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Two withdrawals, 10 British stars bow out in the first round – it hasn’t been a day to remember for the home crowd at Wimbledon.
The much-anticipated third Gram Slam of the year arrived and after positive runs for Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper in the lead-up to Wimbledon, there was a sense of optimism of British success in SW19 – but that quickly diminished by midday.
First up, Raducanu announced last night, around 10pm on the eve of Wimbledon, that she would withdraw from the tournament due to a stress fracture, before Jack Draper followed in her footsteps, pulling out 24 hours before his opening round after suffering a long-term arm injury.
So, all hope rested on the remaining Brits competing on day one at the All England Club.
Starting on the men’s side, British number one Cameron Norrie narrowly missed out on a spot in the second round after a gruelling five-setter against qualifier Michael Zheng as the American edged the Brit 6-7 (7), 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (10-4).
The 30-year-old led by a set twice, showcasing composure to win two set-breaks, but Zheng always responded to level the score before claiming the victory in the final and deciding set, winning the 10-point tiebreak after nearly four hours on court.
Progressing to the main draw after winning three matches in the qualifying tournament, the 22-year-old only dropped one break of serve in the five sets.
Reaching the second round last year, facing world number Carlos Alcaraz, qualifier Oliver Tarvet pushed Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech to four sets in a battle of over four hours but eventually was edged out 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-5.
Remarkably, the opening two sets remained on serve throughout, with neither player surrendering a break, but the 25th seed’s experience in the tie-break prevailed, overcoming Tarvet in defining moments to take a two-set lead.
Despite falling in the third set, where he had an off-court medical timeout, the 23-year-old went on to break for the first time in the match at 3-3 before serving out the set. However, at 6-5 to the Frenchman in the fourth set, Tarvet was unable to serve for the tie-break and in result, handed the win to Rinderknech.
They were joined by fellow qualifiers Felix Gill and Max Basing in suffering early defeats on home soil.
Gill, who was making his first appearance in a Grand Slam main draw, was tasked with the challenge of teenage sensation and 23rd seed Rafael Jodar, but the young Brit put up a strong fight against one of the rising stars in the sport.
However, the Spaniard claimed a 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory on what was his Wimbledon debut after a meteoric rise on the ATP Tour since the turn of the year.
After an excellent run in qualifying last week to book his spot in the main draw, Basing’s dream at Wimbledon came to an end against Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki, losing 6-3, 6-0, 6-0.
Jack Pinnington Jones’ match with American Brandon Nakashima was suspended in the third set due to light, with the American having taken the first two sets 6-3, 7-6 (5) and currently leading the third 4-3.
On the women’s side, Harriet Dart opened up the day on No.1 Court in a hard-fought defeat to former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
The Brit had opportunities to take the third and deciding set, breaking twice at the start and then had a break point at 4-4, but the Latvian fought back on each occasion and the former semi-finalist at Wimbledon secured her spot in the second round.
Rising star Mimi Xu put in an impressive performance on only her second main draw appearance in SW19, taking a set off former world number eight Daria Kasatkina, but the Australian eventually saw off the Brit 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
The 18-year-old won 88% (14/16) of points on her first serve in an excellent display to take the second and force a deciding set, and while she had opportunities to break in a number of games, Kasatkina was more clinical in those moments to clinch the match.
Fellow teenagers Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic were handed tough first-round draws in their second appearance at Wimbledon.
Klugman fell at the hands of former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 6-1, 6-4, while Stojsavljevic was defeated by 11th seed and former Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-1 despite breaking the Swiss’ opening game in the match.
Francesca Jones suffered a straight-set 6-4, 6-4 loss to France’s Diane Parry in the evening matches on the outdoor courts.
Alicia Dudeney made her debut at both Wimbledon and in a Grand Slam main draw and suffered a 6-3, 6-3 defeat to American Alycia Parks.
