First round: King Arthur rules
Arthur Rinderknech makes it two wins out of two for France on Court Central.
Picking up where Arthur Cazaux had left off in the morning, Arthur Rinderknech survived a white-knuckle ride with Fabian Marozsan to win 7-6(5), 7-6(4). He took his time to get going (he needed most of the first set to get his serve in working order) but relying on his fighting spirit and using the energy from the crowd, he came through in style at the end. "The crowd was there and really pushed me during both tie-breaks," said Rinder. "I didn’t have all the right references, and the start of the match wasn’t easy. Fabian played really well, taking a lot of risks that paid off, he’s a talented player. I had to hang in there, find my rhythm, and once again, thanks to the fans’ support, both tie-breaks went my way."
With the cheers from the stands getting ever louder, he came from 4-2 in the second set tie-break to win the next five points and book his place in the second round. And there he could face his cousin Valentin Vacherot if Vacherot can beat Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday.
Rublev stops the rot
The roar of relief could be heard for miles: Andrey Rublev won his first match since the US Open with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Jacob Fearnley. After five successive defeats, the world No.17 had finally got his reward. He set off at a gallop as Fearnley struggled with the speed and power of his opponent and his own serving issues. In all, Fearnley hit 11 double faults and was in trouble on almost every service game. But no matter how he tried to keep the ball away from Rublev’s forehand – and he settled to his task better in the second set – it was not enough. Rublev was not to be beaten again.
Nervy Norrie
Cam Norrie admitted that the nerves had got to him as he faced Sebastian Baez. In both sets the Brit had been 3-0 up but found himself dragged back into battle. Trying to push himself to be more aggressive, he got the job done 6-3, 6-4 and set himself up for an appointment with Carlos Alcaraz in the second round.
There was less for Learner Tien to worry about as he beat Nuno Borges 6-2, 7-6(7) and Francisco Cerundolo swept past Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-3. Terence Atmane got the crowd excited he took the second set but the French wild card eventually went out to Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Miomir Kecmanovic needed more than two and half hours to find his way past Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(2) and now plays Cerundolo.