Wimbledon carnage! Only three projected fourth-round matches hold up in singles draws

When Grand Slam singles draws are conducted, 32 players are seeded among the 128 competitors.

The random placing of the top groupings—1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5 through 8, 9 through 12 and 13 through 16—ultimately sets up projected matchups for the fourth round, or, the second week of a major.

One won’t find many of those anticipated showdowns at this year’s Wimbledon. The completion of the third round at The Championships on Saturday further highlights just how many notable names have been sent packing.

In the women’s draw, only one of eight projected matches will take place in the round of 16. That’s No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva and No. 10 seed Emma Navarro from the third quarter, with both advancing Saturday.

Six unseeded hopefuls remain, including lucky loser Solana Sierra. That’s more than the Top 16 seeds left standing—five. Most significantly, a new name will be engraved on the winner’s trophy for the ninth consecutive edition after defending champion Barbora Krejickova and 2022 titlist Elena Rybakina both exited Saturday.

There’s not much of a flip side for the men, as just two projected encounters came through. Second seed Carlos Alcaraz—chasing a three-peat—and No. 14 seed Andrey Rublev moved forward Friday, while No. 6 seed Novak Djokovic—who’s celebrated seven of his 24 major triumphs here and notched his 100th career win at SW19 Saturday—progressed to join No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur.

Seven of the Top 16 seeded male entrants managed to avoid the upset the bug going around at the tournament. Half of the Top 8 did not survive, with six unseeded challengers making their way through. Marin Cilic, the 2017 runner-up, is among that ensemble.

World No. 1s Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, each vying for their first non-hard court major, still remain at the top of their respective brackets. Below are side-by side looks at the sixteen matches projected and how the draws took shape in the end.