeded Roddick, who lost to Roger Federer in the finals in 2004, ‘05 and ‘09, served 23 aces but also had six double-faults. It’s the third time in four years Roddick has lost in the early rounds — he went out in the second round in 2008 and the fourth last year.
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Andy Roddick
In a surprise on the women’s side, second-seeded and 2010 runner-up Vera Zvonareva was knocked out 6-2, 6-3 by 33rd-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria. The Russian converted only one of seven break points and had 18 unforced errors. Pironkova upset Venus Williams last year en route to the semifinals.
Williams, a five-time champion, set up a fourth-round rematch against Pironkova by routing Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-0, 6-2 in one hour on Court 1.
“Last year, I wasn’t on my best game,” Williams said. “But this year, I’m really going to look forward to really playing a little bit better than last year. Every now and then we all have bad days, but I’m planning to have a better one this year.”
Play was suspended shortly after 7 p.m. local time, except on Centre Court, where Andy Murray beat Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) under the sliding roof.
Among the unfinished matches was defending champion Rafael Nadal’s contest on Court 1 against Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. The top-seeded Spaniard was leading 7-6 (6) when the rain came.
Nadal, who saved two set points on his serve at 6-5 down in games, called for a medical timeout after the tiebreaker. He slipped and fell awkwardly behind the baseline, getting up slowly after losing the ninth point of the tiebreaker. Nadal walked off the grounds later after play was suspended for good.— AP
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