Wang Xinyu Leads Chinese Mainland Players into Wimbledon Second Round
Wang Xinyu of the Chinese mainland delivered a commanding performance on Tuesday, defeating Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-0 in a gripping women’s singles first-round match at the Wimbledon Championships in London.
Wang’s victory at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club marks her second consecutive advancement to the second round at the prestigious grass court Grand Slam. She will face the No. 5 seed, Jessica Pegula of the USA, in her next match.
Despite Wang’s success, her compatriot Bai Zhuoxuan faced defeat, falling to Harriet Dart of Great Britain 6-4, 6-0. However, the Chinese mainland celebrates a strong presence at Wimbledon this year, with a total of five players advancing to the second round. In the women’s event, Wang Yafan and Zhu Lin join Wang Xinyu, while Zhang Zhizhen and Shang Juncheng move forward in the men’s competition.
In other notable matches, the defending women’s singles champion, Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, was unexpectedly ousted by Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2. This marks only the second time a reigning women’s singles champion has exited Wimbledon in the first round, a fate last experienced by Steffi Graf in 1994.
The tournament’s top seed, Iga Swiatek of Poland, began her campaign with a strong performance, defeating Sofia Kenin of the USA 6-3, 6-4. Reflecting on her win, Swiatek commented, “It was a solid start and not an easy draw and I am glad to have the chance to play here again. You can’t get slowly into a Grand Slam, you have to be ready straight away. On this surface it’s not about the result, but about the progress and see if I can do better than last year.”
As the competition intensifies, audiences eagerly await the upcoming matches, anticipating thrilling performances from the players representing the Chinese mainland on tennis’s grandest stage.
Reference(s):
Wang Xinyu becomes fifth Chinese player to advance at Wimbledon
cgtn.com
