{"id":1968,"date":"2026-07-04T09:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/?p=1968"},"modified":"2026-07-04T09:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T07:24:11","slug":"wimbledon-round-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/2026\/07\/04\/wimbledon-round-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Wimbledon &#8211; Round 2"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Wimbledon 2026 lit up on July 1 and 2 with Round 2 drama: Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Alexander Zverev powered through, while Alexandra Eala stunned Maya Joint with a ruthless comeback. Matteo Berrettini, Frances Tiafoe, and Jan-Lennard Struff also survived tense battles, keeping the grass-court chaos alive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s Singles Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Iga Swiatek<\/strong> (No. 3) crushed Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 \u2014 clinical dominance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Elena Rybakina<\/strong> (No. 2) dismantled Caty McNally 6-1, 6-2 \u2014 her serve firing like a rocket.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Madison Keys<\/strong> (No. 26) beat Britain\u2019s Katie Swan 6-1, 6-4 \u2014 steady power.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Amanda Anisimova<\/strong> (No. 6) edged Sofia Kenin 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) \u2014 an American thriller.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alexandra Eala<\/strong> (No. 29) roared back to defeat Maya Joint 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 \u2014 nine straight games to seal revenge for her Eastbourne loss.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Linda Noskova<\/strong> (No. 9) overcame Camila Osorio 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Liudmila Samsonova<\/strong> upset Diana Shnaider (No. 15) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Marta Kostyuk<\/strong> (No. 12) rallied past Anna Blinkova 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sorana Cirstea<\/strong> (No. 17) beat Kimberly Birrell 6-3, 6-4.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s Singles Highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Matteo Berrettini<\/strong> outlasted Arthur Fils (No. 20) 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alexander Zverev<\/strong> (No. 2) defeated Valentin Royer 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(3).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grigor Dimitrov<\/strong> toppled Jakub Mensik (No. 15) 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Taylor Fritz<\/strong> (No. 6) beat Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rafael Jodar<\/strong> (No. 23) edged Pablo Carreno Busta in five sets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Frances Tiafoe<\/strong> (No. 17) rallied past Jan Choinski 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Alex de Minaur<\/strong> (No. 5) cruised past Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Flavio Cobolli<\/strong> (No. 9) beat James Duckworth in four sets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jan-Lennard Struff<\/strong> won a marathon against Brandon Nakashima (No. 28) 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Arthur Fery<\/strong> delighted home fans, beating Otto Virtanen in four sets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jiri Lehecka<\/strong> (No. 13) dispatched Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Jaume Munar<\/strong> defeated Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 7-6, 6-4.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfc6 Fantasy League Director\u2019s Note<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Round 2 was a <strong>rollercoaster for fantasy picks<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Swiatek and Rybakina rewarded safe bettors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Eala\u2019s comeback was jackpot material for risk-takers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Struff\u2019s marathon win crushed Nakashima backers but thrilled German supporters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Berrettini and Zverev remain reliable anchors for fantasy squads.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The grass is unforgiving \u2014 one slip and your fantasy leaderboard can tumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfbe Top of the Table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Spinning Strings<\/strong> stays perched at No. 1 with 103 points \u2014 steady as a metronome.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tournament Director<\/strong> holds firm in second on 98, keeping the chase alive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hard Hitters<\/strong> smashed their way up to 97, now breathing down the leader\u2019s neck.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf31 Movers &amp; Shakers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Bolt<\/strong> surged into 4th with 89 \u2014 lightning strike momentum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Slice is Right<\/strong> carved into 5th on 88, proving precision pays.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>English Tea<\/strong> and <strong>Grass Legends<\/strong> are brewing nicely at 86 apiece.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf53 Midfield Madness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A cluster of teams \u2014 <strong>Lazy Last Minute<\/strong>, <strong>RaduCanYou?!<\/strong>, and <strong>Eeny Meeny<\/strong> \u2014 all sit on 84, creating a logjam of suspense.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Tempus Fugit<\/strong> and <strong>Leftie &amp; Loving It<\/strong> hover at 83, proving time really does fly when the grass is green.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfa2 Down the Order<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fraud Watch<\/strong> at 77 and <strong>Wobbles<\/strong> at 76 are hanging in, but the wobble is real.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Deuce Bags<\/strong> sit at 74, living up to their name with tight margins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Slamisimova<\/strong> and <strong>You got to be kidding me<\/strong> are locked at 73 \u2014 pure drama.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf40 Lucky Spots &amp; Grassroots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pam the Slam<\/strong> and <strong>Grass Roots<\/strong> at 68 keep the grassroots vibe alive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Wanderlings<\/strong> at 66 join a crowded pack with <strong>Strawberries &amp; Cream<\/strong>, <strong>Da Deggies<\/strong>, and <strong>High on Grass<\/strong> \u2014 all tied in a Wimbledon picnic.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfaf Bottom Watch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fine Whines<\/strong> at 57 and <strong>Strawberry with pasta<\/strong> at 56 are serving quirky vibes but need a rally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Quiet Please!<\/strong> at 48 and <strong>Fuzzy green balls<\/strong> at 43 are struggling to make noise.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fantasy Alive<\/strong> sits at 37 \u2014 barely alive, but still swinging.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfc6 Director\u2019s Take<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Round 2 results shook the fantasy tree: Swiatek and Rybakina rewarded the faithful, Eala\u2019s comeback sent shockwaves, and Struff\u2019s marathon win made or broke teams. The leaderboard is tighter than a Centre Court tiebreak \u2014 one upset could flip the script entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"388\" height=\"676\" src=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1972\" srcset=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/image-4.png 388w, http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/image-4-172x300.png 172w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 388px) 100vw, 388px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Top Half<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"391\" height=\"551\" src=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/image-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1971\" srcset=\"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/image-3.png 391w, http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/07\/image-3-213x300.png 213w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 391px) 100vw, 391px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bottom Half<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wimbledon 2026 lit up on July 1 and 2 with Round 2 drama: Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, and Alexander Zverev powered through, while Alexandra Eala stunned Maya Joint with a ruthless comeback. Matteo Berrettini, Frances Tiafoe, and Jan-Lennard Struff also survived tense battles, keeping the grass-court chaos alive. \ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s Singles Highlights \ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s Singles [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aussie-open"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1973,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968\/revisions\/1973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eishonline.co.za\/jftl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}