With everything going on in the world right now, it was more than ever comforting to embrace the hallowed grounds of SW19 and ensconce oneself in a place like no other for two weeks. Yes, Wimbledon is like no other sports tournament, and not even Andrew Castle or Clare Balding can ruin it. At least Boris [no not that one] is, shall we say preoccupied elsewhere.
Day 1 itself was owned by the Brits and whilst not all of the homegrown progressed, we saw safe routes through for Norrie, Raducanu and Murray [after a rusty start]. Others were outclassed somewhat and quite a few Union Jacks amongst many other matches are having to come back today after patches of inclement climes yesterday.
Surprises? Well nothing jaw-dropping, but Hubert Hurkacz’s five set defeat at the hands of relative clay specialist Davidovich-Fokina as well as Danielle Collins‘ exit [both on court 3] did raise a few eyebrows. We lost too Fognini, Kanepi [Diane Parry continuing her fine French Open run], Verdasco and Wawrinka. Although it may have tugged slightly on the heartstrings, Stan’s loss at the hands of 10th seed Sinner is sadly no real shock with the Swiss firmly in his twilight years.
Elsewhere it was business as usual, Djokovic through, Kerber won a popular if lopsided battle with Mladenovic, Alcaraz struggled on the green stuff before surviving and Isner came through in – yes you guessed right – five sets! The American faces Murray next in what should be a round 2 highlight.
Day 2 match picks – deep breath
Serena vs Tan [newsworthy]
Berrettini vs Garin
Halep vs Muchova [contender]
Ritschard vs Tsitsipas [potential upset]
Paolini vs Kvitova [contender]
Gauff vs Ruse [contender]
Jubb vs Kyrgios [fireworks]
Auger-Alliassime vs Cressy [lovely blend of play styles and potential upset]
Muguruza vs Minnen [contender]
Martincova vs Pliskova [contender]
Badosa vs Chirico [potential upset]
Musetti vs Fritz [good match on paper]
Lopez vs van de Zandschulp [Deliciano!]
All Things Tennis 