And just like that, round one of the 2024 Wimbledon is complete. Well, sort of–the usual British rain means there are a few first-round matches still to be played on day three, but the lion’s share of the action is complete.
It’s been a jam-packed opening two days, with plenty of shock announcements, upsets, final set drama and big wins.
Let’s break down everything you need to know about the first two days of action in the men’s and women’s singles events.
Wimbledon men’s singles: Round 1 recap
Round one of the men’s singles at Wimbledon saw plenty of drama over the first two days. Here are the best bits.
Who got upset?
The biggest upset of the round by far was Andrey Rublev, was the No 6 seed crashing out in four sets to world No 122 Francisco Comesana. Rublev had more of his hard to watch on-court outbursts, with the Russian losing early for the second Grand Slam in a row.
Sebastian Korda, No 20 seed, also crashed out in the first round. The American had been touted as an outside chance at the title this year, having had a strong lead-in to Wimbledon on grass. He couldn’t get past the huge serve of French lucky loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, with the 20-year-old ousting him in five sets.
Other seeds to fall included Nicolas Jarry (19), Adrian Mannarino (22), Sebastian Baez (18) and Mariano Navone (31). None of these losses come as too much of a shock though, as all were either in poor form, or struggle on grass.
Who impressed?
At risk of repeating ourselves, a couple of the players who executed upsets were mighty impressive in round one. Mpetshi Perricard cracked an incredible 51 aces in his win over Korda, while Denis Shapovalov wound back the clock to 2021 and looked capable of another semi-final when he upset Jarry.
Novak Djokovic was also impressive in his win over qualifier Vit Kopriva. The Serbian is used to winning at Wimbledon, but not a few weeks after knee surgery. He raced through his opening match 6-1, 6-2, 6-2, even throwing in a few slides on the grass to prove his knee is back in ship-shape.
Young Jerry Shang looked sharp too in his win over 2022 quarter-finalist Cristian Garin. The Chinese teenager hit a handy 38 winners to 28 unforced errors to win his maiden match at Wimbledon.
We can’t move on without mentioning the brilliant match point from Lloyd Harris either. The South African qualifier went the distance with America’s Alex Michelsen, winning a phenomenal diving volley to seal the match tiebreaker 11-9 in the fifth.
What were the biggest storylines?
Outside of the upsets, the biggest storyline was undoubted Andy Murray’s withdrawal.
The tennis community waited with bated breath for the British legend to announce whether he’d play his singles match against Tomas Machac or not. He left it until the last moment, declaring on Tuesday morning that he hadn’t recovered enough from his back surgery to play–but he would still compete in doubles with brother Jamie.
There was plenty of five-set drama as well across the opening round. In fact, Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Bublik, Jordan Thompson and Thiago Seyboth Wild all came back from two sets to love down, winning in five.
Tiafoe in particular was thrilled with the win, with the former top 10 player having slipped down the rankings recently. However, he found himself in hot water afterwards when he made a comment about “losing to clowns” over the past year.
Finally, not quite a round one storyline, but a product of the past two days. Three riveting matches have been set for the second round, with Jannik Sinner taking on Matteo Berrettini, Brit’s Jack Draper and Cameron Norrie squaring off, and veterans Stan Wawrinka and Gael Monfils playing. Also check out our Tiafoe vs Coric preview for another great match.
Wimbledon women’s singles: Round 1 recap
Not to be out-shone by the men, plenty went down in round one of the women’s draw at Wimbledon too. Here’s the best of the action:
Who got upset?
Three big upsets happened in the first round of women’s singles action, with none bigger than defending champion Marketa Vondrousova crashing out. The No 6 seed lost to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the world No 83 who has never won a match at Wimbledon before. As a result, Vondrousova falls nine places in the WTA live rankings, to No 15 in the world.
Eighth seed Qinwen Zheng and No 24 Mirra Andreeva also fell in round one. Zheng was upset by Kiwi Lu Sun in three sets, while Andreeva lost to fellow teen Linda Fruhvirtova, also in three.
No 29 seed Sorana Cirstea was the only other seed to fall. The usual suspects–Maria Sakkari and Carolina Garcia–did surprisingly well to navigate their opening matches.
Who impressed?
Again, Lu Sun, architect of Zheng’s departure, was seriously impressive in her debut match at Wimbledon. The New Zealander played smart tennis, breaking the No 8 seed four times to set a second round clash against Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Wozniacki also picked up a handy win, with the Dane playing in her first Wimbledon since 2019. The wildcard, who retired from tennis to become a mother, defeated Alycia Parks 6-2, 6-0.
Most of the big names in the women’s draw had impressive first rounds. Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Marie Bouzkova, Ons Jabeur, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Jelena Ostapenko all won one-sided affairs in straight sets.
What were the biggest storylines?
Last minute withdrawals dominated the headlines of the first round for the women’s singles event.
No 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka was the biggest seed to withdraw. The Belarusian–who was second favorite to win the tournament–pulled out due to a shoulder injury ahead of her match.
Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No 22 seed, also withdrew at the last minute. The Russian was unable to compete due to illness, gifting crowd favorite Emma Raducanu a much easier opening match against lucky loser Renata Zarazua. The Brit won in straight sets, booking her spot in the second round.
Finally, Naomi Osaka recaptured hearts at Wimbledon, with the former No 1 winning her first match in six years at SW19. The four-time Grand Slam champion hadn’t played in London since 2019, with her last victory coming in 2018.
Her 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Diane Parry keeps her slim title hopes alive, with bookies putting her as a 21.00 (+2000) favorite to win Wimbledon 2024.
What were your top moments from the first round of Wimbledon? Let us know in the comments below.
