Djokovic Waits Out The Wetness At Wimbledon; Alcaraz, Murray, Tsitsipas-Thiem Tues

Novak Djokovic opened his Wimbledon title defense with a straight-forward 6-3, 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.

“Each year I come back here, I reconnect with the young boy who dreamed of winning the biggest and most important tennis tournament in the world,” Djokovic said on court. “I try not to take any minute on this court for granted.

“Pedro served especially well in the third set. For me, the opening match is always a little bit tricky. Grass takes a bit more time than any other surface to adapt. Hopefully the level of tennis will elevate with each match.”

The 28-year-old Cachin gave Djokovic an early score breaking the 7-time champion early in their contest but otherwise the Serb was in command.

The match was stopped after the first due to a shower. The Centre Court roof was closed but a failure with the air circulation prevented the court from drying properly. The match couldn’t resume until the weather cleared and the roof reopened about 90 minutes after they stopped. Djokovic appeared unfazed, joking with the officials and mimicking the drying of the court.

The win upped Djokovic Centre Court win streak to 40 and overall Wimnbledon run to 29. He’ll now face Australian Jordan Thompson who came from two sets down to knock out 2022 fourth rounder Brandon Nakashima.

Casper Ruud made a solid debut on grass this year easing past French qualifier Laurent Lokoli 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. Ruud, who has made the finals at three of the last five Slams, is now 2-3 at Wimbledon.

“It was great fun,” Ruud said. “It was a great first time on Court One, it’s a very special court. I’ve watched many legendary matches on here on TV in my childhood. So to be here myself was a very fun moment for me.”

Halle finalist Andrey Rublev topped Max Purcell of Australia in three 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. 2022 quarterfinalist and No. 8 seed Jannik Sinner hammered Juan Manuel Cerundolo under the roof 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

“It means a lot playing on this special court,” Sinner said. “Physically, I feel very well. We have been working very hard in practice, and today the level was great. It’s never easy playing the first round, especially against a lefty. I have such great memories of playing on this court from last year, so this means a lot.”

Lucky loser Michael Mmoh pulled the men’s upset of the day taking down the 11th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(7-4), 6-7(4-7), 7-6(7-4), 6-4.

Lorenzo Musetti got over on Juan Pablo Varillas 6-3, 6-1, 7-5. 2021 semifinalist Hubert Hurkacz cracked 15 aces and never lost serve in a win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a match that went the distance 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.

Halle winner Alexander Bublik ousted Mackenzie McDonald 6-7(3-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Stan Wawrinka was strong defeating Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 7-5, 7-5, 6-4. J.J. Wolf battled past Enzo Couacaud 7-5, 6-3, 7-6(7-4). and 2022 quarterfinalist David Goffin eliminated Kyrgios’s replacement Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.

On tap Tuesday, feature matches include in first round action with No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz who will battle Jeremy Chardy in a first-time tour-level clash. No. 3 Daniil Medvedev clashes with British wildcard Arthur Fery.

No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on Dominic Thiem, No. 6 Holger Rune will challenge Brit George Loffhagen. No. 10 Frances Tiafoe and No. 12 Cameron Norrie are also in action.

And 2-time champion Andy Murray returns to Centre Court.

TUESDAY WIMBLEDON SCHEDULE
CENTRE COURT – 1:30PM
Shelby Rogers (USA) v Elena Rybakina (KAZ) [3]
Ryan Peniston (GBR) v Andy Murray (GBR)
Panna Udvardy (HUN) v Aryna Sabalenka [2]

NO.1 COURT – 1:00PM
Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) [1] v Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
Ons Jabeur (TUN) [6] v Magdalena Frech (POL)
Cameron Norrie (GBR) [12] v Tomas Machac (CZE)

NO.2 COURT – 11:00AM
Dominic Thiem (AUT) v Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) [5]
Not Before: 12:30pm
Quentin Halys (FRA) leads Daniel Evans (GBR) [27]
Jasmine Paolini (ITA) v Petra Kvitova (CZE) [9]
Heather Watson (GBR) v Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) [10]
Daniil Medvedev [3] v Arthur Fery (GBR)

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