Wimbledon
Marterer and Otte continue – Djokovic wipes and wins
Maximilian Marterer defeated the Croatian Borna Gojo in four sets. photo
© Alastair Grant/AP/dpa/archive image
Two German qualifiers are in round two at Wimbledon. For tennis superstar Djokovic, a towel is almost more important than the racket. There’s a lot going on at Wimbledon on the first day.
The two qualifiers Maximilian Marterer and Oscar Otte ensured the first German victories in Wimbledon, tennis superstar Novak Djokovic thrilled the fans with a swipe action. The lawn classic wrote interesting stories right from the start.
Because the roof over Center Court was closed too late when the rain started, defending champion Djokovic’s opening match in London was interrupted for more than an hour. The lawn in the most famous tennis stadium in the world had become too wet to continue the game quickly under the closed roof.
Djokovic lent a hand himself and wiped the lawn with a towel. The waiting spectators celebrated the Serbian world number one for the unusual action. In addition, tournament employees tried to dry the wet areas with leaf blowers. At the time of the interruption, Djokovic had just won the first set against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.
Djokovic gets 29th win in a row at Wimbledon
“Of course it was a bit frustrating for everyone, but the conditions weren’t ideal. It was a bit strange, I usually come out with rackets and not towels,” said Djokovic, laughing. “But I hope you had some fun,” said the big favorite to the audience. “It’s just a special place. The temple in tennis.”
After the interruption, Djokovic didn’t have much trouble and after 2:11 hours he converted his third match point to 6: 3, 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 4). For the Serbs it was the 29th win in a row at Wimbledon.
Marterer and Otte continue – peacefully out
Almost at the same time, Marterer also made his advancement perfect. The game of the 28-year-old from Nuremberg against the Croatian Borna Gojo was also interrupted on an outdoor court for around 90 minutes because of the rain. But Marterer stayed cool and prevailed 7:5, 6:7 (8:10), 6:3, 6:4. As in the previous year, the Franconian is in round two. Marterer converted his fifth match point after 2:46 hours.
Otte prevailed surprisingly clearly in three sets in the German duel with Dominik Koepfer. The 29-year-old from Cologne, who had to cope with many defeats and setbacks this year, won 7:5, 6:3, 7:6 (11:9). Like Marterer, Otte had only qualified for the main draw after qualifying. The Davis Cup pro faces Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round. Marterer meets the American Michael Mmoh.
Before the rain, Anna-Lena Friedsam had botched the start of the third Grand Slam tournament of the season from a German perspective. The 29-year-old lost to the American Alycia Parks 4: 6, 3: 6 and was the first German player to be eliminated. Friedsam made too many simple mistakes against the up-and-coming American and had to admit defeat after 1:41 hours.
That means Tatjana Maria, Jule Niemeier and Tamara Korpatsch from the German women. The trio will play their first round matches this Tuesday. Then the first appearance of Olympic champion Alexander Zverev against the Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer is also planned.
Swiatek effortlessly in round two
World number one Iga Swiatek made a perfect start. The 22-year-old Pole won against Zhu Lin of China 6-1, 6-3 and easily advanced to the second round.
The game of the French Open winner on Court 1 was also briefly interrupted due to rain, but was then quickly continued under the closed roof. First a tarpaulin and then the roof had protected the turf in the second largest stadium in the facility from the rain more quickly. Unlike Djokovic, Swiatek didn’t have to grab the towel himself.