LONDON: American world number 10 Frances Tiafoe kicked off his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title by sealing a 7-6(4) 6-3 6-4 victory over Chinese debutant Wu Yibing in a rain-interrupted first round clash at Wimbledon on Wednesday (Jul 5).
No American has won the trophy since Pete Sampras bagged his seventh title at the major in 2000, but Tiafoe led a cluster of his compatriots into round two on a rain-delayed day.
Tiafoe recovered well after dropping his serve early in the first set to level at 2-2 before showers halted play.
“It was tough but … it’s Wimbledon, you’ve got to expect stuff like that. I’m happy to get the win,” said Tiafoe.
The players returned but were back inside two games later and when play resumed yet again, it was the 25-year-old Tiafoe who took charge of the tight opening set in the tiebreak and closed it out with a powerful serve.
“I love playing on grass and I have high hopes here for Wimbledon,” added Tiafoe, who warmed up by winning the Stuttgart grasscourt title. “I definitely didn’t come along for a vacation. I want to do real damage here and hopefully be here two Sundays from now.”
Wu, making his Wimbledon debut and his fourth appearance at a Grand Slam, took a medical timeout early in the second set and had his pulse checked but resumed after a lengthy off-court evaluation.
The world number 62 did not seem too badly affected by the unspecified issue but Tiafoe shifted gears to double his lead in the match and after freely trading breaks in the third, closed out the victory with a solid service game.
“It’s tough, he wasn’t feeling well. With that and all the rain delays there was a lot of waiting,” Tiafoe said.
“I’m a really relaxed guy but I do like finishing a tennis match. I was happy how I handled it.”
The 10th seed, who reached the fourth round last year, next meets Dominic Stricker after the Swiss qualifier beat Australian Alexei Popyrin 3-6 6-3 6-2 4-6 7-5.
Tiafoe’s compatriot Taylor Fritz, a quarter-finalist last year, also booked a spot in the second round and a clash with Mikael Ymer after a 6-4 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-3 win over Yannick Hanfmann, a match that started on Monday.
It was suspended by darkness and then could not resume on a rainy Tuesday with Fritz up 3-2 in the decider.
“It’s great. I’m going to have to play tomorrow. It rained all day yesterday and off and on today, so I really just wanted to get on court and play,” Fritz said.
“I’m glad I can just focus on the next match.”
The world number nine, along with Tiafoe, is looking to become the first American men’s Grand Slam champion since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003.
Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Christopher Eubanks and Marcos Giron made it an encouraging day for American men as they all reached the second round.
But 22nd seed Sebastian Korda failed to join them as he was beaten 7-6(7) 4-6 6-2 6-3 by big-serving Czech Jiri Vesely.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
