1. round of Wimbledon: Tsitsipas, Williams and Kvitova are out. Seven Czechs move on

The opening round of Wimbledon tennis is over. It was played for 3 days as the organizers were troubled by bad weather. It brought some big surprises. Unexpectedly, Tsitsipas, Williams and Kvitova bid farewell to the tournament. Except for Kvitova, the Czechs did quite well and 7 of them advanced to the next round. How did the other favourites do? What about the comeback of Federer and Murray?

The biggest favorite for the title is Novak Djokovic. His entry into the tournament was not exactly easy. The home team’s Jack Draper even took the opening set 6-4. Then the Serbian started to dominate and easily turned the match around. Djokovic defeated Draper 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 and successfully stepped forward to defend his title.

Russian favourite Medvedev also had an easy time, facing a duel with the unpleasant Struff. A player who managed to beat him in their last meeting. That didn’t happen this time. Medvedev defeated Struff 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 to advance to the second round.

There was also one huge surprise in the men’s part of the bracket. Tsitsipas ran into Tiafoe in the opening round. An unpleasant opponent who can trouble anyone on grass. And it proved to be true.

The Greek committed unforced errors, didn’t handle important moments, didn’t take advantage of break points and overall played well below his level. The American tennis player outplayed him and scored one of the biggest scalps of his career. Tiafoe defeated Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and took care of the biggest surprise of the first round.

And what about the ageless tennis legends? Switzerland’s Federer took on the erratic Mannarino. Nothing easy at the start and the 20-time Grand Slam champion had a lot of trouble.

The Frenchman played very well and even took a 2-1 set lead. However, he got badly injured during the 4th set. Mannarino tried again, but finally had to retire early in the 5th set. Federer thus moved on after a struggle.

Andy Murray also had a very tough opponent. The home favourite returned to his favourite tournament after 5 years. His opponent in the 1st round was Basilashvili. An unpleasant player who could have easily thought about winning. But Murray played a great match.

The Brit was up 6-4, 6-3, 5-0 heading into the 2nd round. But that didn’t happen, Murray lost 7 games in a row and surprisingly lost the 3rd set 5-7. However, he didn’t allow a similar outburst in the next set. In the end, he defeated Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 and experienced a hilarious comeback.

The only Czech representative in the men’s competition was Jiri Vesely. The Czech defeated Hanfmann 6-1, 7-5 and 7-6 to enter the 3rd Grand Slam of the season successfully.

How did the women do?

The biggest candidate for the title is Australian Barty. She was going to have an interesting battle with Suarez-Navarro. A former top 10 player and a woman who has beaten cancer in recent months.

The match promised to be an interesting spectacle and indeed it was. In the end, it was a more even match than expected. The Spaniard even took a set from the favourite. However, Barty eventually won 6-1, 6-7, 6-1 and fulfilled the role of the favourite.

The other aspirants to win the title also did well. Muguruza, Sabalenka, Azarenka, and Svitolina had successful entries into the tournament.

But there were also a few surprises in the women’s section. The biggest is the withdrawal of Serena Williams. The American badly injured her ankle in her duel against Sasnovich and had to retire at 3-3. She will not add another Wimbledon title to her rich collection.

Petra Kvitova also had a great chance to go far. Unfortunately, her plans were ruined in the first round. She was going to play Stephens. A very difficult match, which the Czech favourite didn’t make it.

Kvitova couldn’t find her rhythm, she made a lot of mistakes, she didn’t stop the key moments of the match. On the other hand, the American confirmed her growing performance. Stephens finally beat Kvitova 6-3, 6-4 and took care of one of the biggest surprises of the 1st round.

What about the other Czechs?

A big question mark hung over the form of Karolina Pliskova. The Czech is not having a successful season and her game is not up to par. In the 1st round she was also facing Zidansek. A toy who reached the semifinals at the recent Rolland Garros. Pliskova had a slower start, but eventually she brought her match to a victorious end. She defeated the Slovenian 7-5 6-4 and scored a valuable victory.

The question was also how Barbora Krejcikova would fare on the grass. All the more so since she hadn’t started singles at Wimbledon yet. The Czech, however, did well. Krejcikova defeated Tausonova 6-3, 6-2 and scored her 13th win in a row.

Siniakova, Martincova, Vondroušová and Kristýna Plíšková also advanced to the second round . In addition to Kvitova, Bouzkova was also unsuccessful. The Czech failed to beat the veteran Zvonareva. All in all, the Czechs did very well in the first round at Wimbledon and advanced in large numbers.

Kvitova’s elimination is disappointing, but there are several other Czechs left in the lineup, so there is no reason to mourn. The chances that the 3rd Grand Slam of the season will be successful for the Czech players are realistic.

Czech matches:

Vesely 6-1 7-5 7-6 Hanfmann

Siniakova 6-1 6-0 Wangova

Krejcikova 6-3 6-2 Tausonova

Vondrousova 2-6 6-4 6-2 Kontaveitova

Muchova 6-3 6-3 Zhang

Kr. Pliskova 3-6 6-4 6-4 Sharma

Ka. Pliskova 7-5 6-4 Zidansekova

Martincova 6-2 4-6 6-1 Riske

Stephens 6-3 6-4 Kvitova

Zvonareva 7-5 6-4 Bouzkova

Source: Wimbledon