Former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki made it through to the third round at Wimbledon with a topsy-turvy 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) win over Denisa Allertova yesterday.
The Danish fifth seed took just 23 minutes to secure the first set, but the second was a totally different affair as the Czech world No. 83 showed the form that led her to break the top 100 for the first time earlier this year.
Allertova, 22, was making her Wimbledon debut and initially looked out of her depth facing the world No. 5 on the 1,000-capacity Court 12 in only her second tour-level match on grass. However, Allertova looked a different player in the 63-minute second set, throwing in drop shots and hitting winners, but Wozniacki, a two-time US Open finalist, came out best in the tie-break.
On Wednesday, with everyone “feeling hot, hot, hot” at the All England Club, it was little wonder that Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams were eager to escape the Wimbledon furnace as quickly as possible.
Spectators sitting under the searing sun on Wimbledon’s Henman Hill were heard breaking out into the Buster Poindexter anthem that aptly summed up the hottest day of the year in Britain — with the mercury hitting 34oC.
Champion Djokovic was spared the worst of the heat on the partly covered Centre Court as he kept things simple in a 90-minute 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 second-round demolition job that ended the Wimbledon career of seasoned Finn Jarkko Nieminen.
His opponent in the next round, Australian Bernard Tomic, will be hoping the weather eases for their showdown today after complaining it was “too hot.”
“I was starting to get dizzy out there with the heat hitting me... I was very dizzy out there,” Tomic said after beating Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6(7/3), 6-4, 7-6(7/5).
However, the blazing sun was the least of Sharapova’s concerns.
“It’s much much warmer in my hometown in Longboat Key, Florida,” the Russian fourth seed said after subduing Dutchwoman Richel Hogenkamp 6-3, 6-1.
What would have concerned her though is her misfiring serves.
The 2004 champion was left red-faced as she fired down three successive double faults to surrender her serve at 4-2 up in the first set, but survived that blip to win eight of the next nine games.
Williams might want to drop Marin Cilic and Ricardas Berankis a thank you note after the duo’s five-set thriller meant she did not have to step on to Centre Court till almost 7pm.
However, the slightly cooler conditions did not mean the world No. 1 wanted to hang around longer than necessary as she took another step closer to winning her fourth successive major. She whooped in delight after completing a 6-4, 6-1 pummelling of Hungarian Timea Babos.
French Open champion Stan Wawrinka was in cruise control during a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win over Victor Estrella, but Milos Raonic was kept on Court One longer than he would have liked by the oldest man in the singles draw. The Canadian seventh seed hurled down 29 aces, including one clocked at 233kph, to secure a 6-0 6-2, 6-7(5/7), 7-6(7/4) victory over 37-year-old Tommy Haas.
Women’s seventh seed Ana Ivanovic became the second top-eight woman to fall as the Serb followed third seed Simona Halep out of the tournament, beaten 6-3, 6-4 by 158th ranked US qualifier Bethanie Mattek Sands.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
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