Wimbledon 2013: Federer,Sharapova exit in dramatic Wednesday wipeout

With title contenders dropping like flies,some before even striking a ball in anger,home favourite Andy Murray must be licking his lips after avoiding the scrapheap with an incident-free second round win over Taiwan8217;s Lu Yen-Hsun. Also read: Murray wary of Beijing conqueror Lu

Murray8217;s hopes of emerging as 8220;last man standing8221; to claim his first Wimbledon crown on Sunday week have soared after two rounds which have culled Nadal,Federer and sixth seed Tsonga from his half of the draw. Also read: Injured Caroline Wozniacki tumbles out

After a day of slips and slides,strained shoulders and aching knees,seven-times champion Federer was expected to glide serenely above the mayhem around him when he stepped out on Centre Court to play Ukraine8217;s Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Three hours later on what former champion John McEnroe called 8220;the craziest day ever8221; the Swiss great8217;s dream of an eighth title was over.

Playing old-school serve and volley tennis the like of which was supposed to have gone out of fashion,the 27-year-old world No.116 won 6-75 7-65 7-5 7-65 to snap third seed Federer8217;s streak of reaching 36 consecutive grand slam quarter-finals. Also read: Mahesh Bhupathi-Julian Knowle move to second round

8220;I8217;m still in disbelief,8221; Stakhovsky said. 8220;I played the best tennis I have ever played. When you play Roger Federer it8217;s like your8217;re playing two persons.

8220;First you play Roger Federer,then you play his ego. I couldn8217;t play any better today. It was a fantastic day for me.8221;

For once,Federer8217;s box of tricks could not rescue him and there was an 8220;end of era8221; feel as the 31-year-old walked into the Centre Court shadows to a standing ovation.

LOOKING FORWARD

8220;It8217;s normal that after all of a sudden losing early after being in the quarters 36 times,people feel it8217;s different,8221; Federer,who suffered his earliest Wimbledon defeat since a first-round loss in 2002,defiantly told a news conference.

8220;Usually I do turnarounds pretty good. I8217;m looking forward to what8217;s to come. I hope I can play a good summer.8221;

Nadal8217;s first round defeat by Darcis on Monday created shockwaves but Wednesday8217;s seismic events went off the scale.

Ten seeds perished and the seven players to withdraw or retire mid-match was record for a single day at a grand slam.

Croatian 10th seed Marin Cilic,who could not take to the court to play France8217;s Kenny De Schepper after a knee injury flared up,described Wednesday as a 8220;very black day8221;. Also read: Maria Sharapova slumps out of Wimbledon

Third-seed Sharapova was sent across the grounds to the bowl-like Court Two to face Portuguese firebrand Michelle Larcher de Brito and found the 131st-ranked qualifier too hot to handle as she slipped and slid to a 6-3 6-4 defeat.

Sharapova needed a 10-minute injury timeout after one of several falls left her clutching her hip and at one stage was overheard describing the court surface as 8220;dangerous.8221;

8220;I don8217;t think I8217;ve ever fallen three times in a match before in my career,so that was a little strange,8221; the Russian former champion told reporters.

Women8217;s ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki also fell heavily on Court Two in her defeat by Czech Petra Cetkovska while second seed Azarenka did not even start against Italy8217;s Flavia Pennetta due to the knee injury she suffered in a first-round tumble.

8220;I don8217;t know if it8217;s the court or the weather,8221; the Belarussian told reporters. 8220;I can8217;t figure it out it.

8220;Would be great if the club or somebody who takes care of the courts would examine it.8221;

THE SAME

A tournament spokesman said 8220;the surfaces at the start are always lusher than at the end,8221; while three-times former champion Boris Becker added 8220;grass is always going to be slippery in the first couple of matches,that has been the case for the past 100 plus years.8221;

Tsonga did not blame the surface for a knee injury that forced him to stop against Latvian Ernests Gulbis while Czech veteran Radek Stepanek also had to quit with a hamstring injury while trailing Poland8217;s Jerzey Janowicz.

Spare a thought for Darcis.

Two days after easily the biggest win of his career over Nadal,the 29-year-old8217;s tournament ended with a whimper as the shoulder he hurt in a fall against the Spaniard made it too painful to face Poland8217;s Lukasz Kubot.

Even American marathon man John Isner was struck down.

The 18th seed played 183 games to beat Nicolas Mahut in a record-breaking epic in 2010 but lasted only two before his knee buckled and he quit against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino.

Kazakh Yaraslava Shvedova handed 2011 Wimbledon women8217;s champion Petra Kvitova a walkover,meaning the Czech eighth seed is the highest-ranked player left in the rubble of the bottom half of the draw.

The lower half of the men8217;s draw was supposed to have been the one to avoid but with Federer,Nadal,Tsonga and Isner all gone,8221;Murray Mania8221; is cranking up with home fans salivating at the prospect of him emulating Fred Perry8217;s 1936 title.

The world number two has not dropped a set so far and with Spain8217;s Nicolas Almagro,seeded 15,the next highest-ranked survivor in his half the route to the latter rounds suddenly looks an enticing one for last year8217;s runner-up.

However,Wednesday proved just how unpredictable tennis can be and the Scot is not counting his chickens.

8220;That8217;s sport,8221; he said of a chaotic day. 8220;You can fall down the stairs,trip over your shoelaces. Who knows? But I feel fine right now,8221; said Murray whose next opponent is Tommy Robredo.