For the two headliners of Swiss tennis, this is an encouraging start and a… first victory at Wimbledon since 2019. For Belinda Bencic, who only made a fleeting appearance at Roland -Garros, it is even the first victory since April. In the next round, her opponent will be either the American Danielle Collins or the Austrian Julia Grabher, two players ranked around 50th place by the WTA who will have to finish a game stopped overnight at 6-4 in favor of Collins.
You have to be able to chain
“I’m very happy to have played again and won despite the wind,” said the always smiling Belinda Bencic. It’s difficult to find the rhythm of the competition, after such a long absence. I am regaining confidence and I now hope to be able to play a series of matches. I’m especially happy that the body held up and didn’t feel any pain, I hope things are finally going in the right direction. Three weeks ago, it was still complicated with my body. Now I don’t need to procrastinate anymore, I want to take this chance and keep this positive energy.”
Under the eyes of Severin Lüthi, his parents but also those of Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka used his experience to maneuver Emil Ruusuvuori brilliantly. If his backhand served him more to deposit the ball than to hit it, he knew how to slam his first service ball to tighten the game when the situation could become dangerous. “It’s my best game of the year, I was good tennis and physically. I was able to stay calm in the hot moments and respect my game plan, “welcomed Wawrinka, who is coming out of a big period of physical preparation.
He too does not yet know his opponent, the match between the Spaniard Zapata Miralles and the Argentinian Etcheverry having to resume Tuesday with two sets to one in favor of Zapata Miralles. Finally, he does not know the name of his opponent, but he knows the game of each of them, according to the very meticulous description he gave at a press conference. To perfect his knowledge, he did not rule out going to follow the end of this match from the edge of the court. “But it takes place on the 11 [un court sans gradins, au cœur de la foule]I don’t know if it’s reasonable to go there.
Four Swiss in the running on Tuesday
After qualifying, Simona Waltert for her part lost 6-1 6-4 to the Czech Marie Bouzkova. Led 6-1 4-0, the Grisonne saved three match points and had a ball to come back to 5-5 before cracking. His participation in the big picture is a success but as at Roland-Garros, the slender Waltert accumulated unforced errors before returning at the end of the match, once his arm was untied and the defeat consumed.
On Tuesday, four other Swiss will enter the tournament. Zurich’s Marc-Andrea Hüsler will face Japanese lucky loser Yosuke Watanuki, Bernese qualifier Dominic Stricker will face Russian-born Australian Alexei Popyrin, Zurich’s Viktorija Golubic (from qualifying) will challenge Czech Anna Schmiedlova and the young Schwyzoise Céline Naef will make her Grand Slam debut against Russian Anastasia Potapova.
