Open-era record 7 walkovers, retirements on one day

London: Seven players were knocked out of Wimbledon on Wednesday by withdrawals or mid-match retirements in what was believed to be a record number of casualties in one day at a Grand Slam tournament in the 45-year Open era.

Second-seeded Victoria Azarenka and sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were among the players departing on Day 3 at the All England Club.

Also out: Steve Darcis, the man who stunned Rafael Nadal in the first round; John Isner, who won the longest match in tennis history at Wimbledon in 2010; 10th-seeded Marin Cilic; 2006 quarterfinalist Radek Stepanek; and Yaroslava Shvedova.

The International Tennis Federation said it believed the previous high total for one day at a major tournament was five, which happened on the first day of competition at Wimbledon last year, June 25.