The numbers will tell you that it was a sloppy match all round – Sharapova would have clearly felt like Spain who crashed out of the World Cup against Russian Federation a few days ago – with Sharapova double faulting at match point.
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“I didn’t do too much wrong, there are always things I would like to do better but I have to acknowledge when she plays good points. That was the case today”.
Austrian seventh seed Thiem retired with a back injury against Cypriot veteran Marcos Baghdatis, trailing 6-4, 7-5, 2-0.
British teenager Jay Clarke, ranked 218 and playing his very first Major main draw, put up a superb fight against qualifier Ernests Gulbis, a former top-10 player, took the Latvian to a fifth set, but wavered on serve in the ninth game to offer the decisive break, and Gulbis served it out, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4.
‘The first round is always tricky, both players are trying to find their level, ‘ she said afterwards on the BBC.
Del Potro, who made the semi-finals in 2013, next faces Feliciano Lopez of Spain who on Tuesday set a record of playing 66 consecutive Grand Slams when he eased past Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
“Winning here is something that I’ve dreamed about since I was a little girl… She was there to win it, and she did”.
Vikhlyantseva was beaten in straight sets in the first round at Eastbourne by Hsieh Su-Wei, the Chinese Taipei player Konta dropped only four games against in the first round at Wimbledon past year. “Every day, you have to come and show your good tennis if you want a good result”. This year, she leads the WTA Tour in match victories with 38. But it’s just not really working for me right now. Probably was the biggest opponent which I have. “I watched two great matches (Monday)”. You never know on grass. The Czech, Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, won back to back tournaments in Prague and Madrid, and successfully defended her title on grass in Birmingham last month.
The French Open champion enjoyed 10 days off after her Paris triumph and she made a tentative start on the grass before eventually finding her rhythm.
Kvitova got back on track in the second but the pressure and nerves got the best of her and the 24-year-old rolled to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 stunner.
“Tennis is a process”.
“It was good but I can play better”.
Kerber was relatively comfortable in a 7-5 6-3 success, just as Naomi Osaka was able to make light work of Monica Niculescu. “If it was going to go into a third I was going to continue to compete, I was going to fight very hard”.
“I thought it was overall quite a solid match. I could have played one more match!”
But Max Eisenbud, Sharapova’s long-time agent – a controversial figure and the man credited with helping amass her commercial fortune – was the most vocal, shouting “come on baby” and “can you hit the ball?” when she slapped one into the net. No longer is winning Slams simply about figuring out how to slip by Serena, and that is assuming the motivation is still there to return to the top. I will see how everything is going (smiling). “It’s always good to go out there – it’s one of the most handsome courts”.
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“There are a lot of positives to take away from this week”.
