Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev both crashed out of Wimbledon on day one.
And honestly? Nobody was really that surprised.
Just a couple of years ago, these two looked like they’d be running tennis for the next decade. Medvedev hit the top of the world rankings, while Tsitsipas was pushing the legends to their limits and coming close to winning Grand Slams.
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Now they’re both heading home after just one match at Wimbledon.
That’s how quickly things can change in tennis.
Medvedev’s Close Call
Medvedev was first up on Court 2, taking on France’s Benjamin Bonzi. The matchup looked pretty straightforward on paper – Medvedev had just beaten Quentin Halys in Halle, and Bonzi had lost to that same Halys player.
But tennis doesn’t work that way.
Medvedev didn’t play his best tennis. Even worse for him, Bonzi was playing some really incredible stuff. So good, in fact, that Medvedev was actually complaining about it during the match.
The first set went to a tiebreak with no breaks of serve. Bonzi took it 7-2.
Medvedev bounced back in the second set, winning it 6-3. But then came another tiebreak in the third set, and once again Bonzi got the better of it, taking it 6-3.
By the fourth set, something seemed off with the Russian. He lost his way completely, dropping it 2-6.
Final score: 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-7(3), 2-6 to Bonzi.
It was disappointing, sure. But Medvedev didn’t seem too bothered afterward.
"For me it’s a matter of confidence," he said. "If not for the results in Halle, I would be here and say something is definitely missing. It’s just a matter of a couple of matches. This year I lost a lot of close calls."
"When I start winning them, I can climb up the rankings. For the moment, I’m not that worried. If I finish the year ranked somewhere around 15th in the world, maybe I’ll be more worried. For the moment, I’m not."
Tsitsipas Has Bigger Problems
Tsitsipas‘ situation looks way more concerning.
The Greek star faced France’s Valentin Royer in his first round match. He didn’t just lose – he couldn’t even finish the match.
Tsitsipas dropped the first two sets 3-6, 2-6, then retired with a back injury.
This isn’t a new problem for him. The back issues have been nagging him for months now, and it’s pretty clear he’s struggling both physically and mentally.
While Medvedev’s talking about confidence and close matches, Tsitsipas is dealing with something much more serious. If you can’t stay healthy enough to compete regularly, it’s really tough to get back to challenging for the biggest titles.
The difference between their situations is pretty stark. Medvedev had a bad day but still sounds optimistic about turning things around. Tsitsipas couldn’t even finish his match.
For a guy who was knocking on the door of Grand Slam titles not too long ago, that’s got to be really frustrating.
