History was made at Wimbledon on Monday when Kiki Bertens beat Karolina Pliskova to ensure there will be no top-10 seeds in the women's quarter-finals.
Pliskova was the only seed from the top 10 to make it into the second week at the All England Club, but the Czech bowed out in the fourth round.
Seedings were a hot topic before the grass-court grand slam got under way last week, with Serena Williams' return giving tournament organisers a big decision to make.
Williams was seeded 25th for her second grand slam since giving birth, despite being down at 181 in the rankings after such a lengthy absence.
The 23-time major singles champion remains in contention to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish for an eighth time, but for the first time not one of the top 10 seeds will be in the last eight.
We look at how the leading contenders failed so spectacularly at SW19.
1. Simona Halep
Halep was on a high from her first major triumph at the French Open, but the world number one was stunned by Hsieh Su-wei in the third round. The top seed described her performance as "unprofessional" after Hsieh saved a match point and came from a set down to win 3-6 6-4 7-5.
2. Caroline Wozniacki
Wozniacki came into the tournament on the back of a triumph on grass at Eastbourne, but Ekaterina Makarova claimed the scalp of the Australian Open champion, winning 6-4 1-6 7-5 in the second round.
3. Garbine Muguruza
Defending champion Muguruza was expected to ease her way past Alison Van Uytvanck, but the world number 47 rallied to win 5-7 6-2 6-1 in the second round. Van Uytvanck had never reached the third round before and lost her opening in each of the last three years.
4. Sloane Stephens
US Open champion Stephens was the first major casualty of the tournament, going down 6-1 6-3 to Donna Vekic in the first round. The fourth seed, a runner-up at Roland Garros last month, was also beaten in round one last year.
5. Elina Svitolina
Svitolina also headed for the exit on day one of the tournament, Tatjana Maria inflicting more major misery on the fifth seed with a 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-1 upset. The world number five had been fancied to progress beyond the quarter-final stage for the first time at a major.
6. Caroline Garcia
Garcia was another of the highest seeds to be dispatched in the first round, losing 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 to Belinda Bencic. The sixth seed from France had reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time last year.
7. Karolina Pliskova
Opportunity knocked for Pliskova with so many of her rivals out of contention at the start of week two. A maiden grand slam title continues to elude the Czech, though, after she was consigned to a 6-3 7-6 (7-1) loss to an inspired Bertens.
8. Petra Kvitova
Kvitova was the pre-tournament favourite, having won five titles this year and more matches than any other player on the WTA Tour. It was not to be for the two-time Wimbledon champion, who was beaten 6-4 4-6 6-0 by Aliaksandra Sasnovich in the first round.
9. Venus Williams
Bertens also saw the back of last year's runner-up Williams, coming through a major battle to win 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 8-6 in round three.
10. Madison Keys
Keys failed to make it beyond the third round, the American left to reflect on what might have been following the 120-ranked Evgeniya Rodina's sensational 7-5 5-7 6-4 victory.
Comments
SHARE