![]() Women’s number one Serena Williams’ bid to equal Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slams and men’s counterpart Novak Djokovic’s attempt to win his fourth Wimbledon title will be among the dominant storylines of The Championships. Italy's Francesca Schiavone, the 11th seed, was the top casualty losing to Britain's Melanie South 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.The All England Lawn Tennis Championships, better known as Wimbledon, get underway in London on Monday. Martina Hingis, the 1997 champion and playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2001, also safely made the third round with a 6-1, 6-2 win against Italy's Tathiana Garbin. Top seed Amelie Mauresmo, the world number one, was the most merciless as the Frenchwoman took only 39 minutes to continue the trend of mismatches with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Croatian qualifier Ivana Abramovic.īelgian second seed Kim Clijsters had the easiest afternoon of all when she reached the third round without hitting a ball after her opponent Viktoria Kutuzova of Ukraine had to withdraw because of a virus.Ĭlijsters' compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne, the third seed, eased past Ekaterina Bychkova of Russia 6-1, 6-2 and into the last 32. ![]() Russian pin-up Sharapova, the 2004 champion, took only 51 minutes to see off Israeli veteran Anna Smashnova 6-2, 6-0 while defending champion Williams took just a minute longer to beat compatriot Bethanie Mattek 6-1, 6-0. In the women's tournament, Sharapova and Williams cruised through to the second round with such ease that their argument for equal prize money was left looking decidedly unconvincing. Russian ninth seed Nikolay Davydenko was knocked out after losing his first round match 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (10/8), 6-3 to Colombia's Alejandro Falla while Mardy Fish beat American compatriot Robby Ginepri, the 17th seed, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. The colourful 18th seed battled back from two sets to one down to complete a 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-2 victory over his 24-year-old Scottish opponent, who has a world ranking of 367.Īrgentina's fourth seed David Nalbandian, the runner-up four years ago, enjoyed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win over France's Arnaud Clement to reach the third round.Ĭroatia's Ivan Ljubicic, the fifth seed, reached the second round with a marathon 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 11-9 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez. Marcos Baghdatis, the cheerful Cypriot who charmed the tennis world during his run to the Australian Open final in January, scraped into the second round with a five-set win over Alan Mackin. That, as well as my serve, got me through." "But I didn't blow a fuse when I lost the first set. "He came out firing from the first ball," said Roddick who now faces Germany's Florian Mayer. There is pressure, so I'm happy with the result."Īndy Roddick, the third seed who has been the runner-up to Federer for the last two years, overcame a shaky start to beat Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 to reach the second round. "It's difficult to play a good player like Tim as well as the home crowd. "I played a really good match," said Federer who will take on France's Nicolas Mahut for a place in the last 32. His Centre Court demolition will also prompt questions over Henman's future in the game as the four-time semi-finalist inches towards his 32nd birthday. ![]() Roger Federer crushed Tim Henman's Wimbledon dream for another year overnight while Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams were so merciless that they seriously undermined their equal prize money campaign.įederer, bidding for a fourth successive title, destroyed Henman 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in just 84 minutes to notch up his 43rd consecutive grass court win. ![]()
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