Entering the second round, the talents speed up and point their rivals the way to London's international airports: they are sent back home.
Iga Swiatek, the leader of the WTA circuit, disjoints Sara Sorribes, the Spanish who had spent six months canceled due to an injury to her right foot, and who in her relaunch had reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros, and whose options are now nil: Sorribes loses 6-2 and 6-0.
Stéfanos Tsitsipás leaves five sets, two and a half days to kill Dominic Thiem, the Austrian who almost three years ago, in September 2020, had won the US Open and then, broken and empty, had plunged into depression . Tsitsipás prevails 3-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-7 (5) and 7-6 (8) and maintains his idyll with Wimbledon and with Paula Badosa, his girlfriend, the Spanish who a shortly before, she beats Alison Riske with a double 6-3 to meet Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
And Novak Djokovic, the Serbian who is looking for the 24 greats, as many as Margater Court –the absolute record holder–, and the eight titles at Wimbledon, as many as Roger Federer has, torments Jordan Thompson (6-3, 7-6 ( 4) and 7-5).
Jordan Thompson is a 29-year-old Australian who has had his hair and mustache cut and understands the mechanics of the game on grass. He does not have the entity of Hewitt, Rafter, Philippousis or De Minaur, although he is academic in his game.
Jordan Thompson invests time in the serve-volley, goes up frequently, tries winning shots, but runs into a wall: to each of his accelerations, Djokovic responds with a passing-shot.
At Center Court, life is a no-live for Jordan Thompson. In a jiffy the first set has vanished and Djokovic already does not let him breathe.
The Serbian entangled him in his web in the tie break of the second sleeve and continued on his own in the third, temporizing at times, perhaps playing with the tempos.
Defending his serve and dozing off the rest, waiting for the decisive points, Djokovic accelerates in the last game to break Thompson's serve and bite him, the last, and thus he projects until the third round in London, now against the winner of the Etcheverry-Wawrinka.
