The first round is notttt yet officially in the books with still a handful of matches to be completed on Wednesday after another manic day. The day came in pulses – I went triple screenage just after lunchtime and then the evening was a blur! This post captures everything up to the blurry evening. I think it will take me days to process the Serena-Harmony match! No post tomorrow as i’ll be at Wimbledon and we’ll see for Thursday as it’s a very special day 🍾🤪.

Spotlight 💡

There were few more impressive first round displays than Simona Halep. Playing in her first match at Wimbledon since 2019, Halep extended her winning streak to eight at SW19 as she eased past the two-time Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Karolina Muchova, 6-3 6-2 in 65 minutes.

This was the match I was most looking forward to from the first round. It didn’t deliver in terms of a contest although there were flickers of brilliance with some delightful points. Halep was too good. She kept Muchova at bay with some stellar serving (71% first serves in and just nine points dropped on serve all match) and returned well. Halep produced some GORGEOUS passing shot winners in this match. The pick of the bunch was probably on set point in the first set.

Oh how I wish Muchova was fully fit and had had matches coming into Wimbledon as this could have been an absolute cracker. I’ve got everything crossed that Muchova can stay healthy for the rest of the season 🤞.

Best of the rest 🎾

-> Viktoriya Tomova won just her second ever main draw Slam match, beating Daria Saville, 7-5 3-6 7-5 in two hours and 41 minutes. It was a classic rollercoaster ride, made all the more nauseating from the shaking camera in the wind 😂. Saville fought hard to get back on level terms in both the first (3-5 to 5-5) and third sets (2-5 to 5-5) but it was to no avail. Saville looked to be struggling physically and it came to light after the match that she was cramping in the third set. Tomova played a good match and her level was very steady throughout all three sets.

-> 36 and counting. Iga Swiatek won her first match on grass this year, beating Jana Fett, 6-0 6-3. After a trip to Iga’s bakery in the first set, Fett made a real contest of the second set. Swiatek dug out of a *1-3 *0-40 hole and went onto win the last five games of the match.

-> Coco Gauff survived a real scare against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, battling from a set down to win, 2-6 6-3 7-5. Gauff overcame a ragged start and in truth, it was a ragged match. An exciting and gripping conclusion though. Gauff was mostly passive. Her serve and stellar defence was just enough to keep a fearless yet erratic Ruse at bay. Gauff won just four of 25 (!) break points but held her nerve serving to stay in the champs at *4-5 and then serving out the match at *6-5 in the third set.

-> After I saw Petra Kvitova blaze out in a storm of errors in the first set against Jasmine Paolini I feared the worst. Kvitova eventually prevailed, 2-6 6-4 6-2. I think even Petra was surprised she got through that and she said in her interview that her serve was a disaster 😂. A win is a win. That’s all that matters at this stage of the tournament.

DAY 2 MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS 

Funny moment 🤣

This was a Poots moment 😂.

Snap of the day 📸

😍😍😍

Recommended media 📺

Hev 😭😭😭

Recommended reading 📚

Interesting read on Coco Gauff from the weekend by Molly McElwee.

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