Mattek-Sands horror injury puts Djokovic, Federer in shadow
LONDON: Colorful US star Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered an horrific knee injury at Wimbledon on Thursday which left her screaming in pain and heartbreakingly pleading for help.
The distressing drama on Court 17, where the 32-year-old lay stricken for at least 20 minutes, pushed the title campaigns of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer onto the sidelines.
“Please help me! Please! Please!” screamed Mattek-Sands as she clutched her right knee after collapsing running to the net in the first point of the deciding set against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
The women’s tour said Mattek-Sands had suffered a serious knee injury.
“It is an acute knee injury and she has gone straight to hospital,” the WTA Insider tweeted.
Mattek-Sands’s husband Justin tried to console his wife as medics arrived, while Cirstea, who rushed over the net to help, was visibly distraught.
After lying prone on the ground screaming in pain as she waiting for medical assistance, Mattek-Sands was eventually stretchered away.
Her doubles partner, Lucie Safarova, with whom she shares the world No. 1 ranking as well as four Grand Slam titles, also arrived at the scene in tears.
The terrible scenes on Court 17 dominated the fouth day of the tournament.
Earlier, Novak Djokovic shrugged off sweltering 30-degree heat to breeze past outclassed Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 and reach the third round.
The three-time champion brushed aside the 136rd-ranked Czech on Court One to make the last-32 for the ninth year in succession.
Djokovic, the second seed whose shock third round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon 12 months ago precipitated a worrying decline in form, will next face Ernests Gulbis.
“It was a very warm day, it wasn’t easy to play point after point and some long rallies,” said Djokovic as his comfortable Wimbledon continued following a first round in which opponent Martin Klizan had retired hurt after just 40 minutes.
“But overall, from the very beginning I managed to impose my own rhythm and play the game I intended to play.”
Gulbis sprang a Wimbledon surprise as the world No. 589 defeated former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
The 28-year-old Latvian was ranked in the top 10 in 2014 — the year he beat Federer en route to the French Open semifinals.
Since then, Gulbis has slumped badly and his Wimbledon opening round win LONDON: Joe Root marked his first innings as England captain with a superb 184 not out against South Africa at Lord’s on Thursday.
England were 357 for five at stumps, having collapsed to 76 for four before lunch on the first day of the opening Test of a four-match series.
But Root’s 12th hundred in 54 Tests and third at Lord’s justified his decision to bat first after winning the toss in what was England’s first match at this level since he was appointed following Alastair Cook’s resignation as skipper in February.
New vice-captain Ben Stokes made 56 and helped turn the tide in a fifth-wicket stand of 114.
Moeen Ali’s 61 not out cemented the recovery as he added an unbroken 167 with Root.
Concerns had been expressed that captaincy would reduce Root’s effectiveness as a batsman.
But, on this evidence, Root appears destined to follow the other members of world batting’s ‘big four’ — India’s Virat Kohli, Australia’s Steve Smith and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson — over Victor Estrella, was his first on tour in 13 months, a decline which has seen his ranking crash to his lowest position in 12 years.
Bulgarian 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov, a semifinalist in 2014, saw off Cypriot veteran Marcos Baghdatis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 while pintsized Dudi Sela stunned giant American John Isner 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 7-6 all of whose Test averages as captain of their respective countries have far outstripped their equivalent figure in ‘the ranks’.
Earlier the 26-year-old Root opted to bat first after the coin fell in his favor.
But a green-tinged pitch gave South Africa’s bowlers hope of early movement.
Cook had made just three when he was caught behind flat-footedly chasing a Philander ball outside off stump.
Fellow opener Keaton Jennings, born in South Africa, fell next for eight on his home debut when lbw to Philander, who bowled the Proteas to a series-clinching victory at Lord’s five years ago.
The 32-year-old Philander, fit following an ankle injury sustained while playing for English county side Sussex, had now taken two wickets for three runs in eight balls to leave England 17 for two.
Root, meanwhile, was fortunate, when on five a top-edged hook off Kagiso Rabada just cleared substitute fielder Aiden Markram, who was not (7/5), 6-3.
Bernard Tomic may have been knocked out but the Australian was still making waves on Thursday when he was fined $15,000 after claiming he was “bored” during his lackluster defeat to Mischa Zverev.
Tomic, who was accused of “unsportsmanlike behavior” had also admitted he called for the trainer even though he was not injured to try to disrupt his opponent’s momentum.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev was slapped with a $14,500 fine after a series of disputes with umpire Mariana Alves during his fiveset loss to Ruben Bemelmans in the second round.
Medvedev ended the match by throwing coins in the direction of umpire’s chair although he insisted the bizarre gesture was not meant to imply that the official was corrupt.
Later Thursday, third seed Federer was to continue his campaign for a record eighth Wimbledon title against world No. 79 Dusan Lajovic.
Women’s top seed Angelique Kerber, the runner-up to Serena Williams in 2016, tackles Belgium’s 88th-ranked Kirsten Flipkens, whose best performance at the majors came at Wimbledon in 2013 when she made the semifinals.
Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova hopes to make the last-32 for the first time, but she faces a tough test of her grass court credentials against Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.
Former US and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded seven, took her career record over fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova to 7-1 with a 6-0, 7-5 win. right back on the rope at long leg.
He had another break when on 16 an edged drive off Rabada flew through JP Duminy’s hands at gully.
Meanwhile Root’s Yorkshire colleagues Gary Ballance (20) and Jonny Bairstow (10) both fell cheaply.
But Stokes, who has known Root since their days as schoolboy cricket opponents, took the attack to the Proteas by driving spinner Keshav Maharaj for six.
He was ‘bowled’ off a Morne Morkel no-ball on 44, the fast bowler having only himself to blame for a considerable over-step.
Stokes, however, fell soon afterwards when his top-edged hook off Rababa flew straight to wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock.
Root, however, kept going and a swept three off Maharaj saw him to a 150-ball hundred, including 15 fours, after more than four hours at the crease.