In a first day disturbed by the rain, the blue colony knew how to do well. Djokovic gave up a set and Alcaraz came close to elimination.
The French
If the weather was rainy, it was sunny Monday for the Blues. They were eight on the courts of the All England Lawn club on Monday. And five of them validated their ticket for the second round. Quentin Halys (in four sets against his compatriot Paire), Adrian Mannarino (in 5 sets against Purcell) and Ugo Humbert (in five sets against Etcheverry) continue the adventure in the men’s draw. For his first participation, Enzo Couacaud, 206th in the world, from qualifying, even almost knocked down the American giant John Isner (24th) in the decisive set before losing 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7 /3), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Titled in Bad Homburg on Saturday, Caroline Garcia continues a new victory on the wire and in the super tie-break against Miyazaki (4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (10/4)). Nice performance by Diane Parry, 77e world, seeded 31, Kaai Kanepi (6-4, 6-4) and quarter-finalist in 2013. No feat on the other hand for Kristina Mladenovic who logically gave in against Angelique Kerber 6-0, 7 -5, winner of the 2018 edition.
The package
Finalist in 2017, Croatian player Marin Cilic announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon after being declared positive for Covid-19 on Monday. “I isolated myself and hoped to be ready but unfortunately I still don’t feel well and not able to compete at my best level. I’m heartbroken to miss Wimbledon and see my grass season end like this.” he wrote on social media.
The number: 80
The triple defending champion, Novak Djokovic got a (little) scare by giving up a set against the South Korean Soon-woo Kwon (81st in the world) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, but the Serb provided the essentials to glean his 80th match at Wimbledon at the age of 35, where he was able to rely on his service (15 aces for 2 double faults, 61% of first serves passed and 86% success after his first ball). The world number 3 becomes the first player, men and women combined, to reach this bar in singles in the four Grand Slam tournaments. “Now let’s aim for the 100th!“Launched the insatiable before leaving the Center Court.
The phrase
Benoît Paire’s faller, Quentin Halys was surprised by the slowness of the court (number 9, editor’s note) compared to those used for training. “I was very surprised at the speed of the court, I found it very slow. I was very surprised, because the practice courts are quite fast. I am one of those who are disappointed that the grass is becoming very slow again.»
Read alsoWimbledon: “I have a disgust for tennis”, loose Paire after yet another disappointment in the first round
Sensation
It’s already over for the semi-finalist of the last edition. The Pole Hubert Hurkacz suffered the entry law of the Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the end of the suspense, at the end of the super tie-break of the fifth set (7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 2- 6, 7-6) after 3 hours 27 of a big fight. Seeded 7, Hurkacz, titled in Halle two weeks ago was one of the main outsiders. Against the talented Spaniard, he lost 10-8 in the super tie-break. He can harbor regrets since he served for the match at 5-4, but without managing to conclude and led 7/4, during the super tie-break he let the Spaniard come back and conceded the match to him on a direct fault.
The first time
Finalist at Roland-Garros and pure clay specialist, the Norwegian Casper Ruud does not have a green foot. Until then, the finalist of the last Roland-Garros had been eliminated in the first round in 2019 and 2021 (the 2020 edition had been canceled due to the covid pandemic) and in the first qualifying round in 2018. But this Monday the Norwegian opened his victory counter against another landlord the Spaniard Albert Ramos (39th) 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.
The other first
Even though he conceded a set, Jannik Sinner got the better of veteran Stan Wawrinka, far from his best level (7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2). The 20-year-old Italian offers himself a first, he who had never won on grass in a big draw.
The outsider of the female painting
At Roland-Garros, Ons Jabeur, expected as one of the favorites of the tournament, had badly negotiated the pressure of her status and had failed in the first round. The Tunisian, on the other hand, perfectly managed her entry into the running at Wimbledon on Monday by winning in two small sets (6-1, 6-3) and 54 tiny minutes against the qualified and 125th player in the world Mirjam Bjorklund.
The rain
Wimbledon wouldn’t be Wimbledon without the rain… The weather took a turn for the first day of the London Grand Slam with two interruptions, causing a delay of 1h30. The rain first interrupted the games for the first time at 11:40 a.m. after only 40 minutes of play on the side courts. The matches resumed around 1 p.m., before new showers disrupted this first day around 3 p.m. The matches resumed around 4 p.m. and the sun illuminated the end of the day. The matches scheduled on the Central and N.1 courts, which have a roof, did not start until 1:00 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. respectively. The organization of the London Grand Slam announced that 10 matches had been postponed to Tuesday, including that of Frenchwoman Océane Dodin, opposed to Jelena Ostapenko.
The nice gesture
That of Hubert Hurcacz. Before his surprise elimination, the 10th in the ATP ranking announced that he was going to make a donation to the Ukrainian people with each successful ace at Wimbledon. The Polish player, said on his Twitter account that he would donate 100 euros “to help the Ukrainian people”. Unfortunately for him, he will not be able to grow his 10 aces of the day.
The British darling
The idol Andy Murray dominated James Duckworth, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, in 2h45 of play. Despite a sluggish start, the former world number one made his grass science speak. In the next round, the Scot challenges John Isner, who scored a whopping 54 aces against Frenchman Enzo Couacaud.
The British darling
Young Briton Emma Raducanu, winner of the US Open, lived up to her star status in her first appearance on Center Court at Wimbledon by beating Belgium’s Alison van Uytvanck 6-4 6-4. A year ago, Raducanu reached the fourth round as an unknown, before winning the US Open against all odds, but this time the 10-seeded carries the hopes of a nation that has not seen as local champion since Virginia Wade in 1977… She will face Caroline Garcia in the next round.
The fight
The phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz broke but did not give in against the German Jan-Lennard Struff (155th) 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4. Struff had beaten Alcaraz in 3 straight sets in their only previous meeting, in the 3rd round of Roland-Garros in 2021. The 7th player in the world takes his revenge and will try to gain strength in the 2nd round against the Italian Fabio Fognini (63rd) or the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (53rd).
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