Brits start well at Wimbledon as former finalist quits
On an opening day when the four Australian women in action all lost it was tempting to claim the boilover victory by Katie Boulter, aka Mrs de Minaur-to-be, over No.9 seed Paula Badosa.
The British No.2 beat the Spaniard 6-2 3-6 6-4 on Centre Court for one of the biggest wins of her career, and perhaps gave fiance Alex a fillip ahead of his opening match on Tuesday.
It was a good day for the host nation with rising star Sonay Kartal also notching a shock, defeating 20th seed and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 2-6 6-2.
Emma Raducanu won too and will now meet the 2023 champion, Marketa Vondrousova, who beat 32nd-seeded American McCartney Kessler 6-1 7-6 (7-3).
Aryna Sabalenka eased into the second round by defeating Canadian grand slam debutant Carson Branstine 6-1 7-5.
The World No.1 missed last year's championship due to a shoulder injury and has never been past the semi-finals.
It was an unhappy day for two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur who retired due to breathing difficulties after being in tears during her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova.
The 30-year-old, who has endured a torrid time with injuries, required a medical timeout in the first set. She managed to play on in scorching temperatures before withdrawing while trailing 7-6 (7-5) 2-0.
Jabeur, who was beaten in the 2022 and 2023 finals at SW19, has plummeted to 59 in the rankings amid ongoing fitness setbacks.
"It doesn't really help me with my confidence," said Jabeur. "I keep pushing myself, even though it was a very tough season for me, so I hope I can feel better and see what's going to happen."
Last year's runner-up Jasmine Paolini recovered from losing the opening set to beat Latvian world No. 402 Anastasija Sevastova 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys also survived a scare, coming from a set down to scrape past Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 7-5.
Seeds Elina Svitolina (14) and Amanda Anisimova (13) also progressed, the latter handing out a 'double-bagel' 6-0 6-0 defeat to Yulia Putintseva.
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