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Arab champ Jabeur turns on the style to entertain fans and Federer with 'cool shots'

'Federer made me nervous!' says defending champion Rybakina as she survives Wimbledon scare

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Laster year's runner-up Tunisia's Ons Jabeur made a strong start seeing off Poland's Magdalena Frech in the opening round on Tuesday. - AFP

By Agencies

Published: Tue 4 Jul 2023, 11:14 PM

Last updated: Tue 4 Jul 2023, 11:19 PM

Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur made a solid start to her bid to capture a maiden Grand Slam title as the world number six eased past unseeded Pole Magdalena Frech 6-3 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the second round.

Defending champion Elena Rybakina survived a Centre Court scare blaming her nervous start partly on the presence of Roger Federer sitting in the royal box.

Rybakina saw off Shelby Rogers of the United States 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 ias retired eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer looked on

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"Maybe that's why I was nervous because actually I really like Roger. When I was younger, I was always watching him play," she said.

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina plays a return to Shelby Rogers of the US during the first round women's singles. - AP

Jabeur has struggled to build momentum during an injury-hit season and her preparation for the grasscourt major was far from ideal with early losses in Berlin and Eastbourne, but the sixth seed showed her calibre against Frech.

She is the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history.

"I always feel so great to come back here. Last year I had an amazing run and hopefully this year it will be a little bit better," said Jabeur, who lost to Rybakina in last year's final.

"I walked into the locker room and there was Elena's photo with the trophy so that didn't help at all," she joked.

"But it's amazing to come back here, just the atmosphere, the grass is so beautiful and I love connecting with nature."

After narrowly missing the opportunity to break the 70th-ranked Frech early with two wayward drop shots, Jabeur got her nose in front in the fifth game thanks to clean hitting and she raced through the opening set.

"I'm just trying to enjoy my time, enjoy playing tennis, doing some cool drop shots and see what's going to happen," said Jabeur, who hit 33 winners but also made 29 unforced errors with her high-risk style.

"It reflects my character. I like to joke around a bit," she said. "I hate routine... I like to entertain the crowd with cool shots, so maybe I'll keep doing that."

Meanwhile, top seed Carlos Alcaraz made a flying start to his Wimbledon campaign on a soggy day as twice Wimbledon champion Andy Murray needed only two hours to outclass Ryan Peniston 6-3 6-0 6-1 in an all-British showdown on Centre Court.

Several matches were postponed due to continuing inclement weather with twice Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and Anett Kontaveit among players affected.

Sixteen matches were cancelled on day two as incessant rain disrupted the schedule, with Maria Sakkari, Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys among players to have their first-round clashes called off.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in action during his first round match against France’s Jeremy Chardy. - Reuters

Alcaraz, tennis's new golden boy, raced through the first set against French veteran Jeremy Chardy in just 22 minutes before breaking twice in the second set.

Chardy, who had previously announced that Wimbledon would be the final tournament of his career, drew first blood in the third set to lead 4-2 but Alcaraz hit back strongly, sealing a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win with an ace.

"I like to play battles and I am really happy to have played a great level, both of us, in the third set," said the superstar Spaniard.

"I am really happy to get through this first round."

"I saw that Roger Federer was here. I was a little bit jealous," Alcaraz, who despite oozing confidence on court remains humble in the extreme off of it.

"I want Roger Federer to watch one of my matches obviously. I wish to talk a little bit with him. For me would be amazing. I hope to see him around more than once."

The US Open champion is seen as one of the few credible threats to Novak Djokovic, who is targeting an eighth Wimbledon crown to equal Federer's men's record.

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Wimbledon's Centre Court paid tribute to the Swiss great before the start of play as he returned to the scene of some of his greatest triumphs. The crowd gave Federer, who retired in September, a prolonged standing ovation interspersed with cheers as he entered the royal box where he joined an old friend, Princess Kate.

Agencies

Published: Tue 4 Jul 2023, 11:14 PM

Last updated: Tue 4 Jul 2023, 11:19 PM

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