Wimbledon tennis: Bianca Andreescu upset, Novak Djokovic advances

Novak Djokovic of Serbia (pictured) beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the second round of Wimbledon 2021 on Wednesday at the All England Club in London. Photo by Neil HallEPA-EFE

June 30 (UPI) — Women’s No. 7 Bianca Andreescu was upset in the first round for a second-consecutive Grand Slam, while men’s No. 1 Novak Djokovic continued his dominance with a second-round win at Wimbledon on Wednesday in London.

France’s Alize Cornet beat Andreescu in a straight-sets match, which lasted one hour and 22 minutes. Andreescu failed to convert on six break point opportunities in the 6-2, 6-1 loss.

Since her win at the 2019 U.S. Open, Andreescu has failed to advance past the second round in her last three Grand Slams. She missed three Grand Slams in 2020 due to injury. Andreescu was 9-2 in Grand Slams before the pandemic-altered 2020 season.

“I knew a little bit more how she was playing on this surface, what was bothering her, and I think I used it pretty well today, varying a lot and being aggressive when I needed to, and not making many unforced errors,” Cornet told reporters.

Andreescu slipped throughout the match on the wet grass, which continues to impact play and contribute to injuries at the Grand Slam.

Cornet battles Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round. Tomljanovic beat Greet Minnen of Belgium in straight sets in her first match Wednesday.

No. 4 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 5 Elina Svitolina on the Ukraine and No. 14 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus were among the top women to advance in Wednesday’s early wave of first-round matches. Slovenia’s Kaja Juvan upset No. 11 Belinda Bencic in straight sets.

CoCo Vandeweghe also advanced, but fellow American Amanda Anisimova lost her first-round match.

Djokovic of Serbia, No. 9 Matteo Berrettini of Italy and No. 12 Denis Shapovalov of Canada were among the top men’s players to advance to the third round early Wednesday.

Djokovic, the champion of this season Australian Open and French Open, is on a quest to claim a record-tying 20th Grand Slam title.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal share the men’s singles Grand Slam record, but only Federer is active at Wimbledon.

Djokovic beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in straight sets Wednesday at the All England Club. He totaled just six unforced errors and did not face a single break point in the 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win.

“I’m obviously at a high level of confidence after winning the French Open, but I was nervous coming into this match,” Djokovic told reporters.

“I was playing a very experienced player who I faced in the final three years ago. [Anderson] is a big server and a very dangerous opponent.”

The five-time Wimbledon champion battles American Denis Kudla in the third round.

Men’s No. 13 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain and No. 14 Casper Ruud of Norway were among the top players to exit Wednesday through upset losses.

American Sam Querrey upset Carreno Busta and battles Australian James Duckworth in the third round. Kudla, Marcos Giron and Taylor Fritz were among the other American men to advance early Wednesday, while John Isner lost to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in five sets.

Second-round matches air until 4:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday and from 6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT Thursday on ESPN.