The first day of the Wimbledon tennis tournament was climatically very, very British. It was cooler early in the morning, then it got warmer, then clouds came up and it rained. First lightly, then it poured, then the sky tore open and revealed glorious rays of sunshine. Patience and resilience were required, not only from the many spectators who queued up in the famous queue, which was approved again for the first time since 2019, to get the coveted day tickets. It was only possible to play continuously in two stadiums, on the center court and on court no. 1, both arenas are equipped with an extendable roof. Two professionals in particular literally nested in the second largest stadium, Jan-Lennard Struff and Carlos Alcaraz worked for 4:10 hours, while at times the rain splashed so hard on the roof that the blows could no longer be heard. The 32-year-old Warsteiner, who broke his toe at the tournament in Miami in March and has been struggling for his first sense of achievement since then, was close to surprising the young Spanish promoted player. But Struff lost after a 2: 1 set lead with 6: 4, 5: 7, 6: 4, 6: 7 (3), 4: 6. “He played very well,” Alcaraz paid tribute to.
The 22-year-old Jule Niemeier achieved her first success in a Grand Slam game
Other German colleagues, however, were able to celebrate victories, Nuremberg’s Maximilian Marterer, for example, did so with a particularly passionate gesture of jubilation. After the 4: 6, 7: 5, 6: 4, 7: 5 success against the Slovenian Aljaz Bedene, the now 27-year-old won his first Grand Slam match since the Australian Open in 2019. Marterer had it in 2018 at the French Open even made it to the round of 16 and only lost there to the Spaniard Rafael Nadal. 45th in the world rankings, he was in his prime. But injuries threw him back. “It feels incredible, I didn’t expect that before the tournament,” said Marterer about his advance into the second round, and that as a qualifier. He had previously had to win three rounds. Jule Niemeier achieved an even more special victory. The 22-year-old from Dortmund recorded her very first success in a Grand Slam game with the 6: 1, 6: 4 against the Chinese Wang Xiyu. In Paris, she was recently in the peloton for the first time ever. “I’m happy that I got my first win in the main draw at the second attempt,” said Niemeier, who now has a completely different task ahead of her. World number two Anett Kontaveit is her next opponent. Angelique Kerber, the 2018 Wimbledon winner, beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-0, 7-5. She had already led 6-0, 2-0 before the French got better.