Wimbledon | Swiatek and Jabeur open with assertion wins

As rain disrupted play on the surface courts at Wimbledon on Tuesday, pushing matches again and inflicting many to be cancelled for the day, World No 1 Iga Swiatek efficiently navigated her well past fellow Grand Slam champion Sofia Kenin underneath the consolation of the closed roof of No 1 Court docket.

It was a stable begin, and never a simple draw, and I’m glad to have the prospect to play right here once more. You’ll be able to’t get slowly right into a Grand Slam, you need to be prepared right away… on this floor it isn’t in regards to the outcome, however in regards to the progress, and see if I can do higher than final 12 months. Iga Swiatek

Solely as soon as in her 21 earlier Grand Slam appearances has Iga Swiatek perished within the 1st-round, and that was right here at Wimbledon in 2019.

This 12 months, with no grass court docket matches to heat her up, the highest seed prolonged her present run to twenty wins after having seen off the American former Australian Open champion, 6-3 6-4 in simply 79 minutes.

“I assume it comes down extra to the psychological aspect, I might say,” she advised reporters earlier than Wimbledon started. “The way you’re going to have the ability to regulate to this floor. The participant that does it higher goes to win.”

Whereas the 23-year outdated Pole continues to say she remains to be studying to play on grass and is out of her consolation on the floor, Swiatek regarded completely relaxed towards an opponent who had toppled crowd favorite Coco Gauff within the opening spherical right here simply 12 months in the past.

Regardless of some jittery serving early on, with the primary 4 video games that includes 9 break factors and each dropping their deliveries, it didn’t take lengthy for Swiatek to seek out her vary and her rhythm.

“It was a stable begin, and never a simple draw, and I’m glad to have the prospect to play right here once more,” she mentioned later. “You’ll be able to’t get slowly right into a Grand Slam, you need to be prepared right away… on this floor it’s not in regards to the outcome, however in regards to the progress, and see if I can do higher than final 12 months.”

Whereas Swiatek’s greatest displaying right here was a run to the quarter-finals final 12 months, she completed the clay court docket season using excessive on a 19-match successful streak after destroying the opposition to win her 4th French Open title in 5 years.

Opting to provide the grass court docket warm-up occasions a miss to relaxation up and absorb Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour live performance in Liverpool, a refreshed and centered Swiatek bought on with the job in hand, coping with being break level down within the opening sport by firing down an un-returnable serve.

She remained unfazed when she squandered 4 break level possibilities within the very subsequent sport, responding by changing the fifth with a thunderbolt of a backhand winner.

She took it in her stride when she was damaged within the subsequent sport by instantly breaking Kenin once more, this time to like for a 3-1 lead.

© Mike Hewitt/Getty Photographs

After pocketing the opener, prompting Kenin to go away Centre Court docket to regroup within the break, Swiatek took benefit of the additional time and hit some follow serves.

She served significantly effectively, one thing the Pole has been engaged on, but in addition was helped by Kenin’s defiant resolution to return her second choices standing a number of ft contained in the baseline, and she or he received 8 of her 15 second serves in that body.

“That was additionally one of many objectives, to typically win, type of, by serving, and making strain with that,” Swiatek mentioned. “I managed to try this on different surfaces. Hopefully on this floor, it’s going to be additionally comparable.

“Right here it’s much more essential to serve effectively the primary serve. It appeared tremendous on practices, so I’m going to strive it out on matches with some stress coming in and all the things.

“Hopefully this progress that I’ve made goes to repay.”

Within the second set, an more and more pissed off Kenin tried and did not conjure the pictures that had carried her all the best way to the 2020 Australian Open title, and the American was powerless to cease Swiatek from chalking up her twentieth successive win.

“Truthfully, on this floor it’s not in regards to the outcome for me, [but] in regards to the progress,” Swiatek mentioned in her on-court interview. “When it comes to, if I’m doing issues higher than final 12 months. I’m probably not numbers or statistics, simply attempting to be higher day-after-day.

“Clearly, I had an important starting of the season so I really feel, like, I can come right here and, type of, not fear about factors or something, yeah, simply deal with what I wish to deal with.”

With the sooner loss on Tuesday by defending champion and No 6 seed Marketa Vondrousova, Swiatek now doesn’t need to cope with the 2nd-highest-ranked participant in her quarter, however she should face Petra Martic subsequent, in spherical 2, after the Croatian defeated Britain’s Fran Jones, 3-6 6-1 6-2.

Ons Jabeur, seeded 10, opened her marketing campaign with an emphatic win over Moyuka Uchijima on Court docket 14 on the All England Membership on Day 2

© Julian Finney/Getty Photographs

In the meantime, 2-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur, who was scheduled final on No 2 Court docket however moved to Court docket 14, blasted her means into the 2nd-round with a 55-minute, 6-3 6-1, demolition of Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima.

“I believe each perhaps High 10 or High 20 [player] is aware of that the primary rounds are actually tough,” Jabeur mentioned. “All people is right here to win. You’ll be able to have surprises a whole lot of occasions. For me, I attempt to use my expertise and never let that strain get in the best way.”

The 22-year-old Uchijima has quickly improved in 2024, successful 5 ITF Challenger titles already this 12 months, and the Japanese has seen her rating skyrocket from No 170 in the beginning of the 12 months to her present career-high place of 68.

The Tunisian tenth seed, the runner-up for the final 2 years, made mild work of her opponent, although, breaking her instantly to take a 3-0 lead, earlier than every held their serve for the remainder of the primary set.

Jabeur then cranked up the ability a notch within the second, whereas concurrently shutting down the angles as she successfully snuffed out Uchijima’s sport plan.

As the sport drew to a detailed, the Japanese, making her first look in the primary attract south London, regarded skyward numerous occasions in apparent frustration.

She fended off 3 match factors, however lastly caved in on the 4th, when one other thumping forehand winner from Jabeur closed out the match.

In a steam-roller efficiency, Jabeur received each single considered one of her first-serve factors, and fired in 21 winners to Uchijima’s 9.

Jabeur subsequent meets American Robin Montgomery, ranked 161 on the earth, who was a 6-4 6-4 winner over Australian Olivia Gadecki.

19-year outdated Montgomery, ranked 161 earned her first Grand Slam main-draw win by beating her fellow qualifier and is having a stable grass-court season, making the quarter-finals at WTA 250 ‘s-Hertogenbosch and WTA 125 Gaiba.

Former World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki soared previous Alycia Parks in her opener on Tuesday

© Ben Stansall/AFP through Getty Photographs

Two former World No 1s had been additionally in motion on Tuesday, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki, who had been returning to Wimbledon after respective lengthy absences.

Kerber, the 2018 champion her, final performed in 2022 earlier than giving start final 12 months, whereas Wozniacki spent 5 years away from the All England Membership after her January 2020 retirement.

Each drew in-form gamers, with Kerber edged out in a good 2-setter, 7-5 6-3, by the in-form Yulia Putintseva from Kazakhstan, who received the title in Birmingham, and Wozniacki needing simply 53 minutes to romp to a 6-2 6-0 win over American Alycia Parks, setting apart any doubts about her health stage after the Dane was compelled to retire towards Emma Navarro within the quarter-finals of Dangerous Homburg simply 6 days in the past.

Putintseva and Kerber every received 3 straight video games within the first set, the Kazakh racing out to a 3-0 lead, just for the German to peg her again to 3-3.

After successful back-to-back video games to sneak the opener, Putintseva additionally received the final 3 video games of the match.

They’ve now performed 4 occasions, and have break up these conferences, Kerber successful the primary two, however Putintseva has now received the final two.

Wozniacki broke Parks’ serve 5 occasions in 5 alternatives, and by no means confronted a break level herself, whereas she misplaced simply 5 factors behind her first serve, and 5 extra behind her second, in her 7 service video games.

Jelena Ostapenko, the thirteenth seed, blasted previous Ajla Tomljanovic to open her account at Wimbledon on Tuesday

© Henry Nicholls/AFP through Getty Photographs

Amongst different late Tuesday outcomes, Jelena Ostapenko, the thirteenth seed from Latvia, cruised previous Aussie, Ajla Tomljanovic, 6-2 6-2; whereas Anna Kalinskaya, the Russian seventeenth seed, beat Hungarian Panna Udvardy, 6-3 6-2; however Liudmila Samsonova, the Russian fifteenth seed, needed to go the gap towards Spain’s Rebeka Masarova, 6-3 4-6 6-2; and Caroline Garcia, seeded 23 and from France, defeated Anna Blinkova from Russia, 6-4 7-5.

Additionally by to spherical 2 are Katerina Siniakova and Leylah Fernandez, the Czech former World Doubles No 1, seeded 27 right here, defeating Canada’s Marina Stakusic, a qualifier, 6-4 6-2, whereas the Canadian No 1 and thirtieth seed beat Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti, 6-4 6-3.