Week one wipeout at Wimbledon

A recurring observation on walking into Wimbledon, together with throngs of equally appreciate locals, is the weight of expectation the British press loads on their lineup of top seeds, to whom pages are devoted, to the exclusion of even Defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz and World No 1, Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz enters the equation, less as a prospective third-time trophy holder and more as a potential romantic partner for British No 1, Emma Raducanu. Former British No 1, Katie Boulter described as the “A1 quintessential Wimbledon player”,  garners less attention, possibly because her fiancée is Australian No 1, Alex De Minaur and Wimbledon has never been a happy hunting ground-on Court ie.

Meanwhile British No 1, Jack Draper, has been touted as the Brit most likely to win this event. So have they and their British counterparts lived up to those lengthy headlines?

Boulter, who beat Raducanu on her way to winning the Nottingham trophy last year, suffered another meltdown from a set up, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1, to lucky loser, No 101, Soiana Sierra, to match her recent Queens Club collapse.

“I might have to accept my moment here( at Wimbledon) may not come.” Indeed not Katie.

Meanwhile daughter of a British Kebab shop owner, Sonay Kartal,  in shorts & a top quietly continued her “unfussy progress” into Round Three, convincingly beating Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, 6-2, 6-2.

As for Raducanu, in the unhappy interim, since her unheralded US Open triumph, we’ve become conditioned to a hard luck litany of endless injuries, the revolving door of coaches, etc.

However walking onto Centre Court, in her Second Round match against unlikely 2023 Wimbledon champion, Marketa Vondrousova, something flipped in her mind, together with the sparkling coin, at the toss.

Raducanu’s 6-3, 6-3, demolition of the Czech, was one of her best, since she conquered Flushing Meadow. She appeared to be back on a magic carpet ride, yet her real test lay against No 1, Aryna Sabalenka.

So too did former British No 2, Dan Evans’ glittering swan song come to a grinding halt, as he butted heads with seven-time Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic and lost valiantly in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 to the maestro, in front of a Royal Box, dripping with other Olympic champions. British No 1, Draper, oddly on Court 1, was up against big serving Marin Cilic: Given the Croatian is an out of form veteran, British expectations were sky high.

Yet underdogs tend to be dangerous in big arenas. Cilic and his big serve and powerful forehand were on song, as he raced to a two-set lead. To Draper’s credit, he clawed back the third, adopting a more aggressive approach, as former No 1, John McEnroe, suggested he should, only to fall, 6-4, 6-3,1-6,6-4.

Thus ironically with the exception of former British No 1, Cameron Norrie, still keeping the Union Jack aloft on the Mens side of the Draw, Britain’s collective “Great Expectations” have suffered a Dickensian twist.And it is not only the Brits, who have suffered tragedies, during this eventful week one in SW 7.

The Greeks are mourning the demise of their beloved No 1, Stefanos Tsitsipas, the first big name to fall, after retiring at two sets down in his opener versus French qualifier, Valentin Roger, owing to a lingering back problem. The problem lies more in the head and his subsequent breakup with Spanish No 1, Paula Badosa is probably a wise move.

The Americans were hit with the proverbial double whammy, when both No 1s Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff crashed out prematurely, beaten respectively by Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Ukrainian, Dayana Yastremska. The Big Three, cruising through to week two, under the radar, remain: Alcaraz, Sinner & Djokovic.