Wimbledon 2010 Champions: Day 2 Round Up(Mens)

There was no drama for Rafael Nadal(1) against Kei Nishikori(204) at the centre court on tuesday blissfull first round 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal mentioned “It was a very special moment coming back to the nicest centre court in the world and it was lovely being back in my favourite tournament,” said a delighted Nadal afterwards.

Robin Soderling(6) didnt had any problem defeating Robby Ginepri(69), showed his confidence of defeating both Federer and Nadal at French Open. Final score was 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in the name of Soderling.

Court 1 witness, British No.1 Andy Murray(4) v Jan Hajek(80), of which Murray won comfortably with score of 7-5, 6-1, 6-2. Murray said "It obviously helps coming here. It's a great place to play and I've had good results here the last few years,". Another match was Robert Kendrick(162) v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(10) of which Tsonga had to struggle abit with 7-6(2), 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4, first 2 set was won on tie-break and losing the next set and only 1 break in the final set. Tsonga was doubtful for Wimbledon 2010 because of the hip injury while in the fourth-round match at the French Open.

Court 2 match Nicolas Kiefer(184) v David Ferrer(9), Ferrer won in a straight set 6-4, 6-2, 6-3, an easy victory. The major upset in the court 2 was match Juan Carlos Ferrero(14) v Xavier Malisse(75), Ferrero broke in the opening game surrendered the last five games 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-1. This is the first time Ferrero have lost his first match at All England Club.

Court 5, saw a upset of Robin Haase(151) v James Blake(110), After losing in first round Blake mentioned that his plagued by tendinitis in his right knee and he might even reassess his tennis career after the U.S. Open. Marcos Baghdatis(24) v Lukas Lacko(73), was upset of the top seed Baghdatis crumbles against Lacko gave up in four set 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Court 8, Mikhail Youzhny(13) v Dudi Sela(60) of which Dudi made him run for his money, but later Youzhny won in four sets, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6.

Court 12, Fabio Fognini(83) sends Fernando Verdasco(8) home with a 7-6(9), 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4 victory. "I broke my big toenail and it did hurt like hell, I was almost crying," said Verdasco.

Nicolas Almagro(19) v Andreas Seppi(68) match on court 19 also witnessed a very good match between them of which Seppi won 7-6(4), 7-6(7), 6-2.

Wimbledon 2009: Daily preview (Day 9) Men’s

Last year Roddick suffered his earliest exit at Wimbledon when he was beaten in the second round by Janko Tipsarevic. This year he will play British favorite Andy Murray for a place in the final. The sixth seed booked his fifth Wimbledon semi-final with a 6-3, 6-7 (12-10), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Hewitt that took two hours and 55 minutes.


Roddick served 43 aces in the match, with a top speed of 140mph. Not only did he serve aces, he served them when they mattered. It had been an ominous start from the American who won his first service game to love, including a 139mph ace, then promptly broke Hewitt’s serve.

Tommy Haas, the oldest man in the draw, brushed aside Novak Djokovic, the No.4 seed and the youngest man left in the tournament 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-3 in the quarter finals. He is 31 and has learned the value of fitness, training and preparation.


The German took a distinctly old-fashioned approach to playing on grass – he kept attacking the net. That was when he was not staying back and using his stunning backhand to unpick the Serb’s defenses. Djokovic was playing in the modern way – thumping ground strokes and explosive power.

Roger Federer is in such confident form at the 2009 Championships that even gun does not faze him. Wimbledon's five-time champion cruised into the semi-finals with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) victory in an hour and 43 minutes. It was Federer who proved supreme when it came to serving. Never faced a break point and was only once threatened by having his delivery taken to deuce.


Karlovic, came into this quarter-final contest having served 137 aces in his first four matches. He had also won all of his 79 service games and faced only four break points. These statistics in only the fourth game of the opening set, breaking the unbreakable serve by tackling the Karlovic power head on.

Andy Murray as the number three seed beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court. The authoritative victory over the former world number one puts Murray through to his first Wimbledon semi-final. Murray was winning his serve with ease, and Ferrero had to work much harder to hold on to his serve.


Last month at Queen’s where Murray wrapped up a simple straight sets victory. True, the Spaniard had a couple of jitters at the outset, and he pushed a half-volley long to give Murray an early chance to break. But nonetheless the Spaniard was playing a canny game.

Wimbledon 2009: Daily preview (Day 7) Men’s

The first match to be played in its entirely under a closed roof at Wimbledon turned out to be a classic as well as a marathon as Andy Murray staged a dramatic recovery to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka in five sets, 2-6 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-3, and gain a place in the quarter-finals for the second successive year.


The 3rd seed, under relentless pressure to become the first British player to win the Wimbledon men's crown for 73 years, had been in serious trouble early on against Wawrinka. These two men are good friends and regular practice partners, but there was nothing friendly about the fashion in which Wawrinka went after Murray in that opening set, serving brilliantly and hammering ground strokes which reduced Murray to frustration.

Roger Federer trod a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) reassuringly familiar pathway (rematch of this month’s French Open final) into the quarter-finals when he defeated Sweden's Robin Soderling in their Centre Court. It was Roger’s 11th successive victory over Soderling.

Even though the result was never really in doubt, it always felt like a close match, with Soderling riding high on a potent serve, which was broken only once. Unfortunately, he never captured the Federer delivery.

Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, struggled through the first two sets against Radek Stepanek, he came back reinvigorated after a medical timeout, and even a break for rain could not stop him. Hewitt emerged victorious 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 after two hours 54 minutes and his first Grand Slam quarter-final in three years.


Stepanek had injury problems of his own, had endured two draining five-setters in his second and third round matches. Yet it was Stepanek who started the match full of energy. Hewitt showed typical spirit in saving four set points but a fifth proved too much.

Roddick won 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 48 minutes and is now one victory short of his third Wimbledon semi-final. Roddick turned Berdych’s form upside down in his win. Roddick blew all that away with a strong and accurate hitting performance that justifies his optimism before Wimbledon started.


Berdych had come into the last 16 without dropping a set, something he had not achieved in a Grand Slam since 2007. This showed that he was finding his feet again on grass and he might even have fancied his chances of making the quarter-finals.

Fourth seed Novak Djokovic moved comfortably into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win over unseeded Israeli Dudi Sela. He is creeping through the draw without fanfare, produced a solid display, firing off 11 aces and 30 winners.


Sela was clearly enjoying the moment in what has been the best year of his career. He also reached the third round, as a qualifier, at this year’s Australian Open.

It was the giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic, pattern of aces(he served up 35 aces today) and very few rallies - in which the tiebreaks became all-important and he prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (4-6), 6-4, 7-6 (11-9) in three hours and one minute against crowd darling Fernando Verdasco. This tie was also destined to be a close-fought battle of very few chances.


The crowd simply rejoiced when either player grabbed a return point, to break up the love service games that were becoming so common. Both players then had opportunities to win the tiebreak.

Juan Carlos Ferrero became the first wild card since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 to make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon after clinically dispatching eighth seed Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 6-2. The Spaniard played solid tennis throughout the contest and stood firm.


Simon, meanwhile, had been on a terrible run coming into the tournament, barely able to string two wins together over the past few months, but he put this behind him to make a run to the fourth round here, dropping only one set on the way.

Tommy Haas needed just three sets to get past Igor Andreev 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, 6-4 and into the quarter-finals. It had started off as a tense, tightly fought match. But using his greater experience, Haas managed to break away by taking the critical points in this their first meeting on grass.


This was a match of big-hitters, with both players regularly sending down serves in excess of 120mph. Both had survived five-setters in previous rounds but any chance of that happening disappeared as Haas grew in confidence and Andreev faded as the match went on.

Wimbledon 2009: Daily preview (Day 6) Men’s

Andy Murray's gathered massive momentum as he cruised into the last 16 by crushing Serbia's Viktor Troicki 6-2 6-3 6-4 in 96 minutes. Troicki, who had suffered two embarrassing defeats previously at the hands of Murray, made his Centre Court debut clearly with the intention of blasting the Scot off the court where he has so far been so comfortable.


The number six seed Andy Roddick securing his place in Monday’s last 16 with a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3 win over the Austrian Jurgen Melzer. Eight times before today they have met, and eight times the American has triumphed. American is second only to Federer with the most grasscourt wins among current players.


Hewitt, the world No. 56, is a former Wimbledon and US Open Champion who came into this match with a career Grand Slam record of 122-40. Petzschner, the world No.55, has won just the single title and before this match his Grand Slam record was 5-4, and that was all the difference. Only one place in the world rankings separates Lleyton Hewitt and Philipp Petzschner, and little separated the players for much of their third round match, which Hewitt won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.


Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world number one, came through an extraordinary match to beat the number 10 seed Fernando Gonzalez on No.1 Court. Ferrero, playing as a wild card because his ranking was not high enough to justify automatic entry into the draw, emerged victorious from a see-saw encounter 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. It was a bolt from the blue, and Ferrero greeted it with a Nadal-like cry of: “Vamos!”


Simon beat Hanescu 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in one hour and 27 minutes to reach the fourth round for the first time. The French challenge in the men’s singles now rests exclusively with 24-year-old Gilles Simon who is their lone survivor after his straight sets win over Victor Hanescu of Romania.


Czech Tomas Berdych finally broke his hoodoo against Nikolay Davydenko, taking just 107 minutes to crush the Russian No.12 seed for the first time in nine meetings. Berdych, the 20th seed, looked impressive from the outset and secured 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. Berdych added: “I can’t wait till next week. This was by my best match and performance this year. I played very well and believe I’m getting better and better with each match.”


Stanislas Wawrinka played low-risk tennis and outlasted Jesse Levine 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 to move into the fourth round. Wawrinka played the ball at a comfortable height onto the American’s forehand and then watched as it was fired back past him. Levine can take heart from his five-match winning run and then here in the main draw.

Wimbledon 2009: Daily preview (Day 4) Men’s

Andy Murray accelerated into the third round with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 win over talented Latvian Ernests Gulbis in 88 minutes, with plenty of indicators that he could rev up British hopes right until Wimbledon's main contenders reach the end of the road a week on Sunday.


There was one brief glimmer of hope for 20-year-old Gulbis, right at the start when Murray somehow contrived to let slip his only two break points of the entire match. Murray, 22, was having a fine time of it, clearly able to read much of Gulbis’s play and out-thinking him. Gulbis seemed thoroughly thrown off balance.

Lleyton Hewitt, moving and roaring as if the last seven years had never happened, scored perhaps his finest win at The Championships since becoming the champion in 2002 as he crushed Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 7-5 7-5 in two hours 32 minutes .


The 20-year-old Del Potro, seeded fifth which meant he was theoretically lined up for a semi-final spot following Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal, never looked like subduing the Australian attack dog - the only male representative from his country at a tournament once dominated by great players from Down Under.

Andy Roddick has stated his intent at The Championships with a 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over Igor Kunitsyn to reach the third round.Sure enough, Roddick seemed to be his usual powerful self. The serve was working well as he thumped down 18 aces and 39 unreturnable serves and kept his serving statistics at a healthy 71% accuracy. Kunitsyn was trying his best to compete. He, too, has a vicious serve on him and, for the first few games, was keeping pace on the thunderbolt tally with his opponent.


After the match, Roddick was not concerned about being broken in the third set. "A win is a win. The set I got broken, I had numerous break chances and [he] got the one that [he] had.
Tenth seed Gonzalez has never got beyond the quarter-finals and has struggled on grass throughout his career. He started slowly against Mayer but came back from a set down to beat the Argentine in a match of few service breaks.


Gonzalez was never at his best but took his chances on the important points, winning three out of four break points to claim a solitary break in each set. He eventually triumphed 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, taking the match with a backhand volley.

American qualifier Jesse Levine awaits in the third round. Levine has enjoyed a fine Wimbledon, knocking out Marat Safin in the first round, and he beat Pablo Cuevas 6-2, 6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 to further enhance his reputation.

Radek Stepanek is no stranger to long matches at Wimbledon and he featured in his sixth five-set match in the space of three years at the All England Club. The No.23 seed came through 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against Potito Starace.

Juan Carlos Ferrero had a similar afternoon to Gonzalez. He, too, was beaten in the first set, by Fabrice Santoro in a tiebreak. But the 2003 French Open winner’s experience made the difference in the end and he won 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

There were no such worries for seeds Nikolay Davydenko, Victor Hanescu, Stanislas Wawrinka, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych who all steamrolled their opponents in straight sets on a day of few upsets.