Wimbledon day one: Sabalenka pulls out as Raducanu, Alcaraz and Sinner all win
Aryna Sabalenka was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon hours before her first round match (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner claimed routine day one wins at Wimbledon, but the bottom half of the women’s draw was blown wide open with a string of withdrawals led by third seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka, fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova were all forced to pull out due to injury or illness, which was followed by impressive victories for Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu.
Raducanu was one of three British female winners alongside Lily Miyazaki and Sonay Kartal to whet the appetite for an action-packed day two where 12 home hopes are set to be in action – if Andy Murray decides to compete in the singles.
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At the end of the day, you have to just do what it takes to get over the line. Honestly watching the football last night, it was like winning ugly. It all counts!
Emma Raducanu after her first round win
Brit watch
- Emma Raducanu beat Renata Zarazua 7-6 (0) 6-3
- Lily Miyazaki beat Tamara Korpatsch 6-2 6-1
- Sonay Kartal beat Sorana Cirstea 3-6 6-2 6-0
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Tale of the lucky loser
Erika Andreeva missed out on a place in the Wimbledon main draw on Thursday when she lost in the final round of qualifying, but received a reprieve at the last-minute when Sabalenka pulled out on Monday afternoon.
Hours later and Andreeva had booked a spot in round two with a 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-3 win over Emina Bektas on her debut at the All England Club.
With younger sister Mirra Andreeva going out later on Monday, world number 101 Erika Andreeva has gone from failing to qualify for this year’s Championships to being the last one standing among the talented siblings.