Novak Djokovic (right) of Serbia shakes hands with Wu Yibing of China after the men's singles first round match at the Wimbledon Championships in London, Britain, June 29, 2026. Photo: VCG

China's Wang Xinyu and Zhang Shuai advanced to the second round at Wimbledon on Monday, while Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen suffered another opening-round exit and Wu Yibing bowed out after a spirited challenge against 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.

Wang reached the Wimbledon second round for a fourth consecutive year with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto. 

"The match came down to who could take control in the first two shots. We were very close in level," Wang said afterwards, according to the Xinhua News Agency. She will next face 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic.

Veteran Zhang, 37, also progressed after edging out former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 7-6 (3), 7-6 (6).

Zhang said she drew inspiration from world No. 1 Jannik Sinner's match on center court, where he also recovered after falling behind.

"Every time I looked up at Sinner's score, he was behind too," Zhang said. "He's the world No.1. Even a player as great as him can fall behind, lose sets and come back. I just needed to give my best."

She will meet 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in the second round.

The day brought disappointment for fifth-seeded Zheng, who lost 6-4, 6-4 to Czech player Katerina Siniakova. This was the third time ­Siniakova had defeated Zheng in the Wimbledon first round, having also prevailed in 2023 and 2025. 

Zheng has now exited in the opening round in each of her four Wimbledon appearances.

"My opponent played really well today. More importantly, the two dropped games on my own serve proved to be the turning point of the match," Zheng said. The Chinese star acknowledged that grass remains her most challenging surface.

Zheng has endured an injury-plagued stretch over the past two seasons, including surgery and a prolonged dip in form.

Beijing-based sports commentator Wang Dazhao told the Global Times that Zheng should focus on recovery while continuing to refine her game.

"The priority for her is to fully recover from injuries, regain confidence and continue refining her tactics, particularly her serve," the commentator said. He added that, regardless of the results, Wang  and Zhang would benefit from facing higher-ranked opponents in the second round.

"Playing against world-class players is valuable experience in itself," the commentator said. "The result is less important than learning from those matches."

In the men's draw, Wu produced an impressive performance before falling to seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 12 minutes.

Djokovic was pushed throughout the contest and showed signs of fatigue late in the match. The Serbian converted three of his six break-point opportunities, while Wu managed only one break from 11 chances.

"It didn't feel like a first round," Djokovic said. "Wu deserves huge applause for his incredible performance. He put me under a lot of pressure." Wu expressed disappointment at failing to convert his opportunities but took encouragement from his performance.