HEWITT HAS NO HAPPY
ENDING
There would be no fairytale finish for Lleyton Hewitt at
Wimbledon. But at least, having vowed to “leave it all out there” in his final
All England Club campaign, there would be much of his trademark fight.
Jarkko Nieminen ended the Australian’s dreams of winning a 17th tilt at the Championships
with a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 11-9 win that took four hours to complete.
“But also on the match court today. You know, there were a
couple of times the match could have gotten away from me at certain stages and
I found a way of hanging in there ... but yeah, Jarkko is a tough competitor
and it was never going to be easy.”
DJOKOVIC CRUISES
THROUGH
Djokovic, who treasures the Wimbledon traditions dearly, did
as he was asked and dispatched Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and came
through the encounter more or less unscathed.
WAVWENKA FINDS FIRST
ROUND EASY
tennis is accustomed to talk of the Big Four in the men’s
game, but the cast list in that troupe of players is changing. Having grabbed
two Slams from the last six contested, Stan Wawrinka has surely earned his
place in the leading quartet here, and he kicked off his Wimbledon with a win over
the world No.45 Joao Sousa.
His 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory was not a vintage display, but
the fact is that it did not need to be. Sousa could barely steal a point on his
opponent’s first serve, and when he had a chance to level the match at one set
all, his game imploded.
SHARAPOVA IN HER OWN
WORLD
A lack of warm-up matches and little knowledge of their
opponent would trouble many players – but those players are not Maria
Sharapova, a former champion, assured superstar and, after 12 appearances at
the All England Club, an astute observer of what’s required to claim a
first-round victory.
The experience showed as the fourth seed claimed a 6-2, 6-2
win over Johanna Konta, the Russian pleased with a straightforward progression
after struggling with illness
SERENA IN DREAMLAND
Serena was entitled to a degree of bafflement as Gasparyan,
ranked 113 and so far without a single win at the top level of the ladies’ game,
came out with all guns blazing, breaking Serena's serve at the first time of
asking and surging into a 3-1 lead.
With a classical, single-handed backhand and a howitzer of a
forehand, Gasparyan clearly surprised Serena and delighted the spectators, many
of whom might have been resigned to a one-sided match. The 20-year-old Russian,
whose right shoulder was taped, showed not the slightest sign of nerves at such
a demanding Wimbledon baptism, hit out confidently and although Serena moved
into a 4-3 lead it was only after a couple of tight deuce games. Eventually, superior
class and experience told and Serena closed out the first set. But it had taken
her 47 minutes.
