(Wimbledon) Greek player Maria Sakkari, seeded number 8 in the Wimbledon women’s tournament, was eliminated in the first round by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk (36e) 0-6, 7-5, 6-2.
In a match interrupted twice by rain, Sakkari went it alone in the first set dispatched in 27 minutes.
But Kostyuk woke up next, leading 5-3 in the second set before losing her engagement as she served to tie it one set all.
The Ukrainian managed to redo the break in stride to secure the win of the set at 7-5.
PHOTO ANDREW COULDRIDGE, REUTERS
Marta Kostyuk
She then clearly had the upper hand, breaking at 3e and 5e games to lead 5-1 and finish on his first match point at 6-2.
Medvedev tames a tough Fery
Russian player and seeded number 3 in the men’s draw, Daniil Medvedev, had to work hard to qualify in three sets 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 against Briton Arthur Féry, 391e world in the first round.
PHOTO TOBY MELVILLE, REUTERS
Daniil Medvedev and Arthur Fery
For his very first match in the main draw of a big tournament, Féry, who received an invitation, managed to erase breaks against him in the first and second sets.
With his game while touching and not hesitating to get to the net, despite a rather modest size (1.74m), he considerably hampered the Russian whose best result on the London turf so far has been an eighth finals in 2021.
But the power of Medvedev, notably with seven aces and 45 winning points, against 24 for Féry, ended up making the difference.
Daria Kasatkina wins
Russian player Daria Kasatkina, seeded number 11, was the first to qualify on a day that was again heavily disturbed by rain by crushing Great Britain’s Jodie Burrage 6-0, 6-2.
PHOTO BY DYLAN MARTINEZ, REUTERS
Daria Kasatkina
While 87 matches were scheduled for the third day, after Tuesday’s had already been considerably truncated by bad weather, the matches not only started late, but they were also interrupted twice to cover the courts.
Even at the Central, where Kasatkina’s match was being played, the roof of which had been left open, a small downpour had forced the two players to return to the locker room for a few minutes in the second set.
That didn’t stop the Russian player, who won the grass-court tournament at Eastbourne last week, from getting serious about qualifying for the third round.
Against Burrage, who received an invitation, she was ruthless, winning 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour, without interruption of play.
The next match on the Central must oppose the world number one, the Polish Iga Swiatek, to the Spaniard Sara Sorribes.
