LDN - Sports

Wimbledon day two

[June 29, 2022] LONDON (Reuters) - Serena Williams' first singles match in a year ended in a first-round defeat at Wimbledon on Tuesday but she still managed to bring the Centre Court crowd to its feet as they saluted a champion's performance in a match that lasted over three hours.

Williams lost 7-5 1-6 7-6(10-7) to Harmony Tan but not before the 40-year-old American enthralled the crowd and even saved a match point before she fell in the tiebreak.

Day two got underway on a sour note when eighth seed Matteo Berrettini, last year's runner-up, became the second top player to pull out with COVID-19 after Marin Cilic's withdrawal.

An already depleted men's draw only got poorer when Canadian sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was knocked out in the first round by Maxime Cressy, who fought back from a set down to prevail 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(9) 7-6(5) in over four hours.

Rafa Nadal's participation had been in doubt earlier this month due to a foot injury but, barring a third set wobble, he came through his first match on grass in three years to beat Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4.

Nick Kyrgios provided fireworks in a five-set win over Briton Paul Jubb in a match marred by arguments with a line judge, the chair umpire and a heckler, with the Australian admitting he spat in the direction of the fan booing him.

World number one Iga Swiatek won her 36th consecutive match to record the longest winning streak in the women's game in the 21st century when she beat Croatia's Jana Fett 6-0 6-3.

Former number one Simona Halep, making her first appearance at the All England Club since lifting the title in 2019, beat Karolina Muchova 6-3 6-2 while Coco Gauff overcame a first set hiccup to beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 2-6 6-3 7-5.

Petra Kvitova, another former Wimbledon champion, was also made to work in her first round clash where she beat Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-2.

READ MORE:

Serena stunned by Tan in first-round epic

Rafa dazzled by Wimbledon sun in first round win

Tsitsipas wriggles out of trouble to reach Wimbledon second round

Cressy sends sixth seed Auger-Aliassime crashing out of Wimbledon

Twice champion Kvitova rallies against Paolini to reach second round

Nadal overcomes third set wobble to reach second round

Kyrgios admits spitting towards fan 'disrespecting' him at Wimbledon

Players did not talk about COVID cases at French Open - Cornet

Swiatek overcomes dip in form to secure 36th straight win

Gauff hangs tough to reach Wimbledon second round

Berrettini joins Wimbledon missing list in decimated men's draw

Berrettini pulls out of Wimbledon due to positive COVID-19 test

Williams sisters are legends, not me, says Swiatek after 36th straight win

Kyrgios edges past British wildcard Jubb in five sets

Serena returns to Wimbledon hoping to banish ghosts of 2021

Former Wimbledon champions eyeing up window of opportunity in open women's draw

Wimbledon order of play on Wednesday

Highlights on day two of the Wimbledon tennis championships on Tuesday (all times GMT):

2136 SERENA WILLIAMS KNOCKED OUT IN THREE-HOUR EPIC

In her first match in a year, 40-year-old Serena Williams dropped the opening set against Harmony Tan and then saved a match point in the decider before falling in the final set tiebreak to lose 7-5 1-6 7-6(10-7) in over three hours.

2005 TSITSIPAS THROUGH IN FOUR SETS

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas became the last player in the men's draw to move into the second round, for the first time since 2018, after he overcame Switzerland's Alexander Ritschard 7-6(1) 6-3 5-7 6-4.

1918 AUGER-ALIASSIME OUSTED

Sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada was knocked out in the first round by Maxime Cressy who fought back from a set down to prevail 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(9) 7-6(5).

American Cressy, who was runner-up at Eastbourne last week, converted only one break point in the match which lasted over four hours.

[to top of second column]

1805 NADAL PASSES CERUNDOLO TEST

Former Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal began his quest for a third straight Grand Slam title with a 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4 win over Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo.

Nadal's 306th Grand Slam match victory helped him go level with Martina Navratilova in fourth place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam singles match wins.

1653 KVITOVA OVERCOMES PAOLINI

Twice Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, fresh from lifting the fifth grasscourt title of her career at Eastbourne, battled back from a set down to defeat unseeded Italian Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-4 6-2.

1613 HALEP OFF TO WINNING START

Simona Halep marked her first appearance at the All England Club since lifting the Wimbledon title in 2019 with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Karolina Muchova.

1444 KYRGIOS THROUGH AFTER ROLLER-COASTER FIVE-SETTER

Australian Nick Kyrgios sent down 30 aces and made 55 unforced errors against Briton Paul Jubb before reaching the second round with a 3-6 6-1 7-5 6-7(3) 7-5 victory.

1441 GAUFF OVERCOMES RUSE TO ADVANCE

American 11th seed Coco Gauff came back from one set down to beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse 2-6 6-3 7-5 in a 2-1/2 hour match on Court Two.

1405 BADOSA CRUISES INTO SECOND ROUND

Fourth seed Paula Badosa needed only 56 minutes to reach round two by beating American Louisa Chirico 6-2 6-1.

1353 SWIATEK EXTENDS WINNING STREAK TO 36 MATCHES

Top seed Iga Swiatek became the first women's player in the 21st century to win 36 consecutive matches after she beat Croatia's Jana Fett 6-0 6-3 on Centre Court.

The Polish world number one had been tied with Venus Williams on 35 victories in a row.

1253 BENCIC KNOCKED OUT IN FIRST ROUND

Olympic champion Belinda Bencic crashed out in the first round after she was beaten 6-4 5-7 6-2 by China's Wang Qiang.

1214 OPELKA, PENISTON THROUGH IN STRAIGHT SETS

American Reilly Opelka fired down 21 aces in his 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 victory over Carlos Taberner to move into the second round.

Britain's Ryan Peniston reached round two on his Grand Slam debut with a 6-4 6-3 6-2 win over Switzerland's Henri Laaksonen.

1124 OSTAPENKO, SAKKARI ADVANCE TO ROUND TWO

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko staved off a late comeback attempt by Oceane Dodin to win 6-4 6-4 and fifth seed Maria Sakkari joined her in the second round by easing past Australian Zoe Hives 6-1 6-4.

1123 DIMITROV PULLS OUT DUE TO INJURY

Grigor Dimitrov, the 18th seed, retired from his match with American Steve Johnson due to an apparent groin problem. The Bulgarian won the opening set 6-4 but was trailing 2-5 in the second when he was unable to continue.

1015 BERRETTINI PULLS OUT AFTER POSITIVE COVID TEST

Matteo Berrettini, last year's runner-up, has withdrawn from the tournament after testing positive for COVID-19. The eighth-seeded Italian was due to play Chile's Cristian Garin and will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Elias Ymer.

"I have no words to describe the extreme disappointment I feel," Berrettini wrote on Instagram. "The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger."

1002 PLAY UNDERWAY

Play began under cloudy skies at Wimbledon, with the temperature hovering around 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

(Reporting by Hritika Sharma, Shrivathsa Sridhar and Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, Editing by Ed Osmond and Toby Davis)

Back to top