Wimbledon 2021: Serena Williams hopes ended by injury, Federer survives scare

Seven-time champion Serena Williams’ hopes of claiming a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon ended in tears as the American quit with an injury early in her first-round match against unseeded Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich. The 39-year-old needed treatment off the court when leading 3-2 in the first set and was clearly in distress on her return before being forced to retire at 3-3.

Her misfortune added to an already dramatic second day in which men’s eight-time winner Roger Federer looked set for his first opening-round exit at a Grand Slam since 2003 when he found himself outplayed by Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The Swiss trailed by two sets to one but Mannarino slipped on the greasy Centre Court turf and although he soldiered on to lose the fourth set he could not continue.

Men’s second seed Daniil Medvedev looked impressive as he came through a tricky opener against German powerhouse Jan-Lennard Struff, winning in four sets.

Eight-times champion Roger Federer survived a mid-match wobble, losing two sets against Adrian Mannarino, but booked his place in the second round after the Frenchman retired injured following a fall on court. The match was locked at 6-4 6-7(3) 3-6 6-2 when Mannarino called it quits.

World number one Ash Barty overcame a mid-match blip to beat Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-7(1) 6-1 on Centre Court and advance to the second round. Suarez Navarro, who returned to competitive tennis at the French Open after overcoming cancer, is set to retire after the Olympics. The 32-year-old received a standing ovation from the crowd as she left the court.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev of Germany fired 35 winners and sent down 20 aces to ease past Dutch qualifier Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 6-4 6-1 in 89 minutes.

Five-times champion Venus Williams overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu 7-5 4-6 6-3, her first Wimbledon singles win since 2018. Former world number two and 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva also advanced with her first Wimbledon main-draw win since 2014, defeating Marie Bouzkova 7-5 6-4. She faces Iga Swiatek next.

Briton Dan Evans snapped a four-match Grand Slam losing streak by beating Feliciano Lopez 7-6(4) 6-2 7-5 and is now turning his attention to the Euro 2020 soccer match between England and Germany. Asked how he would spend the rest of his afternoon, he said: “Hopefully watching England win.”

Earlier, 26th seed Fabio Fognini beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6(4) 6-2 6-4 in a match carried over from Monday. Former world number one Karolina Pliskova began her quest for a maiden Grand Slam title with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek. The Czech eighth seed was joined in the second round by Ons Jabeur, who beat Rebecca Peterson 6-2 6-1. Greece’s Maria Sakkari, returning to action for the first time since her French Open semi-final defeat, powered past Aranxta Rus of the Netherlands 6-1 6-1 in 49 minutes.

While many matches were cancelled because of rain, the roofs on Centre Court and Court One did their job to ensure continuous action. Women’s top seed Ash Barty opened the day on Centre with a 6-1 6-7(1) 6-1 victory over Carla Suarez Navarro who bade an emotional farewell to the tournament, having announced in April that she had recovered from cancer.

A long day concluded with her compatriot Nick Kyrgios locked in a late-night tussle with Frenchman Ugo Humbert on Court One. The score was 3-3 in the fifth set when play was suspended just before 11pm local time – the cut-off for play.