Djokovic, Zverev, Swiatek, Rybakina make winning start; Rublev crashes out in first round to Tour-debutant Comesana

LONDON: Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic eased concerns about his knee with a clinical display to beat Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday and reach the second round.

Playing with a support on his right leg following a minor operation less than four weeks ago that cut short his French Open, the 37-year-old made a solid start and drew first blood in a marathon fourth game.

The Serb, bidding for a record 25th Grand Slam title to end his trophy drought this year, broke on his sixth attempt and breezed through the opening set under the Centre Court roof before heaping the pressure on Kopriva early in the next.

He let out a big roar having grabbed another break after a 21-shot rally and used it as a platform to double his advantage in the match, as the 123rd-ranked Kopriva struggled to keep pace with last year’s runner-up.

The Wimbledon main draw debutant offered resistance early in the third set but was unable to subdue second seed Djokovic, who shifted up another gear to run away with the match.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev eased to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Roberto Carballes Baena in the first round to get his latest bid for a maiden Grand Slam triumph up and running.

The German came up against a spirited Carballes Baena, who is 60 places below him in the world rankings, but his powerful serve and whipped forehand sent him through in straight sets.

A nervy Carballes Baena had to save three break points in the first game of the match but recovered to hold. The 31-year-old sent a backhand long in the fifth game to give Zverev the break and the German broke once more before wrapping up the set in little more than 30 minutes.

Carballes Baena battled but had no answer to Zverev’s serve which averaged around 125 miles per hour and produced 18 aces.

The Spaniard was broken in the fifth game after a rally in which Zverev had Carballes Baena sprinting from one end of the court to the other.

Another battle to stay on serve woke up the crowd who tried to cheer on the underdog, but they could not prevent Zverev from closing out the set.

Zverev, runner-up at the French Open last month, broke straight away in the third but then had to save three break points as Carballes Baena increased his attacks. However, that just opened the door for Zverev to race ahead and seal the win.

Russian sixth-seed Andrey Rublev crashed out of Wimbledon in the first round on Tuesday, losing 6-4 5-7 6-2 7-6(5) to world No.122 Francisco Comesana of Argentina, playing his first ever match at a Grand Slam.

Comesana belied his lack of experience, playing with poise and control from the start. The 23-year-old broke his opponent for a 3-2 lead in the first set and then held to win it, much to the frustration of Rublev, who frequently screamed out loud and remonstrated with his courtside coaching team.

Rublev broke early in the second and began to assert himself, frequently wrong-footing Comesana or drawing him into long rallies and overpowering him with powerful forehand shots.

Comesana fought his way back from three set points down twice in the second set before losing it.

But the Argentinian, who fired down 21 aces in all, powered through the rain-interrupted third set and narrowly outdid Rublev for guile and accuracy in the fourth before drawing an unforced error from the Russian to finish the match in style.

Top seed Iga Swiatek reached the second round witha comfortable victory over Sofia Kenin of USA 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday.

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, launched her 2024 campaign at the All England Club with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round.

Rybakina needed just 1 hour and 11 minutes to dispatch Romania's Ruse, who is currently ranked No.152.

Rybakina had previously bested Ruse in straight sets at the 2022 Miami Open, and this latest encounter followed a similar script despite a strong start from the Romanian. Ruse, who has achieved a career-high ranking of World No.51 and clinched a WTA singles title in Hamburg in 2021, entered the match in fine form, having not dropped a set in her three qualifying matches.

In other first round matches, Adam Walton beat  Federico Coria 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard beat 20th seed Sebastian Korda 7-6, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, Luciano Darderi beat Jan Choinski 7-5, 4-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, Thiago Seyboth Wild beat Paul Jubb 1-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 7-5,  Ben Shelton beat Mattia Bellucci 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Lorenzo Musetti beat Constant Lestienne 4-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7th seed Hubert Hurkacz beat Radu Albot 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, 9th seed Alexde Minaur beat James Duckworth 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, Tomás Martín Etcheverry beat Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, Yoshihito Nishioka beat Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, Jaume Munar beat Billy Harris 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, Alexei Popyrin beat Thiago Monteiro 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

In women’s section, 13th seed Jelena Ostapenko beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-1, 6-2, Marie Bouzková beat Julia Riera 6-1, 6-2, Anna Kalinskaya beat Panna Udvardy 6-3, 6-2, Liudmila Samsonova beat Rebeka Masarova 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, Cristina Buca beat Ana Bogdan 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, Wang Xinyu beat Viktoriya Tomova 7-6, 3-6, 6-0, Harriet Dart beat Zhuoxuan Bai 6-4, 6-0, Laura Siegemund beat Kateryna Baindl 6-4, 6-1, Elina Avanesyan beat Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-3. Agencies

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