Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek win, Serena Williams exits Wimbledon

The competition is picking up the pace by the day.

Day 2 of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships had a lot of exciting tennis action on display. The prestigious Grand Slam is one of the toughest tournaments to win considering the competition and the nature of the unpredictable grass court. Fan favourite Rafael Nadal got off to a strong start albeit with a minor hiccup. The legendary Spaniard eased into the second round of Men’s Singles by defeating Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina in four sets. 

The second seed won the first and second sets with relative ease but had to play until the fourth set to secure the win. Eventually, Nadal came away as the winner courtesy of a 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 score. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece was also in action late at night on Tuesday. The fifth seed was up against Switzerland’s Alexander Ritschard. Tsitsipas had to bring his A game to progress in a game where the two were difficult to separate. The final scoreline was 6-7 (1-7), 3-6, 7-5, 4-6 in the Greek's favour.

Iga Swiatek soars, Serena collapses in Women’s Singles

One of the favourites to win the Wimbledon championship in her bracket, Iga Swiatek cruised into the second round of the Women’s Singles. The top seed secured a 6-0, 6-3 win over Jana Fett of Croatia. Last year, she was the seventh seed and only made it to the fourth round. Certainly, one would expect Swiatek to go further in the tournament this year after winning the French Open earlier.

Serena Williams was also in action at the Centre Court. The American was up against Harmony Tan of France in the first round. Unlike the Polish World No.1, Serena Williams found the challenge of the French ace too big to overcome. She lost in a close tie 5-7, 6-1, 6-7 (7-10).

Key results elsewhere

Nick Kyrgios made his way into the second round of the Men’s Singles. The Australian beat Paul Jubb of the United Kingdom by a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 score. It was a tough outing for Kyrgios that took him three hours and five minutes to settle the game in five sets. On Court 15, veteran Richard Gasquet took five sets in order to beat Joao Sousa of Portugal. The Frenchman moves into the second round after a 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 win.

Over at the Women’s Singles, fourth seed Paula Badosa of Spain had it easy in her first-round tie. She beat Louisa Chirico of the United States of America in straight sets, by a 6-2, 6-1 score inside 56 minutes. Maria Sakkari, the fifth seed also made it into the second round. The Greek tennis star got the better of Zoe Hives of Australia thanks to a 6-1, 6-4 scoreline. 

Coco Gauff, the eleventh seed American also got into the second round of the Women’s Singles after beating Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania in three sets. The 2022 French Open finalist will hope to have a similar outing at the 2022 Wimbledon.

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