The opening day at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is complete. Top seed Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz successfully started their campaigns at the All England Club.
Alcaraz was first on Centre Court to kick off the action and came through a spirited showing from the Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal.
Sinner then played in the early evening on Court 1, dropping a set to Yannick Hanfmann before prevailing in 2 hours and 58 minutes to set up a match with former finalist Matteo Berrettini.
Seb Baez (18), Nicolas Jarry (19), Adrian Mannarino (22) and Mariano Navone (31) were the seeds to fall.
Fourteenth seed Ben Shelton was also in trouble, down two sets to one against Mattia Bellucci when bad light suspended play for the day.
You can see all the results from the opening day below.
Day One Wimbledon 2024 Round of 128 Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner (1) | Yannick Hanfmann | 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 |
| Carlos Alcaraz (3) | Mark Lajal | 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2 |
| Daniil Medvedev (5) | Aleksandar Kovacevic | 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Casper Ruud (8) | Alex Bolt | 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 |
| Grigor Dimitrov (10) | Dušan Lajović | 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 |
| Tommy Paul (12) | Pedro Martinez | 6-2, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 |
| Ben Shelton (14) | Mattia Bellucci | Match Interrupted |
| Ugo Humbert (16) | Alexander Shevchenko | 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-7(3), 6-1 |
| Denis Shapovalov (PR) | Nicolás Jarry (19) | 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 |
| Brandon Nakashima | Sebastián Báez (18) | 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Alexander Bublik (23) | Jakub Mensik | 4-6, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Gael Monfils | Adrian Mannarino (22) | 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 6-4 |
| Tallon Griekspoor (27) | Daniel Elahi Galan | 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4 |
| Frances Tiafoe (28) | Matteo Arnaldi | 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Lorenzo Sonego | Mariano Navone | 6-4, 7-6(2). 6-4 |
| Zhizhen Zhang (32) | Maxime Janvier | 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 |
| Matteo Berrettini | Márton Fucsovics | 7-6(3), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 |
| Fabio Fognini | Luca Van Assche | 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 |
| Jordan Thompson | Pavel Kotov | 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Borna Ćorić | Felipe Meligeni Alves | 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 |
| Jan-Lennard Struff | Fabian Marozsan | 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3 |
| Juncheng Shang | Cristian Garin | 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Stanislas Wawrinka | Charles Broom | 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 |
| Daniel Altmaier | Arthur Fery | 4-6, 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 |
| Alexandre Muller | Hugo Gaston | 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) |
| Botic Van De Zandschulp | Liam Broady | 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 |
| Roberto Bautista Agut | Maximilian Marterer | 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 |
| Arthur Cazaux | Zizou Bergs | 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-7(4), 7-6(8) |
| Lloyd Harris | Alex Michelsen | 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(9) |
| Otto Virtanen | Max Purcell (31) | 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 |
| Miomir Kecmanovic | Sumit Nagal | 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 |
| Aleksandar Vukic | Sebastian Ofner | 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8) |
Alcaraz Starts Title Defence
Carlos Alcaraz successfully started his title defence bid, overcoming a spirited challenge from Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal on Monday. He secured a 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2 straight-sets victory in the first match on Centre Court.
The 21-year-old Spaniard endured an aggressive and free-hitting performance from Lajal, who went up a break in the first two sets, only to hand it straight back to last year’s winner.
Opening play on Centre Court as the reigning champion, Alcaraz appeared comfortable, using his trademark drop shots and powerful groundstrokes to navigate the free-hitting Estonian.
Despite being ranked No. 269, Lajal impressed on his Grand Slam debut. The 21-year-old admitted to screaming upon learning he would face Alcaraz in the first round and became just the fifth Estonian man to compete at Wimbledon.
He surprised me a little bit because I had not seen him play too much. He is very young, he is my age. I am sure I am going to see him on the Tour and play him more often. I am really happy to get through and get my first win on Centre Court this year. Stepping onto this court at Wimbledon is the most beautiful court I have played on. I am still nervous when I play here. I practised for 45 minutes on Thursday and it was the first time I have been nervous in practise and it is because it is for playing here. Alcaraz on his opening round win.
Medvedev Makes Impressive Start
Daniil Medvedev might be a hard court specialist, but when it comes to grass, he’s also a Court 1 specialist at Wimbledon, having never lost on the All England Club’s second-biggest show court.
The Russian maintained that record on Monday, cruising past Aleksandar Kovacevic with a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Medvedev capitalised on four of the eight break points he earned against World No. 88 Kovacevic and played solidly throughout to book his spot in the second round. He’ll face Alexandre Muller, who defeated qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(5).
If Medvedev advances to the third round, he will face 32nd seed Zhang Zhizhen or Jan-Lennard Struff. Zhang defeated French qualifier Maxime Janvier 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match, while Struff overcame Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
It was a great match, to be honest. The first match is never easy and there were moments in the match when it was not as easy as the score would suggest. So I’m really happy with my level and I’ve still never lost on Court 1, so hopefully I can play a lot more matches on this court. I played maybe nine or 10 matches here [on No. 1 Court] and I’ve never lost. I said it last year before the semis, it’s unfortunate that I have to go to Centre Court, and I lost. This year I got lucky, I managed to practise on Centre before the tournament, so maybe it can give me some edge after, but for the moment I want to play on Court No. 1, enjoy it, and try to win. If I remember correctly, I only had one game where I had a real chance [in the second set]. I got a little bit lucky, but I managed to make a very good return, a winner off his first serve. I’m happy with how I managed to stay stable throughout the whole match. I never lost my serve and I’m looking forward to the next round. Medvedev on his win and unbeaten record on Court 1.
Sinner Handles Hanfmann
Jannik Sinner came through a challenging first round at Wimbledon but never really looked in too much trouble as he defeated Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The victory sets up an exciting second-round match against 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.
Top-seeded Sinner dominated the first two sets but saw Hanfmann reduce his errors and fight back in the third with a double break to take it.
After the third set, the No. 1 Court roof was closed, allowing Sinner to reset and finish the match.
The Italian fired 16 aces and 47 total winners as his slingshot baseline game and composure prevailed in the two-hour, 58-minute match.
When you go a break down immediately it’s tough to recover but how I reacted in the fourth set was very positive and ending the match in a very positive way hopefully can help me to start the next round. It’s a huge privilege and honour to be in the position that I am and there is no better place than here to play my first Grand Slam as a World No. 1. It’s an amazing feeling, but every match starts at zero, zero and every opponent wants to win, as I do. Sinner on his win with the usual PR talk.
Other Matches of Note
Tiafoe Comes Back to Win in 5: The first win from 2 sets down for Tiafoe in his career, and he was one of my candidates for an early loss, but he defeated Arnaldi 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
Dimitrov Downs Lajovic: This was the Bulgarian’s 14th appearance at the All England Club, and he started it with a dominant 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win over Dusan Lajovic.
Shapovalov Sinks Jarry: The first major upset of the opening day as Shapo took out the 19th-seeded Nicolas Jarry of Chile with a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 opening-round win.
Berrettini Makes Solid Start: Matteo Berrettini defeated Hungarian Márton Fucsovics 7-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. He’ll face Jannik Sinner in the second round and is hopefully not dealing with a back problem, for which he needed a medical timeout after dropping the third set.
Wawrinka Sweeps Aside Broom: Stan Wawrinka is the oldest man in the draw, and he’s had just three tour wins this season, but he was far too good for wildcard Charles Broom who’ll just have been glad for the payday, coming through 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. He faces Monfils next after he defeated fellow countryman Adrian Mannarino.
Wimbledon 2024 Day Two Round of 128 Matches
- Félix Auger-Aliassime (17) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis
- Roberto Carballés Baena vs Alexander Zverev (4)
- Flavio Cobolli vs Rinky Hijikata
- Federico Coria vs Adam Walton
- Taro Daniel vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (11)
- Luciano Darderi vs Jan Choinski (WC)
- Jack Draper (28) vs Elias Ymer (Q)
- James Duckworth (LL) vs Alex de Minaur (9)
- Tomás Martín Etcheverry (30) vs Luca Nardi
- Daniel Evans vs Alejandro Tabilo (24)
- Jacob Fearnley (WC) vs Alejandro Moro Canas (Q)
- Arthur Fils vs Dominic Stricker (PR)
- Taylor Fritz (13) vs Christopher O’Connell
- Quentin Halys (Q) vs Christopher Eubanks
- Hubert Hurkacz (7) vs Radu Albot (Q)
- Paul Jubb (WC) vs Thiago Seyboth Wild
- Aslan Karatsev vs Karen Khachanov (21)
- Vít Kopřiva (Q) vs Novak Djokovic (2)
- Sebastian Korda (20) vs Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (LL)
- Constant Lestienne vs Lorenzo Musetti (25)
- Jaume Munar vs Billy Harris (WC)
- Andy Murray vs Tomáš Machač
- Kei Nishikori (PR) vs Arthur Rinderknech
- Yoshihito Nishioka vs Nuno Borges
- Cameron Norrie vs Facundo Díaz Acosta
- Alexei Popyrin vs Thiago Monteiro
- Lucas Pouille (Q) vs Laslo Djere
- Andrey Rublev (6) vs Francisco Comesaña
- Holger Rune (15) vs Soon-woo Kwon (PR)
- Emil Ruusuvuori vs Mackenzie McDonald
- Roman Safiullin vs Francisco Cerundolo (26)
Which matches from day one caught your eye? Let me know in the comments.
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