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Agence France-Presse

Colourful US star Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered an horrific knee injury at Wimbledon on Thursday which left her screaming in pain, pleading for help and officials accused of freezing in her desperate moment of need.
The distressing drama on Court 17, where the 32-year-old lay stricken for at least 20 minutes, pushed the title campaigns of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer onto the sidelines.
“Please help me! Please! Please!” screamed Mattek-Sands as she clutched her right knee after collapsing running to the net in the first point of the deciding set of her second round match against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
The women’s tour said Mattek-Sands had suffered an “acute knee injury” and had been taken to hospital.
Cirstea questioned why it took so long for the medical team to arrive at Court 17 which is right next door to the tournament’s famed Centre Court.
“She was in shock. Her knee was in a very weird position. I’ve never seen anything like this except in the movies,” said Cirstea.

Mattek-Sands ( ESPN) pic.twitter.com/HK8q3HfFc5
— Ilya Ryvlin (@ryvlin) July 6, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

“And, yeah, I panicked a little bit, as well. I called for help, but no one was coming.
“Everyone froze and I screamed something to the chair umpire. Bethanie was saying ‘Sorana, please help me.’ But I felt useless. I wished I could have done more.
“It felt forever for help to come. It was me, her husband Justin and my physio. I don’t know for how long she was on the ground, but I would say 10, 15 minutes.”
The All England Club defended their response, claiming: “The first response to Court 17 was within one minute, by a qualified ambulance technician.
In a statement, they added: “The player was kept on court while pain relief was given.
“The player was then transferred directly to an ambulance and taken under emergency conditions to a hospital.”
Meanwhile, Djokovic shrugged off sweltering 30-degree Celsius heat to breeze past outclassed Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 to reach the third round.
The three-time champion brushed aside the 136rd-ranked Czech to make the last-32 for the ninth year in succession.
Djokovic, the second seed whose shock third round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon 12 months ago precipitated a worrying decline in form, will next face Ernests Gulbis.
“It was a very warm day, it wasn’t easy to play point after point and some long rallies,” said Djokovic.

Gulbis, a former top 10 player, sprang a surprise as the world number 589 defeated former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
Third seed Federer continued his campaign for a record eighth Wimbledon title by seeing off world number 79 Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (7-0), 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round for the 15th time.
“I struggled at the start and couldn’t find my rhythm,” said Federer, who dropped his first service game to trail 2-0 to his 79th-ranked opponent. “But once I got rid of the nerves I played some inspired stuff.”
The Swiss star next faces German serve-and-volleyer Mischa Zverev.

The women’s event was thrown wide open when third seed Karolina Pliskova crashed to defeat against world number 108 Magdalena Rybarikova.
Rybarikova won 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 on Centre Court, earning the Slovakian a last 32 clash with Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko.
Top seed Angelique Kerber eased into the third round with a 7-5, 7-5 win over Kirsten Flipkens, a former semi-finalist.

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Who is Boris Becker’s third wife, Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro? She’s a political risk analyst with a master’s degree in African Studies and speaks 5 languages

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Wimbledon

Please help me! Mattek-Sands suffers horror knee injury as response time questioned at Wimbledon

Bethanie Mattek-Sands is comforted by her husband, Justin Sands, on court as she receives attention from medics after suffering a knee injury at Wimbledon. Photo: AFPduring her women's singles second round match against Romania's Sorana Cirstea on the fourth day of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2017. America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a horror knee injury at Wimbledon on Thursday which left her screaming and crying in pain in the middle of the court. The 32-year-old collapsed to the ground after damaging her right knee as she approached the net in the first game of the deciding set against Romania's Sorana Cirstea on Court 17. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands is helped by medics on the court as an ambulance is readied to take her after suffering an injury during her women's singles second round match against Romania's Sorana Cirstea on the fourth day of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2017. America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a horror knee injury at Wimbledon on Thursday which left her screaming and crying in pain in the middle of the court. The 32-year-old collapsed to the ground after damaging her right knee as she approached the net in the first game of the deciding set against Romania's Sorana Cirstea on Court 17. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

epa06070474 Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA in action against Sorana Cirstea of Romania during their second round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2017. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES

epa06070716 Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia (R) at the net with Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic whom she defeated in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2017. EPA/WILL OLIVER EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES

epa06070491 Sorana Cirstea of Romania in action against Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the USA during their second round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 06 July 2017. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO COMMERCIAL SALES

US player Bethanie Mattek-Sands is wheeled away on a stretcher after suffering an injury during her women's singles second round match against Romania's Sorana Cirstea on the fourth day of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 6, 2017. America's Bethanie Mattek-Sands suffered a horror knee injury at Wimbledon on Thursday which left her screaming and crying in pain in the middle of the court. The 32-year-old collapsed to the ground after damaging her right knee as she approached the net in the first game of the deciding set against Romania's Sorana Cirstea on Court 17. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE

Sport

Tennis

American is stricken on court but All England Club says qualified ambulance technician arrived within one minute
