The first day in the women’s singles at Wimbledon had varied forms of actions. Some of the top players showed their prowess by winning comfortably to send a message to the rest of the draw. Others managed to come through difficult matches that will leave them battle hardened. But some of the seeded players were victims of upsets. The best of the action is discussed below.
Wimbledon Day 3 Recap
Who Looked Good
World #1 Iga Swiatek looked very impressive in her 6-1 6-3 win over Zhu Lin of China. Although it was a match the Pole was expected to win, her opponent did not play a bad match. She was simply outclassed by the four-time grand slam champion, who struck 22 winners on the way to victory.
Elina Svitolina produced a composed performance in the battle of the wildcards against five-time champion Venus Williams. Although Williams is no longer near her prime and had a strapped up knee, Svitolina still had to contend with many flashes of brilliance, as well as a crowd vociferously backing her opponent. The Ukrainian stayed solid and smartly used her superior movement to her advantage.
Sofia Kenin played a stunning match to secure a 6-4 4-6 6-2 victory over Coco Gauff. Kenin is currently outside the Top 100, but generated some of the powerful hitting that won her the 2020 Australian Open. If she continues playing with that kind of aggression, she is someone the other players in the draw will hope to avoid.
Jodie Burrage also deserves acknowledgment. The Brit was playing in her first ever Grand Slam, but showed no nerves in an excellent performance against Caty McNally, winning 6-1 6-3.
Who Looked Bad
Although unlucky to face an opponent in inspired form, it was an extremely disappointing day for the young American sensation Coco Gauff. She hit 33 winners, but hit the same number of errors throughout the three sets. Gauff may have been slightly guilty of not showing enough variety to try and disrupt the momentum of Kenin.
15th seed Liudmila Samsanova suffered an exit in a match she should not really have lost. She was a 7-6 7-6 loser against Ana Bogdan in a match where she made a large 46 unforced errors, many of which came on key points in the match. Samsanova seemed uncomfortable moving on the grass at times, surprising for a player who has reached the fourth round previously at SW19.
Zheng Qinwen was another seed to exit at the first hurdle, falling to Katerina Siniakova. It was a very lacklustre performance for the Chinese player. Siniakova did not play near her best level for large parts of the match. But Zheng made nearly double as many unforced errors compared to winners, making it nearly impossible to compete effectively at Grand Slam level.
Match of the day
The most dramatic match on the first day came in one of the least anticipated matches on paper: #78 Cristina Bucsa vs Kamilla Rakhimova. The Spaniard Bucsa won 11-9 in a final set tiebreak. It was a clash of styles, with Bucsa hitting more than double as many winners as her opponent, but still only winning by the smallest of margins after a match that swung in momentum on many occasions.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
