Without Rublev alone and Medvedev in a pair: how Khachanov, Aleksandrova and Vesnina reached the second round at the Olympic Games in Tokyo

On the second competitive day of the Tokyo Olympics, not a single Russian tennis player had the honor to play on the central court of the Ariake Park. If on the eve Daniil Medvedev could boast of such a thing, the organizers rated the rest of the domestic athletes somewhat lower. Moreover, Karen Khachanov was not helped even by the fact that his rival was the host of the Games - Yoshihito Nishioka.

The 25th racket of the world was one of the first to appear on the arena - at 11 a.m. local time, but at this time the thermometers in the capital of Japan were already showing more than 30 ° C. As Khachanov later admitted, he did not immediately get used to both the harsh weather conditions and the hard, as a result of which he lost the first batch. If everything was more or less in order with the first serve (57%), then during the rallies Karen made too many inaccuracies. In the first set alone, he surpassed Nishioka three and a half times in unforced errors (14: 4).

Perhaps, by the beginning of the second game, Khachanov had finally got used to the local heat or remembered that he was opposed by an opponent who had not yet won a single set against him. Previously, tennis players met in the second round of the Australian Open in 2019, and then the Russian turned out to be much stronger - 6: 3, 6: 3, 6: 3. Karen began to look much more confident, made much less mistakes (15 times in total for the rest of the meeting) and easily turned the tide of the match.

Over the next two sets, he gave Nishioka only three games and did not allow him to earn a single break point, while he himself converted four out of five.

Khachanov followed the example of Medvedev and Aslan Karatsev and overcame the first circle at the Olympics - 3: 6, 6: 1, 6: 2.

In the second, he will face an even less status opponent - James Duckworth.

The 29-year-old Australian is 77th in the ATP rankings and has never made it past the third round in Grand Slam tournaments.

“The first match on hard after grass, a short break, there was not much time to prepare.

So it took a set to get used to.

Plus, the heat is very strong, presses on the head, the brains are boiling, it is not always possible to make the right decisions.

And then the second wind opened, in the end it was even easier to play.

Raised my level, ”RIA Novosti quotes the Russian.

In parallel with Khachanov, Ekaterina Alexandrova began her performance at the Olympics.

But if her compatriot did not spend two hours on the court, then the girl had to stay for almost three.

The Russian woman was unlucky to immediately get to the 17th racket of the planet - Eliza Mertens, but she got out of this situation with honor and presented one of the main sensations of the first round of the Games.

It is amazing how easily Alexandrova earned break points.

In the course of the match, she could take Mertens' serve 19 times, but the implementation failed.

Catherine only used her chance four times, while Eliza punished her rival 100% of the time.

True, she had noticeably fewer opportunities for this - only three.

In general, the Russian woman acted in a much more attacking manner and tried to end the rallies herself in her favor, and not wait for handouts from her opponent. Yes, this led to an increased number of unforced errors (24:18), but the superiority in actively won balls was more than solid (31:11). As a result, Alexandrova's fortune smiled - 4: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4. In the second round, Nadia Podoroshka, an Argentinean with Ukrainian roots, is waiting for her, sensationally reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros in 2020.

“Today it was very hot, the first start was played, we found the three most difficult hours of the wild heat from 11 in the morning, because of the very high humidity it was even harder. When we finished, I was so happy that I could go somewhere in the cool. We have a mini-pool with ice in the dressing room, the water is 14-15 degrees or even colder. I lay there for 10-15 minutes, and it became generally good, ”Aleksandrova said.

The fate of domestic athletes representing the country in doubles at the Tokyo Olympics has developed differently. Elena Vesnina proved that at such tournaments, the place in the ranking does not matter - especially if your being on the 305th line is due to a long absence due to the birth of a child. The domestic tennis player confirmed that even at 34 she was able to fight on equal terms with top rivals and beat Elena Ostapenko in three sets. She not only performed 16 aces, but also acted more calmly and more accurately (32:49 according to the number of unforced errors), and lost the set only in a tie-break - 6: 4, 6: 7 (2: 7), 6: 4. Next, she will meet with the Italian Camila Georgi.

Veronica Kudermetova was much less fortunate with the draw. Already in the first round, she hit the ninth racket of the planet Garbinje to Mugurus and lost, although she showed more than worthy resistance. The Spaniard had to spend a little over two hours on the court, and in both sets it almost came to a tie-break. However, when the score was 5: 6, the Russian woman lost her serve twice.

The real disappointment was the performance of Andrei Rublev at the XXXII Summer Olympic Games. On the eve of the seventh number of the ATP rating, together with Khachanov, he stopped performing in the doubles, and a day later he suffered a fiasco in the singles as well. Like his partner, he was to meet with the host of the competition, but much more famous. Kei Nishikori not only had 12 wins in association tournaments, but also made it to the US Open final. And the difference in experience, coupled with home walls, helped the Japanese to step into the second round.

In terms of actively won balls, Rublev did not lag behind Nishikori (both - 11), and he made the same number of unforced mistakes (10). However, these statistics did not include a huge number of missteps, which led to the excellent serving of the Japanese. It was they who came to his aid at a key moment and helped to play four out of five break points in the first game, and in the second they allowed the Russian to take only four out of 25 draws at the reception. Andrey could not answer like that and naturally conceded - 3: 6, 4: 6.

Daniil Medvedev and Aslan Karatsev also disappointed their personal fans, leaving Russia without representation in the men's doubles tournament. They were offended by Slovaks Lukas Klein and Filip Polasek - athletes of a much lower level, but having much more experience in team tournaments. As a result, the fourth seeded lost in two sets and could never take the opponent's serve. And in the very ending, the leader of the national team did not cope with the nerves, having sent the ball out several times in favorable situations.

“We were in good mood, worked well in training, played two doubles with Aslan. For my part, I can say that I did not expect such a game from the Slovaks, especially that they will serve so well. They had a cool match. I am very dissatisfied with myself for the last two games, but this is tennis, it happens. Of course, it's a shame, I feel more guilty before my partner and the country than if I lost alone at some other tournament. But again, this is life, this is tennis. We couldn't show our best game, ”Medvedev admitted.