World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and defending women’s champion Elena Rybakina got their Wimbledon bids off to winning starts on Tuesday as torrential rain brought havoc to the All England Club schedule.
Only an hour’s play was possible on the outside courts, which meant 69 of the planned 77 matches were unable to be completed.
Just eight matches took place on the covered Court One and Centre Court.
Photo: AFP
Alcaraz raced through the first set against French veteran Jeremy Chardy in just 22 minutes, before breaking twice in the second set.
Chardy, who had previously announced that Wimbledon would be the final tournament of his career, drew first blood in the third set to lead 4-2, but Alcaraz hit back well, sealing a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win with an ace.
“I like to play battles, and I am really happy to have played a great level, both of us, in the third set,” the Spaniard said. “I am really happy to get through this first round.”
Photo: AFP
The US Open champion is seen as one of the few credible threats to Novak Djokovic, who is targeting an eighth Wimbledon crown to equal Roger Federer’s men’s record.
Wimbledon’s Centre Court paid tribute to Swiss great Federer before the start of play as he returned to the scene of some of his greatest triumphs.
The crowd gave Federer, who retired in September last year, a prolonged standing ovation interspersed with cheers as he entered the royal box, which threatened to upstage the first match of the championship for Rybakina.
The Kazakh third seed was caught cold in the opening set, double-faulting on her first point on the way to losing her first service game to unseeded Shelby Rogers of the US, but she rallied to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
“It was really tough for me today,” Rybakina said. “I was pretty nervous and I can’t even hide it. The double fault said it all at the beginning of the match. I’m really pleased to get to another round.”
Two-time champion Andy Murray of Scotland eased past the UK’s Ryan Peniston in straight sets.
Former world No. 1 Murray, who won his first Wimbledon title in 2013 before adding a second three years later, came through 6-3, 6-0, 6-1.
Now ranked No. 40, and playing with a metal hip, the 36-year-old had too much power and finesse for world No. 268 Peniston.
“It’s amazing to be back on Centre Court again,” Murray said. “I started off quite nervously, I was a little bit tentative, but once I got a break I played some good stuff. There were good signs.”
World No. 2 and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka powered into the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Panna Udvardy of Hungary, taking full advantage of playing under the Centre Court roof.
Sabalenka reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2021, but was banned last year along with all Belarusian and Russian players due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Ons Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win against Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
“Please love us. Please cheer us on. We have been working hard. Do not give up on us.” Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien’s heartfelt plea echoed across the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 tournament after a historic victory. Rather than boasting, Chen was making an earnest appeal after leading Taiwan to a 4-0 victory over Japan to claim their first major international baseball title at the senior level. Chen’s decisive three-run homer in the fifth inning and his Premier12 leading .632 batting average secured him the Premier12’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. He was also named one of the tournament’s outstanding defensive players
WELL-AGED: Although the youngest team in the tournament, Taiwan featured several veteran stars, including Sunday’s home-run hero Chen Chieh-hsien “I will never forget today,” veteran Taiwanese pitcher Chen Kuan-yu said after Taiwan on Sunday night blanked Japan to secure their first ever gold in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 championship. Chen, who at 34 is the oldest member on the team, said Taiwan “made every difficult step to come to today’s victory. I will never forget today.” Taiwan made history when they won their first gold medal of the Premier12 tournament, beating Japan in a 4-0 shutout victory in the final at the Tokyo Dome. It was a jaw-dropping victory for many baseball commentators who went into the game with
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
RSS