No slipups from Novak as record quest begins

LONDON — Novak Djokovic launched his bid for an eighth Wimbledon title with a 40th successive win on Centre Court while there were early exits for US stars Coco Gauff and Venus Williams.

The 36-year-old Djokovic, who has won the past four titles at the All England Club, defeated 68th-ranked Pedro Cachin of Argentina, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Monday on the tournament's showpiece court, where he has not lost since 2013.

Djokovic even found time to help ground staff dry out the world's most famous lawn after the surface became too slippery following a downpour.

The roof was closed but play did not resume for about 90 minutes, much to the frustration of the fans.

"When I come out, I usually come out with rackets, not towels," said Djokovic, who described the court as "the holy grail, the temple of tennis".

He added: "The conditions were not great under the roof, it was still slippery. I think it was definitely frustrating for the crowd waiting for us."

The Serb, bidding to match Roger Federer's men's record of eight Wimbledon titles, goes on to face Australia's Jordan Thompson for a place in the third round.

World No 2 Djokovic has already pocketed the Australian Open and French Open this year.

Winning a men's-record 23rd major in Paris put him just one behind Margaret Court's all-time singles mark of 24.

He is also halfway to pulling off the first calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

Coco crashes out

In the day's biggest shock, seventh-ranked Gauff slumped to a 6-4,4-6, 6-2 defeat to fellow American Sofia Kenin, who came through qualifying.

Gauff vowed to channel the frustration she felt into improving her game as she continues her quest for a Grand Slam breakthrough.

The resurgent Kenin, who won the 2020 Australian Open but had to come through qualifying to face Gauff, was the more confident of the pair of Americans, dictating play and pushing the teenager around the court at the All England Club.

"Right now I'm very frustrated and disappointed," said the 19-year-old Gauff following her first ever opening-round defeat at the grass-court major.

"So, yeah, I think it makes me want to work even harder. I feel like I have been working hard, but clearly it's not enough.

"I have to go back to the drawing board and see where I need to improve and how to do the right drills to do that."

Opponents have targeted Gauff's vulnerable forehand and she said she knows that shot needs work.

"Obviously my forehand," she said.

"Being more aggressive on those shots. I think I made too many errors on my forehand and backhand today."

Gauff also reckons she needs to do a better job of taking the fight to her opponent.

"I didn't really put too much pressure on her," she said.

"I felt like she could make a ball on the court, didn't have to be as good, and I wouldn't do much with it. That's what happened.

"If I played too passively, she has a game where she can hit aggressive shots."

Kenin, who was ranked as high as No 4 in the world back in March 2020 but is now 128th, called 2023 a "comeback year" for her and said she benefited from low expectations on Monday.

"When I was higher ranked and everything, people looked at me like I should win," Kenin said.

"I knew she'd be a bit more nervous because more pressure's on her than me. I just tried to use everything I could in this match to my advantage."

Rublev races through

Seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia was the first men's winner of the day, beating Australia's Max Purcell 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Fellow Russians Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova, as well as two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, were also first-day winners.

World No 1 Iga Swiatek racked up the first five games on her way to sweeping past China's Zhu Lin.

Reigning US Open and French Open champion Swiatek came through 6-1, 6-3 against her 34thranked opponent.

"I feel confident and did a good job of adjusting to grass," said the 22-year-old Pole, who has yet to get past the last 16 at Wimbledon.

Also making the next round were men's fourth seed Casper Ruud and eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner.

This year's tournament is being played under tightened security over fears that climate activists could disrupt matches following high-profile protests at other sporting events.

Three protesters from Just Stop Oil interrupted cricket's second Ashes Test at Lord's in London last week, sprinkling the group's trademark orange powder on the field.

"Of course we've taken account of what we've seen elsewhere so security has been uplifted in various places around the grounds," said All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton.

The extra security measures dampened the spirits of cold and wet fans lining up in Wimbledon's famous queue.

One fan tweeted he had been waiting for five hours, blasting the delay as "shambolic".

AFP