TENNIS - Wimbledon 2025 R1
Jul. 2nd, 2025 08:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feather_ghyllDay 1. That lovely, verdant striped grass, the hush of the big courts adding to the sense of occasion.
I watched bits of Sonay Kartal’s match against Jelena Ostapenko, who was wearing reasonable clothes (I liked her pleated skirt!) Kartal seemed to be wearing an oversized t-shirt, perhaps because of the heat. Ostapenko had pulled out of Eastbourne with an injury, but there was no sign of it as she raced ahead 3-0, but Kartal climbed back into the match and pinched the first set. The second set started the same way, but Ostapenko won it. However, the third was very much Kartal’s, because Ostapenko wasn’t running – was it the injury, the heat or in her head? Anyhow, Kartal beat the higher ranked former Grand Slam champion who is good on grass in the win of her life.
I watched bits of Sabalenka’s match against a qualifier. After a couple of nervy points, Sabalenka settled in and raced away with the first set. Her opponent played better in the second set, but Sabalenka took her chance and got through handily enough.
So, then to Centre Court, where Alcaraz, as the defending champion, would be opening proceedings, his opponent Fabio Fognini, playing in his last Wimbledon. We thought we knew what to expect, but that’s not what we got. Alcaraz wasn’t himself, or rather, he was himself, but it wasn’t quite working. Everyone needs a while to find their range, but he wasn’t. The serve was there, then it wasn’t. The big forehand would go long. Henman said the footwork wasn’t right. Alcaraz pinched the first, but couldn’t build on it, and Fognini was cleaner hitting, a former top 10 player who, on his day, could bother the very best, not feeling the years as he had all year because Alcaraz wasn’t pressurising him.
The intensity would be there for Alcaraz – usually when staving off break points or to break back, but then it dissipated. About the only shots that were mostly working were the lob (rarely used) and the drop shot, which usually did win the point. But the big serve wasn’t reliable – I don’t know what his first serve percentage was, but it wasn’t what it should be, and neither was his forehand. The error count was enormous, even if it did go to a fifth set. I thought Fognini was wearying at the end of the third set, which Alcaraz won, but Alcaraz was worse in the fourth set.
It took until the fifth for him to knuckle down and find the intensity and thus the range. He was 3-0 up when there was an extended break because a spectator was unwell, with Alcaraz coming across as a gent for passing over some of his water (the mean part of me thinks it was only fair, because nobody expected this first round match to surpass four hours.) Fognini could only win the one game, making Alcaraz serve it out.
He could only say ‘Wimbledon is different’ when interviewed in the court, after leading the applause for Fognini, who had often outplayed him in this match. I don’t know if more emerged in the proper press conference, but I hope he and his team figure out what went wrong and work on it in training, because it didn’t seem to be physical, just general flatness and his main answer seemed to be to try to force it. The whole locker room will have taken notice (Lehechka and Zverev are in this half, and, er, Fonseca, who bundled Fearnley out in three.)
I dipped in and out of Badosa vs. Boulter, which I thought might be a chance for Boulter because Badosa had had recent injury issues. Badosa’s big problem in the first set seemed to be her ball toss, so Boulter had a dream start. Badosa worked herself back in in the second set, and Boulter handed it to her with too many double faults. At the end of the third, Boulter took advantage of scoreboard pressure to get through to the second round, which is something she generally does here, by beating a top 10 player – not something she generally does.
Arthur Fery beat the men’s 20 seed, Popyrin, who doesn’t have Ostapenko’s pedigree, but then Fery is nowhere in the rankings and is here as a wildcard. Two upsets on the men’s side of note: Medvedev, out early at another Grand Slam, and Rune, despite being two sets up, losing to Jarry in five.
Day 2. I started off by sampling several matches, and then realised Pegula was down one set and watched most of the second set, where Cocciaretto was outplaying her, frankly. The commentators said Pegula, fresh off a grass-court tournament win, wasn’t trying enough that was different quickly enough. Cocciaretto has nearly been top 20, and the last time she played at Wimbledon she’d been bundled out early…by Pegula. So, that was the no. 3 seed out.
I watched defending champion Krejcikova play Eala, who was debutting at Wimbledon (on Centre Court!) Because of what I’d seen at Eastbourne, I was expecting it to be competitive, and it was. Krejcikova broke first, Eala responded superbly, broke back and went on a little run. Krejcikova’s problem seemed to be her ball toss (it had been off at Eastbourne, but that was put down to the wind) and her opponent’s aggressive mentality.
But it’s about how you start the second set, Krejcikova made some adaptations to her game, Eala got flatter, and when Krejcikova broke, the younger player couldn’t break back. Too many shots showed off Krejcikova’s quality and a bit of that variety that won her her grand slams. By the third set, the intensity and, probably, her long week at Eastbourne were telling on Eala, but honestly, this grass court season should be seen as a positive all round. (Though she needs to keep working on making her serve more of a weapon.)
I switched over to court no. 1, where fastforwarding revealed that Sinner had seen off a lower ranked Italian in three, Fritz had taken two days to beat Mpeshi-Perricard, Kvitova’s last match at Wimbledon had lasted about an hour (she was facing Emma Navarro) and her goodbye speech was lovely.
Then Jack Draper was facing Sebastian Baez, 5 foot 7, coming off six losses on his favourite surface. (Though he had made it to the top 20 once.) After a bit of finding his range (two games?), Draper showed why he’d thrashed Baez in the past on other surfaces. It was never really much of a contest, and then in the second set, Baez had a nasty slip and consulted with physios in the changeovers. Draper won the second set, and after he’d broken Baez in the third, the latter retired.
I’d heard that Zverev was out, losing in the fifth to Rinderknech in a two-day match, so that was the male no. 3 seed out too. Djokovic’s match started on Center, and Gauff vs Yastremska was moved to court no. 1. I’d heard this was a potential upset, as Yastremska had pushed Gauff before, and Gauff hadn’t had a great grass-court preparation. (I don’t blame her for taking the time to celebrate her French Open victory.) Tracey Austin advised us to keep an eye out on Gauff’s serve and forehand (she also made it clear that she didn’t think much of Yastremska’s tennis IQ.) And they weren’t great, while Yastremska was hitting BIG and pulling it off. She raced up to 5-2, got a bit nervous, Gauff played smart and forced it into a tiebreak. But she handed two points over with double faults, while Yastremska won a few more with her blistering shots.
Off Gauff popped for a reset, except the second set started off much as the first had ended. Gauff was leaking double faults, Yastremska was hitting winners, Gauff lost her earrings at one point, but she also lost heart, because she didn’t know how big to serve (or if the serve would go in.) Yastremska had plenty of heart. No. 2 seed out. If it's any consolation (it won't be), Gauff's bodice was so pretty, making her probably the most stylish-looking player.
Now, only a superficial reading had Gauff as a favourite here, she’s never got past the fourth round, grass favours great attacking players, not great defenders, and, for instance, I thought Pegula had a better chance here. (The seeds that count, Swiatek, Rybakina and Andreeva got through today. But Alcaraz’s half of the draw has just got easier still. ETA: Musetti also lost his first-round match.)
I caught a glimpse of Djokovic’s match, and stopped watching once he’d got a break in the fourth set. (I see that he went on to win the match in four.)
I watched bits of Sonay Kartal’s match against Jelena Ostapenko, who was wearing reasonable clothes (I liked her pleated skirt!) Kartal seemed to be wearing an oversized t-shirt, perhaps because of the heat. Ostapenko had pulled out of Eastbourne with an injury, but there was no sign of it as she raced ahead 3-0, but Kartal climbed back into the match and pinched the first set. The second set started the same way, but Ostapenko won it. However, the third was very much Kartal’s, because Ostapenko wasn’t running – was it the injury, the heat or in her head? Anyhow, Kartal beat the higher ranked former Grand Slam champion who is good on grass in the win of her life.
I watched bits of Sabalenka’s match against a qualifier. After a couple of nervy points, Sabalenka settled in and raced away with the first set. Her opponent played better in the second set, but Sabalenka took her chance and got through handily enough.
So, then to Centre Court, where Alcaraz, as the defending champion, would be opening proceedings, his opponent Fabio Fognini, playing in his last Wimbledon. We thought we knew what to expect, but that’s not what we got. Alcaraz wasn’t himself, or rather, he was himself, but it wasn’t quite working. Everyone needs a while to find their range, but he wasn’t. The serve was there, then it wasn’t. The big forehand would go long. Henman said the footwork wasn’t right. Alcaraz pinched the first, but couldn’t build on it, and Fognini was cleaner hitting, a former top 10 player who, on his day, could bother the very best, not feeling the years as he had all year because Alcaraz wasn’t pressurising him.
The intensity would be there for Alcaraz – usually when staving off break points or to break back, but then it dissipated. About the only shots that were mostly working were the lob (rarely used) and the drop shot, which usually did win the point. But the big serve wasn’t reliable – I don’t know what his first serve percentage was, but it wasn’t what it should be, and neither was his forehand. The error count was enormous, even if it did go to a fifth set. I thought Fognini was wearying at the end of the third set, which Alcaraz won, but Alcaraz was worse in the fourth set.
It took until the fifth for him to knuckle down and find the intensity and thus the range. He was 3-0 up when there was an extended break because a spectator was unwell, with Alcaraz coming across as a gent for passing over some of his water (the mean part of me thinks it was only fair, because nobody expected this first round match to surpass four hours.) Fognini could only win the one game, making Alcaraz serve it out.
He could only say ‘Wimbledon is different’ when interviewed in the court, after leading the applause for Fognini, who had often outplayed him in this match. I don’t know if more emerged in the proper press conference, but I hope he and his team figure out what went wrong and work on it in training, because it didn’t seem to be physical, just general flatness and his main answer seemed to be to try to force it. The whole locker room will have taken notice (Lehechka and Zverev are in this half, and, er, Fonseca, who bundled Fearnley out in three.)
I dipped in and out of Badosa vs. Boulter, which I thought might be a chance for Boulter because Badosa had had recent injury issues. Badosa’s big problem in the first set seemed to be her ball toss, so Boulter had a dream start. Badosa worked herself back in in the second set, and Boulter handed it to her with too many double faults. At the end of the third, Boulter took advantage of scoreboard pressure to get through to the second round, which is something she generally does here, by beating a top 10 player – not something she generally does.
Arthur Fery beat the men’s 20 seed, Popyrin, who doesn’t have Ostapenko’s pedigree, but then Fery is nowhere in the rankings and is here as a wildcard. Two upsets on the men’s side of note: Medvedev, out early at another Grand Slam, and Rune, despite being two sets up, losing to Jarry in five.
Day 2. I started off by sampling several matches, and then realised Pegula was down one set and watched most of the second set, where Cocciaretto was outplaying her, frankly. The commentators said Pegula, fresh off a grass-court tournament win, wasn’t trying enough that was different quickly enough. Cocciaretto has nearly been top 20, and the last time she played at Wimbledon she’d been bundled out early…by Pegula. So, that was the no. 3 seed out.
I watched defending champion Krejcikova play Eala, who was debutting at Wimbledon (on Centre Court!) Because of what I’d seen at Eastbourne, I was expecting it to be competitive, and it was. Krejcikova broke first, Eala responded superbly, broke back and went on a little run. Krejcikova’s problem seemed to be her ball toss (it had been off at Eastbourne, but that was put down to the wind) and her opponent’s aggressive mentality.
But it’s about how you start the second set, Krejcikova made some adaptations to her game, Eala got flatter, and when Krejcikova broke, the younger player couldn’t break back. Too many shots showed off Krejcikova’s quality and a bit of that variety that won her her grand slams. By the third set, the intensity and, probably, her long week at Eastbourne were telling on Eala, but honestly, this grass court season should be seen as a positive all round. (Though she needs to keep working on making her serve more of a weapon.)
I switched over to court no. 1, where fastforwarding revealed that Sinner had seen off a lower ranked Italian in three, Fritz had taken two days to beat Mpeshi-Perricard, Kvitova’s last match at Wimbledon had lasted about an hour (she was facing Emma Navarro) and her goodbye speech was lovely.
Then Jack Draper was facing Sebastian Baez, 5 foot 7, coming off six losses on his favourite surface. (Though he had made it to the top 20 once.) After a bit of finding his range (two games?), Draper showed why he’d thrashed Baez in the past on other surfaces. It was never really much of a contest, and then in the second set, Baez had a nasty slip and consulted with physios in the changeovers. Draper won the second set, and after he’d broken Baez in the third, the latter retired.
I’d heard that Zverev was out, losing in the fifth to Rinderknech in a two-day match, so that was the male no. 3 seed out too. Djokovic’s match started on Center, and Gauff vs Yastremska was moved to court no. 1. I’d heard this was a potential upset, as Yastremska had pushed Gauff before, and Gauff hadn’t had a great grass-court preparation. (I don’t blame her for taking the time to celebrate her French Open victory.) Tracey Austin advised us to keep an eye out on Gauff’s serve and forehand (she also made it clear that she didn’t think much of Yastremska’s tennis IQ.) And they weren’t great, while Yastremska was hitting BIG and pulling it off. She raced up to 5-2, got a bit nervous, Gauff played smart and forced it into a tiebreak. But she handed two points over with double faults, while Yastremska won a few more with her blistering shots.
Off Gauff popped for a reset, except the second set started off much as the first had ended. Gauff was leaking double faults, Yastremska was hitting winners, Gauff lost her earrings at one point, but she also lost heart, because she didn’t know how big to serve (or if the serve would go in.) Yastremska had plenty of heart. No. 2 seed out. If it's any consolation (it won't be), Gauff's bodice was so pretty, making her probably the most stylish-looking player.
Now, only a superficial reading had Gauff as a favourite here, she’s never got past the fourth round, grass favours great attacking players, not great defenders, and, for instance, I thought Pegula had a better chance here. (The seeds that count, Swiatek, Rybakina and Andreeva got through today. But Alcaraz’s half of the draw has just got easier still. ETA: Musetti also lost his first-round match.)
I caught a glimpse of Djokovic’s match, and stopped watching once he’d got a break in the fourth set. (I see that he went on to win the match in four.)
