Leylah Fernandez takes Wimbledon opener in 3 sets against Ukrainian opponent
Teammate Auger-Aliassime out in Round 1 for 2nd straight year; Djokovic, Swiatek win
Leylah Fernandez moved on while Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered an upset loss in first-round action Monday at Wimbledon in England.
Fernandez, from Laval, Que., defeated Ukraine's Kateryna Baindl 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to post her first career main-draw win at the All England Club.
She suffered a first-round exit in her only other appearance at the grass-court Grand Slam in 2021.
Montreal's Auger-Aliassime, seeded 11th in the men's draw, was ousted by American lucky loser Michael Mmoh, who posted a 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory.
Auger-Aliassime, playing for the first time since a first-round loss to Fabio Fognini at the French Open, had 17 aces to Mmoh's 12 and hit 10 more winners than his opponent, but was done in by 64 unforced errors.
Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., had his match against Romania's Radu Albot suspended due to darkness. Albot was leading the match 7-5, 2-2.
Fernandez, a 20-year-old lefty, won just 65 per cent of her first-serve points, but broke the 29-year-old Baindl's serve six times en route to victory.
WATCH | Fernandez breaks Baindl 6 times in Wimbledon victory:
The Canadian, ranked 95th in the world entering the tournament, faces a difficult match against No. 5 Caroline Garcia of France in the next round.
Mmoh took advantage of a consistent service game to win his first career match against Auger-Aliassime.
The American was accurate on 71 per cent of his first serves and won 82 per cent of first-service points, compared to 60 per cent and 80 per cent for Auger-Aliassime.
Auger-Aliassime fell to 13-11 on the season, a stark contrast from a 2022 campaign that saw him win four ATP Tour titles, rise to No. 6 in the world rankings and lead Canada to its first-ever Davis Cup title.
He lost in the first round of Wimbledon for the second straight year after reaching the quarterfinals in 2021.
WATCH | Middling season continues for Auger-Aliassime in England:
Djokovic won first 2 majors of year
Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek advanced with straight-set victories Monday despite a rain delay as Wimbledon got started.
Venus Williams and Coco Gauff are among the other big names in action later on Day 1.
It is the year's third major tournament, and Djokovic won the first two: the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That puts him halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's tennis since 1969. He came close to the feat in 2021, falling just one victory short when he lost in the final of the U.S. Open.
He seeks a fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and eighth overall, which both would tie records for men.
Djokovic's title at Roland Garros was his 23rd at a Slam event, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the men's mark in that category.
Djokovic, the No. 2 seed, beat Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) after a rain relay that lasted more than an hour. Groundskeepers used leaf blowers to dry the grass.
"It was definitely frustrating, of course, for all the crowd. For us players, we both wanted to play but the conditions were not great, obviously still slippery," Djokovic said of the delay.
Swiatek better prepared for 2023 tourney
The 36-year-old Serb used a towel to help dry some wet spots: "I normally come out with rackets, not with towels."
Swiatek, who owns four major titles but hasn't been past the fourth round at the All England Club, beat Zhu Lin of China 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 Court, winning the final two games after the roof was closed following a rain delay.
Swiatek said she feels better prepared for the grass-court major this year following her title at the French Open.
"After Roland Garros," she said on court, "I really took some time to just appreciate what happened. Last year, when I won Roland Garros, it was my second Grand Slam so it still felt, like, overwhelming, but this time I really could just focus on celebrating and actually getting back to work with more peace in my head and I try to be open minded for the grass season and I think it's working. Hopefully I'm going to be able keep that mindset."
Barbora Strycova, a semifinalist in 2019, became the first winner of this year's tournament by beating Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 7-5. On the men's side, seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 on No. 3 Court.
Djokovic will be followed in the main stadium by Williams, a 43-year-old participating in the sport's oldest major tournament for the 24th time and taking on Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Williams — whose younger sister, Serena, retired after last season — won five of her seven Grand Slam singles trophies at Wimbledon.
After Swiatek at No. 1 Court, three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud was playing Laurent Lokoli. And then Gauff, a 19-year-old American who was a French Open finalist last year, will face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
Venus Williams injured early in Round 1 loss
Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams lost in the first round of her 24th appearance at the All England Club.
Williams fell to the ground at Centre Court early on against Elina Svitolina, and her right knee was treated twice by a trainer, including getting taped up during a medical timeout after the second set.
The 43-year-old American kept playing but could not manage to overcome 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist Svitolina in a 6-4, 6-3 defeat on Monday at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
Williams was the oldest player in this year's field and the fourth-oldest to compete in the main draw at Wimbledon.
Svitolina was only 2 when Williams made her Wimbledon debut in 1997 and just 5 when Williams won the event for the first time.
Elsewhere:
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Something of a surprise arrived at No. 1 Court just before darkness arrived Monday, when Coco Gauff, who burst onto the scene at age 15 by beating Venus Williams in the opening round at Wimbledon, was eliminated by Sofia Kenin 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in a highlight-reel matchup between two Americans.
With files from The Associated Press
