Wimbledon: Wimbledon returned Monday after being called off in 2020 because of the pandemic. So much felt rather familiar at the All England Club, from the rain that disrupted the schedule to the victory for Novak Djokovic. It was the usual Wimbledon though as Novak Djokovic recovered to win after a slow start.
Much like the delays to competition around the grounds – it took about 4 1/2 hours to begin play on the outside courts. More than a dozen matches were also postponed entirely. Djokovic also got off to a slow start in his bid for a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title and sixth at Wimbledon.
The defending champion dropped the opening set against Jack Draper, a 19-year-old wild-card entry from England who is ranked 253rd. Then the Serbian eventually showed his best tennis under the Centre Court roof and won 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 with the help of 25 aces.
Djokovic is halfway to a calendar-year Grand Slam, after trophies at the Australian Open in February and the French Open two weeks ago. The man he came back to defeat in the final at Roland Garros after dropping the first two sets, No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, was quickly bounced out of the All England Club. The 57th-ranked Frances Tiafoe of the United States beat Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in just over two hours at No. 1 Court. Prior to the match Tiafoe had been 0-11 against opponents ranked in the top five.
“That guy is special. He’s going to do a lot of great things. Win a ton of Grand Slams,” Tiafoe said about Tsitsipas. “But not today,” he added.
In the first women’s match completed, Aryna Sabalenka won. She is seeded No. 2 after defending champion Simona Halep and four-time major champ Naomi Osaka pulled out. Sabalenka won a 6-1, 6-4 victory over qualifier Monica Niculescu. Other winners included 2017 champion Garbiñe Muguruza, No. 23 Madison Keys and No. 32 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Djokovic was happy that tennis has returned to the All England Club. “It feels great seeing everyone and being back at probably the most special, most sacred, tennis court in the world,” the top-seeded Djokovic said.
“Alongside many other players, I was very sad last year that Wimbledon was canceled,” Djokovic said. “They were very difficult times for everyone, but I’m really glad that the sport is back. Hopefully you guys have enjoyed it and you will enjoy it in the next couple weeks,” the Serbian added.