Wimbledon, UK – Despite rain delaying the opening day of the Wimbledon Open tennis tournament, world No. 1 Ika Sviatek and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic cruised into the first round.
World number two Djokovic opened his tournament with a 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Argentine Pedro Cachin.
Djokovic’s scheduled match on Center Court at the All England Club – one of the complex’s two rooftop arenas – was suspended for more than an hour due to rain. Groundsmen used leaf blowers to dry the lawn.
“No doubt it was frustrating for all the spectators. We players wanted to play but the conditions were not so good. It was clear that it was going to be slippery,” Djokovic said of the delay.
At times, Djokovic used a towel to dry certain corners of the court.
“I’m used to showing snowshoes, not towels,” he said.
This is the third leg of a Grand Slam tournament in professional tennis, and in men’s singles, Djokovic has won the first two, first in Melbourne in January and then in Paris in June.
So he is halfway to a calendar Grand Slam, a feat not accomplished in men’s singles since 1969. Djokovic came close to achieving the feat in 2021, but lost to Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final at the International des United States.
Djokovic is seeking his fifth consecutive All England Club title and eighth of his career, which would allow him to equal the two men’s records.
Thanks to his victory at the French Open, Djokovic has won a total of 23 singles titles in Grand Slam tournaments, a men’s tennis record.
As for Svitek, she continued her quest for a fifth Grand Slam title with a 6-1, 6-3 win over China’s Zhu Lin.
The Pole, who never got past the fourth round at Wimbledon, won his last two matches under the roof of Court Number One after a rain break.
On Wednesday, Switek will face world number 84 Sarah Soripes Dormo. This will be their first clash.
Zviadek has been crowned three times at Roland-Carros and once at Flushing Meadows.
Qualifier and world No. 128 Sofia Kenin defeated seventh seed Coco Goff 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the first round of the American clash.
Each of these players reached No. 4 in the WTA and played in Grand Slam finals.
Kenin won in Melbourne in 2020, two years before Goff was defeated in the French Open final.
At 19, Goff is seen as one of the rising stars of women’s tennis.
The same was said of Kenin three years ago in Australia, where his route to glory included a fourth-round victory over Goff.
The first win of the tournament in 2023 went to 2019 semi-finalist Barbora Strycova, who defeated Marina Janevska 6-1, 7-5.
Venus Williams, who played in this tournament for the 24th time, defeated Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3.
The 43-year-old Williams dropped to 558th in the world rankings.
He has only made 22 appearances since the start of 2021 as a result of various injuries.
Once on top of the women’s tour, Williams has won the English Grand Slam five times.
Seventh-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev defeated Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the men’s singles.
Fourth-seeded Kasper Ruud defeated qualifier Laurent Lokoli 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Eighth seed Jannik Sinner defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
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