At Wimbledon,
TOPS
Until, perhaps, Novak Djokovic one day surpasses him in number of titles at Wimbledon, Federer and his eight trophies, remains the king. And the Maestro received a royal welcome on Tuesday, sitting in the Royal Box alongside Kate Middleton. Arrived by plane from Zurich after performing on stage at a Coldplay concert on Sunday, accompanied by his wife Mirka and his parents, made a very remarkable appearance on the legendary court at 1.27 p.m., just before the start of running for 2022 winner Elena Rybakina against Shelby A first since her retirement announcement last fall. Moved, on the verge of tears, the eight-time winner simply greeted the crowd, who gave him a very long ovation. Undoubtedly the highlight of a day to be forgotten very quickly due to the terrible weather.
If Federer is now a spectator of the game, Andy Murray is still running. Still alive, still standing, the double winner (2013 and 2016). The veteran gave a tennis lesson to his young compatriot Ryan Peniston, 268th in the world, spanked (6-3, 6-0, 6-1) under the eyes of Roger Federer on Center Court on Tuesday. He who had got into the habit of embarking on marathons, did it quickly and efficiently. He notably scored 17 points on 17 climbs. And did not lose his British humor when he called his former opponent Federer a “tennis royalty” (“member of tennis royalty”) during his post-victory speech.
FLOPS
It is a tradition that had been lost in recent years. But Tuesday was a reminder that it could rain all day at Wimbledon. The matches were all interrupted around 1 p.m. due to persistent drizzle, except for those on Center Court and Court No. 1, which have a roof. More than thirty matches were thus canceled and none could not be completed outdoors. This will create a big traffic jam on the courts this Wednesday. And a hell of a headache for the organizers. The phlegmatic Britons took their troubles patiently and walked the aisles all day long, hoping for a lull in vain… To make up for lost time, two matches, interrupted by darkness on Monday, closed this Black Tuesday.
In front of the French press, the Palois, who was playing the last match of his career, did not hide his relief at having avoided humiliation for the last match of his career against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday. After conceding a “bubble” in about twenty minutes, the 36-year-old Pau was able to stop the bleeding, winning his first game after conceding the first eight of the match. Enough to get an ovation from court 1. Very tense for his Der des Der, the former 25th in the world had to suffer the Alcaraz tornado but also facilitated his opponent with no less than 7 double faults in the first set alone because of big ball throwing problems. It must be said that the Palois had only played four matches (including three defeats) this season before this final meeting. And it happened…
This Tuesday, July 4 will not go down in the annals of the tournament. The rain turned everything upside down and the six matches played under the roofs of the center and court number 1 did not arouse the enthusiasm of those who had the chance to see tennis today. No surprises and few emotions on the program. After dropping the first set, the tournament’s number 3 seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina did not flinch against the American Shelby Rogers (4-6, 6-1, 6-2) in 1h43. Unhappy finalist last year, Ons Jabeur was more expeditious under another roof, that of Court 1 against the Polish Magdalena Frech in two sets very well conducted (6-3, 6-3). Aryna Sabalenka walked against the Hungarian Panna Udvardy, 82nd player in the world (6-3, 6-1) in just over an hour. And on the men’s side, Murray and Alcaraz had a very quiet day. Barely, a few more scares for Cameron Norrie who dropped a set against the Czech qualifier Machac. For the spectacle and the suspense, we are waiting for the rest…