Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Aleksandar Vukic has become the first Australian casualty at Wimbledon, suffering a quad problem before bowing out to a familiar US conqueror in the continuing London sunshine.
More warm, but not oppressive, conditions greeted the first of the 13-strong Aussie contingent in action on Monday morning but Vukic was always on the back foot against Jenson Brooksby, losing 7-6 (9-7) 6-1 6-1 to the in-form American who had also defeated him at Eastbourne last week.
Vukic had been hoping for a decent run at the venue where he had the fortune — and misfortune — to play Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the past two years, knowing a run to the third round would likely earn him another crack at the Italian reigning champion after being filleted by him in straight-sets in 2025.
World No.104 Vukic had his chances in a tight opening set, racking up a couple of set points as he led 6-4 in the tiebreak, only for Brooksby to save the first with an audacious drop shot before prevailing on his fifth set point.
After an immediate break in the second set Brooksby, ranked 23 places higher than the Australian, really took control, with Vukic beginning to move less easily.
He needed a trainer to treat his troublesome left quad after being outplayed in the second set.
The American was not about to let Vukic off the hook, racing through the third set to earn victory in one hour 53 minutes, making it a disappointing start for the four Australians in action on the opening day.
Rinky Hijikata and Adam Walton were set to take to the court later, with Daria Kasatkina launching the women’s challenge against British teenage wildcard Mimi Xu.
