Arabnews24.ca:Tuesday 4 July 2023 07:36 AM: LONDON — Defending men’s champion Novak Djokovic and women’s top seed Iga Swiatek started their Wimbledon campaigns with routine victories even as there was a one hour long rain delay.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula, Casper Ruud, Victoria Azarenka and Andrey Rublev were among the big names that advanced to the second round.
Five-time former champion Venus Williams was ousted by Elina Svitolina 6-4,6-3.
Djokovic begins title defence with victory
Djokovic began his Wimbledon title defence with victory as he defeated Argentine’s Pedro Cachin in straight sets.
The match was suspended for about an hour due to rain and the grass took longer to dry than expected as at one point Djokovic himself came into the field and was seen drying the grass with a towel.
However, the game resumed and world no. 2, as expected, was able to come out victorious 6-3, 6-3, 7-6.
It must be noted that the Serbian won his record 29th consecutive match at Wimbledon and has been undefeated at the venue since 2016, which makes it 2182 days since he last lost.
In another men’s singles clash, Casper Ruud, who was the runner-up at Roland Garros last month, defeated the French Laurent Lokoli 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 without much trouble.
Swiatek powers past Zhu
World number one Swiatek cruised into the Wimbledon second round with a 6-1 6-3 mauling of China’s Zhu Lin in a fine start to her quest for a first Grand Slam title on grass.
The 22-year-old Pole, who won the French Open title for the third time last month to make it four Grand Slam crowns, has yet to get past the fourth round of the London major.
Zhu, ranked 34th in the world, earned a break point in the first game but Swiatek won 11 points in a row to sprint into a 3-0 lead, Reuters reported.
Another break put Swiatek, a renowned slider on clay and hard courts who has often struggled with her movement on grass, firmly in the driving seat.
Zhu saved two set points at 5-0 but Swiatek sealed the first set a game later with a powerful crosscourt forehand winner.
The pair traded breaks early in the second before Swiatek, who pulled out of her Bad Homburg semi-final on Friday due to illness, earned a second one and was 4-3 up when play was interrupted due to rain.
It resumed after the roof on Court One was shut but Swiatek needed only seven minutes to win the two games she needed and sealed victory with a backhand winner.
Pegula wins battle of the Americans
American fourth seed Jessica Pegula moved into the second round of Wimbledon with a hard-fought 6-2 6-7(8) 6-3 win over compatriot Lauren Davis.
Davis struggled to find her range from the start and was broken in the first game. That set the tone for the next few games as she racked up the unforced errors and Pegula raced into a 4-0 lead in less than 15 minutes.
Davis finally found her forehand power to get on the scoreboard but Pegula’s pinpoint backhand meant she never got close to breaking back. The Australian Open quarter-finalist wrapped up the first set comfortably.
It was a different story in the second set, Davis making sure she held serve in the opening game with a couple of drop shots, forcing Pegula to go long, and held again to lead 2-1.
Both players struggled with a gusty wind at times, but Davis began spraying the ball across the court with power and precision. A close second set lasting over an hour went to a tiebreak, with Davis winning to level the match.
Neither player looked entirely comfortable on the Court Two lawn, each making more than 30 unforced errors in total. But Pegula got the crucial break in the decider to lead 5-3 when Davis hit a backhand into the net.
Rublev leads Russian Wimbledon return with win
Andrey Rublev became the first Russian through to the second round at Wimbledon as the seventh seed breezed past Australian Max Purcell 6-3 7-5 6-4.
Rublev is one of 17 Russian and Belarusian players in the men’s and women’s singles draws after they were banned in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Wimbledon was the only one of the four Grand Slam tournaments to ban Russian and Belarusian players last year — a decision that resulted in ranking points being taken away from the event by both the ATP and WTA Tours.
As part of their return, players from two nations are playing as neutrals and must sign a “waiver” pledging not to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Players are not allowed to receive state funding or have sponsorship from Russian or Belarusian companies.
Rublev, who wrote “No War” on a camera lens at a tournament shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, was given a warm welcome by the crowd on a breezy Court Three.
He looked comfortable on the grass as he proved a class above 64th-ranked Purcell to reach the second round.
“Very happy to be back here after two years,” Rublev said on court. “I’m happy to win my first match. To play in London it’s a special feeling. To play at 11am and have a full stadium it’s doubly special.”
