In comparison with Wimbledon’s draw ceremony, the identical occasion at Roland Garros may as nicely be a wild, insanity rave in New York Metropolis. A gathering of VIPs, officers, journalists and the sundry tennis glitterati, the French ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ and giggle on the slightest of peculiar first-round match-ups and customarily create a celebration ambiance the Thursday night earlier than most important draw play begins.
On Friday morning, within the interview room on the All England Garden Tennis Membership, these attending may as nicely have been church mice with nary a peep at any time from the assembled 70 or so reporters and different officers as numbers aligned with the gamers within the area have been pulled from a material poach in an old school approach after which positioned in positions within the draw. The opposite Grand Slam occasions use random, computer-generated programs to fill the names in numerous components of their attracts.
There was an inauspicious starting Friday when Wimbledon event referee Gerry Armstrong mispronounced the surname of world No. 1 and prime seed Iga Swiatek. It ought to have come out as “schvee-ON-tek” but it surely was mangled to “Swee-EYE-tek.”
Oh nicely, issues didn’t end up so badly for the 20-year-old Pole. Taking part in in her third Wimbledon (3-2), she is going to face a 25-year-old Croat, Jana Fett, ranked No. 254 and in simply her third Grand Slam event total – 1-1 on the Australian Open and 0-1 at Wimbledon.
The event draw is sort of a roadmap, with a participant’s passage to the title relying on what number of and the way critical among the bumps could be alongside the best way to a possible joyful ending.
Of the 4 Canadians within the attracts, two, Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime, had nice success final yr. Shapovalov reached the semi-finals and actually pushed eventual champion Novak Djokovic in a 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 loss whereas Auger-Aliassime was crushed within the quarter-finals by 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3.
With no rankings factors out there this yr, each gamers will take successful as they lose 720 and 360 factors respectively. It seems like Shapovalov might drop from No. 16 to about No. 25 and Auger-Aliassime from No. 9 to about No. 11.
As for final yr’s finalists, champion Djokovic is dropping 2000 factors – win lose or draw at this yr’s occasion – and can fall from No. 3 to about No. 8. Berrettini, 1200 factors, will descend from No. 12 to No. 15.
It’s troublesome to understand how a lot impact having no factors – the lifeblood of the entire tennis ecosystem – could have on the gamers. However absolutely for the Djokovics and Shapovalovs of the tour, not getting any recompense apart from status and cash will appear very unusual. As for gamers, female and male, within the decrease rungs of the rankings, they largely have much less to lose and it will likely be fascinating to see if any sample emerges amongst that group.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime will tackle what looks like a tag-team of tall French natives with massive serves within the first spherical. Shapovalov faces 6-foot-5 Arthur Rinderknech, 26, in his opening match whereas Auger-Aliassime has drawn 6-foot-6 Maxime Cressey, 25, a former school participant at UCLA who now represents america.
Shapovalov cut up two earlier conferences with No. 61-ranked Rinderknech – dropping 6-4, 6-4 in Doha in February after prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 on the Stockholm Open final fall. It’s solely Rinderknech’s second Wimbledon. His first was memorable – after qualifying he was crushed by present fast-rising German Oscar Otte. The rating displays Wimbledon’s former final-set tiebreak system – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(5), 13-12(2).
Potential second-round opponents for the thirteenth seeded Shapovalov can be both No. 54-ranked Brandon Nakashima of the U.S. or No. 246 Nicola Kuhn of Spain, a qualifier.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded sixth, and the No. 60-ranked Cressey shall be assembly for the primary time. That is Auger-Alassime’s third Wimbledon (6-2) whereas Cressey is taking part in in his first most important draw. A yr in the past he misplaced a five-setter within the ultimate spherical of qualifying to American Mackenzie McDonald.
A attainable second spherical for Auger-Aliassime can be in opposition to both of two qualifiers – No. 102-ranked Jack Sock of the U.S. or No. 155 Dennis Novak of Austria. Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov gained’t start play till Tuesday.
Bianca Andreescu will enter Wimbledon after taking part in her first WTA ultimate (in Dangerous Homburg, Germany, in opposition to No. 75-ranked Caroline Garcia) since dropping to Ashleigh Barty within the championship match on the 2021 Miami Open. Her opponent within the first spherical is qualifier Emina Bektas. The 29-year-old American is taking part in in her second Grand Slam occasion after dropping within the first spherical on the Australian Open in January.
Issues might get more difficult for Andreescu if she advances – attainable conferences with No. 17 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in spherical two and No. 9 Garbine Muguruza of Spain within the third spherical.
It’s arduous to imagine that 2019 US Open champion Andreescu has but to win a main-draw match at Wimbledon in two makes an attempt – 2017 (Kristina Kucova of Slovakia) and 2021 (Alizé Cornet of France) however she didn’t play in 2018 or 2019 and there was no event (pandemic) in 2020.
Rebecca Marino, 31, has really gained yet another Wimbledon match than Andreescu – reaching the second spherical in her solely earlier look in 2011 earlier than dropping 7-6(3), 6-2 to the now-retired Roberta Vinci.
As with Andreescu, Marino will face a comparatively obscure 29-year-old qualifier – in her case No. 132-ranked Katarzyna Kawa of Poland. Marino has garnered some useful expertise on grass this previous month – going 5-4 in qualifying and most important draw at occasions in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne.
The serve is a vaunted weapon for the 6-foot Vancouverite and he or she shall be favoured in opposition to Kawa, who solely has a first-round loss on the 2020 US Open on her Grand Slam singles resumé.
Across the tennis, on the grounds of the All England Membership, there are nearly no indicators of COVID-19 – apart from glass dividers extensively in use within the media work room. Virtually nobody is sporting masks regardless of an American coach relating on Thursday that many gamers and coaches and others caught the virus at current occasions in Madrid and Rome – some having had an disagreeable expertise for about 36 hours.
Throughout Friday’s draw, out of greater than 70 individuals assembled indoors, solely a Canadian tennis author and one different particular person have been sporting masks.
On the courts, notably Centre Courtroom and Courtroom No. 1, there are slight patches of damage as occasion organizers allow gamers to apply on them to attempt to make the courts rather less lush and slippery on the again and on the perimeters. The worn areas will not be apparent however nonetheless obvious sufficient in order that the stainless, pristine circumstances of the normal opening day’s males’s match, which has been a part of the Wimbledon mystique for thus lengthy, will now be a factor of the previous.
One long-time observer was stunned at how few gamers have been current on the Aorangi apply courts on the All England. The overall thought is that, as a result of there aren’t any rating factors this yr, gamers are ready till later than standard to reach and shall be – so to talk – taking the cash (first-round losers get 50,000 kilos or $61,500 USD) and operating as quickly as they’re eradicated.
New for gamers coming into Centre Courtroom – there shall be no extra left flip / proper flip after they step out of the membership and head to their courtside chairs. Now the again display opens within the center so the gamers can exit immediately onto some of the well-known lawns on the earth.
Lastly, there’s just one constructing façade remaining in any respect the 4 Grand Slam occasions from the start of the ‘open tennis’ period in 1968 – that will be the entrance of Centre Courtroom at Wimbledon. Within the meantime, the Australian and US Open have moved to new websites and Roland Garros has undergone so many renovations that nothing is left of the unique Courtroom Philippe Chatrier or the opposite exterior stadiums. New post-pandemic on Wimbledon’s entrance face are digital occasion logos on both aspect of the normal Roman Numerals clock.
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