Moments After Edgy Win at Wimbledon, 24-Year-Old Reigning Champion Blames Roger Federer as She Remembers Childhood Memories of Her Idol From Wimbledon Championships

The first match on the Centre Court had plenty of excitement around it. Well, it’s no news that the Centre Court always hosts the best of the players. The second day of Wimbledon is known for the defending women’s champion opening the day’s play on Centre Court. But, today’s build-up was not limited to just Elena Rybakina’s title defense. Add eight more Wimbledon titles to it and that would probably do justice to today’s uniqueness.

Roger Federer made his first Centre Court appearance today since his retirement. The Wimbledon organizers felicitated their finest champion with a short film before Federer took a seat at the Royal Box with his wife Mirka and the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. More than the fans, WTA star Elena Rybakina was more excited to see her idol Roger Federer in the stands.

Elena Rybakina justifies her slow start

The defending champion took on Shelby Rogers right after Roger Federer’s felicitation. Walking out as the defending champion and the presence of Roger Federer in the stands must have made things overwhelming for Rybakina. She lost her serve in the very first game and could not break the American’s serve again for the remainder of the set, thereby losing?6-4.

Rybakina cruised past Rogers in the next two sets and made it to the second round of Wimbledon. After her victory, she said, “Mainly that?s why I was nervous because actually, I really like Roger. When I was younger I was always watching him play so it was really special.”

The world number 3 fought back like the defending champion she is after a slow start. She raised her level and, in fact, started serving as well as her idol Roger Federer. A certain serving stat of Rybakina might ignite some fear in her rivals’ minds.

Elena Rybakina’s Roger Federer-esque serving stat

In today’s encounter, Rybakina won a total of 41 out of 44 first-serve points. After getting broken in the very first game, the Kazakh held her serve for the next 12 without conceding a break point. She served 12 aces and did not allow her opponent to sniff a single return game after the nervous start.

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Roger Federer’s serve is almost impossible to emulate. However, Elena Rybakina has surely managed to come up with similar serving numbers at Wimbledon.

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Do you think Elena Rybakina can defend her Wimbledon title this year? Let us know in the comments.