• Wimbledon

Seeds keep tumbling at Wimbledon

ESPN staff
June 26, 2014
Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios reacts with disbelief after beating France's Richard Gasquet © Getty Images
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French duo Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils suffered shock second-round exits as the seeds continued to tumble on day four at Wimbledon.

Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios saved nine match points before beating 13th seed Gasquet 3-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 10-8. This is the first time Kyrgios has reached the third round of a grand slam tournament.

The 19-year-old wild-card entry - the youngest player in the draw - served out the match at love after a hard-fought contest against the 2007 semi-finalist that lasted nearly four hours.

Richard Gasquet went down in five sets © Getty Images
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Monfils, who took Andy Murray to five sets in their French Open quarter-final earlier this month, suffered another of his inconsistent afternoons as he went down 7-6(3) 6-3 6-7(1) 6-7 (3) 6-4 to Jiri Vesely, a former junior world No.1 playing at SW19 for the first time.

Monfils, the 24th seed, has never progressed past the third round at the All England Club on a surface he struggles with.

He hit 71 winners, including 23 aces, but had trouble returning his opponent's serve as he failed to complete the comeback from two sets down.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga ensured there was at least some joy for France, however, as he finally saw off Sam Querrey 4-6 7-6 6-7 6-3 14-12 in an epic encounter that spilled over into a second day.

Tsonga fired down a career-high 37 aces with 97 winners and remains undefeated in five-set matches at Wimbledon, triumphing after going the distance at SW19 for the fourth time.

"Today I'm undefeated in five set matches at Wimbledon and it's good," said Tsonga.

Asked about the prospects of securing a maiden grand slam at the expense of the 'big four', Tsonga replied: "We do the same job but we don't have the same reward. They take everything. They are just too good.

"We work hard and I hope I have the chance to go through. It's my passion, I love tennis and I will continue to go for it."

Stanislas Wawrinka battled through to the third round in four sets, defeating Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6(6) 6-3 3-6 7-5.

Elsewhere, Kei Nishikori of Japan made the third round for the third consecutive year with a 6-3 6-2 6-1 win over 21-year-old American qualifier Denis Kudla.

Nishikori, the 10th seed making his 20th appearance in a grand slam, has had contrasting fortunes in majors this season, making it to the fourth round at the Australian Open and losing in the first round at the French Open.

Next up for Nishikori is Simone Bolelli, who saw off Philipp Kohlschreiber 4-6 6-4 6-3 2-6 7-5.

"Especially after clay court season I gain more confidence. My tennis is changing, more consistent, and everything is going well. Even on grass, my serve is getting better," Nishikori said.

"Also, I can be more aggressive from the groundstrokes. I try to come in more on grass especially. Yeah, feel really comfortable to play on grass."

Eighth seed Milos Raonic of Canada also progressed to the next round with 6-3 6-4 6-4 win over American Jack Sock.

After winning the second longest tie-breaker in Wimbledon history in the first set, John Isner saw out a 7-6(17) 7-6(3) 7-5 over Jarkko Nieminen.

Former champion Lleyton Hewitt's match against 2013 semi-finalist and 15th seed Jerzy Janowicz was suspended due to rain with the Pole leading 7-5 4-4.

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