Bai Zhuoxuan in action during her Wimbledon women's singles first round victory against Ysaline Bonaventure in London, United Kingdom, on July 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
China's Bai Zhuoxuan scored her maiden victory in the main draw of a Grand Slam, defeating Ysaline Bonaventure in the first round at Wimbledon.
LONDON, July 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Bai Zhuoxuan clinched her maiden victory in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament during her opening Wimbledon match against Ysaline Bonaventure on Wednesday, surprising the Belgian with a 7-6(0), 6-1 win in a rain-interrupted encounter.
"I feel so happy right now, I will be even happier if I can go further in the tournament," said Bai, who will challenge last year's runner-up Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the next round.
The match, which started on Tuesday, had to be suspended due to continuous rainfall, resuming with Bai in a 4-0 second-set lead.
Having come through the qualifiers, 20-year-old Bai is making her Grand Slam debut, primarily participating in ITF events, with a solitary Tour-level appearance since 2020 before arriving at the All England Club.
"I have played the other three Grand Slam junior competitions, but this is my first time [in the main draw]. And to be honest, it was just my third event on grass. I only played two ITF events on this surface before coming here," Bai said.
Bai managed to rally from 4-1 down to secure three consecutive games on Tuesday, equalizing the first set at 4-4. She subsequently dominated the tiebreak, winning 7-0. The second set was entirely in Bai's favour as she surged into a 4-0 lead before the adverse weather impacted the pace of the match.
Despite the overnight interruption, Bai sustained her momentum, retaining her serve in the fifth game and concluding the match with a love game in the seventh.
Bai (R) greets Bonaventure after their match. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
"I had good preparations last night, I was even prepared for her to fight back, and that there may be a third set. But luckily, the match went my way," the Chinese added.
China's Zhang Shuai, a doubles finalist at last year's Wimbledon, endured her 12th consecutive singles loss at Tour level, as she succumbed to 20th seed Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3 in the opening match on Court 4.
Originally scheduled for Monday, the match was postponed twice. Vekic displayed greater precision at crucial junctures, winning four of five break points and sealing the victory in one hour and 13 minutes. Zhang, 34, committed 23 unforced errors, while Vekic had only 13.
There were two other Chinese players who saw their runs ended in the first round.
Playing in his first Wimbledon main draw, Wu Yibing needed a medical timeout in his 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-4 defeat to American 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, while Wang Xiyu, 22, was knocked out by Russia's 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. ■
