21 hours ago
Chris O'Connell bounced by Holger Rune after having less than 3 hours to prepare, Alex Bolt also exits Queens
The first wave of Australia's Queen's Club contingent has made little impact on the prestigious Wimbledon warm-up, with Alex Bolt and Chris O'Connell both dispatched in the first round without winning a set.
Given their opposition, that was little surprise, though in the nascent grass court season, they did have the advantage of having spent time on the turf after playing in qualifying.
Bolt, up against the up-and-coming Scot Jacob Fearnley, went down 6-2, 6-4 .
The South Australian, wearing a lot of strapping on his right knee but moving well enough, was broken early and late in the first set, but moved comfortably to 4-4 in the second.
But Bolt, watched by his partner, British player Katie Swan, then dropped the first point on serve. Suddenly, the pressure rose and Fearnley broke. Bolt battled hard to lead 15-0 and 30-15 but could not force a break-back point and the British number two served out.
Earlier on Monday, O'Connell, who had been beaten by Bolt in the second round of qualifying on Sunday, found himself facing fourth seed Holger Rune as a lucky loser.
Given less than 3 hours' notice after Matteo Arnaldi withdrew with an ankle injury, O'Connell began well, forcing a break opportunity in the third game.
He failed to take it, however, and the Dane, playing his first game of the year on grass, then settled.
O'Connell was still very much in the game when serving at 3-4, but within the blink of an eye the first set was gone 6-3.
Rune, currently ranked ninth in the world, broke again midway through the second set and took it 6-4.
British wildcard veteran Dan Evans, now 35 and ranked a lowly 199, delighted a crowd basking in unusually hot London sunshine with a boilover 7-5, 6-2 victory against seventh seed Frances Tiafoe.
But British number three Cameron Norrie, a former finalist, lost to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 6-1.
Roberto Bautista Agut saved a match point before beating Portugal's Nuno Borges 6-7 (8-6), 7-5, 6-4, the Spaniard winning five straight games after trailing 4-1 in the second set.
On Wednesday morning (AEST), Alex de Minaur opens play at midday local time on Andy Murray Arena in his first match since crashing out of Roland-Garros feeling burned-out mentally and drained physically. Seeded five, he faces Jiri Lehecka.
The Czech, ranked 30, is a potentially tricky opponent. De Minaur, who slipped to 12 in the rankings updated yesterday, having not defended his title at Rosmalen last week, won their previous meeting, indoors in the 2023 Davis Cup, but Lehecka KO'd two top-20 players on grass on his last Wimbledon visit, in 2023.
At the same time on court 5, Alexei Popyrin, now ranked at a career-high 21, plays Aleksandar Vukic in an all-Aussie affair while Jordan Thompson goes later against Jaume Munar.
In Nottingham, James McCabe, having come through qualifying, faced British wildcard George Loffhagen in a repeat of their final at the same venue on the lowest-tier world tennis tour last year.
McCabe won that one 6-0, 6-1 and it was the same result at Challenger level, albeit much closer, as the Australian won 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
AAP
