FORMER WORLD NUMBER one Naomi Osaka claimed her first win at Wimbledon since 2018 when she recovered from a break down in the final set to defeat Diane Parry of France.
The Japanese star, a four-time Grand Slam title winner, came through 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
Osaka raced through the first set in just 22 minutes before her 53rd-ranked rival levelled the contest.
In a rollercoaster decider, Parry was 3-1 ahead before Osaka battled back to 3-3.
Osaka then saved two break points to edge 5-4 ahead and claimed victory when Parry served up her 10th double fault of the match.
Victory was extra special for Osaka as it comes a day before her daughter Shai celebrates her first birthday.
“It feels like a dream because I haven’t played here many times,” said Osaka, whose last appearance at the All England Club was in 2019, when she exited in the first round.
“I hope it was fun for everyone to watch. I’m really excited to be here because Wimbledon was the first tournament I watched last year after my pregnancy.”
Osaka, who only returned to the tour at the start of the season afer maternity leave, is ranked at 113 and required a wild card to play at Wimbledon.
She will face US 19th seed Emma Navarro or Wang Qiang of China for a place in the last 32.
Emma Raducanu took advantage of her slice of good fortune to claim a Centre Court victory on her Wimbledon comeback.
Raducanu had been preparing to face 22nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, a big-hitting Russian who reached the fourth round here last year.
But Alexandrova withdrew through illness on Monday morning, and instead Raducanu’s opponent was Mexican lucky loser Renata Zarazua, who had never won a tour-level match on grass and was making her main draw debut here.
Zarazua, ranked 98, has an unconventional game and she made life very tricky for Raducanu in the opening set but the 21-year-old dug in well to secure a 7-6 (0) 6-3 victory and become the first British winner of the tournament.
“It was an incredibly difficult match,” said Raducanu. “It took a lot of strength to get over the line. All props to her. In the morning you’re not in the draw and then you’re playing in Centre Court.
“It took a little bit of adjusting and finding my feet. I just want to say thanks to everyone for the support. I’m incredibly happy to be back here of course. I was for sure nervous but at the end of the day you just have to do what it takes.”
The former US Open champion was back on Centre two years after her last match, having missed the 2023 tournament following wrist and ankle surgeries.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz got his Wimbledon title defence off to an encouraging start with a straight-sets victory on Centre Court.
The 21-year-old Spaniard, seeded third this year, beat Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal 7-6 (3) 7-5 6-2 in two hours and 22 minutes.
Lajal, also 21 but ranked 266 places lower than Alcaraz, sported dreadlocks pulled back in a pineapple-style ponytail on his Wimbledon debut.
He took a chunk out of the three-time grand slam winner with a break of serve in the opening set.
But Alcaraz, who last month added the French Open to his Wimbledon and US Open titles, hit straight back and then eased through the gears.
“He played a really good match,” said Alcaraz. “Obviously he surprised me a little bit because I hadn’t seen him too much.
“He’s young, he’s my age and I’m sure I’m going to see him really soon on the tour and play him more often.
“But I’m really happy to get through and get my first win on Centre Court this year.”
– © AFP 2024 Additional reporting by Press Association
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