Wimbledon returns to rain as Tiafoe, Stephens win

LONDON: Wimbledon returned on Monday after being called off in 2020 because of the pandemic, and so much felt rather familiar at the All England Club, from the rain that disrupted the schedule to the victory for Novak Djokovic.

Much like the delays to competition around the grou­nds it took about four-and-half hours to begin play on the outside courts; more than a dozen matches were postponed entirely Djokovic got off to a slow start in his bid for a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title and sixth at Wimbledon.

The defending champion dropped the opening set against Jack Draper, a 19-year-old wild-card entry from England who is ranked 253rd, before eventually showing his best tennis under the Centre Court roof and winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 with the help of 25 aces.

Djokovic is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam, after trophies at the Australian Open in February and the French Open two weeks ago. The man he came back to defeat in the final at Roland Garros after dropping the first two sets, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, quickly was bounced out of the All England Club, losing to 57th-ranked Frances Tiafoe of the United States 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours at No. 1 Court.

“That guy is special. He’s going to do a lot of great things. Win a ton of Grand Slams,” Tiafoe said about Tsitsipas, then broke into a wide smile and added: “But not today.”

Another US player picked up a big victory when Sloane Stephens eliminated two-time champion and 10th-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-4.

Belarus second seed Aryna Sabalenka had the honour of being the first winner at the tournament in two years when she downed Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4 under the roof of Court One.

Former champion Garbine Muguruza sent out an early warning to her rivals with a blistering 6-0, 6-1 win over Fiona Ferro, while American 23rd seed Madison Keys beat local hope Katie Swan 6-3, 6-4.

Seventh seed Iga Swiatek of Poland overpowered Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei 6-4, 6-4 to secure her first main-draw win at Wimbledon. Joining her in the second round was Sofia Kenin, who made short work of Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-2.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev, the fifth seed, advanced with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Federico Delbonis while Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut overcame John Millman 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

The tournament referee began announcing postponements at about 3 p.m., including matches involving five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams, French Open semi-finalist Maria Sakkari and seeded men Denis Shapovalov and Alex de Minaur.

Still, at least there was tennis being played at the venue that hosts the oldest Grand Slam tournament.

“It feels great seeing everyone and being back at probably the most special, most sacred, tennis court in the world,” the top-seeded Djokovic said.

“Alongside many other players, I was very sad last year that Wimbledon was cancelled,” he said, referring to the first time it wasn’t contested since World War II. “They were very difficult times for everyone, but I’m really glad that the sport is back. Hopefully you guys have enjoyed it and you will enjoy it in the next couple weeks.”

The coronavirus still looms over the event.

Capacity around the grounds is restricted to 50% now; that will rise to 100% for the singles finals on the fortnight’s closing weekend. All players and their entourages must stay at a designated London hotel, where they take regular tests and are subject to contact tracing.

Britain’s only seeded woman in singles, 27th seed Johanna Konta, had to withdraw on Sunday night because she was told to self-isolate for 10 days after one of her team members tested positive for Covid-19.

Results (prefix number denotes seededing):

Men’s singles:

First round: 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) bt Jack Draper (Great Britain) 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2; Frances Tiafoe (US) bt 3-Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) 6-4, 6-4, 6-3; Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) bt Yannick Hanfmann (Germany) 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5); Miomir Kecmanovic (Serbia) bt Facundo Bagnis (Argentina) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1); Kevin Anderson (South Africa) bt Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera (Chile) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4); 8-Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) bt John Millman (Australia) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); Andreas Seppi (Italy) bt Joao Sousa (Portugal) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2; Marton Fucsovics (Hungary) bt 19-Jannik Sinner (Italy) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3; 5-Andrey Rublev (Russia) bt Federico Delbonis (Argentina) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2; Denis Kudla (US) bt 30-Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain) 5-7, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-3.

Women’s singles:

First round: 7-Iga Swiatek (Poland) bt Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwan, 6-4, 6-4; Viktorija Golubic (Switzerland) bt 29-Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) 3-6, 6-1, 11-9; Danielle Collins (US) bt Polona Hercog (Slovenia) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; 4- Sofia Kenin (US) bt Xinyu Wang (China) 6-4, 6-2; Katie Boulter (Great Britain) bt Danielle Lao (US) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-4; Sloane Stephens (US) bt 10-Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-4; Lauren Davis (US) bt Jodie Burrage (Great Britain) 6-2, 6-1; 23-Madison Keys (US) bt Katie Swan (Great Britain) 6-3, 6-4; Lesley Kerkhove (Netherlands) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-3, 6-3; 11-Garbine Muguruza (Spain) bt Fiona Ferro (France) 6-0, 6-1; 32-Ekaterina Alexandrova (Russia) bt Laura Siegemund (Germany) 6-1, 6-3; Mara Camila Osorio (Colombia) bt Anna Kalinskaya (Russia) 1-6, 6-0, 6-4; 2-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) bt Monica Niculescu (Romania) 6-1, 6-4.