The Belarusian returns to Wimbledon after the 2022 ban and wins 2-0. The defending champion gives up a set. Errant one step away from the k,o., then the rain
It’s not news that it’s raining in London. That almost all the matches scheduled today at Wimbledon have been cancelled, perhaps yes. The only Italian to take the field on the second day of Wimbledon was Sara Errani, but her match with the American Madison Brengle was interrupted when the Bolognese seemed close to defeat. All the other matches that should have seen the blues as protagonists were postponed due to bad weather: Paolini-Kvitova, Bronzetti-Cristian, Giorgi-Gracheva, Cocciaretto-Osorio and Stefanini-Kontaveit. Rybakina, Jabeur and Sabalenka return to the hotel with a ticket for the second round, top seeds covered by the roof of Central and Field 1.
ERRANS IN THE BALANCE
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Only one thing could save Sara Errani from defeat: a total reset. The sky (understood as the rain) granted it to him. The tennis player from Bologna, number 79 in the world, will return to the field on Wednesday against Madison Brengle, number 114, with the mission of overturning a 6-3 3-0 with a break from a disadvantage in the second set. Mission impossible, if the game had followed her natural course. Errani was sliding inexorably towards defeat: her aggressive game had not lacked courage, but her precision; her serve, her usual enemy, made her hers: in the break party that was the match until the interruption, she broke her opponent’s ramshackle serve only twice, against the five she suffered . You will need to change the chip to hopefully find your first victory on these lawns since 2016.
RYBAKINA COMEBACK
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Even a champion’s legs can shake. Indeed, even to the champion. Elena Rybakina, n.3 in the world and winner here a year ago, got a good scare but it’s in the second round: the Kazakh defeated Shelby Rogers 4-6 6-1 6-2 in comeback. A match that actually started for her after 41′, the duration of the first set. “It was very difficult for me, I was a little nervous”, she admitted under the eyes of Roger Federer, a luxury spectator in the royal box. “Last year’s experience didn’t really help me because I was equally excited today. A year ago I started in a smaller field. I had the opportunity to grow match after match. Now it’s different: you go straight to the bigger field. It’s a new chapter for me and I have to get used to keeping my level constant.” May she live up to the second and third sets, when Rybakina went from 52% to 78% of firsts in the field and any opportunity to see the underdog triumph (Rogers is n.49 WTA).
jabeur is applying
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Contrary to how it went in the 2022 final, today it was Ons Jabeur (n.6 WTA) who seemed much more in control. And to think that even for her the premises weren’t the best: “When I entered the locker room I saw the photo of Rybakina with the trophy, this didn’t help me at all”, said the Minister of Happiness laughing after beating the Polish Magdalena Frech (n.70) with a double 6-3. A satisfactory test for the Tunisian, in the vein of the usual, irresistible dropshots and which she only lost in an empty pass for a brief interlude in the second set. And after the final handshake, she launched her most important candidacy: “Last year was extraordinary, this year I hope to do something more”. Translated: Ons is here to win. Sabalenka ahead — Of course, this year there will be one more obstacle to overcome. Because the number 2 in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, has already swept away the first opponent: Panna Udvardy, Hungarian number 82 WTA, defeated by 6-3 6-1 in 1h2′. All easy for the Belarusian, despite the fact that it wasn’t her most brilliant day. Enough, however, to make it clear that her power fits the surface just fine — even if she couldn’t prove it a year ago, shocked by the organization’s “ban” in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine . It’s an important tournament, as well as for the obvious reasons, because Sabalenka could overtake Swiatek to number one in the standings by at least reaching the final and hopefully the Pole doesn’t go far in the draw. The next opponent could be the blue Camila Giorgi, another who, like her, shoots everything she can. It would be interesting.
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