Roger Federer put on quite a display in front of Prince Charles, sweeping aside Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round of Wimbledon yesterday.
Federer and his Italian opponent bowed to Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in the Royal Box before their match, and the Swiss six-time champion then showed them the type of tennis that helped him rule on Centre Court for so many years.
Hitting winners with clinical accuracy, Federer dictated play from the start and never faced a break point. He broke the Italian five times and wrapped up the victory in 1 hour, 13 minutes.
Photo: AFP
Federer said it was “a great feeling” to play in front of the royals.
In the women’s singles, Heather Watson gave Britain a woman in the third round for the first time in a decade by beating Jamie Hampton of the US 6-1, 6-4.
The 103rd-ranked Watson won the match’s first five games to take control.
Photo: AFP
In the first round on Monday, the 20-year-old Watson became the first British woman to win a match on Centre Court since 1985. Now she is the first woman from the host country to make it to the third round at the All England Lawn Tennis Club since Elena Baltacha in 2002.
Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic savored an increasingly rare taste of success as the former world No. 1 moved into the second round with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.
Ivanovic was once regarded as the female game’s brightest young star after winning the 2008 French Open just months after reaching the Australian Open final.
Photo: AFP
However, the 24-year-old has been unable to fulfill her vast potential since then and has failed to get past the fourth round in her 16 Grand Slam appearances since that triumph in Paris.
She arrived at the All England Club with her ranking down to 14 and little expectation of emulating her 2007 run in the semi-finals.
This was a step in the right direction at least as her rain-delayed first-round match was finally played to a conclusion on Court 14.
Ivanovic has rarely gone deep in any tournament this year and she had to survive plenty of nervous moments before seeing off the world No. 51 to set up a second-round tie against Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko.
The Serb broke in the second game of the opening set, but promptly dropped her own serve.
After another exchange of breaks, Ivanovic was finally able to take control of an error-strewn set with one final break for a 5-3 lead.
Ivanovic’s mental fragility resurfaced early in the second set when she allowed Martinez Sanchez to break in the second game.
Ivanovic dug deep to break back in the fifth game, but carelessly surrendered her serve again and this time the left-hander made her pay by taking the set.
The final set was a tense affair with both players scratching around for the momentum that would carry them to victory.
It was Ivanovic who finally turned the match in her favor, breaking for a 4-2 lead and serving out the win.
On Tuesday, Rafael Nadal needed a few games to adjust his sights for grass-court combat, but Serena Williams quickly found her range as the two former champions moved safely into the second round.
Spaniard Nadal, looking to reclaim the title he won in 2008 and 2010, found himself 4-0 down against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci on Centre Court, before a barrage of heavy hitting took him to a 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-3 victory in 2 hours, 15 minutes.
Williams, the day after her sister Venus was bundled out in the first round, restored family honor with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of battling Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.
Home favorite Andy Murray, the last member of the men’s “big four” to get the grass under his feet this week, also impressed, thrashing Russia’s former world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko for the loss of six games.
Wild-card Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion, lost 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and 20th seed Bernard Tomic’s surprise 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Belgian wild-card David Goffin made it a bad day for Australian men, who will not have a second-round survivor for the first time since 1938.
Deposed world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka was untroubled against Irina Falconi, screaming to a 6-1, 6-4 victory, while former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, the 24th seed, survived a scare against home favorite Laura Robson before winning 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Second seed Nadal, who has never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament, admitted he was a touch fortunate to progress in three sets against the 80th-ranked Bellucci.
Serena Williams, whose career has teetered on the brink since she collected her fourth Wimbledon singles title in 2010, was given a decent workout by Strycova on Court Two.
The fired-up 30-year-old let out a roar when she closed out the match and looked in the mood to fly the Williams flag throughout the fortnight after five-time champion Venus’ disheartening display.
Murray looked to have drawn the short straw when his name came out with Davydenko’s in the draw, but the Briton made mincemeat of the Russian, winning 6-1, 6-1, 6-4.
Saddled yet again with ending Britain’s interminable wait for a men’s champion at Wimbledon, which stretches back to 1936, Murray looked in fine fettle in a dominant display that allayed any fears over a nagging back injury.
“It was a good start and I knew obviously when I drew him I was going to need to start the tournament well,” Murray said. “Once I got ahead, I really tried to keep it up and I did a good job.”
As of press time yesterday, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was leading 6-4, 2-1 in her second-round match against Stephanie Foretz Gacon of France.
Additional reporting by staff writer
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely