Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek Start With Wins On Day 1 Of Wimbledon 2023

Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek superior with straight-set victories Monday regardless of a rain delay as Wimbledon received began. Venus Williams and Coco Gauff are among the many different large names in motion in a while Day 1.

It’s the 12 months’s third main match and Djokovic gained the primary two: the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That places him midway to the primary calendar-year Grand Slam in males’s tennis since 1969. He got here near the feat in 2021, falling only one victory quick when he misplaced within the closing of the U.S. Open.

He seeks a fifth consecutive title on the All England Membership and eighth general, which each would tie information for males.

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Djokovic’s title at Roland Garros was his twenty third at a Slam occasion, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the boys’s mark in that class. Djokovic, the No. 2 seed, beat Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) after a rain relay that lasted greater 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 stated of the delay.

The 36-year-old Serb used a towel to assist dry some moist spots: “I normally come out with rackets, not with towels.”

Swiatek, who owns 4 main titles however hasn’t been previous the fourth spherical on the All England Membership, beat Zhu Lin of China 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 Court docket, successful the ultimate two video games after the roof was closed following a rain delay.

Swiatek stated she feels higher ready for the grass-court main this 12 months following her title on the French Open.

“After Roland Garros,” she stated on courtroom, “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, turned the primary winner of this 12 months’s match by beating Maryna Zanevska 6-1, 7-5. On the boys’s facet, seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 on No. 3 Court docket.

Djokovic will likely be adopted in the principle stadium by Williams, a 43-year-old collaborating within the sport’s oldest main match for the twenty fourth time and taking up Elina Svitolina of Ukraine. Williams, whose youthful sister, Serena, retired after final season, gained 5 of her seven Grand Slam singles trophies at Wimbledon.

After Swiatek at No. 1 Court docket, three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud was taking part in Laurent Lokoli. After which Gauff, a 19-year-old American who was a French Open finalist final 12 months will face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.