The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur News and Links for Wednesday, July 2

Listen, I had no intention of writing about Wimbledon today. I had planned on waiting until the end of the tournament, but things change.

That’s because it’s been a wild two days to begin the greatest tennis tournament in the world. We’re only one round in and some of the biggest seeds in both fields are out. Let’s take a quick look.

Men’s draw:

• Arthur Renderknech def (3) Alexander Zverev 7-6 6-7 6-3 5-7 7-6
• (Q) Nikoloz Bashilashvili def (7) Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1
• (Q) Nicholas Jarry def (8) Holger Rune 4-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4
• Benjamin Bonzi def (9) Danilil Medvedev 7-6 3-6 7-6 6-2
• (Q) Valentin Royer def (24) Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 6-2 ret.
• Jaume Munar def (28) Alex Bublik 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6 6-2

All in all, 13 of the 32 seeds in the men’s draw lost in the first round. Four of those were players currently in the top 10, and two were semifinalists last year (Musetti, Medvedev). Bublik had also won one of the biggest titles of his career just weeks earlier in Halle after defeating World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic all faced major scares in the first round.

The womens’ draw is just as insane:

• Dayana Yastremska def (2) Coco Gauff 7-6 6-1
• Elisabetta Cocciaretoo def (3) Jessica Pegula 6-2 6-3
• Katarina Siniakova def (5) Qinwen Zheng 7-5 4-6 6-1
• Katie Boulter def (9) Paula Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-4
• Xin Wang def (15) Karolina Muchova 7-5 6-2
• Sonay Kartal def (20) Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2

Ten seeds fell in the first round, including four in the top ten.

Donna Vekic, who made the semifinals last year, also lost in the first round. Last year’s champ Barbora Krejcikova and runner-up Jasmine Paolini both avoided major scares, surviving in three sets.

This all sets the stage for what’s going to be an insane Wimbledon. In the men’s Jannik Sinner is the clear second favourite behind Carlos Alcaraz, whose draw opened up very nicely with the upsets. Djokovic also is in the mix.

The bottom half of the women’s draw completely blew up with Gauff and Pegula losing in the first round. Does this mean former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek can make a deep run here? Or will former champion Elena Rybakina again find herself in the final?

All I know is you should stay tuned for what’s poised to be the most chaotic championship in years.

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Tottenham Women to appoint Martin Ho as new head coach”

Alasdair Gold: “Who the next Tottenham transfer signing will be as Thomas Frank prepares to meet squad”

BBC: “Semenyo extends Bournemouth contract until 2030”

The Guardian: “A moment to sense the sheer scale of progress: Euro 2025 set for kick-off”

Charlie Eccleshare ($$): “Alexander Zverev ‘lacking joy’ after Wimbledon defeat to Arthur Rinderknech”

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