Following on from Rafa Nadal's Wimbledon exit on Monday, yesterday proved to be a disastrous day for the tournament as seeds departed in all directions.
Top of the list was 7-time champion Roger Federer who, having won the first set, promptly lost the next 3 against an unheralded Ukrainian, Serhiy Stakhovsky. At 31, Federer is already getting pretty long in the tooth to be playing at the highest level and this must surely be the end of the road for him as a genuine challenger for major titles. Indeed, we may well have seen the last of both Federer and Nadal, two of the greatest players in tennis history.
Federer was joined on the side-lines by Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Marin Cilic as well as by Nadal's conqueror, Steve Darcis and John Isner who all withdrew through injury; Julian Benneteau and Lleyton Hewitt also found their campaigns ended and the bottom half of the draw now looks like a cakewalk for Andy Murray, who's the only significant name left.
The Ladies' tournament was hardly any less decimated, with Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova and Sorana Cirstea all beaten while number 2 seed Victoria Azarenka was forced to withdraw after injuring herself in the first round. Petra Kvitova, the 2011 champion, must now fancy her chances of at least reaching another final as there's almost no opposition left in her half of the draw.
Some of the players have been complaining that the playing surface is poor and has caused them to either lose or be injured, though others such as Murray, Djokovic and Serena Williams don't seem to have experienced any problems and the likes of Federer and Nadal haven't made any comments. It would seem that Wimbledon, the only real traditional tournament left, is sorting out the men and women from the boys and girls, just as it should.
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