Wimbledon day one: Sabalenka pulls out as Raducanu, Alcaraz and Sinner all win
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner claimed routine day one wins at Wimbledon, but the bottom half of the women’s draw was blown wide open with a string of withdrawals led by third seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova were all forced to pull out due to injury or illness, which was followed by impressive victories for Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu.
Raducanu was one of three British female winners alongside Lily Miyazaki and Sonay Kartal to whet the appetite for an action-packed day two where 12 home hopes are set to be in action – if Andy Murray decides to compete in the singles.
Tweet of the day
Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play The Championships this year. I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I’ll be back stronger than ever next year. ❤️
— Sabalenka Aryna (@SabalenkaA) July 1, 2024
Picture of the day
Quote of the day
Brit watch
Emma Raducanu beat Renata Zarazua 7-6 (0) 6-3
Lily Miyazaki beat Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-1
Sonay Kartal beat Sorana Cirstea 3-6 6-2 6-0
Shot of the day
Stanislas Wawrinka clinches victory with a backhand The Championships knows, and loves 😍#Wimbledon | @stanwawrinka pic.twitter.com/Ytto7oGPKJ
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2024
Stat of the day
230 – Daniil Medvedev has claimed his 230th ATP match win since the start of the 2020 season, the most of any player on the ATP Tour so far this decade. Octopus.#Wimbledon | @Wimbledon @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/CsedXEaw5p
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 1, 2024
Tale of the lucky loser
From lucky loser to a thoroughly deserving winner 👏
After replacing Aryna Sabalenka, Erika Andreeva made the most of her chance, advancing to the Second Round!#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/rAwS9EduB7
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2024
Erika Andreeva missed out on a place in the Wimbledon main draw on Thursday when she lost in the final round of qualifying, but received a reprieve at the last-minute when Sabalenka pulled out on Monday afternoon.
Hours later and Andreeva had booked a spot in round two with a 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-3 win over Emina Bektas on her debut at the All England Club.
With younger sister Mirra Andreeva going out later on Monday, world number 101 Erika Andreeva has gone from failing to qualify for this year’s Championships to being the last one standing among the talented siblings.
