TENNIS: It's been a tough opening day for the Australian contingent at Wimbledon.
Nick Kyrgios was forced to withdraw due while Ash Barty, John Millman and Andrew Whittington bowed out in the first round.
Injury cruelled Kyrgios’s 2017 campaign, forcing the Aussie to retire from his first-round match on Monday.
The No.20 seed was trailing Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3 6-4 when he called for the trainer to examine his troublesome hip.
After a short consultation and some perfunctory treatment, he made the decision he couldn’t continue.
“I kind of knew I was in trouble. I have been feeling my hip ever since I fell over at Queen’s. Never got it right. I was doing everything I could to help it, but just not enough time,” Kyrgios explained.
“Nothing (to) take away from him. He plays great grass court tennis. He serves well. So he’s going to do well.”
Barty fought for nearly two hours before going down in the first round of Wimbledon to fourth seed Elina Svitolina.
Barty served for the first set and saved five match points in the second but ultimately couldn’t stop the Ukrainian running out a 7-5 7-6(8) winner.
This match had been pegged as a potential upset in the women’s draw; Svitolina came in under an injury cloud – having struggled with a heel injury in an early loss in Birmingham – on her least-preferred surface.
Barty, meanwhile, had been one of the form players of the grasscourt season, reaching the quarters in Nottingham and the final in Birmingham as well as reaching the Birmingham and Eastbourne doubles finals with Casey Dellacqua, winning the former.
Yet while the Queenslander produced 22 winners, she sprayed more than 40 errors – compared with Svitolina’s 23.
“I think I just overplayed a little bit, especially towards the end of the first. I gave away a few cheapies, a few too many cheapies in the whole match,” Barty reflected.
“I certainly had my opportunities and had a few points. I mean, if I could have a dozen points over again, I feel like it may be a different result.
“But, no, I made a few too many errors today, especially off my forehand, but sometimes that’s the way it goes.”
Australian John Millman has played a bit-part role in Rafael Nadal’s rampant return to Wimbledon.
After missing last year’s edition with a career-threatening wrist injury, Nadal brutally brushed aside Millman 6-1 6-3 6-2 on Monday to swiftly showcase his credentials for a third crown at The All England Club.
Earlier on Monday, qualifier Andrew Whittington went down in four sets to Brazilian Thiago Monteiro.
Whittington came from behind in all three of his qualifying matches but couldn’t manage the same feat against the world No.100, who advanced 4-6 6-3 7-6(4) 7-6(5).
TENNIS AUSTRALIA
