(Wimbledon) Serbian Novak Djokovic and world No. this sport..
Djokovic, the world’s No. 2 player, started his tournament with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) three-set victory over Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.
Djokovic’s match, scheduled on Center Court at the All England Club – one of the complex’s two roofed stadiums – was halted for more than an hour due to rain. Groundskeepers used leaf blowers to dry out the lawn.
“There is no doubt that it was frustrating for all the spectators. We players wanted to play but the conditions were not so good. It was obvious it was still slippery,” Djokovic said of the delay.
At times, Djokovic used a towel to dry out some corners of the pitch.
“I usually show up with snowshoes, not towels,” he said.
This is the third leg of the Grand Slam of professional tennis, and in men’s singles Djokovic won the first two, first in Melbourne in January and then in Paris in June.
He is therefore halfway to the calendar Grand Slam, a feat that has not been achieved in men’s singles since 1969. Djokovic came close to achieving the feat in 2021 but he lost in the final at the International United States against Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic is also looking for a fifth successive All England Club title, and an eighth in a career, which would allow him to equal two men’s records.
Thanks to his triumph at the French Open, Djokovic has a total of 23 singles titles at Grand Slam tournaments, a men’s tennis record.
As for Swiatek, she began her quest for a fifth Grand Slam title on Monday with a 6-1, 6-3 win over China’s Zhu Lin.
The Pole, who has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon, has won the last two games under the roof of court number one after a rain break.
On Wednesday, Swiatek will face Sara Sorribes Tormo, 84th in the world. This will be their very first confrontation.
Swiatek was crowned three times at Roland-Garros and once at Flushing Meadows.
Qualified player and 128th in the world, Sofia Kenin upset seventh seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round, in the American duel.
Each of these players reached No. 4 in the WTA and appeared in a Grand Slam final.
Kenin triumphed in Melbourne in 2020, two years before Gauff was beaten in the French Open final.
The 19-year-old Gauff is seen as one of the rising stars of women’s tennis.
The same was said of Kenin in Australia three years ago, where his road to glory included a fourth-round win over Gauff.
The honor of the tournament’s first victory in 2023 went to 2019 semi-finalist Barbora Strycova, who defeated Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 7-5.
Playing the tournament for the 24th time, Venus Williams was defeated 6-4, 6-3 by Elina Svitolina.
The 43-year-old Williams slipped to 558th in the world.
She has only played 22 games since the start of 2021, the result of various injuries.
Once at the top of the women’s circuit, Williams has won the English Grand Slam on five occasions.
On the men’s side, seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev beat Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Casper Ruud beat qualifier Laurent Lokoli 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
