TENNIS – Seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer (2) cruised past Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur with 6-1 6-3 6-3 in just 67 minutes on Centre Court at Wimbledon on a very warm day with temperatures reaching 30° degrees. Federer broke serve five times and did not face a break point. He hit 26 winners to 12 unforced errors. Diego Sampaolo
Federer, who is bidding to win his 8th title at Wimbledon, needed just 18 minutes to win the first set 6-1. Dzumhur, who played his first match on grass at ATP level, kept the pace with the Swiss Maestro until 3-3 in the second set when Federer pulled away to 6-3. Federer converted on the first of his three match points to seal his 74th win at this event. In the 2nd round Federer will face a tougher opponent in the form of Sam Querrey who beat Igor Sijsling 7-5 6-3 6-4
“Wimbledon is my big goal. I was trying to think how many times I have played there now. I know it’s been often. Every time it feels like it’s a special occasion”, said Federer
Andy Murray (3), winner at Wimbledon in 2013, opened his Wimbledon campaign with a 6-4 7-6(3) 6-4 win over Mikhail Kukushkin in 2 hours and 13 minutes. Murray got the first break in the 10th game of the first set when Kukushkin made a double fault as he was serving to stay in the first set. Murray broke serve early in the 2nd set to take a 2-0 lead. Kukushkin bounced back to take a 6-5 lead earning a chance to serve for the second set. Murray broke serve before winning the second set with 7-3 in the tiebreaker. The Dunblane star broke serve in the 5th game of the 3rd set before wrapping up the match when Kukushkin hit a backhand wide.
“It was a tough match. I made it hard for myself in the second set. Towards the end of the second set I missed 10 first serves in a row. I gave him the opportunity to be aggressive”, said Murray.
Rafa Nadal (10) also needed three sets to beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-4 6-2 6-3. Nadal fended off four of the six break point chances he faced. He will face Dustin Brown who rallied from losing the first set to edge Yen Hsun Lu 3-6 6-3 7-5 6-4. Brown beat Nadal last year in Halle on grass. “Anything can happen. He beat me last year in Halle. It is little bit different. He is a tough player. He won today against a good opponent. He will come with good confidence”, said Nadal.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (13) battled past Giles Muller 7-6(8) 6-7(3) 6-4 3-6 6-2 in 3 hours and 50 minutes in the most exciting match of Day 2. There were no breaks in the first 2 sets which came down to tiebreakers. Tsonga won the first tie-break as Muller drew levelled the match winning the 2nd set tie-break. Tsonga won the 3rd set after breaking for a 3-2 lead and maintaining this advantage for 6-4. However, Muller was not to be discounted. He opened up the 4th set with a 3-0 lead and he too maintained this 1-break advantage for 6-3. The match had to be decided in the 5th set where Tsonga showed his experience. He got out to a 4-1 lead and then broke Muller again as he served to stay in the match for 6-2.
Tomas Berdych (6), finalist here back in Wimbledon in 2010, battled past Jeremy Chardy 6-2 6-7(8) 7-6(3) 7-6(5). The Czech player will take on Nicolas Mahut who beat Filip Krajinovic 7-6(4) 6-4 3-6 7-5. Berdych cruised to 6-2 in the first set. Chardy bounced back in the second set where he saved two set points in the second set before winning the tie-break 10-8. Berdych won the tie-break of the third set with 7-3 points to take a 2-1 sets lead. In the tie-break of the 4th set Chardy hit his forehand into the net to bring up match point for Berdych. Berdych closed out the match with his 16th ace in near darkness on Tuesday evening.
Other winners on the day include several Frenchmen Gilles Simon (12) 6-4 6-4 7-5 over Nicolas Almagro, Gael Monfils (18), Adrian Mannarino and Benoit Paire. Amongst the other winners were Alexandr Dolgopolov, Viktor Troicki (22), Roberto Bautista-Agut (20), Feliciano Lopez (15), Fabio Fognini (30), and Lukas Rosol who beat Ernests Gulbis.Borna Coric beat Sergiy Stakhovsky in 5 sets.
