The first day of Wimbledon featured everything from last-second withdrawals to stunning upsets.
Monday morning began with the withdrawals of No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 16 seed Victoria Azarenka and ended with two other top 25 players defeated.
The men’s top half of the draw featured less chaos as No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner began his Wimbledon campaign with a win in four sets, while defending champion Carlos Alcaraz fought off some early struggles to defeat Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal in straight sets.
Men’s Singles
No. 1 Jannik Sinner def. Yannick Hanfmann, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz def. Mark Lajal, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 Daniil Medvedev def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
No. 8 Casper Ruud def. Alex Bolt, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4
No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov def. Dusan Lajovic, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
No. 12 Tommy Paul def. Pedro Martinez, 6-2, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Mattia Bellucci leads No. 14 Ben Shelton, 6-4 3-6, 6-3
No. 16 Ugo Humbert def Alexander Shevchenko, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (3), 6-1
Brandon Nakashima def. No. 18 Sebastian Baez, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
Denis Shapovalov def. No. 19 Nicolas Jarry, 6-1, 7-5, 6-4
Gael Monfils def. No. 22 Adrian Mannarino, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
No. 23 Alexander Bublik def. Jakub Mensik, 4-6, 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
No. 27 Tallon Griekspoor def. Daniel Elahi Galani, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-4
No. 29 Frances Tiafoe def. Matteo Arnaldi, 6-7 (5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3
Lorenzo Sonego def. No. 31 Mariano Navone, 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-4
No. 32 Zhizhen Zhang def. Maxime Janvier, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2
Women’s Singles
No. 2 Coco Gauff def. Caroline Dolehide, 6-1, 6-2
No. 7 Jasmine Paolini def. Sara Sorribes Tormo, 7-5, 6-3
Lulu Sun def. No. 8 Qinwen Zheng, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
No. 9 Maria Sakkari def. McCartney Kessler, 6-3, 6-1
No. 12 Madison Keys def. Martina Trevisan, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
No. 14 Daria Kasatkina def. Shuai Zhang, 6-3, 6-0
No. 18 Marta Kostyuk def. Rebecca Sramkova, 6-3, 6-2
No. 19 Emma Navarro def. Qiang Wang, 6-0, 6-2
Brenda Fruhvirtova def No. 24 Mirra Andreeva, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 25 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova def. Taylor Townsend, 7-6 (4), 6-1
No. 26 Linda Noskova def. Sara Errani, 7-6 (3), 6-1
No. 28 Dayana Yastremska def. Nadia Podoroska, 6-1, 7-6 (1)
Sonay Kartal def No. 29 Sorana Cirstea, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0
Despite surrendering the third set, No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner sure looked like a Wimbledon favorite in his opening round match against Yannick Hanfmann.
The 22-year-old Italian has won 39 of 42 completed matches this season.
In the last 52 weeks across all surfaces, Sinner has won an ATP-leading 91.3% of service games while winning 27.6% (7th best) of return games.
Sinner will likely face more difficulties in the next round, and holding serve will be paramount against former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.
Even still, Sinner has proven time and time again this year just how difficult it is for an opponent to get the better of him, especially in a five-set match.
Despite early struggles, which included trailing by a service break in each of the first two sets, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz picked up right where he left off.
The No. 3 seed is one of the favorites to hoist this year’s trophy but will need to remain consistent on first serve, especially as the draw shortens and he faces harder competition.
Alcaraz should continue to coast before potentially facing Frances Tiafoe in the third round, in a matchup that could present difficulties for the Spaniard.
Before the first day of Wimbledon play even finished, something already became guaranteed: the bottom half of the women’s draw would feature two first-time Wimbledon semifinalists.
No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka and No. 16 seed Victoria Azarenka both withdrew prior to their matches.
Then, after leading by a set and a service break, 2021 Wimbledon finalist Karona Pliskova lost in three sets, while No. 8 seed Qinwen Zheng and No. 24 seed Mirra Andreeva each fell in three sets.
Who stands to gain the most from this disruption?
No. 2 seed Coco Gauff, who has never reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.