Day 2 of the men’s singles at Wimbledon was thoroughly entertaining. Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic and this year’s French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev were among the players to take to the court. There were two upsets on the second day, including a particularly notable one of a Top 10 player. This article overviews who looked good, which players did not reach their best level and then names the best match of the day.
Wimbledon Day 2 Men’s Recap
Who Looked Good
Novak Djokovic’s quest to equal Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon titles began in dominant fashion on Centre Court. He eased to a 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory against Vit Kopriva. Admittedly, Kopriva, who qualified for the main draw by beating French stalwart Richard Gasquet, struggled to perform on the big stage. But Djokovic still impressed, with the injury he had at the French Open appearing to be a thing of the past.
Alexander Zverev also breezed into the next round. He did this by overcoming Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2 6-4 6-2. The German saved all five break points he faced to ensure he was not broken during the match. Carballes Baena’s spirit was never broken, but he simply could not live with Zverev’s power.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard produced one of the upsets of Day 2 against Sebastian Korda. The 20-year-old triumphed 7-6 6-7 7-6 6-7 6-3. It would be harsh to say Korda played badly. Mpetshi Perricard simply served incredibly, meaning that he was not broken throughout the five sets. His only break of the match was enough to secure the win in the final set.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas avoided such an upset against Taro Daniel. The Greek battled through three competitive sets to win 7-6 6-4 7-5 at Wimbledon. It was a tricky match for Tsitsipas, but saving six of the seven break points he faced prove to be crucial in the end.
Hubert Hurkacz had an even tougher first-round battle. He recovered from a set down to prevail 5-7 6-4 6-3 6-4 against Radu Albot. The match was close throughout, but in the end, Hurkacz’s calmness in the tight moments was what got him over the line.
Who Looked Bad
Andrey Rublev suffered the biggest upset on Day 2 of Wimbledon. He was knocked out by Francisco Comesana 4-6 7-5 2-6 6-7. Comesana was playing in his first Grand Slam main draw match and was a huge underdog. Unfortunately for Rublev, his familiar problem of not being able to control his emotions let him down once again. Once that issue began, his below-par level only got worse.
Kwon Soon-Woo may also be disappointed with his display against Holger Rune. The Korean did not create a single break point chance during his 1-6 4-6 4-6 loss to Holger Rune. The 15th seed did not need to be near his best to claim an easy win on Court 16.
Christopher O’Connell was another player who did not reach his best level. Toppling the former Wimbledon semifinalist Taylor Fritz was always going to be challenging. But the Australian was far below what he is capable of during his 1-6 2-6 4-6 defeat.
Match of the Day
Jack Draper’s 3-6 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3 triumph on Centre Court against Elias Ymer was a strong contender for match of the day. However, Thiago Seyboth Wild’s battle against Paul Jubb is chosen as the best contest on Day 2 of Wimbledon. It did not look like being a close match after the first two sets. The home favourite Jubb raced into a 6-1 6-3 lead, not being broken once in the process.
It seemed like the match was going to be over very swiftly after Jubb broke to go 2-0 up in the third set. But Seyboth Wild refused to throw in the towel. He immediately retrieved the break, before eventually taking the set on a tiebreak 7-6. The fourth set saw Jubb recover from a break down, but he could not pounce on that momentum. Seyboth Wild broke a second time to take the fourth set 6-4 and force a decider.
Jubb, who lost in five sets to Nick Kyrgios two years ago at Wimbledon, suffered the same fate against the Brazilian. He did not show some admirable fighting spirit by breaking Seyboth Wild when he served for the match at 5-4, sending the home crowd into raptures as a result. But the jubilation was short-lived. Seyboth Wild kept his composure to break again, before serving out a memorable 1-6 3-6 7-6 6-4 7-5 triumph.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
