Wimbledon 2021: Novak Djokovic, Sloane Stephens Wins Highlight Monday's Action
It didn't even take 24 hours for the first major upset to take place at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships.
Two weeks after reaching his first Grand Slam final, Stefanos Tsitsipas was shockingly defeated in straight sets by Frances Tiafoe in opening-day action from the All England Club.
Tsitsipas' upset loss is by far the biggest headline on a day that also featured Sloane Stephens taking down Petra Kvitova and Andy Murray returning to the court with an upset win over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
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2021 Wimbledon Results - Monday
Men's Singles
(1) Novak Djokovic def. Jack Draper 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2
Frances Tiaoe def. (3) Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-3, 6-3
(5) Andrey Rublev def. Federico Delbonis 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1
(8) Roberto Bautista Agut def. John Millman 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
(18) Elena Rybakina def. Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 6-0
Marton Fucsovics def. (19) Jannik Sinner 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3
Andy Murray def. (24) Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
(25) Karen Khachanov def. Mackenzie McDonald 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
Denis Kudla def. (30) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 5-7, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-3
Women's Singles
(2) Aryna Sabalenka def. Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4
(4) Sofia Kenin def. Wang Xinyu 6-4, 6-2
(7) Iga Swiatek def. HsiehSu-wei 6-4, 6-4
Sloane Stephens def. (10) Petra Kvitova 6-3, 6-4
(11) Garbine Muguruza def. Fiona Ferro 6-0, 6-1
(23) Madison Keys def. Katie Swan 6-3, 6-4
Viktorija Golubic def. (29) Veronika Kudermetova 3-6, 6-1, 11-9
(32) Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-3
Tsitsipas, who chose not to play on grass courts this month in the lead up to Wimbledon, lost largely due to his failure to convert break chances. He missed on all seven of his opportunities while Tiafoe cashed in four, which was more than enough to break through the razor-thin margin on the court.
"For sure lack of matches was crucial today. The transition from clay to grass, in my opinion, is probably the most difficult one, if not the biggest challenge in our sport. I just wasn't able to adapt," Tsitsipas said. "I obviously didn't want it to be like this, to get to the point where I'm completely out of control.
"There wasn't that same fighting spirit that I usually put out on the court. I would like to see a different me next time. There have been times that I was much more motivated than this. But that's no reason for me not to play well."
Tiafoe's best performance at Wimbledon was a third-round appearance in 2018. He's not gotten any deeper than Round 4 in Grand Slam since his 2019 quarterfinals run at the Australian Open.
Tsitsipas' French Open final counterpart, Novak Djokovic, overcame a frustrating start to eliminate Jack Draper in four sets. Djokovic can tie Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the most Grand Slams in men's tennis history with his third straight Wimbledon championship.
Stephens, coming off a run to the fourth round of the French Open, continued her stellar streak of play with a straight-sets triumph over Kvitova. She has never gotten past the third round at Wimbledon, but the 28-year-old expressed confidence after taking down the two-time tournament champion.
"Not playing on grass for two years and being able to come back first match and play on Centre Court is really just a dream," Stephens said. "I'm just excited to be competing.
"I love grass. It's just not really translated. It's been a couple of years since I had good results on grass. But here is a good start, beating a really good grass-court player, hopefully I can have a good run here."
Americans Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys were also victorious in straight-sets triumphs.
Murray, playing for the first time at Wimbledon since 2017, looked surprisingly strong in a four-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili. He has not gotten past the second round at a major since his initial hiatus due to injuries. His victory gave fans a raucous way to end the evening with several matches suspended because of darkness.
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