Almost everyone already knows that the biggest British favorites- Andy Murray and Johanna Konta are through without losing a set. But what about the rest of the Brits? Read to find out!
Best result from a Brit today was definitely by Aljaz Bedene. Bedene isn’t known for his grass prowess, so when he was drawn against 21st Ivo Karlovic, there wasn’t much hope. The Brit led the head-to-head 3-0, but two of the matches were retirements and the other one was on clay. Bedene not only held his own on serve and pushed Karlovic to tiebreaks, but came out on top.
The final scoreline for Bedene was 6-7(5) 7-6(6) 6-7(7) 7-6(7) 8-6 after 4 hours and 31 minutes. It was wonderful to see the crowd line up behind Bedene for all his struggles with Olympic and Davis Cup eligibility. Th Brit fired 27 aces to Karlovic’s 44. The Croat failed to convert any of his 8 break points. Bedene’s consistency was definitely one of the keys, getting 79 winners to only 18 unforced errors.
Bedene’s next opponent will be Damir Dzumhur
Post Match Quotes:
“Yeah, I mean, it wasn’t easy to see because he was getting actually tired. Basically the only thing he can do at the end was serve. I was still okay. I wouldn’t say I was fresh, but I felt good on the court. I was hoping we’re going to finish today, end the match.”
“Well, I don’t think I was dreaming about winning 8-6 in the fifth set. But any win’s a good win. It’s a good win. I was getting goosebumps even before that when everyone was clapping. I think it was maybe 5-4 in the fifth set. I mean, I was enjoying the match. Probably I wouldn’t say that if I would lose, but I was enjoying it that moment as well.”
I know Damir for a long time. I actually lent him two match shirts and two shorts for today’s match. He’s a really nice guy. We hang out a lot.
Heather Watson is another Brit that scored a win today. Watson was given an alright draw, opening against the Belgian Maryna Zanveska. The wild card took the first set 6-1, but struggled a bit to close the set out. Watson was leading 5-3 in the second set, but after dropping 3 match points at 5-4, she was in trouble. The second set went to a tiebreak, but Watson regrouped and won the match 6-1 7-6(5).
Heather Watson will play 19th seed Anastasija Sevastova, hoping that she could pull off the upset in front of a crowd on a big court.
Post Match Quotes:
“Yeah, well, first I’m happy to get through the first round. First rounds are always tough. I’d never played Maryna before. I wasn’t really sure. Like, you can watch as many videos as you want, but it’s different being out there on the court against them. I felt I got off to a great start. I felt very solid. In the second set, I felt the same. I just felt that she served extremely well in that second set, especially on the deuce side she hit a lot of aces down the T. Then that game at 5-4, you know, I thought I served very well. She just made me play the extra ball. It didn’t go my way.”
“I feel like the grass for me always takes a few weeks to get used to it, then I start playing really well on it, which is the same for every surface really with me. But especially last week is some of the best tennis I’ve played in a long time.”
Laura Robson did not please the British crowd with her loss to Beatriz Haddad Maia. Haddad Maia does have a solid game on grass, especially with her big serve. The Brazilian wasn’t broken in the match, winning 79% of 1st serve points. She also converted 3 out of 3 break points on Robson’s serve. Robson kept on misfiring, giving Haddad Maia a comfortable 6-4 6-2 win.
Post Match Quotes:
“No, it was just how I felt going into the match. I thought I had a really good chance. With the way that I’d been playing the last few weeks, there is no reason I couldn’t have won that match. Yeah, just let myself down.”
“Well, I definitely would like to qualify for US Open again. That’s always a highlight, playing in New York, for me. Ranking goals, I’m not really overly concerned. It is what it is. I think as long as you get as many matches as you can, you know, grind through these 60Ks and things like that, you move up with the wins.”
Cameron Norrie faced a great challenge this morning in his first Wimbledon appearance. No smaller than 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Norrie is playing his first Wimbledon with a wild card after a successful career in the NCAA college tennis. However he was quite far behind the sheer power and experience of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga took control at 2-3 in the first set, and remained in control throughout. The final score between No. 10 Tsonga and No. 221 Norrie was 6-3 6-2 6-2 after 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Post Match Quotes:
” I think I just lost a little bit of focus. Missed a few easy volleys in the first set, got broken, and then I think it was just the same in each set. I played one loose service game in each set, and it cost me. I’m not used to playing guys at this level. It’s a good learning experience, and I will know next time to work on my concentration and work on my volleys a little bit (smiling).”
” Oh, no, no. I have turned pro now. I can’t actually play for the uni at all anymore. I’m going to head back to the States and play a lot of tournaments on the hard courts over there and kind of look to base, if I have like an off week or something, then I will go to my uni at TCU and kind of base out of there. My favorite surface is the hard, so it’s the best time of year for me now.”
Naomi Broady was also a wild card recipient this year. Broady was drawn against Irina-Camelia Begu. The match was deemed a coin flip, decided by the particular form on the day. Broady had a chance to break for 3-2, but Begu held and she was the one to take the break and win the first set. Begu was in charge of the second set, and won 6-4 6-2 after an hour and 17 minutes.
Post Match Quotes:
“With my ranking being just on the border of not being enough ranking anyway, I don’t think I felt as much pressure as maybe if I was ranked in the 200s and I was way off, because I know that I have played in main draw here off ranking and in the other Grand Slams before. As I said, I’m only a couple spots off. In the bigger picture I really wanted to win to get in the US Open main draw. That was my goal for the grass season. I think I’m going to be literally two or three spots off that. I don’t know if the tournament after Wimbledon counts or not, but I’m entered in it, so I’ll probably go play there in Kazakhstan and try and get the last couple points I need to get up for that.”
“Well, I have women’s doubles here. I don’t know if I play tomorrow. I haven’t checked the schedule. Does women’s doubles start tomorrow? I don’t know. And I’m going to sign up for mixed doubles. I will see with that, as well. Then I’m entered in a 100,000 in Kazakhstan directly after Wimbledon, the second week of Wimbledon. Then it’s over to the U.S. for the hard court season. Possibly some more ITFs mixed in with the WTAs and then potentially qualifiers for US Open if my ranking is not with the main draw.”
