Wimbledon 2018: World No 1 Simona Halep stunned by Su-Wei Hsieh in third round as exodus goes on

Halep appeared to have overcome a mid-match crisis when she led Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh 5-2 in the final set, but the Romanian lost the next five games and the match

One of the most remarkable first weeks in Wimbledon history will end with only one of the top 10 women’s seeds left in the tournament after Simona Halep, the world No 1, joined the extraordinary exodus of leading players here on Saturday.

Halep appeared to have overcome a mid-match crisis when she led Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh 5-2 in the final set, but the Romanian lost the next five games and the match. Hsieh won 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to claim the biggest victory of her career.

The result leaves Karolina Pliskova as the only top 10 women’s seed left in the tournament after the first three rounds, though Serena Williams, the seven-times champion, is also through to the second week. Pliskova, the No 7 seed, who had never gone beyond the second round until this week, faces the Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens on Monday, while Williams will take on Evgeniya Rodina.

Although Halep is the world No 1, her early exit is by no means the biggest surprise of the first week. Having won her first Grand Slam title at the French Open four weeks ago, the Romanian did not play any warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon.

Hsieh, aged 32, who is through to the last 16 here for the first time, has enjoyed the three biggest wins of her career in the last 14 months. She beat Johanna Konta at last year’s French Open, Garbine Muguruza at this year’s Australian Open and now Halep here. They are the world No 48’s only victories over top 10 opponents.

Simona Halep, the world No 1, exited the tournament (Getty)

With her unorthodox double-handed strokes and her clever variations of pace and spin, Hsieh can be an unpredictable opponent, even if her serve lacks penetration. Halep broke seven times, but also had problems holding her own serve and was looking tired and dispirited by the end. Hsieh will now meet Dominika Cibulkova after the Slovakian beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-2.

Although many of the established names have fallen by the wayside, two 21-year-old are continuing to make significant progress. Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko beat Vitalia Diatchenko 6-0, 6-4, while Russia’s Daria Kasatkina beat Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 6-3.

Ostapenko reached the quarter-finals here last year and has quickly rediscovered her form after her disappointment at the French Open, where her defence of her title ended in the first round. Kasatkina reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and this is her best run here.

Kasatkina will now face Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck, who followed up her victory over the defending champion, Garbine Muguruza, by beating Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-3.