Wimbledon started with rain, a new Djokovic record, some fears and a surprise

The 2022 special edition of Wimbledon -without Russian and Belarusian players, without ranking points to share and without Roger Federer, absent from the tournament for the first time since 1998- had a difficult start. The first day of competition in All England Lawn Tennis Club It was marked by rain, which forced action to stop on a couple of occasions and ended up causing fifteen games to be postponed. And also for a surprise and some fright, such as those that saw Novak Djokovic, the favorite, and Carlos Alcaraz, the great protagonist of the first part of the season, as protagonists.

Djokovic, looking for his fourth consecutive title on the London lawn, had a fairly simple debut against the South Korean on paper Soon woo Kwon, 81st in the standings. But he had to work harder than expected to prevail 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in almost two and a half hours of play.

The triumph – which led him to the second round, where he will clash with the Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis– it was for him the 80th in the English Grand Slam (the last 22 consecutive). And now andhe Serbian is the only player in history – male or female – with 80 or more wins in each of the four “greats”. He has a record of 82-8 in Australia; 85-16 at Roland Garros; 80-10 in London and 81-13 at the US Open.

“I didn’t play my best, but when he had to find the shots, I did.. And the service got me out of trouble at the decisive moments. It was a nice win against a talented player who has many qualities in the forehand and backhand. He made me work for the win. In the end, I’m happy. But I know I can do better. ” freight after the match.

The celebration on the pitch after sealing the victory reflects the effort he had to make against Kwon. Because beyond the big smile he gave to the audience and to his stage, where his son Stefan was, his body language showed some relief at having freed himself from the pressure of the debut.

“I arrived without previous tournaments, without good preparation, so it makes sense to be a bit rusty in the first few games, but I’m happy with my win,” he commented. “On all surfaces, but especially on grass, you have to play to find the rhythm of the game. Training is not like playing an official match on a field like Central. Your nerves play tricks on you and in the first few rounds, your rivals don’t they have nothing to lose and go with everything, believing they can win ”.

The Serbian is looking for his 21st Grand Slam at Wimbledon to get close to the all-time record set by Rafael Nadal, who has 22 after his consecration in Paris. And the seventh British Major trophy. And he has extra motivation for this tournament.

“I am aware that after Wimbledon, I will probably not be able to play another Grand Slam until after 2023.. I hope some things change and that I can go to the US Open this year, but today is not a possibility. It’s not something I always think about, but it motivates me to do my best in this tournament “, commented who, while shouting champion, will lose the 2,000 points of last year’s title and drop to seventh step in the rankings.

More complicated was the debut of Alcaraz, number seven in the world, who needed five sets and more than four hours to overcome 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3) and 6 -4 German Jan Lennard Struff155th in the standings.

The Spaniard, fifth favorite, was nevertheless satisfied with his victory. And is that, although many have pointed to him as one of the title candidates for his big gift, he is “the player” this season having won four titles (including Miami and Madrid Masters) and topped 10 with just 18 years old – his little experience on grass pitches sowed uncertainty about what he would be able to do.

“I didn’t expect to move so well, I felt great on the grass. I still don’t know how I got to serve like that, it was my best serve game. That was my best weapon today. I feel pretty good. It is spectacular to win after this incredible match. Although it is also true that my level must improve “, analyzed Murcian, who before this Monday had played only one tournament on this surface, Wimbledon 2021, with one win and one defeat.

He added: “I don’t feel the pressure because I don’t consider myself one of the favorites to win the tournament. If I play well I have the level to win it, but there are many more experienced players on grass than playing better I just want to gain experience on this surface and enjoy every game.

What Andy Murray (52nd) experienced was not a scare, but the Scotsman started a set down against the Australian James Duckworth (77 °). However, with the support of all the crowd on the center court, she overturned the game and ended up winning the game 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Now he will go to John Isner.

The former world number one and All England winner in 2013 and 2016, who is catching up after several difficult seasons due to injury, commented: “I think I did well to recover after the first set. To James like to play on the grass and I was playing very well. But when I started hitting my comebacks, I felt more comfortable. There are always nerves, pressure and butterflies in my stomach before the debut. It’s good to have won. I hope to to be able to play better from now on. “

The big surprise of the day was the protagonist of the Pole Hubert Hurkacznumber ten in the world, seventh-seeded and one of the players who arrived at Wimbledon with great confidence, after beating the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number one in the world, in the final in Halle two weeks ago.

But the Pole, a semi-finalist in London in 2021 after defeating Federer in the quarter-finals, was defeated by an inspired Alexander Davidovich Fokina, who as a junior knew how to raise the English Grand Slam trophy. The Spaniard, 37th in the standings, won 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 5-7, 2-6 and 7-6 (10-8) and moved on to the second round of the tournament, where he will collide with Jiri Vesely.

Whoever affirmed the logic and his status as a favorite was Casper Ruud. The Norwegian, third seeded, beat the Spaniard 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (11-9) and 6-2 Albert Ramos Vinolas39th in the standings, and now he will clash with the French Ugo Umberto. It was his first win on the Wimbledon main draw, having lost on his debut in his two previous appearances, in 2019 and 2021.

Gray day for Argentine tennis

Argentine tennis could not celebrate the first day of Wimbledon. Because the three representatives of the Albiceleste who took the field were eliminated. And Sebastián Báez, seeded 31st, couldn’t even start his game against the Japanese Taro Danielepostponed to Tuesday due to delays caused by bad weather.

Thomas Etcheverry played a very good game in what was his all-time debut in the main draw of a grass competition, but failed to beat the Frenchman Ugo Umbertowith a little more footage on this surface.

The platense, 22 years old and 79th in the standings, fought for three hours and 28 minutes and in some sections of the match he showed competitive tennis. After losing the first set and winning the second, and a long break due to rain, he returned to the pitch motivated and won the third set. But from the fourth, the European let himself go and ended up winning 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4.

Federico Coria had a special challenge, because he had arrived at the tournament with zero preparation on the grasssince Sunday he was crowned champion of the Milanese challengerwhich was played on brick dust, after beating the club Francesco Passaro. And that sudden change of surface was noticed at the debut of Rosario, 70th, because he fell 6-3, 6-2 and 7-6 (7-3) against the Czech Jiri Vesely (68 °) in an hour and 47 minutes of play.

Not even Federico Delbonis, 85th in the standings, could advance, who lost 7-6 (9-7), 6-1 and 6-2 against Tim van Rijthovenone of the big surprises at the beginning of the tour of the lawn.

The Dutch, 25 years old and 105th in the ATP rankings, surprised a few weeks ago by winning the final of ‘s-Hertogenbosch Medvedev, leader of the standings, and will lift his first trophy in the major circuit, in which he had never won a match before. Thanks to that performance he received an invitation to play at Wimbledon and, at least on his debut, he didn’t waste it.

Delbonis, who had just lost last week in Mallorca, is left with a desire to make it through the first round of the English Grand Slam on his seventh appearance on the main draw. And he extended the negative record on this type of pitch: in his career he played 12 games and didn’t win any.

This Tuesday, in addition to Báez, Diego Schwartzman, 12th seeded, will face the American Stefan Kozlov, 107th and who entered the draw as a lucky loser. Francisco Cerúndolo, 42nd, will face a very complicated test against Rafael Nadal, the second favorite. And Facundo Bagnis, 110th, will face the Austrian Dennis Novack155 °.

No big surprises in the women’s draw

Ons Jabeur Y Emma RaducanuMonday’s two big draws from the women’s team had no problem making it past their debut.

The Tunisian, world number two and recent winner in Berlin, beat the Swede with a clear 6-1 and 6-3 Mirjam Björklund125th in the standings in just 54 minutes of play.

“I’m happy, it’s a great start for me. I want to go as far as possible in this tournament and to start losing only four games is very good,” said Jabeur, the third seed.

Meanwhile, Raducanu beat the Belgian 6-4, 6-4 Alison van Uytvanck in an hour and 41 minutes, after losing 1-3 in the second set. The British – who last year, in her first participation in the contest, had to abandon her duel in the round of 16 after suffering an anxiety attack that prevented her from breathing normally – had arrived in wadding on her debut for one straining on the left side of her body, which did not allow her to prepare well. But she managed to get through the first round with no problems.

“I felt good. There were some tough moments physically in the second set, but I said to myself, ‘Go ahead, if you win this set, you don’t have to play three.’ And from the moment I entered the field, I felt the energy of the people, so I tried to play every point as if it were the last “, commented who will now clash with the French. Carolina Garcia.