On the opening day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was tested early on by a qualifier and world No.1 Jannik Sinner dropped a set, while young sensations Coco Gauff and Emma Raducanu wowed the crowd on Centre Court.
Three of the five Australians were successful, with Jordan Thompson, Aleks Vukic and Daria Saville all booking a spot in the second round, but the main talking point among the English papers was the debut of Nick Kyrgios on the BBC.
In other talking points, Kyrgios’s Australian Open doubles winning partner Thanasi Kokkinakis describes what it is like to be dumped by a major sponsor, while world No.1 Iga Swiatek will take to the court on Tuesday fully focused after her team banned her from seeing Taylor Swift.
DAY 1 WRAP: Aussie pulls off wild comeback in Wimbledon thriller; underdog sets up Alcaraz showdown
KYRGIOS DRAWS MIXED REVIEWS AS EMPLOYER DEFENDS DECISION TO HIRE HIM
Nick Kyrgios’s debut for the BBC as a pundit has attracted significant attention from the English press, with the broadcaster forced to defend its decision to hire the 2022 Wimbledon finalist.
On the opening day of the tournament, Kyrgios declared Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were the players to beat and that he was not surprised Novak Djokovic had overcome his knee injury so quickly, noting he was probably “more professional” than himself.
He offered good insight into star players including retiring star Andy Murray ahead of his farewell and generally looked comfortable when interviewed alongside former Wimbledon semifinalist Tim Henman beside Centre Court after Alcaraz opened his campaign with a 7-6 (3) 7-5 6-2 win over world No. 269 Mark Lalal.
But the inclusion of Kyrgios on the commentary has drawn the ire of some, including members of the British parliament, due to his appearance in a Canberra court last year on a common assault case involving a former partner.
Kyrgios, who is planning to return to the circuit next month after wrist surgery last year, entered a guilty plea but avoided a conviction for the charge brought for pushing his ex-girlfriend during an argument in 2021.
Conservative MP Caroline Nokes accused the BBC of being “a disgrace” for hiring the Australian, but the BBC pointed to the Australian’s contrition and comments on the matter when defending the decision.
“As a current and high profile player, Nick Kyrgios will provide insight and analysis of the action on the court from his experience in the game,” the BBC said in a statement.
“We are in no way condoning his cited previous actions or behaviours, on and off the court, and he is employed to share his views on tennis only. He has provided similar services to other major sports broadcasters in recent months. The legal process he was involved in has concluded, is well documented, and he has spoken about it publicly.”
Kyrgios recently told English television identity Piers Morgan “those things they are bringing up have all been sorted and dealt with”.
“I’m in a beautiful relationship now with my [new] partner, and I’m in such a good stage in my life where me working with the BBC was a good opportunity for me,” he said.
“I know that articles are going to get written and these things are going to get said, and if it affects it negatively, it’s never my intent. But I just want to have a great time, I want to give them another aspect of someone they would never hire, which is cool.
“I think it’s going to be good for me to get in there and bring my side to the game. And ultimately it’s helping tennis. I just want tennis to grow.”
Sabalenka withdraws from Wimbledon | 00:53
DASHA SIMPLIFIES MATTERS
A year after being distracted by an on-court protester on her return to the grand slam stage following knee surgery, Daria Gavrilova claimed her first win at a major in more than two years when beating Peyton Stearns 6-4 6-2.
The 30-year-old, who plays Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine next, told foxsports.com.au recently that she has to manage ADHD while playing tennis and she said after the match the tight confines between the court and the crowd on Crt 10 would usually bother her.
“I’ve had so much experience right? I didn’t even realise it was my eighth Wimbledon,” she said.
“So I was like ‘Okay, you’ve done it seven times before. You’ve had all this experience. What are you going to do with it?’
“And I think that helped me, knowing that I’ve done it before. It’s nothing new. I know what to expect. I know that I’m playing on this small court where everyone’s walking by and I thought I handled it really well today.”
BUILDING A BRAND
When Thanasi Kokkinakis emerged with Kyrgios as a talent capable of becoming one of the next big things in tennis a decade ago, the offers from sponsors were flooding in.
The South Australian, who reached the final of the Australian and US Open boys championships, has endured a chequered senior career riddled by injuries.
There have been great highs, including some stellar Davis Cup wins for Australia, a win over Roger Federer in the Miami Masters and an ATP Title at home in Adelaide.
But the 28-year-old, who played superbly at Roland Garros when edged by top American Taylor Fritz in the third round, has also endured some testing times with illness and injury.
During this period, he said, a sporting giant who had courted him from a young age had no hesitation in axing him as soon as his contract was up. His is an experience far from rare on the circuit.
“(It was) pretty simple. I got dropped from Nike,” he said.
“I was with them since I was 12 and then it turns out they don’t like someone that’s injured (or) that’s not playing very much, which is more than fair.”
When Kokkinakis went seeking a new endorsement deal a couple of years ago, he received a “slap in the face” from a few companies so, prior to his run to a maiden ATP Tour singles title and Australian Open doubles crown in 2022, he walked into a local Cotton On for some garb. It worked out a treat for the Aussie.
“I was fortunate I did pretty well when I was younger. I had a decent sort of junior career,” he said.
“So there were some brands interested but and early into my professional career but then I got injured for a while and coming back, I had some offers when I was injured, but they were kind of a bit of a slap in the face.
“So I was like, ‘If this is what they think I’m worth, I’d rather leave a little bit of money on the table and just back myself and hopefully I have some good results’.
“And then rather than just jumping at any money that came to me I wanted to kind of prove that I was worth something. I kind of bet on myself and it paid off.”
‘SWIFTY’ SWIATEK’S OBSESSION
The team behind world No.1 Iga Swiatek had to intervene to stop the Polish star from engaging in a popular activity they believed would hinder her preparation for Wimbledon.
The four-time Roland Garros champion is a former junior champion at Wimbledon but is yet to fully fire on grass in senior ranks given its intricacies.
But it was not her adaptability to grass that worried the Swiatek crew, rather their concerns about how excited she became after seeing Taylor Swift in concert in Liverpool recently.
The 23-year-old had such a good time catching the American superstar, she was eager to attend another concert in London prior to the beginning of the 2024 Championships.
“I’d love to (see her again),” Swiatek said.
“I was in Liverpool to see Taylor Swift. It was amazing. I actually was thinking about going here for the second time (but) my team was like, ‘Okay …’.
“Basically, after this concert, like three days after, I was so excited and could not sleep and everything. We decided it is better to fucus on the tournament. But it was a great experience.”
How Swiatek handles the switch in surface, and whether she masters grass, could go some way to determining whether she will be the next player to become a double-digit slam winner.
The right-hander was largely superb throughout the European clay swing when claiming the Madrid Masters, Italian Open and French Open in succession, though she was forced to save match points in the second round against Naomi Osaka in Paris.
But she has only a 66 per cent winning strike rate on grass – on clay it is nearly 90 per cent – and the Polish ‘Swifty’s’ best effort to date at Wimbledon is a quarterfinal last year.
The five-time major winner, who plays former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in an opening round to be held on Court 1 on Tuesday, has been working on her serve in order to secure more free points.
“It’s hard for me to be considered as an underdog anywhere now but I really need to focus on just the process of being a better player here and learning how to play the best kind of tennis, and not really on the rankings or the expectations that come with my ranking,” she said.
“I have managed to do that on other surfaces. Hopefully on this surface, it’s going to be also similar. Here it is even more important to serve well (with) the first serve.
“It seemed fine in practice, so I’m going to try it out in matches with some stress coming in and everything. Hopefully this progress that I’ve made is going to pay off.”
BELARUSIANS BOW OUT WITHOUT STRIKING A BLOW
Much of the attention throughout the lead-in to Wimbledon has centered on the fitness of Murray, with good reason given his bid for a farewell appearance at his favourite event was placed into peril by recent surgery to remove a spinal cord cyst last week.
The 37-year-old is one of Great Britain’s greatest athletes and his deeds at Wimbledon, where is was the champion in 2013 and 2016 and also claimed an Olympic gold medal, have made him a favourite son.
On an island where there is rivalry between the countries, the days of Murray being considered British by the English when he wins and Scottish when he loses were banished long ago.
After playing a set and a half in practice with former Australian Open semi-finalist Kyle Edmund on Monday as he races the clock to be able to take on Tomas Machac in an opening round clash on Centre Court on Tuesday.
There was less joy for dual-Australian Open winners Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarekna, however. The Belarusian blasters, who have both reached the world’s top-ranking, were forced to withdraw with shoulder injuries before striking a ball in anger.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, who was due to play local hopeful Emma Raducanu on Centre Court, also withdrew before play due to illness, with her place taken by lucky loser Renata Zarazua, who performed admirably.
Pablo Carreno-Busta and Dominik Koepfer withdrew from the men’s draw prior to their opening round matches.