London, (Samajweekly) Defending champion Elena Rybakina and Ons Jabeur, the player she defeated in the final last year, started their respective campaigns in contrasting styles at Wimbledon on Tuesday, setting off on a collision course once again.
Rybakina bounced back from a slow start to kick off her Wimbledon title defense with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Shelby Rogers in 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Ons Jabeur started on what could prove a tough route for a repeat of last year’s appearance in the Ladies’ Singles final as she defeated Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.
On another rain-interrupted day at SW19 in London, the matches involving Rybakina and Jabeur were the only two Ladies’ Singles matches to be completed on Tuesday.
Only one Wimbledon women’s champion’s title defence has ended in the first round in the Open Era — Stefanie Graf, who fell to Lori McNeil in her 1994 opener. For a set, Rybakina seemed as though she might join Graf, but asserted her authority thereafter, dropping just five points behind her serve in sets two and three.
The Kazakh had come into Wimbledon under a cloud of uncertainty regarding her health. A viral illness had forced her to withdraw from Roland Garros ahead of her third-round tie with Sara Sorribes Tormo. After returning to Berlin and reaching the second round, Rybakina pulled out of Eastbourne last week due to its lingering effects.
No.4 seed Rybakina also faced a renowned upset artist off the bat. No.49-ranked Rogers had previously notched seven Top 10 wins in her career, including one at each of the three other Grand Slams. She had also defeated Rybakina 6-2, 6-4 in their last encounter, in the second round of ‘s-Hertogenbosch 2022 on grass and twice overall in their five previous meetings.
Jabeur faces an arduous route for a repeat of her last year’s performance as six of the Top 10 seeds are on her side, including No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and No.3 Elena Rybakina. The Tunisian could face two-time Wimbledon winner No. 9 Petra Kvitova in the fourth round and, potentially, defending champion Rybakina in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open back in January, could await in the semifinals.
However, she took the first of the seven steps to the title with a comfortable win.
On a cold and sodden Tuesday, the No.6 seed from Tunisia took care of Magdalena Frech, 6-3, 6-3 under the Court No.1 roof. It was among only a handful of completed matches on a Day 2 washout.
