Defending Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina recovers to race past Shelby Rogers

LONDON – Defending Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina came from a set down on Centre Court to beat American Shelby Rogers 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round on Tuesday.

Watched by record eight-time Wimbledon men’s champion Roger Federer in the royal box, the Kazakh looked to be still suffering from the illness that forced her out of the French Open in June when she was broken in the first game.

Rogers powered through the first set with Rybakina looking out of practice, having pulled out of a warm-up tournament in Eastbourne due to a virus.

However, the third seed roared back in the second, showing the kind of strength and composure when claiming her first Grand Slam title in London last July.

The 30-year-old Rogers, ranked 49th in the world, was broken in the first game of the decider by a stinging forehand down the line by the Moscow-born Rybakina, who successfully overturned the decision to call the ball out.

The 2022 champion never looked back, with another break coming in the seventh game when Rogers double faulted having already saved three break points.

The 24-year-old, who served 12 aces in the match, closed out victory with a hold to love.

Asked on court if the experience of playing the previous year’s final at the same venue had helped her this time, she said: “Actually, it didn’t help me much because I was just as nervous today.

“But amazing atmosphere, it’s the first time I’ve played under the roof and the grass is on the baseline.

“It’s just amazing. Really happy to go through to the next round and just enjoying the moment here.”

She will face either Japanese lucky loser Nao Hibino or France’s Alize Cornet in the second round.

In the men’s draw, top seed Carlos Alcaraz made a flying start to his Wimbledon campaign.

On a soggy day at the All England Club, most of the action took place on the covered Court One and Centre Court.

Tennis’ new golden boy raced through the first set against French veteran Jeremy Chardy in just 22 minutes, before breaking twice in the second set.

Chardy, who had previously announced that this would be his final tournament, drew first blood in the third set to lead 4-2. But Alcaraz hit back strongly, sealing a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win with an ace.

“I like to play battles and I am really happy to have played a great level, both of us, in the third set,” said the superstar Spaniard.

“I am really happy to get through this first round.”

The 2022 Wimbledon women’s runner-up Ons Jabeur made a solid start to her bid to capture a maiden Grand Slam title, easing past unseeded Pole Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3 to reach the second round.

The Tunisian has struggled during an injury-hit season and her preparation for the grass-court Major was far from ideal with early losses in Berlin and Eastbourne, but the sixth seed showed her calibre against Frech.

After narrowly missing the opportunity to break the 70th-ranked Frech early with two wayward drop shots, Jabeur got her nose in front in the fifth game thanks to clean hitting and she raced through the opening set.

The 28-year-old, outclassed by Rybakina in the title clash a year ago, moved with ease and displayed a stunning range of strokes that included drops, lobs and scoops to overwhelm Frech and go 3-1 up in the next set.

Frech grabbed a break against the run of play before drawing level. But Jabeur, who needed three sets to overcome the 25-year-old at Indian Wells in March, ensured there would be no late drama under the Court One roof.

Jabeur restored her advantage as Frech sent a shot long, and closed out the contest on serve to set up a meeting with either unseeded Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure or Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

REUTERS, AFP