Benjamin Bonzi eliminates Daniil Medvedev in the first round of Wimbledon

The first surprise on the Wimbledon grass, where the final phase of the tennis tournament opened on Monday, June 30: Russian Daniil Medvedev, former world number 1 and two-time semi-finalist, was eliminated in his first match by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.

The world's ^64th- ranked player won in four sets, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, against the current ^9th-ranked player in the ATP rankings. Daniil Medvedev is the 2021 US Open winner and the most recent finalist at the grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany. At 29, Benjamin Bonzi claimed his second career victory against a member of the world's top 10.

On court number 2, the Nîmes player started his match perfectly thanks to a good quality of service and remarkable composure on the decisive points (7-6, 7-2). Daniil Medvedvev then raised his level of play, varying the angles and increasing the power of his shots. He logically won the second set (6-3). The third set was a turning point: very close, it ended in the hands of the Frenchman (7-6, [7-3]).

Seizing the first opportunity to take the lead in the fourth set, Benjamin Bonzi relied on his excellent footwork to earn two match points (6-2). Too clumsy, Daniil Medvedev logically conceded defeat in the first round. He notably accumulated 12 double faults, compared to only one for his opponent, and 47 unforced errors. The Nîmes player thus equaled his best result at Wimbledon.

Another Frenchman present in the second round is Valentin Royer, from qualifying. The 24-year-old native of Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), ranked ^113th in the ATP rankings, benefited from the withdrawal of Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded number 24 in the tournament, with a back injury. The Frenchman was leading two sets to zero (6-3, 6-2) after one hour and ten minutes of play. In the next round, he will face Adrien Mannarino ( ^123rd ), who eliminated Australian Christopher O'Connell ( ^77th ) in three sets. At least one Frenchman will therefore be present in the third round of the London tournament.

In the women's draw, Diane Parry, 22, ranked ^118th in the world, will play a second match. On Monday, she defeated Croatian Petra Martic, ranked ^138th , in three sets (4-6 then 6-3 and 6-2). In the second round, she will face Russian Diana Shnaider (seeded number 12) or Japanese Moyuka Uchijima, ranked ^72nd in the world.