Djokovic in third round, Serena out in first round due to injury
23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams of America crashed out of the third Grand Slam of the year in the first round of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships due to an injury to her right leg, while world number one and top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson reached the third round in one hour and 41 minutes after beating in consecutive sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Sixth seed Serena had a first round match against Belarus’s Aliksandra Sasnovich. He was leading 3-1 in the first set and serving 15-15 when she slipped into the back of the court. She did not fall on the ground, but after losing her service in the game, she requested for a physio and took medical time out and got herself treated outside the court. After that she returned to the court. At the start of the game, Sasnovi retained his serve and leveled the score at 3-3. After losing her movement at the baseline at 15-15 on her serve in the seventh game, Serena decided to retire and left center court. When Serena was going out, the audience stood in their places and gave her an emotional farewell.
With this exit, Serena’s dreams of winning her eighth Wimbledon title and equaling Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles were shattered. Serena said in an Instagram post late Tuesday, “I am very sorry to be out like this because of an injury to my right leg.
Meanwhile, defending two-time champion and five-time winner Djokovic has reached the third round of the championship for the 14th time, while Anderson, who is six feet eight inches tall, has been knocked out in the second round for the first time since 2016.
Meanwhile, in a men’s reversal, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka defeated 28th seed John Isner of America 7-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6- 4 to make it to the second round for the first time. Nishioka had failed to go past the first round three times in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, seeded seventh, defeated Argentina’s Guido Pella 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 in a four-set match that lasted two hours and 16 minutes to reach the second round. Berrettini will face Holland’s Bottic Van de Jundaskalp in the second round. 11th seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain defeated Sam Cherry of America 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 in almost two hours to reach the second round.
