Day one of the Wimbledon Championships was off to a disappointing start for fans as rain interrupted play on outside courts. But the two show courts stuck to the schedule as Stefanos Tsitsipas was up on Court-1 for a tough battle against the American Frances Tiafoe.

The Greek, who had a phenomenal run on the clay-court season, chose to take a rest and directly play Wimbledon. Against a strong opponent like Tiafoe, a crackling contest was expected between the two and the affair lived up to the mark.

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Lack of match practice on grass hurt the Greek as he struggled initially to get a proper hold of the court. Meanwhile, Tiafoe’s forehands did all the damage to Tsitsipas as the latter won two closely contested sets.

Lack of grass-court matches hurt Stefanos Tsitsipas in a tough first-round match against Tiafoe

Even in the third set, the number three seed failed to exert any pressure on Tiafoe’s serve and lost way eventually on his serve. The Greek had seven break point opportunities throughout the match but couldn’t convert any of them. Due credit to Tiafoe for coming up with solid serves whenever he was a break-point down.

Also, Tsitsipas managed to win just 42% of points on his second serve in comparison to Tiafoe, who won 67 percent of points. The American used the out-wide first serves to the backhand of Tsitsipas.

With the forehand of Tiafoe heating up at the right moment, it was curtains for the Greek in the third set as he was outlasted by a better player. Even the lack of grass-court practice did some damage to the third seed.

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On the whole, Frances Tiafoe was the dominant player in the matchup(thanks to his blistering forehand) as he defeated Tsitsipas in straight sets,6-4,6-4,6-3.

This match proved once again that the transition from one surface to another was never easy. On clay, there was no doubt in predicting Tsitsipas as the winner of this contest. But, the Greek didn’t have enough matches under his belt to become the aggressive player he usually is.

Incidentally, this marks up the second straight year where Tsitsipas was defeated in the opening round at Wimbledon. It was Thomas Fabbiano who defeated the Greek in a five-set marathon couple of years ago.

Coming to Frances Tiafoe, he will face the winner of the first-round matchup between Vasek Pospisil and Roberto Carballes Baena.

Also read: ?We?re There?: Stefanos Tsitsipas Vows to Stop Novak Djokovic?s Grand Slam Run at Wimbledon Championships 2021