China's Bai Zhuoxuan wins on day three of the Championships Wimbledon at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, July 5, 2023. /CFP
Wimbledon's topsy-turvy opening week carried on with more heavy rain on Wednesday, but Bai Zhuoxuan remained laser focused on her first-ever match in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
The Chinese youngster battled from a set down and overcame several rain interruptions to upset Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure 7-6 (0), 6-1. This marked her debut triumph at the Grand Slam and a significant milestone in her fledgling career as the 20-year-old defeated a top-100 ranked player for the very first time.
When entering the Wimbledon qualifying rounds, Bai was only ranked world No. 191 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association. However, after beating the odds to win three consecutive matches to squeeze into the main draw and then securing her first-round victory, the in-form starlet has now skyrocketed to 149th in the ranking.
China's Wu Yibing in frustration during day three of the Championships Wimbledon at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, July 5, 2023. /CFP
Sterner tests lie just around the corner. Next up for Bai will be a clash with Tunisia's world No. 6 Ons Jabeur, who blasted past Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3 to progress into the second round.
Earlier in the day, Bai's compatriot Zhang Shuai suffered opening loss to Croat Donna Vekic, the No. 20 seed, 6-2, 6-3. Another Chinese Wimbledon debutant Wu Yibing also failed to advance to the second round after slumping to a defeat at the hands of American world No. 10 Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4) 6-3 6-4.
Wu, who made his Grand Slam debut at the U.S. Open last year, had breathing issues against Tiafoe and took a medical timeout early in the second set. After a long off-court evaluation, the world No. 62 returned to the court but ultimately fell short.
Serbian Novak Djokovic celebrates beating Jordan Thompson during day three of the Championships Wimbledon at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, England, July 5, 2023. /CFP
Meanwhile, defending champion Novak Djokovic joins Serena Williams and Roger Federer as the only players in tennis history to win 350 Grand Slam singles matches after beating Australia's Jordan Thompson in straight sets.
The 36-year-old has now won 41 straight matches on Wimbledon's Center Court dating back to 2014. He is targeting an eighth Wimbledon title, which would tie with 'King Federer' for most wins in men's competition.