The 2025 Wimbledon Championships continue to throw up surprises, with big seeds like Tommy Paul and Sofia Kenin falling early on Day 3. Both players lost their respective second matches.
It did, however, take a titanic effort from their opponents. The draw is packed with such underdogs capable of taking a few other scalps. Before we look ahead, let’s rewind on the top five shock losses on Day 4 of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
#1 Jack Draper
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The Croat turned back the clock against home hope Jack Draper, who, as the fourth seed, was the heavy favorite to come through this encounter. Exquisite serving and explosive forehands from the seasoned campaigner sent an opponent nearly 15 years his junior chasing on just about every point.
Cilic ended the match with more aces, 16 to 14, and nearly double the winners, 53 to 29, than his opponent. That tells you everything you need to know about the match — the Croat was calling the shots and aside from a third set, looked in complete control. He sealed the 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 win fittingly with two big forehands that found Draper run out of answers.
#2 Tommy Paul
Tommy Paul’s big shame and willingness to come forward spell grasscourt success immediately. Unfortunately for him, he ended up playing an opponent who enjoys the lush lawn just as much.
Sebastian Ofner has made the third round at Wimbledon once before, but could not have prepared fans for the level that he produced against Paul. The American did not necessarily play a bad match. Ofner was just that wee bit better.
After a slow start to the competition, the Austrian ended up hitting a higher number of aces and was clinical on the big points. He won 4-4 break points against Paul’s dismal three. Ofner won 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, 7-5.
#3 Tomas Machac
Big stages are the perfect venues for lower-ranked players to shine. August Holmgren would testify to that, especially after his upset win over Tomas Machac.
The standout stat for this encounter, other than its incredibly tight scoreline of 7-6, 6-7(8), 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5), has to be the Austrian players’ 35 aces. He also did not allow his opponent to settle into a rhythm, constantly pushing him onto the back foot with his own game.
Machac did show some good fighting skills as the contest moved into a decider. The two played a 10-point fifth-set tiebreaker, and like for the rest of the match, Holmgren was just a slight better.
#4 Sofia Kenin
Sofia Kenin’s history with Wimbledon continues to remain complicated. While she beat Coco Gauff in 2023, early exits had also come thick and thin at the grasscourt Slam.
Up against an explosive player like Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the American would have needed to up the ante. She, however, failed to do so over the entirety of the match.
Kenin would have sensed an opportunity in a relatively open section of the draw, but was constantly under pressure in the big moments. She buckled one final time in the second set tiebreaker to go down 6-1, 7-6(4).
#5 Katie Volynets
Katie Volynets was not known for her grasscourt prowess up until this year’s Wimbledon. She, however, made a strong statement by taking out Queen’s Club champ Tatjana Maria in her opener.
The same consistency, however, was missing from her game against Elisabetta Cocciaretto. The Italian, who too had scored a win over a recent grasscourt champ in the form of Berlin winner Jessica Pegula, got off to a quick start and, despite a fightback from her opponent, never looked back.
The clash of giant slayers saw Cociaretto outhit Volynets. The Italian’s 18th winner, a clean backhand, sealed the deal 6-0, 6-4.
