Wimbledon Day One: Tsitsipas, Kvitova stunned in thrilling start

Other stars in Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Iga Swiatek all began their respective campaigns with victories.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’ bid for a first Grand Slam title came to a stunning stop in the first round of the men’s singles event in Wimbledon on Monday. First seed Novak Djokovic progressed to the next round with relative ease, along with fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev and eight-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut. Hometown hero Andy Murray, returning to Wimbledon after four years, fended off a challenge from Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova also made the headlines but for the wrong reasons. The Czech star succumbed to American Sloane Stephens in straight sets to crash out in the first round. 2020 French Open winner Iga Swiatek won her first match, along with Belarusian star Aryna Sabalenka.

Fourth seeded Sofia Kenin also had a routine first round as she saw off the tough resistance from Wang Xinyu.

Americans shine as Tsitsipas, Kvitova bow out

Greek star Tsitsipas had entered Wimbledon with promise after a thrilling performance in the recently concluded French Open, where he reached the finals. However, he failed to make his form and superior ranking count as unseeded American Francis Tiafoe beat him in straight sets to progress to the second round.

The 23-year old is currently 56th in world. Third seeded Tsitsipas was constantly put to the test and ended up losing 6-4,6-4,6-3. Tiafoe managed to prevent the Greek star from winning a single break point during the entire match. Meanwhile, the American ended up winning four himself.

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Former US Open winner Sloane Stephens caused an upset in women’s singles as she beat Petra Kvitova in straight sets to progress. The American won 6-3, 6-4 to end the two-time Wimbledon champion’s tournament hopes prematurely. It was an all-around dominating performance by Stephens. She will look to use this victory as a springboard to get back to her best.

Routine affair for Djokovic, Swiatek, Kenin

Novak Djokovic breezed to the second round with a convincing 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Jack Draper. He was joined by fifth seeded Andrey Rublev and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

Rublev beat Federico Delbonis in four sets. Eighth seeded Bautista saw off a tough challenge from John Millman. The match ended with a tie-breaker in the fourth set.

Meanwhile, Andy Murray managed to overcome a challenge from Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. The Brit was leading by two sets and had a 5-0 advantage in the third set. However, a fight back from the Georgian saw Murray lose seven games in a row to give up the third set. He fought back to register a 6-3 fourth set victory to win the match.

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In the Women’s Singles, Swiatek, Kenin and Sabalenka pulled off routine straight set wins to move to the next round. The Pole Swiatek defeated Su-wei 6-4, 6-4 while Kenin beat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4 and 6-2.

Sabalenka won 6-1, 6-4 against Romanian star Monica Niculescu. Two-time Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruza also made short work of her opponent. The Spaniard won against Fiona Ferro in dominating fashion, with a score of 6-0,6-1.

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