Wimbledon PIX: Alcaraz, Sinner, Gauff begin in style

IMAGES from Day 1 of the Wimbledon Championships, at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, on Monday.

Sinner subdues feisty Hanfmann

Jannik Sinner wobbled midway through his Wimbledon first-round clash with unseeded German Yannick Hanfmann but the world number one recovered to seal a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win on Monday and book a meeting with fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini.

The Australian Open champion used his powerful serve and forehand to good effect against Hanfmann as he breezed through the first set on the back of a solitary break and got his nose in front early in the next.

Hanfmann hung on and heaped pressure on Sinner's serve but was unable to find a way through and the 22-year-old top seed moved two sets ahead.

The world number 110 flipped the script to go 4-0 up in the third set as Sinner appeared to be belatedly hampered by a nasty fall, and the German cupped his ear amid huge cheers after forcing a fourth set with a neat volley.

There was to be no comeback, however, as Sinner rediscovered his rhythm under the lights on Court One to break for a 3-1 lead and held firm from to close out the match.

Sinner, who lifted his first title on the sport's slickest surface at Halle two weeks ago, could face another tricky test against Berrettini after the 2021 runner-up beat Hungarian Marton Fucsovics 7-6(3) 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Gauff wins all-American showdown to bury 2023 demons

There was no need for Coco Gauff to hide away from the spotlight on Monday as she banished memories of her 2023 Wimbledon nightmare with a 6-1, 6-2 first-round destruction of fellow-American Caroline Dolehide.

On the eve of this year's grasscourt championships, Gauff had admitted she had been "in a dark place" following her opening round exit in London last year but armed with the knowledge that things "couldn't get any worse" this time round, she was simply unstoppable against her 51st-ranked rival.

"Last year I lost in the first round and it was very tough for me, that’s why I am a little emotional and that’s why I was happy to turn it around," Gauff told the crowd on court.

The 20-year-old, now a Grand Slam champion having won the US Open in September, dropped only one point on serve during a formidable first-set performance.

Such was her confidence she conjured an incredible crosscourt lob into the far corner which she greeted with a one-armed salute as the Centre Court crowd jumped to their feet to roar their approval.

The world number two kept up the barrage of winners in the second set and despite overcooking a forehand on her first match point, she made no mistake on her second.

Naomi Osaka battles into second round

Former world number one Naomi Osaka navigated a tricky first round match against France's Diane Parry at Wimbledon on Monday, eventually winning 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 with the help of some nervous serving from her opponent.

The 26-year-old Japanese, who entered the draw as a wildcard, looked to be in total command in the first set, her hefty groundstrokes hitting the lines and her big serve forcing Parry on to the back foot.

But Osaka, who returned to the tour this year after 15 months of maternity leave for her daughter who turns one on Tuesday, appeared to lose concentration and rhythm in the second set and 21-year-old Parry, ranked 53, took advantage.

"I wish I could say I enjoyed (the match) all the time," Osaka, who has won both the US and Australian Opens twice, said in an interview on court. "My heart was racing."

The match see-sawed into the third set with the players trading breaks at the start.

Osaka, who was playing at Wimbledon for the first time for five years, saved break points in a difficult ninth game to lead 5-4 before Parry's serve crumbled and she produced three double faults to concede the match.

"I feel like these are the type of matches that you kind of have to play just in order to ease into the tournament," Osaka said after thanking the crowd for getting behind her.

Carlos Alcaraz sees off spirited Lajal

Third seed Carlos Alcaraz endured an early test in his Wimbledon title defence but the Spaniard quelled the challenge of Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2 and moved into the second round.

The 21-year-old, bidding to add a fourth Grand Slam trophy to his cabinet after his maiden French Open triumph last month, dropped serve midway through a high-quality opening set before battling back to clinch it in a tiebreak.

Lajal broke Alcaraz again early in the next set but the dreadlocked world number 269 was unable to make the advantage count and his opponent broke back to love immediately before pouncing again in the 11th game.

With the momentum having swung, Alcaraz continued to reel off the points for a two-set lead and raised his game further in the third to break with a superb backhand crosscourt winner and he never looked back from there to close out the victory.

Fifth seed Medvedev eases into second round

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev strode confidently and cheerfully into the second round with an assured 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over American Aleksandar Kovacevic on his favourite Court One.

The lofty 28-year-old Russian, beaten in the semi-finals last year by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, took one hour 46 minutes to dispose of the 88th-ranked New Yorker, who could not cope with his booming serve and whipped forehand.

"I've still never lost on Court One so hopefully I can play a lot more matches on this court," a smiling Medvedev told an appreciative crowd in an on-court interview.

"Last year I said it was unfortunate I had to go to Centre Court for the semis and I lost."

Medvedev, chasing a second Grand Slam title after his 2021 U.S. Open triumph, fired 16 aces on his way to victory over the 25-year-old Kovacevic.

"It is never easy to win in straight sets, especially on grass," the former world No.1 said.

But he made it look simple.

He won the first set at a canter after breaking Kovacevic's first service game, took the second with a pair of aces after breaking in the seventh and ran away with the third, clinching it on this third match point with another ace.

Emma Raducanu offers home cheer on Day 1

Emma Raducanu snapped a dispiriting sequence of first-round defeats for British players at Grand Slams as the wildcard beat Mexico's Renata Zarazua 7-6(0) 6-3 on Centre Court on Monday.

The 21-year-old got an unexpected boost when Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, her scheduled opponent, withdrew because of illness on the morning of the match with Zarazua, a loser in qualifying, taking her place.

With former England soccer icon David Beckham watching on from the Royal Box, Raducanu looked nervous early on against an unorthodox opponent but eventually contained the unforced errors that littered the first set to move into round two.

It was a welcome win for the former US Open champion who missed last year's Wimbledon because of injury and who has struggled to reach the dizzy heights of her fairytale in Flushing Meadows in 2021.

It was also a welcome win for the home nation after the first four British players in action on Monday all lost -- adding to the tale of woe at the French Open where all six British singles players suffered first-round defeats.

After a scrappy opening to the match, Raducanu appeared to have settled down when she led 4-2 but Zarazua, ranked 98th in the world, shot back to win three games in a row and Raducanu twice had to hold serve to stay in the first set.

Raducanu, battling back up the rankings after missing the second half of 2023 because of ankle and hand surgery, blazed through the tiebreak and looked far more comfortable after that to set up a clash with Belgium's Elise Mertens.