Elise Mertens beat Elena Rybakina 7-6, 6-1 in the third round at Wimbledon on Saturday, and Wimbledon live moved from one upset to another as the bottom half of the women’s draw was blown wide open. Rybakina was the world No 2 and a former champion at Wimbledon, but she left before the second week.
The first set went to a tie-break, and Mertens took it 7-4 before pulling away in the second set. Afterward, she said, "I really took the momentum there."
Elise Mertens Takes Control
That tie-break was the pivot. Rybakina had the ranking, the seed and the bigger track record, yet Mertens stayed in range long enough to force the 7-4 decider and then finished the match in straight sets. The Belgian No 25 seed moved into the fourth round with a scoreline that left no room for a recovery.
Before Saturday, Rybakina had already won the Australian Open title this year and had lifted one Wimbledon crown before. That is what made the loss sharp: a player with that résumé was done in the third round by someone seeded lower and outlasted in the opening set rather than overwhelmed by pace or pressure.
Alexandra Eala And Iga Swiatek
The same day, Alexandra Eala beat Iga Swiatek 7-6, 6-2 in the third round. Swiatek entered Wimbledon as the defending champion, and Eala became the first player from the Philippines to reach the third round at Wimbledon. The opening set lasted nearly 90 minutes before Eala finished it off and kept going.
After the win, Eala said, "For someone who grew up in the Philippines and went to train with my brother and grandfather every day after school with my ruffled socks and light up shoes and chubby cheeks, to [me] this is everything." She also said, "Because I am emotional does not mean I am satisfied," then added, "Next round, let’s go."
Jasmine Paolini In The Last 16
Eala now faces Jasmine Paolini in the last 16. That is the immediate next step out of Saturday’s results, and it is part of the larger reshuffle created by the exits of both Swiatek and Rybakina.
For the draw, the practical effect is simple: two major names are gone from the same side, and the path through the bottom half no longer runs through the players who were there when play began. For Eala, the breakthrough has already changed her Wimbledon run; for Mertens, it has turned one straight-sets upset into a place in the fourth round.
