2023-07-03 20:37:24
Auger-Aliassime (no. 11) lost Monday in four sets of 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (4/7) and 4-6, and after four hours of play against the American Michael Mmoh, 119th racket in the world. The Quebecer did not pass the first round in a fourth tournament in a row.
The first set was played with service logic to the point where neither player got a break chance.
Félix Auger-Aliassime lost in the first round at Wimbledon to American Michael Mmoh.
Photo : Getty Images / Mike Hewitt
With 6 aces against 4 for Mmoh and points scored on 17 of his first 18 service balls, Auger-Aliassime presented solid play until the rain interrupted the match after 41 minutes.
The wait lasted more than an hour and a half (1 h 36 min) before we could resume the match on court no 12 as on all the secondary grounds of the venerable All England Club.
Sporting a very visible bandage on his left knee, Auger-Aliassime could not have chosen a worse moment to lose his bearings than at the decisive game. Conceding two mini-breaks on unforced errors, his 13th and 14th of the set, the Quebecer could not pick up.
The advantage to the server resumed even more in the next round. It was in the 11th game that Auger-Aliassime scored the first break in the duel before dropping two set points in the next game.
It was once again in the tiebreaker that we settled the debate, this time in favor of Auger-Aliassime to return to square one after a little over two hours of play.
In the 4th and 6th games of the third set, Auger-Aliassime lost opportunities to widen a gap, each time Mmoh managing to close the gap. After further exchanges of breakage to reach 6-6, Auger-Aliassime saw his rival collect 5 of the last 6 points to win the set in the decisive game after three and a quarter hours.
To make matters worse, it was on a break in service and a double fault by Auger-Aliassime, his 7th of the match, that Mmoh was able to score the final point.
Bitter taste
Unsurprisingly, at the end of his match, Auger-Aliassime was disappointed with both the result and his outfit on the court.
I’m disappointed with everything. It is a difficult period. I thought I could do better anyway. I think I was okay for two runs, although it wasn’t perfect. I didn’t expect it to be perfect given the circumstances lately (left knee injury).
“I think in the third set I had a few opportunities to get the upper hand a bit. But I still had physical glitches. When you come to a grand slam, you can win and you can lose. Given how I felt today, I knew what could happen. We will be patient and continue. »
— A quote from Félix Auger-Aliassime
Asked whether he felt discouraged in the face of the difficult season he is going through, he maintained that he would never give up.
I am always optimistic. Even if I feel things, I tell myself that it will be fine. Lately, I have been training and playing exhibition matches where after two sets, I felt it was limited, he continued.
Today, I didn’t think about my knee. I said to myself ‘come on, there is a match, we are playing’. But after two rounds, it got complicated. Of course, I was a little shocked and a little disappointed to feel less well again. But I have to be patient.
“What is difficult is that a long time ago I felt like myself. Compared to last year or at the start of the season, it was still going. It’s been a long time since I’ve spent hours on the court or played a full tournament. The time is long. I train. I’m waiting for the matches. It’s been a long time, but I can’t do anything better than be patient and disciplined and hope it gets better soon. »
— A quote from Félix Auger-Aliassime
Another game involving Canadian Denis Shapovalov (No. 26) was suspended due to darkness. Shapo lost 5-7 in the opening round against Moldovan Radu Albot, 107th in the ATP.
The two players were tied 2-2 in the second set when officials postponed the rest of the game to Tuesday.
Djokovic takes his marks
Novak Djokovic has launched his quest for a 24th Grand Slam title perfectly to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record. He dominated without shaking the Argentinian Pedro Cachin (68th) 6-3, 6-3 and 7-6 (7/4).
He served very well in the third set. He was very precise, and it was very difficult to break him. But I managed to get the upper hand from the start of the tiebreaker, said the 36-year-old Serb, who will face Jordan Thompson (70th) in the next round.
The Australian defeated American Brandon Nakashima (55th) 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) and 6-3.
With that success, Djokovic notched a 29th straight Wimbledon victory since losing in the quarterfinals in 2017. He has since gone unbeaten with four consecutive titles. A fifth on July 16 would allow him to equal the record of eight titles held by Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic
Photo : Getty Images / Shaun Botterill
For the inaugural match of the tournament on center court, Djokovic had the game in hand.
Even the long interruption of almost an hour and a half to close the roof because of the rain had no bearing on the game or its outcome. Time to close and dry the grass, the sun had returned and the roof was reopened after a 90-minute break.
Cachin took the third set well in the tiebreaker and saved two match points, but nothing to stop Djokovic.
Successful comeback for Rublev
Andrey Rublev, 7th in the world ranking, has made a successful return to the London lawn. He dismissed Australian Max Purcell (64th) in three sets of 6-3, 7-5 and 6-4.
In the next round, the 25-year-old Russian will find the winner of the match between his compatriot Aslan Karatsev (50th) and the Frenchman Luca van Assche (75th).
Banned from the All England Club in 2022 because of his nationality, Rublev had to sign a neutrality charter regarding the armed conflict in Ukraine.
He didn’t have to force his talent to advance to the next lap, but he had a bit of a slump in the second run. Led 5-2, he lined up five games to complete the set and regain the upper hand.
During his last participation, in 2021, he had reached the round of 16. It is the grand slam tournament that is the least successful for him since he has reached the quarters in the other three.
In 2022, Wimbledon had refused the participation of Russian and Belarusian players due to the war in Ukraine.
Wimbledon will pay tribute to Federer
Swiss Roger Federer will be back on center court on Tuesday. No, not to play. Rather, he will be honored for his brilliant career on the London turf.
Federer, who retired last year, has won 8 of his 20 major titles at Wimbledon, the most by a player.
Martina Navratilova is the most successful there with nine victories.
We are happy to announce that Roger will be with us tomorrow and there will be a celebration on center court before the day kicks off, All England Club chairman Sally Bolton said on Monday. We would like to pay tribute to him as the holder of the most titles among men.
We will hold this moment to remember his exploits and thank him for all the memories he has given us.
She added that Serena Williams, who has won 7 of her 23 major Wimbledon titles, has also been invited, but… she’s pregnant, so obviously she can’t travel.
Williams also retired last year.
We obviously wish her the best of luck for the end of her pregnancy and maybe hope to see her next year.
Other first-round results:
Aslan Karatsev (RUS) beat Luca Van Assche (FRA) 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 Marcelo Barrios (CHI) beat Sebastián Báez (ARG) 7-6 (9/7) , 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2) David Goffin (BEL) beat Fábián Marozsán (HUN) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 Maximilian Marterer (GER) beat Borna Gojo (CRO) 7-5, 6-7 (8/10), 6-3, 6-4Lorenzo Musetti (ITA/no 14) bat Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) 6-3, 6-1, 7-5Hubert Hurkacz (POL/no 17) one Albert Ramos Vinolas (ESP) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 Jordan Thompson (AUS) one Brandon Nakashima (USA) 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6 -3
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