Stan Wawrinka out of Wimbledon as Rafael Nadal breezes past John Millman
Tuesday 4 July 2017 16:04, UK
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka became the first big-name exit at Wimbledon, suffering a first-round defeat to debutant Daniil Medvedev.
The Swiss fifth seed, who has won all three other Grand Slam titles and beat Andy Murray on the way to the French Open final last month, continued his struggles in SW19 where he has never gone beyond the quarter-finals.
Clearly struggling with a knee injury, he lost his way after claiming the second set against the 21-year-old Russian who advanced to the second round thanks to a 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-1 victory on his Wimbledon debut.
Medvedev, the world no 49, had lost in the final round of qualifying to Marcus Willis last year and he enjoyed a fairy tale of his own on Centre Court as he dominated Wawrinka who suffered a sixth first-round exit at the All England Club.
"I wasn't feeling the way I wanted to feel. But I played against a great player who was confident," said Wawrinka.
Medvedev kissed the Centre Court grass to celebrate his victory, his first at any Slam.
"A year ago I was ranked 250. If someone told me in one year I would win on Centre Court I would tell you you are joking," said the Russian.
Meanwhil, Rafael Nadal's tilt for a third Wimbledon title began with a 6-1 6-3 6-2 victory over Australian John Millman.
The 31-year-old - who was playing his first competitive game on grass this year - continued with the fine form which saw him clinch the French Open last month.
Nadal was absent for last year's Wimbledon, while the Spaniard had suffered exits to players ranked in the 100s in his previous four trips to the All England Club.
However, there was to be no repeat on the opening Monday at SW19, with the 15-time Grand Slam champion breezing past the world No 137 on Court One - a second-round clash against Donald Young awaits Nadal.
Kei Nishikori had little trouble in booking his place in the second round, the Japanese ninth seed needed just an hour and 12 minutes to beat Marco Cecchinato for the loss of just four games.
The 27-year-old has never been beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon but was too strong for the world No 102 coming through 6-2 6-2 6-0 to advance to a tougher looking meeting with either France's Julien Benneteau or Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Seventh-seed Marin Cilic was in fine form as he defeated German Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 6-3 in the opening round.
After a tight first set, which he edged by snatching the only break point, the Croatian increasingly dictated terms with his big forehand and booming serve, which bought him a string of cheap points and dug him out of tight corners.
Cilic, who failed to get past the fourth round in his opening seven attempts, has since lost at the quarter-final stage in his last three visits to south London. Kohlschreiber, meanwhile, has failed to win a match at Wimbledon since 2014.
In Murray's quarter, 14th seed Lucas Pouille, a quarter-finalist last year advanced to a second round meeting with 2013 semi-finalist Jerzy Janowicz who beat Canadian teenager and defending junior Wimbledon champion Denis Shapovalov in four sets.
Pouille sat off Tunisia's Malek Jaziri in four sets and more than three hours to advance and he is a potential fourth round opponent for world no 1 Andy Murray who had little trouble in beating Alexander Bublik in straight sets.
24th seed Sam Querrey was also victorious on the opening Monday of the tournament, beating Thomas Fabbiano in straight sets.
Having beaten Novak Djokovic on his way to the quarter-finals at last year's Championship, the big-serving American will be a threat on the grass and he will next face Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili who beat Argentina's Carlos Berlocq.
Karen Khachanov, seeded 30th, beat fellow Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, although he needed five sets in an entertaining match on Court No 5 before prevailing 7-6 2-6 6-3 1-6 6-2.
Benoit Paire beat Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva to set up an all-French meeting with Pierre Hugues Herbert who went through after Australia's Nick Kygrios was forced to withdraw with a hip injury, while Fernando Verdasco and Fabio Fognini were among the other seeds to advance on day one.
For those on the move, we will have Wimbledon covered via our website skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation. Who will win the All England Club titles this summer? Have your say...
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