Fans didn’t have to wait long for Wimbledon’s first major upset as it happened right on the opening day, with the elimination of Swiss player Stan Wawrinka.
The No. 3 in the world, lost to Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and 6-1 and stopped Wawrinka from accomplishing his goals for this tournament.
Meanwhile Scotland’s Andy Murray debuted with a solid win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, while Rafael Nadal won without losing a set at the All-England Club.
Wawrinka, who has never advanced past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon (2014 and 2015), will leave empty handed.
The frustrated Swiss was looking to reach the top of the ATP ranking and complete a career Grand Slam after winning the Australian Open in 2014, the French Open in 2015 and the U.S. Open in 2016. To climb to No. 1, the Swiss had to win Wimbledon, but now he will have to wait for another chance.
Wawrinka lost to a player, ranked 41 in the world, who seems to have a bright future. Last week Medvedev reached the semifinals of the Eastbourne International, but lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Meanwhile Murray had just two games where his serve was threatened: the first of the match, when he saved two break points. And in the ninth game of the second set when he was down 0-40 but came back against Bublik, before winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 and 6-2.
In was an outstanding performance by Murray, who had recently lost in the first round of the Queen’s Club Championships (a tournament he’s won five times), against Australian Jordan Thompson.
In second round, Murray will have a tougher match against German player Dustin Brown, who’s always a threat on grass and in 2015’s Wimbledon ousted Rafael Nadal in the second round.
In Wimbledon’s first round Nadal defeated Australian John Millman 6-1, 6-3 and 6-2 with an aggressive game that included spin shots, powerful serves and net approaches to shorten points.
This was the Spaniard’s official return after winning a record tenth Roland Garros trophy in France.
Nadal has won Wimbledon twice (in 2008 and 2010) but only once in the last four years he has reached Wimbledon’s second round. He will now face American Donald Young.
If Nadal reaches Wimbledon’s final he could climb atop the ATP ranking and replace Murray as the world’s number one, but before doing that he could face Murray in the semifinals as they are both in the same side of the brackets.
