LONDON: Daniil Medvedev found the roasting conditions and a French opponent who had not won a match on grass for three years too hot to handle on Monday as the ninth seed suffered a 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2 loss to Benjamin Bonzi in the Wimbledon first round. The Russian, who reached the semifinals at the All England Club last year, got all hot and bothered as Bonzi brought out what he described as his "A-game" to dispatch the 2021 U.S. Open champion on Court Two, which felt like an oven throughout the three-hour match.
With Medvedev desperate to preserve his 100% record of reaching at least the second round at Wimbledon, he took out his frustrations on his racket, smashing it to the ground after Bonzi had got the better of him yet again in the third set.
But there was no respite for the former world number one.
"I was surprised by his level... there was not much I could do," Medvedev told reporters.
While spectators took shade under umbrellas, large-brimmed hats, newspapers and any other makeshift item they could grab to block out the burning sun, the only respite the players got was a 10-minute break at the end of the third set with Wimbledon's heat rule coming into force as the temperature soared above 32 degrees Celsius.
That did little to revive Medvedev, however, as he immediately fell behind 2-0 to world number 64 Bonzi in the fourth set and it was a setback he could not recover from.
When the Russian netted a backhand, it brought up a first match point for Bonzi, and the Frenchman was celebrating his first win over a top-10 player at a major seconds later after Medvedev smacked a forehand long.
"This is special for me today. This is my first top 10 win at a slam. I love this place," a beaming Bonzi told the crowd.
"Daniil is a great player. Sometimes its easier to play an opponent like him in the first round as the players are not used to playing on grass early in the tournament.
"I had nothing to lose and I played my A-game."
SABALENKA POWERS PAST BRANSTINE
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka overcame Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on a sweltering Court One to get her quest for a first Wimbledon title up and running with a 6-1 7-5 win on Monday.
With the thermometer soaring above 30 degrees Celsius, the Belarusian turned up the heat early to win the opening five games and looked primed for a quick finish.
But Branstine, who juggles her time between the tennis courts and working as a model, earned loud applause when she got on the scoreboard and although Sabalenka eased to the first set, the second was an intense duel of fierce baseline rallies. Sabalenka, seeded one at Wimbledon for the first time, usually overpowers her opponents with the sheer force of her game, but Branstine had firepower of her own.
The Canadian powered down several big aces as she stayed ahead in the second set but Sabalenka sensed her chance at 5-5 and broke serve by forcing her opponent to net a forehand.
Sabalenka wrapped up the win with a solid hold.
"I'm super happy to be back and healthy and able to compete this year at this beautiful tournament," said Sabalenka, a three-times Grand Slam champion and twice Wimbledon semifinalist.
Sabalenka pulled out of last year's Wimbledon because of a shoulder injury but she arrived this time with genuine title prospects and something to prove after losing in the final of the year's first two Grand Slams.
She will face either last year's surprise quarter-finalist Lulu Sun of New Zealand or Czech Marie Bouzkova in round two. — Reuters
— Reuters
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