Stefanos Tsitsipas crashes as Wimbledon as Novak Djokovic wins

By AFP

LONDON: Novak Djokovic overcame an early wobble before getting his bid for a sixth Wimbledon and record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title off to a winning start on Monday and then saw potential semi-final opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas crash out.

One year after the 2020 tournament was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, defending champion and world number one Djokovic claimed a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 win over Britain’s 253rd-ranked Jack Draper.

Third seed Tsitsipas, however, beaten by Djokovic in the French Open final just two weeks ago, slumped to his third first round defeat in four visits to the tournament.

America’s Frances Tiafoe, ranked 57, stunned the Greek star 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

Djokovic, 34, struggled on the slippery Centre Court surface with the roof closed above it due to the rain which had delayed play on outside courts for five hours.

Left-handed Draper, playing just his fifth match on the main tour, saved seven of seven break points in the opener to stun the top seed.

But Djokovic soon snuffed out any danger of him becoming only the third defending champion to lose in the first round, by sweeping through the remainder of the tie.

He finished with an impressive 25 aces and 47 winners as his 19-year-old opponent, who grew up just six miles (9.5km) from the All England Club, wilted.

“I probably had one of the best serving performances that I can recall on any surface,” said Djokovic who fired 25 aces and 47 winners.

‘It sounds good’

With the Australian and French Open titles under his belt, the Serb is bidding to become only the third man in history to claim a calendar Grand Slam.

His match was preceded by a standing ovation for Professor Sarah Gilbert, one of the key scientists behind the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine who was a special guest in the Royal Box.

Tiafoe won a second-tier grass court Challenger event in Nottingham this month before making the quarter-finals at Queen’s Club.

On Monday, he made that match hardness pay against Tsitsipas, playing only his 16th match on grass.

It was the first time in 12 attempts that 23-year-old Tiafoe had beaten a player ranked in the top five.

“It sounds pretty damn good,” said Tiafoe.

Wimbledon looks very different this year with Covid-19 protocols in place and a 50% capacity until finals day, but one familiar feature was the summer rain.

Play on the outside courts started so late that 16 of the day’s scheduled 64 matches were cancelled until Tuesday.

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.

Sabalenka fired 48 winners past Niculescu.

“I was nervous a little bit because I haven’t played on the show courts at Wimbledon,” said Sabalenka who has yet to make the last-eight of a major.

Former US Open champion Sloane Stephens knocked out Czech 10th seed Petra Kvitova, the 2011 and 2014 champion, 6-3, 6-4.

Garbine Muguruza, the 2017 winner, needed just under an hour to see off France’s Fiona Ferro 6-0, 6-1.

Two-time champion Andy Murray is back on Centre Court against Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili, a semi-finalist in Halle.