By Alan Baldwin
LONDON, June 29 (Reuters) – Cameron Norrie joined a string of beaten Brits heading for the exit on the opening day of Wimbledon on Monday while popular hopes Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu were gone without lifting a racket or hitting a ball.
Norrie, the 26th seed and British number one, was dumped out 7-6(7) 2-6 7-6(2) 3-6 6-7(4-10) by American qualifier Michael Zheng, who had five match points in the final tiebreak and needed only one.
He was the sixth home player to lose at the first hurdle on the opening day, with the possibility of several more to come and now-retired Grand Slam winner Andy Murray no longer a saviour in waiting.
Former world number four Draper had earlier announced his no-show due to an arm injury while fans queuing at the gates knew already that Raducanu would not be appearing after she posted an explanatory message on social media on Sunday.
‘ABSOLUTE WORST’ TO MISS WIMBLEDON
“Devastated to share that I have had to withdraw from my first round match due to a recurrence of my arm injury,” said Draper, 24.
“There have been a lot of painful moments in the last 12 months but this one is definitely the absolute worst as there is no greater honour for a British player than playing at Wimbledon.”
Draper, who had been due to play big-serving American world number seven Taylor Fritz in his first round match on Tuesday, was replaced in the draw by Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic.
The Briton had told reporters on Sunday that the number of injuries in men’s tennis was a concern and tournaments would suffer if something was not done about it.
Former U.S. Open champion Raducanu, 23, announced her withdrawal on Sunday as a result of a stress fracture in her lower right leg.
The British women’s number one had been scheduled to face Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic on Court One, a slot that went instead to compatriot Harriet Dart vs Latvian Jelena Ostapenko.
As the afternoon sun warmed the manicured grass of southwest London, the familiar exodus of British talent was well under way as a string of home hopes — some pluckier than others — came and went.
Dart was among them — putting up a brave fight over 2-1/2 hours before going down 6-3 3-6 6-4 to the 2017 French Open champion who served more double faults than aces in the first set and was no crowd favourite.
SCOWLS FROM OSTAPENKO
“I’m probably not the one who you wanted to win but anyway thank you, it was a really nice atmosphere,” said Ostapenko, whose scowls and grimaces during the match were replaced with smiles of relief after having to work for every point.
“Sorry if I was a little bit emotional but I feel like first rounds are always tough, especially when you play someone who is from here,” she added.
“When I play somebody local or just somebody that the crowd is supporting I feel like I’m angry inside … I mean, this is a very good crowd for her but I feel like to prove that you guys should support me in the next match.”
Other early British casualties were 17-year-old Mika Stojsavljevic, who lost 6-2 6-1 to Swiss 11th seed and 2025 semi-finalist Belinda Bencic, and Max Basing who went out 6-3 6-0 6-0 to Japanese fellow qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki.
Wildcard Felix Gill also departed 6-3 6-3 7-5 to 19-year-old Spanish debutant Rafa Jodar, the 23rd seed, while wildcard Alicia Dudeney lost 6-3 6-3 to American Alycia Parks on Court Four.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Alison Williams)
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