Ostapenko overpowers Dodin in Wimbledon opener; Cornet ties Slam record

No.12 seed Jelena Ostapenko opened her Wimbledon campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Oceane Dodin in 71 minutes. She was joined by Alizé Cornet, whose 62nd consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam main draw equalled Ai Sugiyama's all-time record and who celebrated that feat by upsetting No.27 seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 7-6(5).

Ostapenko, a semifinalist here in 2018 and fresh off a run to the Eastbourne final last week, had already defeated Dodin this year in the first round of Doha 6-4, 6-2. That was in the midst of a stellar Middle East swing for the Latvian, and she was able to reprise that form in a clash of no-holds-barred aggressive hitting from both players.

By the numbers: Though No.85-ranked Dodin's power was as breathtaking as Ostapenko's at times - not least the consecutive return winners with which she captured one break of serve - it was the former Roland Garros champion who dominated every category.

Ostapenko found 29 winners to the Frenchwoman's 10, won 70% of her first-serve points to Dodin's 63%, and 50% of her second-serve points to Dodin's 38%. Nine aces also helped Ostapenko's cause considerably.

Match management: Ostapenko also repeatedly responded to adversity by upping her game. She failed to serve out the first set at 5-3, squandering a set point after mishitting a backhand. But she denied Dodin two chances to level the set at 5-5 in the next game, and broke for the set on her fourth set point.

Three consecutive double faults saw Ostapenko drop serve to trail 3-2 in the second set, but a series of searing forehands saw her break back immediately. At 4-4, Ostapenko saved a break point with an ace, then found three clean return winners to break Dodin for the match.

Ostapenko also won the point of the match at 4-3 in the second set, a high-octane rally in which both players' bravura power drew gasps from the Court 17 crowd and which Ostapenko ended with a forehand winner.

What's next: Ostapenko will next play former US Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, currently making her return from maternity leave and ranked No.606. Wickmayer, who had come through qualifying, defeated Zhu Lin 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 21 minutes for her first Grand Slam main draw win since the 2020 Australian Open.

Cornet, Sakkari, Kostyuk advance

After reaching her first major quarterfinal at the Australian Open in January, Cornet stated that the all-time record of consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances was one of her goals in the home stretch of her career. The 32-year-old, whose streak dates back to the 2007 Australian Open, is now just one US Open appearance away from achieving that.

Cornet was victorious in one of the highest-quality matches of Wimbledon so far, in which both players showed off counterpunching resilience and creative shotmaking. Putintseva came up with the shot of the match, a lob that landed smack on the corner of the court to reach set point at 6-5 in the second set. However, Cornet's grass-court nous and ability to use the nuances of the surface to her advantage proved decisive. The Frenchwoman improved her head-to-head against Putintseva to 4-0.

Elsewhere, No.5 seed Maria Sakkari raced into the second round with a 6-1, 6-4 win over qualifier Zoe Hives in 1 hour and 18 minutes. The Greek's only spot of bother came as she was unable to close out a 5-2 lead in the second set. She missed a match point on Hives' serve in that game and then conceded her serve in the next, but eventually converted her third match point on the Australian's serve.

Marta Kostyuk was another winner on Day 2, overcoming wildcard Katie Swan 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in 2 hours and 10 minutes to become the third Ukrainian player out of four in the main draw to reach the second round. The fourth, Dayana Yastremska, has yet to play her opener.