Photo: Martin Sudorjak
It was a hard fought battle at the All England Club, but in the end it was Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa who got the best of Rebecca Marino, winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the opening round of The Championships in Wimbledon.
Despite the loss, the Canadian showed flashes of brilliance. Marino hit twice as many aces as her opponent (6-3), as well as winning 53 percent of her second serves, compared to just 43 percent for Kawa.
Her downfall, however, was due in large part to her inability to convert break point opportunities. The 31-year-old won only four of 13. Kawa on the other hand made the most of her opportunities, converting five of ten.
In the opening set, both women displayed strong service games with the match going back and forth, until Kawa broke Marino at love in the fifth game. Later, with Kawa serving up five games to four, a weather delay forced a stop to the contest.
Upon resumption of the match, and after eight deuces, it was Kawa who took her sixth game, claiming the first set.
In the second set, Marino was the stronger of the two. She broke Kawa on three occasions, and won consecutive games twice, taking the set in relatively dominant fashion.
Early on, the final frame looked like it was going the Canadian’s way. She broke Kawa in the opening game, and seemed as if she was on track for a victory when she served for the match up five games to four.
From there, Kawa dipped into her bag of tricks and not only managed to tie the match, but take the lead six to five.
In the deciding game, the 29-year-old broke Marino again, when the Canadian conceded defeat on the second match point.
The Vancouver native, who was competing in Wimbledon for the first time since 2011, committed 58 unforced errors in the match compared to 50 for Kawa.
On Tuesday, three other Canadians competing in the main draw will take the stage in singles action.
