LONDON: Russian Daniil Medvedev fought off the spirited efforts of British world number 391 Arthur Fery with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the 20-year-old wildcard on Wednesday as he starts his latest attempt to make a serious challenge at Wimbledon.
Medvedev, 27, has only once reached the fourth round, though he missed last year’s tournament due to the ban on Russian players.
The third seed looked rusty for a while as Fery, making his Tour level debut, knocked him out of his stride with a sustained serve and volley approach. But a rain break at 5-5 in the first set changed the dynamic and Medvedev was generally in control from then on.
“I was pretty nervous, I didn’t get to play yesterday so really happy to be back,” Medvedev said in a courtside interview.
“Thank you for the nice welcome, especially against Arthur, a British guy. It was amazing as I didn’t know what reception I would get and it was unbelievable. I’m not loved everywhere for who I am, sometimes I get crazy on the court, but I am going to be loving my time here and I hope I prolong it.”
Women’s top seed Iga Swiatek outclassed Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2, 6-0 to sweep into the third round of Wimbledon with a dazzling display.
The Pole started a little slowly and dropped serve early, having broken her opponent, but moved through the gears in what was her first match on Centre Court.
Once the 22-year-old found her range with her lethal forehand, the four-time Grand Slam champion was unstoppable as she cruised into the third round.
World number one Swiatek, a claycourt specialist with three French Open titles to her name, has found Wimbledon tricky, with her best run coming in 2021, when she reached the fourth round.
She has started her fourth appearance in ominous fashion, however, dropping only six games in her opening two matches.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk battled back from a set down and dealt with three rain interruptions to beat eighth seed Maria Sakkari 0-6 7-5 6-2 and move into the second round. The 21-year-old had looked out for the count after the first set against Sakkari’s flawless power game but recovered after a lengthy rain interruption to turn the match around. The Ukrainian earned her first win over her opponent at the third attempt.
Daria Kasatkina made swift and short work of her second-round match thumping British wildcard Jodie Burrage 6-0 6-2 in an hour.
The 11th seed Daria Kasatkina beat Jodie Anna Burrage 6-0, 6-2 to reach the third round.
In other first round matches, Elisabetta Cocciaretto beat Camila Osorio 6-3, 7-5, Anett Kontaveit beat Lucrezia Stefanini 6-4, 6-4, Jaqueline Cristian beat Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-4, Sloane Stephens beat Rebecca Peterson 6-2, 6-3, Donna Vekic beat Zhang Shuai 6-2, 6-3, Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Yulia Putintseva 3-6, 6-0, 6-4, Sorana Cîrstea beat Tatjana Maria 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, Varvara Gracheva beat Camila Giorgi 6-2, 6-4.
In men’s section, Grigor Dimitrov beat Sho Shimabukuro 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe beat Wu Yibing 7-6, 6-3, 6-4, Grégoire Barrère beat Lloyd Harris 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, Francisco Cerundolo beat Nuno Borges 5-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, Jiri Lehecka beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, Milos Raonic beat Dennis Novak 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-1, Dominic Stephan Stricker beat Alexei Popyrin 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to reach the second round. Agencies
Also Watch: