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Towel instead of racket: Defending champion Novak Djokovic also had other things to do in his first round match in Wimbledon against Argentinian Pedro Cachin.
The top 10 players
- Novak Djokovic (SRB/ATP 2) see Pedro Cachin (ARG/ATP 68) 6: 3, 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 4)
- Casper Ruud (NOR/ATP 4) see Laurent Lokoli (FRA/ATP 199) 6:1, 5:7, 6:4, 6:3
- Andrei Rublev (RUS/ATP 7) see Max Purcell (AUS/ATP 64) 6:3, 7:5, 6:4
- Jannik Sinner (ITA/ATP 8) see Juan Manuel Cerundolo (ARG/ATP 111) 6:2, 6:2, 6:2
Novak Djokovic had things to do on Center Court. During the roughly one-hour rain break, the Serb himself let himself be harnessed and helped with the time-consuming drying operation. Because the organizer had closed the roof too late, the two actors had to be patient. The lawn in the most famous tennis stadium in the world had become damp. Tournament staff tried to dry the wet spots with leaf blowers. And of course: The defending champion also lent a hand.
The effective match duration was then 2:12 hours. His mission 8th tournament victory on the “holy turf” launched the world number 2 against Pedro Cachin with a 6:3, 6:3. Only in the 3rd set did the Argentine put up a little more resistance. But Djokovic escaped another additional layer by winning the tie-break 7: 4. “Nole”‘s next opponent will be Jordan Thompson (AUS/ATP 70), who corrected a 0-2 set deficit against Brandon Nakashima (USA/55).
Rublev before Russian second round duel
Casper Ruud, not a proven lawn specialist, already posted his best performance in the lawn Grand Slam Major with the second round. Only for the 2nd time in the 5th attempt was the Norwegian able to win a game in Wimbledon. In the 4-set win over Laurent Lokoli, Ruud entered a phase of weakness in the 2nd round, but was able to counter after the set equalization.
The Russian also sat down in 3 sets Andrei Rublev through. The world number 7 was only challenged by the Australian Max Purcell in the second round, when he was long behind with a break. When the score was 4:5, however, Rublew made the service breakthrough and was able to win the set with another break. After only 1:33 hours he used his 2nd match ball to win. In the 2nd round Rublew meets the Russian Aslan Karatsew (ATP 50).
sense without problems
Made the last game of the day on Center Court Jannik Sinner short work with Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The Italian made 2 breaks in each set and won 6:2, 6:2, 6:2 after almost an hour and a half. Cerundolo had little to oppose in the duel between the two 21-year-olds, the difference of 103 places in the world rankings was clearly visible on the pitch.