WIMBLEDON (ENGLAND)— Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek advanced with straight-set victories Monday despite a rain delay as Wimbledon got started.
Venus Williams and Coco Gauff are among the other big names in action later on Day 1.
It is the year’s third major tournament — and Djokovic won the first two: the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That puts him halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. He came close to the feat in 2021, falling just one victory short when he lost in the final of the U.S. Open.
He seeks a fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and eighth overall, which both would tie records for men.
Djokovic’s title at Roland Garros was his 23rd at a Slam event, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the men’s mark in that category.
Djokovic, the No. 2 seed, beat Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) after a rain relay that lasted more than an hour. Groundskeepers used leaf blowers to dry the grass.
“It was definitely frustrating, of course, for all the crowd. For us players, we both wanted to play but the conditions were not great, obviously still slippery,” Djokovic said of the delay.
The 36-year-old Serb used a towel to help dry some wet spots: “I normally come out with rackets, not with towels.”
Swiatek, who owns four major titles but hasn’t been past the fourth round at the All England Club, beat Zhu Lin of China 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 Court, winning the final two games after the roof was closed following a rain delay.
Swiatek said she feels better prepared for the grass-court major this year following her title at the French Open.
“After Roland Garros,” she said on court, “I really took some time to just appreciate what happened. Last year, when I won Roland Garros, it was my second Grand Slam so it still felt, like, overwhelming, but this time I really could just focus on celebrating and actually getting back to work with more peace in my head and I try to be open minded for the grass season and I think it’s working. Hopefully I’m going to be able keep that mindset.”
Barbora Strycova, a semifinalist in 2019, became the first winner of this year’s tournament by beating Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 7-5. On the men’s side, seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 on No. 3 Court.
Djokovic will be followed in the main stadium by Williams, a 43-year-old participating in the sport’s oldest major tournament for the 24th time and taking on Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Williams — whose younger sister, Serena, retired after last season — won five of her seven Grand Slam singles trophies at Wimbledon.
After Swiatek at No. 1 Court, three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud was playing Laurent Lokoli. And then Gauff — a 19-year-old American who was a French Open finalist last year — will face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Rublev races into second round
Andrey Rublev on Monday became the first male player to reach the second round on the opening day of Wimbledon championships with a straight sets defeat of Australian Max Purcell.
Rublev moved past Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the Gentlemen’s Singles clash played on Court No.3. Aslan Karatsev came back from a set deficit to beat #NextGenATP star Luca Van Assche of France 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in 3 hours and 20 minutes on Court 7 while 14th seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy cruised to a 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 victory against Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru in early first round encounters.
The focus was on Rublev as the seventh seed struck the ball with relentless power throughout the one-hour, 33-minute clash and battled hard in the second set, rallying from 2-5 down. With his 32nd win of the season, Rublev maintained his perfect first-round record at Wimbledon.
