The first day of the men’s singles at Wimbledon was slightly rain effected. But this did not prevent much high quality tennis being played. Some of the favourites for the title produced impressive performances. But other players did not reach expectations, with one stand out upset in particular.
Wimbledon Day 3 Recap
Who looked good
Jannik Sinner did everything he could to make a statement in his first match at SW19. Although a heavy favourite against clay court specialist and Wimbledon debutant Juan Manuel Cerundolo, the Italian still produced a blistering performance, easing to a 6-2 6-2 6-2 victory. Last year’s quarterfinalist fired 28 victories on his way to the win.
2021 semifinalist and 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz was another comfortable winner against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, winning 6-1 6-4 6-4. The Pole has hit the highest number of aces on the ATP tour this season, and slammed 15 more on his way to the second round. Hurkacz has slipped under the radar somewhat in the media coverage before Wimbledon, but he will be a difficult proposition for any player if he finds his best form.
Qualifier Michael Mmoh manufactured the biggest upset of the day in the men’s draw. He was a 7-6 6-7 7-6 6-4 winner over 11th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Mmoh made less unforced errors and was more solid than his much higher ranked opponent. He also was clinical on break points, taking three out of five chances, crucial on the big Auger-Aliassime serve.
It may be unusual to pick player who lost in straight sets again for the who looked good section throughout the rest of the championships, but Pedro Cachin did himself proud in his 6-3 6-3 7-6 loss to seven time champion Novak Djokovic. Cachin played near his maximum level, playing aggressively and showing no fear, pushing Djokovic hard in the third set especially. The defending champion played at a good level, and showed no signs that his tag as hot favourite is unjustified.
Who looked bad
Exiting Wimbledon at the first hurdle for the second year in a row is devastating for Canadian no. 1 Auger-Aliassime. It is true he has had injury issues and entered Wimbledon without much grass court practice. But a player of his high ability and with a playing style so capable on grass should have had enough to overcome a qualifier. He will need to refresh mentally and physically to to return to his best level during the North American hard court season.
Taylor Fritz had his match suspended with Yannick Hanfmann at 3-2 to Fritz on serve in the final set. But he looked out of sorts for large parts of the match. Although his German opponent deserves credit for how he unsettled the ninth seed, Fritz’s groundstrokes were unusually wayward. At times it was his serve that was keeping Fritz in the contest, and he will be hoping to improve to get the job done when the match resumes.
Constant Lestienne probably represented the biggest disappointment of the unseeded players. Although he was making his first appearance at Wimbledon, he lost very tamely to British wildcard Liam Broady 6-3 6-1 7-5. The Frenchman’s game and body language at times was a mess throughout the match, giving Broady’s home fans an easy win to celebrate.
Match of the day
Jordan Thompson’s sensational comeback against Brandon Nakashima takes the prize for match of the day. The Australian looked down and out after being swept aside in the first two sets, losing them 6-2 6-2. But Thompson rallied back to win the next three sets 6-4 7-6 6-3. The talented young Nakashima has now lost in the fifth set to an Australian in his last two appearances at Wimbledon, suffering the same fate against Nick Kyrgios last year.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
