Wimbledon 2025: Sabalenka surges; Rune, Medvedev upset early
June 30 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka dominated Carson Branstine over 73 minutes while other elite tennis stars struggled to overcome record temperatures and upset-minded foes on Day 1 of Wimbledon 2025 on Monday in London.
Branstine totaled seven aces, compared to three for her Belarusian counterpart, but also logged 26 unforced errors. Sabalenka, who totaled 18 unforced errors, broke the No. 194 Canadian's serve three times in the 6-1, 7-5 victory.
"I'm super happy to be back, to be healthy and to compete at this beautiful tournament," Sabalenka, who withdrew early last year because of a shoulder injury, said in her on-court interview. "I was really depressed last year that I couldn't feel this atmosphere.
"I'm super happy with the performance of course. Happy to get through."
Sabalenka will face No. 47 Lulu Sun of Australia or No. 48 Marketa Bouzkova of the Czech Republic in the second round.
No. 8 Madison Keys of the United States, No. 13 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and No. 15 Diana Shnaider of Russia were among the other top women's players to weather their first-round foes and the hottest temperatures on record for an opening day of the grass-court Grand Slam.
No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, the two-time defending champion, outlasted first-round foe No. 138 Fabio Fognini of Italy in a 4-hour, 37-minute marathon match. Alcaraz edged Fognini 14-1 in aces and broke the Italian's serve seven times in the 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win.
No. 12 Frances Tiafoe of the United States, No. 20- Karen Khachanov of Russia and No. 28 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada were among the other top men to advance Monday in London.
Several other elite men's players exited early through upset losses, including No. 8 Holger Rune of Denmark and No. 9 Daniil Medvedev of Russia.
No. 143 Nicolas Jarry of Chile ousted Rune 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. No. 64 Benjamin Bonzi of France eliminated Medvedev through a 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 win.
No. 26 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece departed early through a walkover due to a back injury after the second set of his first-round meeting with No. 113 Valentin Royer of France.
No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy, No. 4 Jack Draper of Great Britian, No. 6 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, No. 7 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, No. 10 Ben Shelton of the United States, No. 11 Alex de Minaur of Australia, No. 13 Tommy Paul of the United States and No. 17 Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic will be among the top men in action on Day 2 of the grass-court Grand Slam.
Americans Coco Gauff (No. 2), Jessican Pegulia (No. 3) and Emma Navarro (No. 10) and No. 4 Iga Swiatek of Poland, No. 11 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva of Russia will be among the top women on the court Tuesday in London.
First-round coverage will continue at 6 a.m. EDT Tuesday on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+.
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