Daria Kasatkina put on an Australian tennis showpiece on the grass courts of Wimbledon, defying her own low expectations and finally overcoming a tough challenge from British wild card Mimi Xu.
The 29-year-old came to the rescue after the 13-man Australian contingent began their invasion of the grass on a warm opening day with Aleksandar Vukic injured and Roland Garros giant Adam Walton defeated.
Former quarter-finalist Kasatkina, a renowned import who was the last Australian to compete at Roland Garros, entered her ninth Wimbledon after a winless run on grass, admitting she did not expect to enjoy a deep run.
She said she knew nothing about her Welsh opponent “except that she’s about 10 years younger than me – and that’s enough” but soon after winning the first set comfortably, Kasatkina found herself facing a battle on Court 16.
Xu, 18, hit back to take the second set before Kasatkina regrouped and controlled the deciding move for a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory in one hour and 42 minutes, setting up a second-round clash with Janice Tien, who last year became the first Indonesian in 23 years to win a tour title.
This will likely be followed by a third round showdown with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
Earlier, Vukic became the first casualty with a knee injury before losing 7-6 (9/7), 6-1, 6-1 to American opponent Jenson Brooksby, who also beat him in Eastbourne last week.
Vukic was hoping for a decent performance at the Grand Slam, where he has had the misfortune of playing Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the last two years, knowing that reaching the third round would likely earn him another shot at defending champion Italy after losing to him in straight sets in 2025.
Vukic, world number 104, had his chances in a tight first set, grabbing a pair of set points to lead 6-4 in the tiebreak, but Brooksby saved the opening shot with a gutsy drop shot before winning on his fifth set point.
After an immediate break in the second set, Brooksby, ranked 23 places higher than the Australian, really took control, with Vukic moving less easily and ending up needing a medical timeout after being overplayed in the second set.
The American wasn’t about to let Vukic off the hook and stormed through the third set to win in one hour and 53 minutes, before the Sydneysider reported: “It’s an MCL strain, the same problem I had at the Birmingham tournament a few weeks ago, but I don’t think it’s anything serious.”
Walton, the Queenslander who scored the best win of his career by knocking out former world champion Daniil Medvedev at the French Open, got off to a strong start against Croatia’s Dino Prizmic, taking the first set but was beaten in the second set tiebreak, eventually losing 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-2.
Rinki Hijikata also played on the first day against Dutchman Jesper de Jong, but their match on Court 10 was abandoned due to rain.
Both players won one set each, but Hijikata broke at 3-5 in the third when play was suspended due to poor light.
AARP