WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND: Ash Barty played her first match as the No. 1 player in the world on No. 1 Court at Wimbledon, and she won.
The top-seeded Australian, who followed her victory at the French Open by winning a grass-court warm-up tournament in Birmingham, advanced to the second round at the All England Club on Tuesday by winning her 13th straight match. She beat Zheng Saisai 6-4, 6-2.
"It feels incredible," Barty said about playing at Wimbledon as the top-ranked woman. "It's a little bit of a bizarre feeling, to be honest. But I just try and go about my business the exact same way.
"This hallowed turf that we do get to play on is sacred, it's beautiful. And you have to enjoy every minute."
Defending champion Angelique Kerber also advanced, beating Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-3 on Centre Court.
"I was really nervous, to be honest, because of course to (go) out there as the defending champion, it was really special," Kerber said. "Walking on the Centre Court, playing there again, I mean, a lot of emotions, a lot of memories."
Both Barty and Kerber are in the same quarter of the women's draw, which means they could meet in the quarterfinals. Seven-time champion Serena Williams is also in that same quarter, and she also won, beating Giulia Gatto-Monticone of Italy 6-2, 7-5.
Garbine Muguruza, the 2017 Wimbledon champion who was also placed in that same tough quarter of the draw, didn't make it through her first match. And neither did Maria Sharapova, the champion in 2004.
Muguruza, seeded 26th, lost to Brazilian qualifier Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 6-4. Sharapova, who served for the match while leading 5-3 in the second, retired from her match with a left wrist injury while trailing Pauline Parmentier of France 4-6, 7-6 (4), 5-0.
The combative and combustible Nick Kyrgios advanced to the second round despite winning only five points in the fourth set. The unseeded Australian beat Jordan Thompson 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (10), 0-6, 6-1.
Kyrgios took a medical timeout after the second set and a trainer came on court to examine his left side. He then won the third set in a tiebreaker — a set which took 1 hour, 16 minutes to complete.
The fourth set, however, lasted only 18 minutes as Thompson won 24 points while Kyrgios took only five.
"The medical timeout was to loosen up my hamstring a little bit. It was a physical match." Kyrgios said. "Especially on the grass, it was a little bit slower this year. There were a lot more rallies."
Kyrgios will face two-time champion Rafael Nadal in the next round. The Spaniard beat Yuichi Sugita of Japan 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
Eight-time champion Roger Federer lost the opening set of his opening match on Centre Court, but he quickly recovered and beat Lloyd Harris of South Africa 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.
Federer, who is seeded second at the All England Club, reached the second round at Wimbledon for the 17th consecutive year.
However, fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem, who lost to Nadal in the French Open final, was eliminated after losing to Sam Querrey 6-7 (4), 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-0.
Thiem follows a pair of other top seeds out of the tournament in the first round. No. 6 Alexander Zverev and No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas lost on Monday.
"I was mentally prepared for this kind of game," said Thiem, who has had much more success on the slower clay surface. "Just broke down a little bit after he converted his first break chance, and that was it basically."
Ash Barty wins first Wimbledon match as world No. 1
Ash Barty wins first Wimbledon match as world No. 1
- Defending champion Angelique Kerber also advanced, beating Tatjana Maria 6-4, 6-3 on Centre Court
Japan roll on as Taiwan and Philippines reach quarterfinals
- Japan head into their quarterfinal against Philippines with three straight wins
PERTH: Japan kept their perfect defensive record intact to reach the quarterfinals of the Women’s Asian Cup without conceding a goal as Taiwan and the Philippines also qualified Tuesday.
On a day when the action on the field was overshadowed by five players from the Iranian team being granted asylum by host nation Australia, Japan’s 4-0 win over Vietnam ensured a spot for the Philippines on goal difference.
Collisions between players marred Taiwan’s 3-1 win over India. Both teams’ goalkeepers were taken off after blows to the head.
Japan keep perfect record
Japan head into their quarterfinal matchup against the Philippines with three wins from three games and a tournament-leading 17 goals. Japan is the only team yet to concede at the Asian Cup.
Vietnam started against Japan knowing that a three-goal loss would end its chances of qualifying as one of the best third-place teams if Taiwan avoided defeat to India.
Vietnamese goalkeeper Khong Thi Hang made a series of impressive saves to limit Japan to a 1-0 halftime lead but was constantly under pressure from an opponent which had scored 11 goals against India.
Riko Ueki headed Japan’s opening goal, her fourth of the tournament, before Maika Hamano, Aoba Fujino and Kiko Seike all scored against a tiring Vietnamese defense. Japan will meet the Philippines in the quarterfinals.
Vietnam’s Duong Thi Van was taken off late in the game after a clash of heads with Japan’s Mina Tanaka.
Injuries for Taiwan and India
Taiwan heads to a quarterfinal meeting with China after a win over India which ended with concerns over the welfare of key players on both teams.
Su Yu-hsuan gave Taiwan the lead before Manisha Kalyan’s free kick off the crossbar brought India back into the contest. Taiwan restored its lead when a penalty bounced off the post and in off Indian goalkeeper Elangbam Panthoi Chanu for an own goal.
Taiwan was leading 2-1 when its goalkeeper Wang Yu-ting was taken off following a head injury assessment. The immediate cause wasn’t obvious but Wang had previously played on after an earlier collision when Sanfida Nongrum’s shoulder made contact with her head.
Chen Yu-chin made sure of the win with Taiwan’s third goal on the break but two Indian players ended up stretchered off after they collided while trying to stop her.
Goalkeeper Panthoi charged out toward Chen and was leaping to attempt a save when defender and captain Sweety Devi’s knee struck her in the face. Panthoi was taken off on a stretcher with severe swelling on her face and Devi was briefly motionless on the ground before being taken off the field.
It was the second time Panthoi had treatment after being struck on the head. In the first half she was hit by a shot which caused her to fall back and her head hit the ground.
