Wimbledon 2023: Rublev races into second round on rain-hit first day; Djokovic's match interrupted

London, July 3 Andrey Rublev on Monday became the first male player to reach the second round on the opening day of Wimbledon championships with a straight sets defeat of Australian Max Purcell.

Rublev moved past Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the Gentlemen's Singles clash played on Court No.3. Aslan Karatsev came back from a set deficit to beat #NextGenATP star Luca Van Assche of France 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in 3 hours and 20 minutes on Court 7 while 14th seeded Lorenzo Musetti of Italy cruised to a 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 victory against Juan Pablo Varillas of Peru in early first round encounters.

The focus was on Rublev as the seventh seed struck the ball with relentless power throughout the one-hour, 33-minute clash and battled hard in the second set, rallying from 2-5 down. With his 32nd win of the season, Rublev maintained his perfect first-round record at Wimbledon.

“I am really happy to be back. You always want to win in straight sets, but it is never simple,” Rublev said. “I was 2-5 down in the second set and I was lucky to be able to come back because in my head I was already preparing for the third set. I hit a few good shots and I was able to come back and I played really well at the end of the second set. To play here with full stadiums at 11 am, that is a special feeling.”

Rublev, whose best result at SW19 was a fourth-round run in 2021, will next meet Aslan Karatsev. The 25-year-old arrived in London in strong form, having advanced to the title match in Halle last month.

After Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti notched early opening wins, rain interrupted play with a host of seeds set to adorn the opening-day schedule at the grass-court major.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner were among those whose first-round matches were interrupted by the London rain. When the downpour started, Hurkacz was leading Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-4, while Auger-Aliassime and Isner are both on serve in the opening set of their matches against Michael Mmoh and Jaume Munar, respectively.

Also forced off the court were Brandon Nakashima and Jordan Thompson, who were locked on serve in the fifth set of their match on Court 9. Thompson rallied to lead his American opponent 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 3-2, and held break point at 30/40 on Nakashima’s serve when play was suspended.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic, chasing his fifth consecutive title at the All-England club, took the first set against Pedro Cachin 6-3 on Centre Court moments before the inclement weather arrived.

Play is set to resume on the roofed Centre Court shortly. Djokovic has helped play his part, wiping down the court with a towel, with groundsmen using leaf blowers to dry the baseline. Action on Court 1, which has a roof, resumed after a short delay.

--IANS