Kazakhstan's top-ranked tennis player Alexander Bublik (11) defeated 2022 Australian Open champion Thanasi Kokkinakis (491) from Australia in the first match of the Wimbledon tournament – 4:6, 6:3, 6:7 (10:12), 6:3, 6:4. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Athanasios Kokkinakis' achievements in doubles are significantly more impressive than in singles. The Australian, together with his compatriot Nick Kyrgios, won the home Grand Slam tournament in 2022. At that time, he was ranked 15th among the world's best doubles players.
In singles, Thanasi has never risen above 62nd place in the rankings, and now the 30-year-old has been plagued by injuries and setbacks, dropping to 491st place. The draw that Bublik received seemed favorable in this regard. However, it was not that simple.
The first set went to the Australian, who literally overwhelmed our tennis player with devastating serves. Kokkinakis needed a break in the third game – 6:4. In the second set, Alexander took a mini-revenge by breaking in the sixth game – 6:3.
The third set, lasting 64 minutes, ended with an endless tie-break. The players reached 10:10, after which the Australian took two decisive points – 7:6.
By breaking in the eighth game of the fourth set (6:3), our tennis player forced a fifth and decisive set. At the crucial moment, the Kazakhstani managed to step up, broke the opponent's serve in the fifth game, and brought the grueling match to victory. 4:6, 6:3, 6:7 (10:12), 6:3, 6:4 in 2 hours 38 minutes.
The day before, on the first day of Wimbledon, Kazakhstan lost two of its representatives in singles. Alexander Shevchenko and Yulia Putintseva performed poorly at the start of the Grand Slam tournament. Putintseva and Bublik also entered the doubles events. Moreover, Alexander Bublik will play in doubles with the 2022 AO champion, Kokkinakis' former partner Nick Kyrgios.
The Open Championship of Great Britain (Wimbledon 2026) is taking place in London from June 29 to July 12. It is the third Grand Slam tournament of the season and the only one on grass.
The prize fund is £64.2 million (20% higher than last year). Champions and finalists in singles will receive £3.6 million and £1.8 million, respectively.
The main draw of Wimbledon, like the other three majors, includes 128 players in singles, 64 pairs in doubles, and 32 pairs in mixed doubles.
The reigning Wimbledon champions are Italian Jannik Sinner (1) and Iga Swiatek (3) from Poland. Sinner needed five sets to overcome Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (50) in the first round – 4:6, 6:3, 6:7 (6:8), 6:2, 6:2.