Advertisement

Wimbledon 2022 Day 4: Iga Swiatek wins 37th straight match, Rafael Nadal advances, Coco Gauff bounces back

For a recap of all the important results from Day 3, click here.

Catch up with the biggest news from Day 4 below.

Coco Gauff advances to third round in straight sets

Coco Gauff bounced back in a big way during her second-round match at Wimbledon. Gauff defeated Mihaela Buzarnescu in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday to make it to the third round of the event.

It was a big win for Gauff, who needed three sets to get past her first-round opponent, Elena-Gabriela Ruse.

Gauff was in command against Buzarnescu, picking up 10 aces during the match.

Gauff is looking to make another deep run in a tournament after finishing as the runner-up at the 2022 French Open. Up until that event, Gauff has experienced her most success at Wimbledon. She's advanced to the fourth round of the event twice, in 2019 and 2021.

With the win, Gauff will take on Amanda Anisimova in the next round.

Rafael Nadal advances to third round at Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal ran into some trouble against Ricardas Berankis in the second round, but ultimately came out on top Thursday. Nadal defeated Berankis in four sets 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round.

It wasn't a dominant performance for Nadal, who mostly traded games with Berankis throughout the match. Both players won three straight games at one point in the match, but neither built up massive leads.

When Nadal needed to come through, he delivered.

Though Nadal had four double faults, his serve was mostly on point, picking up 13 aces against Berankis.

With the win, Nadal will take on Lorenzo Sonego in the third round.

Swiatek shows toughness in win over Pattinama Kerkhove

For awhile, it looked like Iga Swiatek's 36-match winning streak would end against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove. The world No. 1 spent the entire match in the danger zone, but managed to come out with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win, her 37th straight. That's the longest this century, and the longest since Martina Hingis in 1997.

Swiatek was in trouble from the start. She won the first game, but then lost four of the next five games. With Swiatek's win streak, it's weird to see her without the lead, even early in a match. She seemed pretty nervous, and Pattinama Kerkhove broke her twice while she missed a number of backhands wide. Swiatek got it together after being down 4-2, and won the next four games to seal the first set. But Pattinama Kerkhove wasn't done yet. Just when it seemed that Swiatek had figured things out, Pattinama Kerkhove kept pressing. When Swiatek went down 4-3 lead in the second set, Swiatek started to get visibly angry with herself. Pattinama Kerkhove ended up winning the set, which is something only a handful of players had managed to do during her four-month winning streak.

She didn't have an easier time in the final set, battling hard against Pattinama Kerkhove over just the first two games. But she grabbed the third game, and broke Pattinama Kerkhove in the fourth game to go up 3-1. Pattinama Kerkhove kept trying to climb her way back into the set, but Swiatek gutted it out and won.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 30: Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates a point against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove of Netherlands during their Women's Singles Second Round match on day four of The Championships Wimbledon 2022 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 30, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek prevailed in a touch match against Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in the second round of Wimbledon. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Pliskova out after shocking loss to Boulter

Karolina Pliskova lost to Katie Boulter in the first round at Eastbourne on June 21, and that recent history repeated itself on Thursday when Pliskova again lost to Boulter, this time in the second round. Boulter, who is from the UK, won 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. It was clear early on that Boulter would be trouble for Pliskova, the No. 6 seed. Pliskova managed to fend her off in the first set, but Boulter fought back from that one-set deficit to win the second set in a tiebreak. It was so close in the third and final set, but Pliskova couldn't keep up. Boulter won the final three games to upset Pliskova for the second time in two weeks.

Pegula defeats Dart

Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American woman left at Wimbledon at No. 8, overcame a serious challenge from Harriet Dart, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Pegula managed to climb out of a one-set hole to take the match, which is impressive considering her first-round match took place just 24 hours before. Her match against Donna Vekic had been pushed back until the first day of Round 2, and while it was a straight-sets win, it lasted 90 minutes and included a second-set tiebreaker. Going three sets against Dart just a day after that isn't the ideal setup for Wimbledon, but Pegula was up to the challenge.

Tsitsipas bests Thompson in straight sets

Stefanos Tsitsipas is playing the kind of tennis that could get him into the late rounds at the All England Club. The No. 4 seed easily beat Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and four minutes. The only trouble he really had was in the final set, when Thompson began matching Tsitsipas game-for-game. He got close to extending the game to a fourth set, but Tsitsipas answered back, winning the final two games to secure the match. He came into Wimbledon just days after winning the Mallorca Open, and the momentum has stayed with him.

Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - June 30, 2022 Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates winning his second round match against Australia's Jordan Thompson REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised to a win over Jordan Thompson in the second round of Wimbledon. (REUTERS/Hannah Mckay)

Fritz matches best result with win over Gray

No. 11 Taylor Fritz had a highlight reel play in his 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Alastair Gray. On set point in the second set, the highest-seeded American man laid out to hit a ball that Gray had assumed wouldn't be returned at all. Gray started celebrating, running away from the net as Fritz hit the ball, which went over the net and landed fair at least 20 feet away from him.

Fritz has now matched his best result at Wimbledon, and is part of a fleet of men's singles players attempting to end the American drought in Grand Slam quarterfinals.

Badosa works past Bara

Paula Badosa, the women's No. 4 seed, prevailed over Irina Bara 6-3, 6-2 to make it to the third round. The score makes it seem like it was a fairly easy win for Badosa, but it doesn't show what a serious challenger Bara was. In her Wimbledon debut, Bara's dropshot and net work were dazzling, and she wasn't afraid to get into long rallies. Badosa has enormous power, though, which serves two purposes: She literally overpowers her opponent with her strength, and the possibility of dealing with that power puts her opponents on the defensive as soon as they stop onto the court. Bara's attempts to match Badosa did not go well, resulting in 23 unforced errors. Badosa will face Karolina Pliskova, the No. 25 seed, on Saturday.

Kyrgios notches strong win vs. Krajinovic

Nick Kyrgios didn't mess around in his 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win over Filip Krajinovic. He barely missed a beat, staying focused the entire match (aside from one interaction with the chair umpire, which is a standard feature of every Kyrgios event). He had 10 unforced errors, hit 50 winners, and his first serve win percent was an eye-popping 93%. The farthest Kyrgios has ever gone at Wimbledon was the quarterfinals in 2014, eight long years ago. This year, things feel different. Everyone in the men's draw should watch out, because Kyrgios looks determined to match or even surpass his best result, and he has a real chance to do it.

Denis Shapovalov and Diego Schwartzman fall in second round

The men's bracket experienced two other key upsets Thursday. Denis Shapovalov and Diego Schwartzman were both upset in the second round of the tournament.

Schwartzman was the first to fall, losing to Liam Broady in five sets. Broady took the first set 6-2, but Schwartzman battled back to take the next two. With his tournament life on the line, Broady rallied, winning a tight fourth set 7-6. Broady then took the final set 6-1.

Unforced errors were an issue for Schwartzman, who entered the event ranked No. 12. He had six double faults during the match.

Shapovalov, No. 13 coming into Wimbledon, had similar issues. He experienced eight double faults during a four-set loss to American Brandon Nakashima. Shapovalov dropped the first set 6-2, but rallied to even things up with a 6-4 win in the second set. Nakashima took control in the third set, winning 6-1. Shapovalov attempted to rally again in the fourth, but narrowly lost 7-6.

Other notable results

• Barbora Krejcikova advanced to the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday, taking down Viktorija Golubic in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). Krejcikova, ranked No. 13, delivered three aces during the match. She'll take on Swiatek in Round 3.

• Simona Halep made it to the third round of the tournament with a win over Kirsten Flipkens on Thursday. Halep defeated Flipkens in straight sets (7-5, 6-4). With the win, Halep will face Badosa in Round 3.

• In addition to Nakashima, a number of other prominent Americans advanced in the men's bracket. Jensen Brooksby defeated Benjamin Bronzi in straight sets and Taylor Fritz beat Alastair Gray in straight sets to advance. Another American will also make it to the third round, as Maxime Cressy and Jack Sock will face off Thursday.

• Two American men lost in the second round Thursday. Marcos Giron fell to Alex Molcan in straight sets. Mackenzie McDonald also lost, falling in four sets to Richard Gasquet.