Wimbledon day 1 wrap: Stan stunned, Kvitova cruises

It is the cathedral of tennis. The epitome of British summertime. The tournament that every player wants to win. Wimbledon 2017 began in style today, conjuring up a heady mix of sunshine, rain and the occasional upset.

The men: Stan stunned as Murray cruises

Stan Wawrinka’s hopes of completing the career Grand Slam have come to an unceremonious end against Wimbledon debutante Daniil Medvedev. The 21 year-old Russian stunned the three-time major champion to pick up his first victory in a Slam 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-1.

“If somebody would tell me that I would win on Centre Court at Wimbledon I would say ‘you’re joking’,” Medvedev mused after the match.

There were plenty of question marks about defending champion Andy Murray going into this year’s tournament. However, the world No.1 answered them in style, downing the potentially dangerous Alexander Bublik in straight sets.

Murray, who has been hampered by a hip injury for the last month, came through the rain-interrupted match 6-1 6-4 6-2 in one hour 43 minutes.

“I played pretty good. Moved quite well,” Murray said after the win. “I mean, it’s not the easiest match to play because of the way he plays.”

It’s a couple of years since we last saw Rafael Nadal on the Wimbledon grass, but the world No.2 signalled his intent with a dominant win over John Millman. Flying out of the blocks, Nadal needed just one hour 46 minutes to down the Aussie 6-1 6-3 6-2.

“The only thing that means was today was a very positive start,” Nadal said. “I am through to the second round. That’s a very important thing for me.”

Elsewhere, Marin Cilic got his Wimbledon campaign off to a flying start with a 6-4 6-2 6-3 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber; Kei Nishikori needed just 72 minutes to down Marco Cecchinato 6-2 6-2 6-0; Nick Kyrgios was forced to retire from his match against Pierre Hugues-Herbert while trailing 6-3 6-6; and Kevin Anderson was a 2-6 7-6(5) 7-6(8) 6-3 winner against Fernando Verdasco.

The women: Kvitova up and running

The Wimbledon crowd were willing two-time champion Petra Kvitova to the win in a tough match against Johanna Larsson. The Czech star, who missed the first half of the season after an horrific knife attack at her home, was forced to work hard for the 6-3 6-4 win over the Swede.

“It was very special for me to feel the energy from the crowd again,” Kvitova smiled after the win. “It was through the match all the time.”

Venus Williams has been dealing with her own fair share of personal problems away from the court recently, and it showed as she was forced to leave her press conference in tears. The American, who faces a lawsuit after a man died during a car crash she was involved in, had to dig deep on her way to a 7-6(7) 6-4 win over Elise Mertens.

However, it was the press conference that made the headlines, with Williams leaving the press conference after being questioned about the accident: “There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating,” Williams said. “And… yeah. I’m completely speechless.

World No.2 Simona Halep is rarely mentioned amongst the contenders for the Wimbledon crown, however the former semifinalist won’t mind. The Romanian admitted that it took her a few games to settle before she made relatively short work of Marina Erakovic, notching up a 6-4 6-1 win in 74 minutes.

Elsewhere, Johanna Konta appears to have shaken off her Eastbourne injury, beating Su-Wei Hsieh 6-2 6-2; Elina Svitolina came through a tough first round match against Aussie Ash Barty 7-5 7-6(8); Madison Keys was a 6-4 6-2 winner over Nao Hibino; and Vika Azarenka came back from a set down to beat Catherine Bellis 3-6 6-2 6-1.