Wimbledon began with defending champion and World No 1 Andy Murray kicking off his campaign on centre court against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. Australia’s Nick Kyrgios retired hurt due to a hip injury as Rafael Nadal began his quest for his third Wimbledon title.
In the women’s draw, Venus Williams was left in tears despite a win and former Champion Petra Kvitova makes a winning return after the dreadful knife attack incident in December. Here is a recap of all the action that took place at SW19 on day one.
The big news
Murray wins easy
For Murray, victory was in the first round of Wimbledon was even sweeter because he also received news that he was going to be a father for a second time. Murray beat Bublik 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 and also putting to rest rumours of not being 100% match fit due to the hip injury sustained a fortnight ago. “I have felt OK the last few days and the adrenaline you feel by playing a match numbs any pain you may have,” said Murray.
Nadal dominates
Nadal marched into round two of Wimbledon after he secured his 850th career victory with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 demolition of Australia’s John Millman. After winning his 10th French Open title last month, Nadal marked his 50th match at Wimbledon by crushing Millman, who had played only one professional match before meeting Nadal.
Nadal, seeded to face defending champion Andy Murray in the semi-finals, will play Donald Young next.
“I haven’t had many matches on grass for the last few years, but I had some positive feelings,” Nadal said. “For all the players it’s so special to play here, especially for me with all the history I have here. It’s very emotional to be back. I’m happy with the way I started. I’ve been playing well since the beginning of the season.”
Kvitova makes winning return
Two-time champion Petra Kvitova made a winning return to Wimbledon on Monday. It was an emphatic win after the knife attack that threatened to end her career in December. Kvitova had suffered severe injuries to her left playing hand while fighting off a knife-wielding burglar at her home in a terrifying assault. On Monday, the world No 12 beat Sweden’s Johanna Larsson 6-3, 6-4.
“I felt the energy from the crowd and it was amazing to be back here at Wimbledon and playing on the beautiful Centre Court. It’s the favourite court of my career,” Kvitova said. “It was my motivation to come back and play in Wimbledon. I’m very happy that the dream came true and I was able to play here again.”
Venus cries despite win
Given her involvement in a recent car crash in Florida, Venus Williams, the five-time champion beat Elise Mertens 7-6(7), 6-4 to progress to the next round. However, Venus is accused of running a red light and inattentive driving which led to the death of 78-year-old Jerome Barson and during the press conference on Monday, the 37-year-old completely broke down.
“There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and – yeah, I’m completely speechless. It’s just...” said Venus as she held her head for several moments and asked to leave the room before returning, still visibly shaken, to finish the interview session.
Wawrinka knocked out
Day one witnessed fifth seed Stan Wawrinka being knocked out in the first round by Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. It was Wawrinka’s sixth first round loss at SW19 as his left knee injury kept hampering his game. For 21-year-old Medvedev, it was a first win at the Grand Slam, coming on the back of an impressive grass court season. He made the semi-finals in Eastbourne last week where it took Novak Djokovic to stop him, as well as the quarter-finals at ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Queen’s.
“A year ago I was ranked 250. If someone told me in one year I would win on Centre Court I would tell you you are joking,” said Medvedev.
Haas bids adieu
Germany’s Tommy Haas lost his opening round encounter 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans. The 39-year-old German, awarded a wildcard for his 16th and final appearance at SW19, said that his body was ‘not cooperating anymore’.
“Yeah, lots of emotions. Of course never great to lose in the first round. But happy to have been back, happy to have given it another try, happy to be playing in front of my close family, my kids,” said Haas. “Had a few chances to win the fourth set with a couple of set points. Who knows what could have happened in the fifth, I would have loved to have played one. Yeah, that’s it. Simple as that.”
Kyrgios retires
Australian Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire from his Wimbledon first round match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Monday. But after losing in the second round at both the Australian and French Opens this year, Kyrgios’s miserable 2017 continued as the world No 20 lost the first two sets 6-3, 6-4 against Herbert before deciding to call it quits due to the nagging injury.
Kyrgios admitted last week he would go into Wimbledon only “60-65 percent” fit as he struggled to recover from the left hip injury that forced him to pull out of Queen’s Club last month. Victor Troicki and Denis Istomin also quit their first round matches with injury on Monday. Troicki lasted just 17 minutes before retiring against Florian Mayer.
Shot of the day
Andy Murray will be facing German tennis player Dustin Brown in his second round clash on Wednesday. However, Murray will have to be at his sublime best because Brown, who is known for his serve and volley tactic, will be a tough nut to crack. On Monday, Brown produced an exquisite display as he beat Portuguese world No 62 Joao Sousa 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. The highlight was a breathtaking diving volley winner.
Quotable quotes
“Every time I watch her play now, I’m, like, an emotional wreck and crying and everything. I try not to watch too many of her matches.”
- Madison Keys on Petra Kvitova’s comeback after suffering serious injuries to her hands in a terrifying knife attack at her home.
“I’m hoping no one is going to boo me.” - Dustin Brown on facing home favourite Andy Murray in the second round.
From the sidelines
Undergarment discussion is off limits
Venus Williams refused to discuss whether her pink bra contravened Wimbledon’s strict guidelines over on-court attire. “I don’t like talking about bras in press conferences. It’s weird. I don’t want to talk about undergarments. It’s kind of awkward for me. I’ll leave that to you. You can talk about it with your friends. I’m going to pass,” said the five-time champion.
Comeback queen
Germany’s Carina Witthoeft made the second round by coming back from 0-5 and a match point down in the final set to beat Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic Baroni 6-3, 5-7, 8-6.
Number-crunching
1 - number of matches played on the tour this year by John Millman before facing Rafael Nadal.
62 - minutes it took Kei Nishikori to breeze past Marco Cecchinato.
850 - Nadal’s wins in his career, secured after his victory over Millman. He is only the seventh player to reach the landmark.
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