Wimbledon, the most beautiful tournament in the world, started yesterday in its magnificent setting, where everyone is already looking forward to this Tuesday, marked by a ceremony in honor of Roger Federer, the “monument” of the place. Before that, let’s recap the highlights of what happened on Monday on the British grass, including a convincing Stan Wawrinka and Belinda Bencic ending a 4-year wait.
CONVINCING STAN… Let’s start with the good Swiss news, namely the qualification of Stan Wawrinka, who played a really convincing match against Emil Ruusuvuori (7-5 7-5 6-4), who had beaten him in their only previous encounter. The triple Grand Slam winner became the king of the slice for one Monday evening and found a way to frustrate the Finnish player, who, despite occasional bursts of energy, struggled throughout the match. He now enters the famous “Club des 5 Vieux” (see tweet below) and will face Tomas Etcheverry or Barnabe Zapata Miralles in the next round. “Stanimal” can dream of continuing his success, although with the grass not being what it used to be, one might suddenly believe that the Argentine and/or the Spaniard have become specialists on this different type of court.
THE “FED” DAY… Honored on July 4th, Roger Federer! Yes, it is this Tuesday that Wimbledon rolls out the red carpet for the Basel native, who won his first title 20 years ago on Church Road. A ceremony is organized in honor of the former world No. 1, who has left his mark on the London tournament and even more. It should be a moment filled with smiles, but also tears, certainly, for the player who is still missed on the ATP circuit. However, they won’t be the same tears as on July 14, 2019. In short, we are eagerly awaiting what should be a “chouette” (cool) moment.
MUSETTI SECURES, HURKACZ REASSURES… Some already see him as a formidable contender in this fortnight, even though he had never won a match at Wimbledon before yesterday, but since he “imploded” at Roland-Garros against Carlos Alcaraz, we are still waiting to see Lorenzo Musetti’s progress in the “Majors” to have a true opinion. He is undoubtedly talented, but does he already have what it takes to compete at a higher level? The Italian, who reached the quarterfinals in Stuttgart and at Queen’s, has already secured his spot in the second round against Juan Pablo Varillas. Hubert Hurkacz, the last player to defeat Roger Federer, also reassured himself by defeating Albert Ramos. It remains to be seen if the Polish player – who could face Musetti in the third round – has the confidence to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon…
THOMPSON’S CHARACTER… Jordan Thompson has shaved off his famous mustache, reminiscent of David Hodo, but he still has energy and character. Trailing two sets to love against Brandon Nakashima, the Australian turned the match around to advance to the second round of his favorite tournament (2-6 2-6 6-4 7-6 6-3). Unfortunately, “Thommo” (29 years old), who has never made it past the fourth round at Church Road (2021, defeated by Ivashka), is unlikely to reach that stage this year, as a certain Novak Djokovic awaits.
DJOKO THE ANTISECHE… And since we’re talking about the devil, let’s talk about him! Not troubled by Cachin (Pedro by his first name), Novak Djokovic could have been troubled by the drizzle, which led to a long interruption of his match, mainly due to difficulties in drying out a Centre Court that is already in poor condition. The Serbian player eventually resorted to waving a towel himself in an attempt to salvage what he could of the London grass. As for the rest, he dominated the match (6-3 6-3 7-6). Does that surprise you?
A LITTLE “STAT” ON THE WAY… Yes, statistics can be interpreted differently, but there is one that is both impressive and meaningful to mention at the beginning of this fortnight: with 87 victories at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic has won more matches at Church Road than the rest of the Top 20 combined. And it has now been 2183 days since he last lost at Wimbledon. So, who is the favorite?
NOT THE LAST MMOH… After a true clay-court match (how sad!), Félix Auger-Aliassime, who has been struggling for months, did not have the last word against Michael Mmoh. The Canadian was defeated in four sets and over 4 hours(!) by the American player, who was given a second chance after losing in the third round of the qualifiers. This marks the second time a “lucky loser” has defeated a Top 20 player at Wimbledon since 2018. The first time was… himself against Alexander Zverev, exactly 5 years ago.
FÉRY, THE ENGLISHMAN… We have often seen his father, Loïc, in the streets of Wimbledon Village, and now Arthur, the son, could make a name for himself just a few hundred meters away, on the grass. The Féry family is well known, with the father being the president of FC Lorient and a successful businessman based in London, but the offspring, soon to be 21 years old, has a promising future. This is what the young Arthur Féry will try to demonstrate on Tuesday afternoon against Daniil Medvedev. It’s an interesting challenge for this Englishman born to French parents, currently ranked 391st in the world and invited to the main draw of this 2023 edition. Could this be the start of a great story?
KENIN, FIGHTING HARD… After hearing over and over again that she would return to the top level but never really seeing it happen, we started to imagine that Sofia Kenin – the winner of the 2020 Australian Open – would never find her shine again. Apparently, we were wrong, as the now 25-year-old American defeated her compatriot Coco Gauff (6-4 4-6 6-2). Coming from the qualifiers, the former world No. 4 showed immense determination to defeat Gauff, who reached the semifinals in Eastbourne last week.
WHAT TO DO FOR TEICHMANN? We have been worried about Jil Teichmann for several months now, and her performance yesterday against Magda Linette (defeat 3-6 2-6) did not reassure anyone. Even though the Polish player is the 23rd seed, the Swiss player only managed to win 6 games before falling apart, as she has often done in the past 13 months. Will she find a way to bounce back someday?
BENCIC SAVES THE DAY… After Teichmann’s defeat, Simona Waltert also (but understandably) lost. So, it was up to Belinda Bencic to bring a smile to Swiss women’s tennis. The player from St. Gallen avoided falling into the trap set by Katie “Black” Swan, the British player who had strong support from the local crowd in “her” stadium (7-5 6-2). It had been four years since “Beli” had won a match at Wimbledon. Let’s hope she won’t have to wait another four years to raise her arms in victory again.
Arnaud Cerutti – @arnaud_cerutti in an article that can rank high in Google.
#Wimbledon #Carnet #Wawrinka #convaincant #Federer #invité #dhonneur #une #interminable #attente #pour #Bencic #une #royale #Kenin #rts.ch
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