Alex de Minaur has made a strong start in his quest for a grand slam title, securing a convincing win against Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga.
The Australian No. 1 faced a challenging first set lasting a full hour, but once he settled his nerves, he quickly found his rhythm, leading to a decisive victory on Tuesday.
After an initial tiebreak, de Minaur dominated, winning 12 out of 13 games to finish with a score of 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 6-0, completing the last two sets in just 52 minutes.
“A little bit of a nervy start,”
said the fifth seed. “Never easy starting an incredible tournament like Wimbledon, but as the match went on, I played better and better.
“I love being here. I really want to do well here. It’s about getting started and I’m glad I got through that. I’m super-stoked to be in the next round.
“Never easy starting an incredible tournament like Wimbledon, but as the match went on, I played better and better. “I love being here. I really want to do well here. It’s about getting started and I’m glad I got through that. I’m super-stoked to be in the next round. “I love the grass. I love these courts. I am at my most dangerous when I am aggressive and it’s up to me to be aggressive and try and dictate. Next time, hopefully I can do that from the start.”
Following his fiancée, British No. 2 Katie Boulter’s surprising loss to an Italian qualifier, de Minaur appeared to carry some of that disappointment onto the court.
He fell behind early, finding himself 3-0 down against a resilient opponent who defied the stereotype of a clay-court player.
It marked the day after the 40th anniversary of Burruchaga’s father, Jorge, scoring the winning goal in the 1986 World Cup final, which saw Argentina triumph over West Germany. On his debut in the Wimbledon main draw, the son seemed to draw motivation from this historic moment.
After battling to a tiebreak, aided by a fortunate net cord and a double fault from Burruchaga at 4-4, de Minaur clinched the set.
This victory alleviated his initial tension, and he swiftly took control of the match, setting up a second-round encounter against the unpredictable French left-hander Adrian Mannarino.
Ranked 40, the 38-year-old poses a significant challenge on grass, yet de Minaur holds a favorable 5-1 record against him.
Moreover, de Minaur became the first Australian male player to secure a win on the opening day, following the exits of Aleksandar Vukic and Adam Walton.
Rinky Hijikata was in a competitive position, tied one set apiece and leading 5-3 in the third against Dutch player Jesper de Jong when poor light and dew led to a suspension on Monday night.
Unfortunately for Hijikata, following the resumption on Tuesday, he was broken but managed to break back, taking the third set 7-5. Nevertheless, he succumbed to losses in the next two sets, finishing 6-4 6-3.
There was also disappointment for Thanasi Kokkinakis, who held leads against 10th seed Alexandre Bublik but ultimately lost 4-6 6-3 7-6 (12-10) 6-3 6-4.
Despite winning a gripping 22-point tiebreak in the third set, Kokkinakis could not maintain his momentum, as the Kazakh proved too steady in the match’s closing stages.
Daria Kasatkina emerged as Australia’s only victor on the first day, but she will be joined in the women’s second round by Kim Birrell, who triumphed over Russian qualifier Alina Korneeva with a score of 6-3 0-6 6-2.
On the other hand, Talia Gibson faced elimination. After a rough start, she managed to level the match against 21st seed Marie Bouzkova, but ultimately fell short, losing 6-1 3-6 6-2.
