Upset losses by Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova highlighted an astounding Day 3 at Wimbledon. SB Nation's Bill Connelly wrote that "there has possibly never been a day like this in tennis' long history," as favored players were defeated in droves to open up the field of championship contenders on both draws.
Federer's loss to 116th-ranked Igor Sergiy Stakhovsky and Sharapova's loss to 131st-ranked Michelle Larcher de Brito were written about here and here. Federer's 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 loss to Stakhovsky ended a record streak of 36 consecutive quarterfinals appearances in Grand Slam tournaments stretching back to 2003. Sharapova seemed to struggle with an injury during her match, but at least finished for a 6-3, 6-4 loss.
Six major names were forced to retire before or during matches Wednesday. Connelly listed the casualties: Victoria Azarenka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Marin Cilic, John Isner, Radek Stepanek and Day 1 star Steve Darcis will not be advancing any further at All England due to various ailments.
At least Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova gave the day some normalcy. Murray won 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 over Yen-Hsun Lu, and now has a favorable draw to the final with Federer no longer looming on his half of the bracket. No. 8 Kvitova is now one of just four Top 10-seeded women's players remaining at Wimbledon after defeating Yaroslava Shvedova in yet another walkover.
Check out a rundown of the highlights below. For all the scores from Wednesday, head over to Wimbledon.com. You can also check out updated singles draws for both men and women.
Men's Singles
No. 2 Andy Murray def. Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5
Sergiy Stakhovsky def. No. 3 Roger Federer, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6
Ernests Gulbis def. No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 (Tsonga retired due to knee injury)
Kenny de Schepper def. No. 10 Marin Cilic (Celic retired due to knee injury)
No. 15 Nicolas Almagro def. Guillaume Rufin, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Adrian Mannarino def. No. 18 John Isner, 1-1 (Isner retired due to knee injury)
Women's Singles
Flavia Pennetta def. No. 2 Victoria Azarenka (Azarenka retired due to hip and knee injuries)
Michelle Larcher de Brito def. No. 3 Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 6-4
No. 8 Petra Kvitova def. Yaroslava Shvedova (Shvedova retired)
Petra Cetkovska def. No. 9 Caroline Wozniacki, 6-2, 6-2
Eugenie Bouchard def. No. 12 Ana Ivanovic, 6-3, 6-3
No. 15 Marion Bartoli def. Christina McHale, 7-5, 6-4
Vesna Dolonc def. No. 16 Jelena Jankovic, 7-5, 6-2
More Wimbledon from SB Nation:
• Federer loss caps stunning Wednesday
• Walkover Wednesday at Wimbeldon
• How to watch Week 1 of Wimbledon