Wimbledon - Day 2: Djokovic & Swiatek drive on, Vondrousova exits

Vondrousova stunned by inspired Spaniard

Before stepping onto Centre Court, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro had never won a tour-level grass court match. Fast forward 67 minutes and the world No.83 was in dreamland, having taken out 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2.

“I’m really happy, I think this is one of the most important moments in my life, in my career – in this court, this is amazing,” said Bouzas Maneiro, clinching a maiden Grand Slam main draw victory.

“Marketa is one of the best players in the world. She won here last year, so I had no pressure, just had to enjoy myself, enjoy this tournament. I was just trying to be free playing and I did it so I’m happy for that.”

Just two weeks ago, the world No.6 suffered a right hip injury in Berlin, however Vondrousova wasn’t seeking excuses after becoming the first women's singles defending champion to lose in the Wimbledon opening round since Steffi Graf in 1994.

“I had the injury, so I didn't play for a couple days. Here practice was good. Matches, always different,” reflected Vondrousova.

“Today I was really nervous since the start. I couldn't maybe shake it off. I feel like everybody just expects you to win maybe. That's tough, too. I was happy to be back on the Centre Court. It just didn't go as planned today… Yeah, credits to her. I'm going to be back stronger, I hope.”

Murray runs out of time

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray deserved a proper send off at his home Major. Surgery to remove a spinal cyst 10 days ago left the former world No.1 in a race against time to compete in the singles draw once last time.

It was one last battle Murray couldn’t quite win, the three-time major winner made this announcement via his team on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year,” said the Scot’s statement. “As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time.”

Djokovic dominates once again

19 times in the Wimbledon first round, make that 19 wins. Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic celebrated his competitive return from knee surgery with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 scoreboard facing qualifier Vit Kopriva.

"I tried to really focus on the game and not think about the knee too much," said the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

"Everything that I could do, I have done over the last three weeks, along with my team, to be able to play here. I think if it was for any other tournament I probably would not have risked it, would not have rushed as much but I just love Wimbledon."

Elsewhere, Roland-Garros runner-up Alexander Zverev dropped just eight games to blaze past Roberto Carballes Baena.

No.7 seed Hubert Hurkacz, recently a Halle runner-up to Jannik Sinner, totalled 24 aces to oust the experienced Radu Albot from a set down. Hurkacz booked a second round encounter with Frenchman Arthur Fils.

Seeded stars such as Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz and Stefanos Tsitsipas rumbled on in straight sets.

American powerhouse Ben Shelton let out an almighty roar after being pushed the distance in five sets by qualifier Mattia Bellucci.

Grand Slam debutant Francisco Comesana knocked out No.6 seed Andrey Rublev 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5) and Lucky Loser Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard grabbed his chance, rattling down 51 aces for 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-3 to down No.20 seed Sebastian Korda.

Swiatek strides past Kenin

World No.1 Iga Swiatek extended her winning running to 20 matches courtesy of a 6-3, 6-4 scoreline over 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin.

Swiatek, back in action after defending her Roland-Garros crown last month, moves on to face Petra Martic.

“It was a solid start and not an easy draw,” said Swiatek, who also overcame Kenin in the RG2020 final. “Now on the WTA it's pretty easy to play against Grand Slam champions, even in first rounds, so you have to be ready for everything. These are experienced players so there's no time to get into the tournament slowly. You need to be ready straight away. So I'm happy that I did that today.”

2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina outgunned world No.67 Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-1, whilst No.5 seed Jessica Pegula brushed aside fellow American Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-0,

2022 and 2023 finalist Ons Jabeur breezed past world No.68 Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-1 and former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki dominated proceedings 6-2, 6-0 over qualifier Alycia Parks.