As the crowds flocked their way to the hallowed grounds of SW19 news that Nick Kyrgios would not take to the courts was continuing to be digested as it dampened the mood of many Australians.
Day one however saw four of the Australian contingent in action with Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell taking to the courts to kick off a busy opening round at The Championships.
It was always going to be a difficult challenge for Purcell who faced the in-form Andrey Rublev
on Court 3.
Rublev immediately challenged the Aussie as he took the opening set 6-3 with Purcell showing greater fight in the second set as he started to build momentum and play his natural game.
The class of Rublev who produced a consistent week in Germany on the grass in Halle was on full display though as he powered away to win in straight sets 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.
Meanwhile Jordan Thompson produced a thrilling fightback in his match against Brandon Nakashima.
After losing the opening two sets, Thompson was able to gain the ascendency in the third as he lifted his game in front of a large crowd on Court 9.
“The performance was a bit scrappy early on,” he said.
“I did everything I could to change things and it ended up paying off and it was definitely one of the better feelings winning that final point.”
Rain suspended play during the fifth set for a short period, but Thompson was able to come out with force to take the match 2-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Thompson will play defending champion Novak Djokovic in the second round with the match having the potential to be either a dream date or a nightmare for the Aussie.
“I know the odds are firmly against me, but I’ve just got to go out and enjoy it and have fun,” he said.
“It’s not every day you play Novak at Wimbledon, so I’ve just got to take it in my stride and just try and enjoy it.”
Storm Hunter led the charge for the Aussies in the Ladies draw with a first-round matchup against China’s Xinyu Wang.
It was a brilliant performance from Hunter who at 28 played in her first Wimbledon tournament after qualifying for the main draw at Roehampton last week.
Unfortunately for a gallant Hunter, Wang showed a clean and precise game and ran out a winner in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
The other highlight for Australia was the tremendous win from Aleksander Vukic who won in four sets 6-3, 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-5 against German Daniel Altmaier.
At the times the Aussie must have felt he was back at Melbourne Park playing in the Australian Open because the Australian fans crowded Court 9 to catch a glimpse of the match.
It was loud and there was plenty of support for the 27-year-old who powered to victory letting out a hearty roar after taking match point.
Vukic now plays the winner of Dan Evans and Quentin Halys with play suspended halfway through the match at the end of play on day one.
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