 |
| Ernests Gulbis. |
Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, an unsung hero ranked 87th in the world, Tomas Berdych was the highest ranked player to bow out on the opening day after the No6 seed lost in straight sets to Ernests Gulbis.Gulbis, ranked 87, served 30 aces to win 7-6, 7-6, 7-6, his first win at a grand slam since the 2011 US Open.Another seed to lose was John Isner, who was beaten by Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 7-6, 7-5, despite serving 31 aces during the match. The No11 seed's defeat ruled out a match against Nicolas Mahut for a third year in a row.Having beaten the Frenchman in the longest match in history in 2010, Isner beat Mahut again last year in the first round, and was slated to meet him in the second round here.
 |
| Janko Typservich. |
David Nalbandian was on his best behaviour but slipped out of Wimbledon after a first-round defeat to Janko Tipsarevic.Nalbandian was disqualified from the AEGON Championships final eight days ago after kicking an advertising hoarding against a line judge's leg, costing him his prize-money and a fine from the ATP, who run the men's tour.Police launched an investigation after a complaint of alleged assault was made against Nalbandian, and confirmed that a 30-year-old man, understood to be Nalbandian, was interviewed over the injury he caused to line judge Andrew McDougall at Queen's ClubA Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'We were made aware of an incident at the Aegon Championships on Sunday 17 June.'A complaint was made and the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] are now investigating.'On Tuesday 19 June a 30-year-old man attended a West London Police Station by appointment in connection with an allegation of assault.'He was interviewed under caution.Enquiries continue and there have been no arrests.'The 30-year-old kept his cool but he groaned out of frustration on several occasions as he fell to a 6-4 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 defeat against eighth seed Tipsarevic.Nalbandian, runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon in 2002, spurned five early break points and Tipsarevic took full advantage, breaking in the seventh game before winning the set.Both players broke each other's serve in the second set, causing a tie-break, which Tipsarevic won after two mini-breaks.Serbian Tipsarevic wasted five break points in the third set but took a sixth when crashing a backhand in to the corner after a weak serve.Serving to stay in the match, Nalbandian buckled, placing an easy forehand wide to seal his demise.Nalbandian graciously accepted defeat, embracing his opponent before shaking hands with the umpire.
 |
| Kim Clijisters. |
Kim Clijsters may have declared that this will be unequivocally her last Wimbledon but she plans on hanging around to enjoy it.The Belgian dispensed with Jelena Jankovic, a fellow former world No1, in persuasive fashion 6-2, 6-4 on No1 court. The Serbian fought gamely in the second set but eventually capitulated to the three-times US Open champion, who has never gone further than the semi‑finals at Wimbledon.Having already retired from tennis once to start a family, returning three years ago after a two-year break and winning three grand slam titles, this time there will be no turning back when Clijsters does so for good after the US Open in September.In completing her first-round victory, she displayed few signs of discomfort from the abdominal injury that forced her to retire from a tournament in the Netherlands during a semi-final last week though she will have an ultrasound scan on Tuesday to make sure the tear has not worsened."It felt OK," she said afterwards. "I had a pretty bad stomach muscle tear in Toronto a couple of years ago and didn't want that to happen again. Pulling out of the tournament last week was a very smart choice because it gave a chance to let the muscle heal."Clijsters has been plagued by injuries in recent months, playing in only two tournaments since reaching the semi‑finals of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year. It was that lack of tennis that left her unseeded for Wimbledon for the first time in 12 years, and those ravages on her body that have led her to decide that this will be her last appearance at the All England Club.She said that her rehabilitation had involved "a lot of ice, some anti-inflammatory, laser, loosening up the whole diagonal chain from the left hip to the right shoulder".There were signs of rustiness against Jankovic but also a few sublime reminders of her talent, not least an exquisite lob midway through the first set and a range of fine passing shots under pressure. After letting slip a 40-0 lead in her first service game, Jankovic never really recovered in the first set.The Serbian broke in the third game of the second but Clijsters immediately hit back and then converted her second break point in the sixth to go 4-2 up. Jankovic displayed resolve and after half-heartedly hurling her racket to the ground during a seventh game that took more than eight minutes, broke back. But the 18th seed then surrendered tamely in her final service game of the set, double-faulting to leave Clijsters with three match points."I knew it was going to be tough. We both had to look for our game a little bit but I felt more comfortable as the match wore on," said the 29‑year‑old.Her victory was warmly received by majority of the crowd. Only her watching four-year-old daughter Jada remained blissfully unaware of her exertions, preferring to doze through most of the match on the lap of her nanny.After making light work of her first-round match against Anastasia Rodinova, the world No1, Maria Sharapova, revealed her relief at overcoming her struggles with injuries and poor form to regain her place at the top this year. Sharapova beat Rodiniova 6-2, 6-3 in just over an hour to set up a second-round tie against Tsvetana Pironkova and looked a decent bet to add a second Wimbledon title to the French Open she won this month."I certainly worked hard for it," she said. "My comeback wasn't the easiest. It wasn't a Cinderella story, that's for sure. It took a lot of tough days and losses and some wins to get to that moment. But you realise when you actually do get there that it's worth it. All of those situations you're put in and put through, if you come out of them, it's a nice prize on the other side."I couldn't really go out and compete at a high level without a lot of pain. Even the losses that I went through, I knew that I was capable of so much better out on the court. I knew that had to come out sometime because I put a lot of work in and I know I have it in me."I'm still very humble and very appreciative of what I have. I still believe that I can achieve a lot more. That's what drives me and gets me up in the morning still, no matter how much success I've had, no matter how many downfalls, I still believe I can be better. I thought I started off the match really well. I had a few letdowns towards the end of both of those sets. Overall I'm pretty happy with the way I performed, especially for a first match."
0 comments:
Post a Comment