LONDON: Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka displayed vintage form at Wimbledon to book a third-round clash with holder Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev won a rain-delayed opener as the grasscourt Grand Slam cleared its backlog on Thursday.
As drier weather finally arrived after a soggy start to the championships, the men’s draw suffered its biggest casualty as British wildcard Liam Broady ousted Norway’s fourth seed Casper Ruud for the biggest win of his career.
On a day when 17 delayed first-round singles matches were finally completed, women’s defending champion Elena Rybakina reached round three as she battled past France’s Alize Cornet.
She will next face Britain’s Katie Boulter who ensured the home nation retains an interest in the women’s draw with a three-set victory over Viktoriya Tomova.
Fifth seed Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia also reached round three as she edged past 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez while fourth seed Jessica Pegula of the US was far too good for Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
The 38-year-old Wawrinka, winner of three Grand Slam titles and twice a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, knocked out 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2.
His reward was a first meeting on grass with Djokovic who has beaten him in 20 of their 26 clashes but who Wawrinka defeated to win the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open.
“There’s zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me, I think. I’m happy to have won today again. It was a great match. It’s an honor to play Novak here,” Wawrinka said.
“I was missing that in my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon. Hopefully, I can make a competitive match, but if you will look at recent results I don’t stand a chance.”
Rain over the first three days meant organizers were left playing catch-up and former world No. 2 Alexander Zverev took to the court for his first-round clash only on Thursday.
His 6-4 7-6(4) 7-6(5) win over Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer — helped by 20 aces — meant the All England Club was finally done with all its first round ties shortly after 1400GMT
BROADY SHINES
Journeyman Broady, ranked 142nd in the world, lit up the afternoon with a 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 defeat of Ruud in front of a delirious Center Court crowd.
The Norwegian had reached three of the last five Grand Slam finals including at Roland Garros last month but could not keep the home favorite at bay.
After four closely-fought, if erraticm sets Ruud, who said he had spent the three weeks since reaching the French Open final relaxing well away from tennis, looked like he had mentally packed his bags again as Broady ripped through the decider to seal a memorable win.
“It’s a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience, coming out on Center Court at Wimbledon. It’s been my dream since I was five years old,” Broady said in an on-court interview.
Third seed Rybakina needed only 26 minutes to win the first set 6-2 against Cornet, crunching winners all over Center Court.
But then endured an 82-minute second set as her power game began to crumble before sealing it on a tiebreak.
Former runner-up Matteo Berrettini was also among those who moved into the second round as the Italian recovered from a slow start to his match that began on Tuesday to defeat compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(7) 6-3.
It was a memorable day for Andrey Rublev who overcame fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4 7-5 to bag his 50th Grand Slam match victory and move into the third round.
Former semifinalist Elina Svitolina continued her fine run after her maternity break as the wildcard from Ukraine shook off a mid-match wobble to down 28th seed Elize Mertens 6-1 1-6 6-1.
She set up a clash with American Sofia Kenin after the former major champion eased past China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4 6-3.
Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva — who burst onto the scene in Madrid this year — advanced to the third round on her Wimbledon main draw debut after 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova quit their clash due to injury while trailing 6-3 4-0.
Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who reached a career-high No. 2 last year, lost to Marie Bouzkova 6-1 6-2 in her final match before she retires from the sport.
