Steve Darcis caused one of the biggest upsets in tennis history on the first day at the All England Championships to beat French Open winner Rafael Nadal. The Belgium played the match of his life as he knocked out Nadal in straight sets, much to the shock of everyone. Lleyton Hewitt rolled back the years to upset 11th seed Stanislas Wawrinka in three sets whilst Marin Cilic was beaten by Marcos Baghdatis. Amongst all the top seeds dropping out, some managed to remain calm and progress. Andy Murray began his campaign well with victory over Benjamin Becker. Roger Federer strolled past Victor Hanescu, conceding only five games whilst Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated David Goffin.
There was only one major shock on the opening day's play in the women's draw as Sara Errani was trumped by Puig in straight sets. It was an easier day for Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova who both prevailed over their opponents. Caroline Wozniacki looked to have found some much needed form by only conceding two games to Candela. It was a tough start for Petra Kvitova who scraped past Vandeweghe in three competitive sets.
My Opinion: Very surprised that Nadal lost in the opening round after looking in such good form in the French Open. It must be noted that Nadal looked to be struggling with his knee throughout the match but Steve Darcis pulled out the match of his life to win. Not as shocked to see Hewitt beat Wawrinka. Hewitt is a wily fox on grass and that was a tough first round draw for Wawrinka. Similar things can be said of Cilic's defeat to Baghdatis as the Cypriot is a worthy opponent at Wimbledon. Great to see Murray progress nicely into round two with a solid win over Becker. Federer really cruised through his match. He should be a real threat again this year. I was not that surprised to see Errani go out so early. She has the game for the slower clay courts but not the fast grass ones. Azarenka and Sharapova wasted no time in progressing to round two whilst Kvitova played horribly but managed to win. Good to see Wozniacki win a match after some poor form this year.
Men's First Round Selected Results:
(2) Murray beat Becker 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
(3) Federer beat Hanescu 6-3, 6-2, 6-0.
Darcis beat (5) Nadal 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.
(6) Tsonga beat Goffin 7-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Baghdatis beat (10) Cilic 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
Hewitt beat (11) Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
(14) Tipsarevic beat Troicki 6-3, 6-4, 7-6.
(15) Almagro beat Zopp 6-4, 7-6, 7-5.
(18) Isner beat Donskoy 6-1, 7-6, 7-6.
(20) Youzhny beat Haase 6-4, 7-5, 7-5.
(24) Janowicz beat Edmund 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.
Lu beat Ward 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6.
Women's First Round Selected Results:
(2) Azarenka beat Koehler 6-1, 6-2.
(3) Sharapova beat Mladenovic 7-6, 6-3.
Puig beat (5) Errani 6-3, 6-2.
(8) Kvitova beat Vandeweghe 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
(9) Wozniacki beat Candela 6-0, 6-2.
(12) Ivanovic beat Razzano 7-6, 6-0.
(15) Bartoli beat Svitlolina 6-3, 7-5.
(16) Jankovic beat Konta 6-2, 7-5.
(17) Stephens beat Hampton 6-3, 6-3.
(19) Suarez Navarro beat Dominguez Lino 6-2, 6-2.
(20) Flipkens beat Putintseva 7-5, 6-4.
Pennetta beat Baltacha 6-4, 6-1.
Giorgi beat Murray 6-3, 6-4.
Muguruz beat Keothavong 6-4, 6-0.
Men's Performance of the Day: Steve Darcis deserves this. Sheer brilliance from Darcis who outplayed Rafael Nadal on Centre Court.
Women's Performance of the Day: Maria Sharapova for fighting her way to victory over a stubborn Mladenovic.
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