Novak Djokovic , Swiatek cruise into second round

LONDON: Novak Djokovic eased into the second round of Wimbledon amid farcical scenes on Centre Court.

The four-time defending champion defeated Argentinian debutant Pedro Cachin 6-3 6-3 7-6 (4) but the clash was delayed for nearly an hour and a half after the first set because of a damp court despite the roof being deployed.

Djokovic had begun to complain about the surface but officials waited until the end of the set to cover the court, which proved to be a major error.

There was some early rust from Djokovic, who double-faulted to give Cachin a break for 2-1, but he hit straight back and manoeuvred himself into a 5-3 lead.

He convincingly won the second set but Cachin earned applause from his opponent for his efforts in the third, which he pushed to a tie-break.

Earlier 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 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.

Meanwhile, World No.1 and four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek raced into the Ladies’ Singles second round at Wimbledon here, starting her campaign for her maiden title in the grass-court major with a straight sets win on Monday.

The 22-year-old from Poland, whose best performance at Wimbledon is a fourth-round appearance in 2021, defeated China’s Lin Zhu 6-1, 6-3 in 81 minutes at No.1 Court.

Two more top-10 players, Jessica Pegula of the United States, seeded fourth, and Caroline Garcia of France, the fifth seed, also reached the second round with contrasting wins. Pegula needed 2 hours and 20 minutes to overcome compatriot Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-7(8), 6-3 while Garcia beat another American player, Katie Volynets, 6-4, 6-3 on No.3 Court. The two-time semifinalist Victoria Azarenka made a winning return to action with a hard-fought win against Yue Yuan of China. She advanced with a 6-4, 5-7,6-4 win over the 24-year-old Chinese. (Agencies).

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