Wimbledon: USA's Frances Tiafoe, Sloane Stephens score upsets

June 28 (UPI) -- Americans Frances Tiafoe and Sloane Stephens started their Wimbledon campaigns with significant upsets Monday in London. Tiafoe upstaged men's No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Stephens ousted women's No. 10 Petra Kvitova.

Tiafoe earned the first upset of the day with a straight-sets win over his Greek foe. Tiafoe dispatched of the 2021 French Open runner-up in 2 hours, 2 minutes.

Tsitsipas fired 15 aces and totaled just one double fault, but failed to convert on seven break-point opportunities. Tiafoe converted four of eight break points and fired 43 winners.

"That guy [Tsitsipas] is special," Tiafoe said in his post-match interview. "He is going to do a ton of great things and win Grand Slams, but not today."

Tiafoe, who has never advanced past the quarterfinal of a Grand Slam, faces Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena or Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the second round.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Czech Jiri Vesely were among the other men's players to advance through early first-round matches Monday at the All England Club.

Djokovic needed two hours to dispose of Great Britain's Jack Draper. The Serbian dropped the first set 4-6. He won the final three sets 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The 2021 Australian and 2021 French Open champion totaled 25 aces, 47 winners and converted six of 15 break points.

Djokovic won the last two Wimbledon titles in 2018 and 2019. He can tie Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the all-time men's Grand Slam title record (20) with another crown at the grass court tournament.

"I think I had one of the best serving performances I can recall on any surface," Djokovic told reporters. "I think I matched a record.

"I could not be more pleased with the rhythm of my serve."

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the No. 4 player in the WTA Rankings, was the top women's competitor to advance through Monday's early matches. She beat Romanian Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-4 in 76 minutes.

Stephens, who owns one Grand Slam title, needed just 77 minutes to knock off Kvitova. The 73rd-ranked American beat her Czech foe 6-3, 6-4. Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon champion.

"This is a good start, beating a really good grass-court player," Stephens said in her post-match interview. "I'm looking forward to more matches and I can hopefully get on a good run here at Wimbledon."

No. 6 Sofia Kenin, Madison Keys, Danielle Collins and Lauren Davis were among the other American women to advance early Monday.

No. 12 Garbine Muguruza of Spain advanced to the second round with a straight sets win over France's Fiona Ferro. That match lasted for just 50 minutes. No. 9 Iga Swiatek of Poland beat Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4, 6-4.

Davis and Keys meet in an All-American second-round match Wednesday in London. Kenin's next opponent will be one of two Americans: Madison Brengle or Christina McHale.

The first wave of first round matches air until 4:30 p.m. EDT Monday on ESPN2. The final slate of openers air from 6 to 11:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday on ESPN and from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday on ESPN2.

The women's singles final is July 10. The men's final is July 11.