Darkness has fallen on Australia’s brightest start at Wimbledon in 15 years after the nation’s entire third-day contingent was wiped out.
Bernard Tomic and Marinko Matosevic were among the casualties as all five Australians involved in second-round matches on Wednesday failed to progress.
Casey Dellacqua, Jarmila Gajdosova and qualifier Luke Saville also exited the tournament.
Seven Australians had reached the round two for the first time since 1999 but veteran Lleyton Hewitt and rising star Nick Kyrgios, who play second round matches on Thursday, are now the last men standing.
After Matosevic lost a five-set epic to Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, and Dellacqua and Saville were dispatched by seeded opponents on Centre Court, Tomic emerged as a potential saviour.
He took the first set against Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych before going down 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in two-and-a-half hours.
In failing to repeat his run to the last 16 a year ago, Tomic will slip out of the world’s top 100 as he continues to battle back from hip surgery in February.
The 21-year-old suffered a painful tweak to his hip during the second set but said Berdych was a deserved winner.
“It’s disappointing but he is a very good player on grass,” Tomic said.
“I tried my best and it’s only my sixth, seventh tournament back.
“I was happy the way I was going and feeling.”
Matosevic had loomed as the most likely Australian to reach the third round against 46th-ranked Chardy, but went down 6-7 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (11-9) 4-6 7-5 in a marathon encounter lasting four hours and 15 minutes.
The world No.58 rode a wave of emotions on Court 17 but failed to build on his impressive run of form since finally breaking his grand slam duck at last month’s French Open.
“It was a really bad day at the office, nothing seemed to go right,” said Matosevic, who missed a chance to reach the a grand slam third round for the first time.
Surprise packet Saville’s impressive debut at the grass court grand slam ended at the hands of Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
The 20-year-old was outclassed but far from overawed in a 6-3 6-2 6-4 loss played on the All England Club’s famed Centre Court.
“I didn’t play my best best but I thought I held my own fairly well out there,” Saville said.
A rejuvenated Dellacqua also savoured a chance to play on the world’s most prestigious arena against fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska.
The 29-year-old Australian, who has fought back from injury woes to reach a career-high ranking of 36, lost 6-4 6-0 in less than an hour.
“I don’t think the (second set) score was a reflection of how I played, to be honest,” Dellacqua said.
“I thought she had to play some good tennis to beat me.”
Wildcard entrant Gajdosova was gallant in defeat in a 6-3 4-6 6-3 loss to Portugal’s’s Michelle Larcher de Brito.
Hewitt faces 15th-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz on Thursday while Kyrgios meets meets French 13th seed Richard Gasquet.
Men’s results:
Top seed Novak Djokovic has survived a testing centre court examination at the hands of close friend and veteran serve-and-volleyer Radek Stepanek to reach the third round.
Djokovic, the 2011 champion, carved out a 6-4 6-3 6-7 (5/7) 7-6 (7/5) victory over the 35-year-old Czech who has now lost 11 of the pair’s 12 meetings.
But the world No.2 progressed the hard way, squandering a 5-2 lead in the third set tie-break before recovering his composure.
Confident statistics of 18 aces and 54 winners helped lay the foundation for victory and a third round clash with French world number 44 Gilles Simon.
“I should have closed it out in the third set. I had some break point chances and the lead in the tie-break, so I should not have complicated my life in this way, but credit to him,” Djokovic said.
Defending champion Andy Murray handed out a tough Wimbledon lesson to Slovenia’s Blaz Rola, a former US college champion, coasting to a 6-1 6-1 6-0 win over a grasscourt rookie playing just the 10th match of his career.
The British third seed eased to victory in just 84 minutes, hitting seven aces and 27 winners against the world number 92 and goes on to face Spanish 27th seed Roberto Bautista Agut for a place in the last 16.
“It’s his first year on grass so it was tough for him. But he has a good game and he’ll keep improving,” said Murray.
“I took care of my serve for the majority of the match and I played well. If you can finish matches as quick as possible then that’s better in the long run.”
Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer failed in his bid to reach an 18th consecutive third round at a Grand Slam when he was knocked out by Russian qualifier Andrey Kuznetsov.
The 32-year-old Ferrer last failed to reach the third round at a major at the 2010 Australian Open, but Kuznetsov, the world No.118, claimed a famous 6-7 (5/7) 6-0 3-6 6-3 6-2 win to reach the third round for the first time.
Ferrer had come into the tournament still suffering the after-effects of the stomach illness which forced him out of the ‘s-Hertogenbosch grasscourt warm-up in the Netherlands last week.
“Well of course I am sad. It’s a disappointment, but it’s not the end of the world,” said the Spaniard.
Also heading for the exit on Wednesday was French Open semi-finalist Ernests Gulbis with the 12th seed losing to Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine, 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7/5).
Stakhovksy, who shocked Roger Federer in the second round in 2013, next faces France’s Jeremy Chardy.
Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych, the 2010 runner-up, beat Bernard Tomic 4-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/3) 6-1 while Bulgarian 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov defeated Australian teenager Luke Saville 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Womens results:
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka has been knocked out of Wimbledon, losing 6-3 3-6 7-5 to Serb world No.45 Bojana Jovanovski.
Azarenka, twice a Wimbledon semi-finalist, had only returned to action at Eastbourne last week following a three-month lay-off caused by a left foot injury.
The 22-year-old Jovanovski has reached the third round for the first time and will next face Czech qualifier Tereza Smitkova.
Australian Open champion Li Na, a three-time quarter-finalist, swept to a 6-2 6-2 victory over Austria’s Yvonne Meusburger, hitting 33 winners to just four from the world No.38.
Second seed Li, 32, goes on to face Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic.
She says she’s unconcerned about her 21 unforced errors.
“If you want to play more aggressive, this is the normal way,” she explained.
Five-time champion Venus Williams, 34, and playing in her 17th Wimbledon, defeated pint-sized Japanese Kurumi Nara 7-6 (7/4) 6-1 in a battle of little and large on Court 3.
The American, who is the oldest woman left in the draw, stands at an imposing 1.85m (6ft 1in) compared to Nara’s 1.55m (5ft 1n) and the difference in stature – both physical and sporting – eventually told despite the world No.41 breaking early in both sets.
Williams will now face 2011 champion Petra Kvitova in the third round.
“Feeling good getting into the next round,” said Williams on Wednesday.
“I think we both play a similar game, really go for it and she’s one of the kind of players that can get really hot and every time she plays me. She plays really well, so I have to be ready for that.”
Polish fourth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, the 2012 runner-up, also went through with a 6-4 6-0 win over Australia’s Casey Dellacqua and next meets either Portuguese qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito or Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova.
Meanwhile, 1997 singles champion Martina Hingis appears at the All England Club for the first time since 2007 when she teams up with Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in the women’s doubles first round.
Hingis won nine grand slam doubles titles in her career but she and Zvonareva have a tough opener against fourth seeds Cara Black and Sania Mirza.
Australian player’s scores:
Men’s singles, second round
Bernard Tomic lost to 6-Tomas Berdych (CZE) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-1
Marinko Matosevic lost to Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-7 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (11-9) 4-6 7-5
Luke Saville lost to 11-Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 6-3 6-2 6-4
Women’s singles, second round
Casey Dellacqua lost to 4-Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-0
Jarmila Gajdosova lost to Michelle Larcher De Brito (POR) 6-3 4-6 6-3
Men’s doubles, first round
14-John Peers/Jamie Murray (GBR) bt Daniel Evans (GBR)/James Ward (GBR) 6-2 6-4 6-4
Lleyton Hewitt/Chris Guccione bt Marinko Matosevic/Alejandro Falla (COL) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-3
Alex Bolt/Andrew Whittington lost to Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-2
Women’s doubles, first round
6-Ashleigh Barty/Casey Dellacqua bt Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)/Heather Watson (GBR) 6-4 7-6 (7-3)
