On the evening of July 1, Beijing time, the first round of the 2024 Wimbledon Tennis Championships began, and nine Chinese players played on the first day, which was a mixed blessing. Zheng Qinwen, the No. 8 seed of China's Golden Flower, was upset by qualifier Sun Lulu. The first round of men's tennis was impressive.
Women's Singles No.8 seed Zheng Qinwen was challenged by qualifier Sun Lulu in the first round, and although Zheng won the first set 6-4, she failed to capitalize on the opportunity in the next two sets, and eventually lost two sets in a row 2-6 and 4-6 to be eliminated from the competition.
After the victory, Sun Lulu said: "It was a special victory, Zheng Qinwen is a very good athlete, I tried to stay calm in the match, and I am glad that I made it past the first round. Zheng Qinwen said after the game that the swollen eye and the pain in the back of the upper arm affected the performance. When I came on the field, I felt that I was more than capable of doing it, and the upset was unexpected. Her focus now is to recover from her injuries and prepare for the Olympics.
In the women's singles, Zhu Lin easily defeated her opponent Begu with a score of 6-0 and 6-4 to achieve her first Wimbledon main draw victory in three years. Wang Yafan, on the other hand, defeated Schmiedlova with a score of 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 and won the Wimbledon main draw again after five years. Zhang Shuai, Yuan Yue, Wang Xiyu, and Wang Qiang stopped in the first round.
Zhu Lin celebrated the first round of the Wimbledon men's singles after her victory, with the Chinese performers particularly eye-catching. Teenager Shang Juncheng defeated Chile's Garin in straight sets with a score of 7:5, 6:4, 6:4 in the match and successfully advanced to the second round. This is Shang's first singles victory at Wimbledon and the first player in Chinese mainland's men's singles history to win at Wimbledon.
Shang Juncheng celebrated in the match, while Zhang Zhizhen, the No. 32 seed, advanced to the second round after a fierce three-set victory over France's Jean Vieux, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2. Zhang Zhizhen also became the first Chinese mainland male tennis player to unlock the first round of four Grand Slam victories.
Image source: Xinhua News Agency, @温布尔登网球锦标赛