On the hottest day in Wimbledon’s history, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare at the hands of 38-year-old Fabio Fognini. It was also a day of numerous seeds falling and history being created by British players.Temperatures at the All England Club topped 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit), surpassing the previous record of 29.3 Celsius set in 2001.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Amid such conditions, Spain’s Alcaraz had to dig deep for a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win over Italy’s retiring Fognini in a gruelling clash that lasted four hours and 37 minutes on Centre Court.It was only the first time since Roger Federer narrowly beat Alejandro Falla in 2010 that a defending champion had been taken to a fifth set in the Wimbledon first round.
During the match, the 22-year-old Alcaraz rushed to help a spectator who had collapsed in the stands, handing over a bottle of water as medics came to the woman’s aid.At the end of the match, Alcaraz pointed to Fognini in appreciation of the Italian’s effort. Fognini later revealed his son Federico, an Alcaraz fan, was banned from speaking to the five-time major champion – leaving the youngster angry. To make up for it, Fognini asked Alcaraz for his shirt after the match as a gift for his son.Sabalenka progresses after blipTop women’s seed Aryna Sabalenka used ice packs to stay cool during her 6-1, 7-5 win over Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on Court One.The 27-year-old Belarusian, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has experienced tough three-set defeats in this year’s Australian Open and French Open finals.Despite her success, she has never advanced beyond the Wimbledon semi-finals and missed last year’s tournament due to a shoulder injury.“I felt really great. I’m super grateful to be healthy, ready to compete, and to have gotten through the first round,” Sabalenka said. Next, she will face Czech player Marie Bouzkova, ranked 48th in the world.As for Branstine, a professional model who funds her tennis by posing for the camera, it was a challenging day out in the sun as well. She needed six hair ties, hairspray for the bun and it still wasn’t enough. Absence of a scrunchie didn’t help either.Mercury soars, seeds fall
Ons Jabeur gets medical assistance during her match against Varvara Gracheva at the first round match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (AP)
Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur was visibly upset and tears streamed down her face as she withdrew from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova.The Tunisian player was behind 7-6 (7/5), 2-0 when she decided to withdraw against the Bulgarian, who is ranked 111th in the world.Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev, a former US Open champion and a semi-finalist at Wimbledon for the past two years, experienced a meltdown during his match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.Bonzi won 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 after three hours and seven minutes. An angry Medvedev smashed his racket against his chair at the conclusion of the match.In other results, Holger Rune lost after squandering a two-set lead, falling to Chile’s Nicolas Jarry. Former finalist Matteo Berrettini was also knocked out, and Stefanos Tsitsipas retired due to injury.Additionally, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was defeated by Britain’s Sonay Kartal in three sets, 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.In all, 10 seeds fell on the opening day – seven among men (Medvedev, Rune, Berrettini, Tsitsipas, Tallon Griekspoor, Alexei Popyrin, Francisco Cerundolo) and three among women (Paula Badosa, Ostapenko, McCartney Kessler)History for British tennisFor British tennis, it had already been a record-breaking Wimbledon before the gates even opened at SW19. Twenty-three British players entered the singles draws – the highest since 1984. And not since 1976 have there been 14 Britons in action on Day 1 of Wimbledon.By the time day one concluded, well semi-concluded due to the 11pm curfew, seven (Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Sonay Kartal, Cameron Norrie, Billy Harris, Arthur Fery and Oliver Tarvet) had progressed to the second round – the most in a single day in the Open Era. The list includes Tarvet and Fery, ranked 733 and 461 in the world, respectively. The 21-year-old Tarvet pocketed £99,000 for his first round win, except he can’t make more than £7,290 a year due to the financial rules.“But I’m not here for the money,” he said after joking he’d hire a private jet to fly to the US where he’s a college student. “I’m here just for the experience and to stamp my mark on the ATP circuit. And I think I’ve done a good job so far.”Fritz upset by curfew
Taylor Fritz’s match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard was suspended at the Wimbledon in London. (AP)
American No. 1 Taylor Fritz expressed frustration, saying, “I couldn’t do anything,” after making a dramatic comeback on No. 1 Court on Monday night.In his first-round match against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Fritz led in points and committed fewer errors after two sets. However, he found himself two sets down, losing two tiebreaks to the Frenchman, who has one of the biggest serves in the sport—larger than Fritz’s.Despite the odds, Fritz fought back to win the next two sets, including a dramatic fourth-set tiebreak. Trailing 5-1 and two points from defeat, he rallied to win. Jubilantly, he pumped his chest toward his box, yelled “let’s f—ing go,” and sat down, riding the momentum toward what he believed would be a victorious finis. Or so he thought.However, after a lengthy discussion with a tournament official, play was halted due to Wimbledon’s curfew, set at 11pm local time — even though it was only 10:18 pm when the match was paused. “Then don’t ask me,” Fritz said as he packed up his rackets and sat back in his chair, telling his box he “couldn’t do anything.”The All England Club confirmed that the match was suspended because of the curfew, which was 42 minutes away at the time. Remarkably, the previous four sets between Fritz and Perricard lasted 44, 48, 33, and 45 minutes, respectively, meaning only one of those sets could have been completed within the remaining time.
