Tennis News

Defending champion Novak Djokovic extended the great Wimbledon tradition on Monday afternoon when he was the first player out on court to open up the 2015 edition of The Championships. Following a straightforward affair, the world No. 1 is through to the second round of the tournament, where he will encounter Jarkko Nieminen, whom he has faced on sixth previous occasions and leads 5-1 in the head to head.

It was business as usual for the top seed at SW19, as Novak Djokovic managed to dispatch Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets to advance to the second round of the grass court Slam. It was a solid showing from the Serb given that he was yet to play a professional match on grass this season. He may not heve been at his best but he was certainly good enough to defeat the German.

“It is great to be back in the cradle of our sport,” he said, smiling broadly. “We have this tradition that the champion opens on Centre Court. It is a privilege and an honour. It doesn’t get any bigger than Wimbledon. 2015 Day 1 Highlights, Novak Djokovic v Philip Kohlschreiber “To come back here only conjures up the dearest and the best memories. You have the butterflies and the thoughts that you are coming back to the place where you won last year.”

Djokovic will come up against Jarkko Nieminen, who ousted Lleyton Hewitt for the last time at the Wimbledon Championships on the opening day of action. It was a thrilling five set affair that only got better in quality as the match went on. In the end, Nieminen managed to break serve late in the match to win the encounter 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 11-9.

This is just the seventh time that Djokovic and Nieminen will cross paths on the professional tour, with Djokovic leading the head-to-head series 5-1. Their most recent encounter took place just last month, when Djokovic defeated the Finish competitor in straight sets on the clay courts in at Roland Garros.

World No. 1 Serena Williams is not only an overwhelming favourite with fans and pundits to win this year’s Wimbledon Championships, she is also in the hunt for a calendar Grand Slam. However, she first has to get past her second round opponent Timea Babos, whom she has never met previously on the professional tour.

It was a turbulent Monday afternoon for Serena Williams, who had to withstand the imposing gameplay from Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan to secure her place in the second round of the tournament. The Russian held a 3-1 lead in the first set and a 4-1 lead in the second but was unable to deny Williams a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the end.

“She played really well,” Williams said. “She also had a few matches under her belt from the qualifying, so she was ready for the grass. She got off to a really fast start. She was playing really well today. “I would be lying if I said I wanted a hard match, of course, but I think it’s good for me. At the end of the day, it’s definitely good for me. But no one really wants to be in any sort of difficult match!”

“She was just hitting a lot of winners,” she said. “When the first set was over, she actually hit more winners than I did. Usually I’m really quick and I get to those shots, but they were just so cleanly hit that I wasn’t able to get to them as fast as I wanted to. There was nothing I could do about them.”

Williams will next come up against Timea Babos, who reached the second round following a straight sets win against Cetkovska. She won the match 7-6, 6-3 in one hour and 19 minutes.

This marks the first time that Williams and Babos will cross paths in the professional tour and should be a match that heavily favours the American. She has proven to be a dominant force in 2015 and it is unlikely that Babos will be the one to usurp Williams.

For the first time in their respective professional careers, Stan Wawrinka and Victor Estrella Burgos will cross paths on the tour to determine who will advance to the following stage of the tournament – not just any old tournament – but the Wimbledon Championships, where the victor will be one match away from a spot in the second week of the prestigious grass court event.

Seeded fourth at this year’s Championships, Stan Wawrinka played as though he belonged in the Big Four. He faced no break points en route to a straight sets win against Joao Sousa. It was basically a repeat of their opening round match at last year’s tournament, and ended 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(3). He hit 45 winners and broke serve on six occasions to win the match in one hour and 48 minutes.

“When I was younger, up until age 19 maybe, I only played on clay, so from the baseline I needed to have time to prepared my shots,” revealed Wawrinka. “It took some time for me to feel comfortable on faster surfaces. On grass it’s important to be aggressive, play close to the baseline and pressure your opponent. I had the find the solutions over the years, and now I am able to play my best tennis on grass as well.”

Wawrinka will come up against Burgos, who defeated Benjamin Becker 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. The world No. 40 has had a historic year on the tour so far and would love to add an upset of the reigning French Open champion to his resume.

This marks the first time that Wawrinak and Burgos will cross paths on the professional tour and is a pressure-filled contest that will determine who will advance to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships. Given Wawrinka’s form, he should have little trouble downing the aged veteran.

Following strong showings in their first round matches, Milos Raonic and Tommy Haas will cross paths in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships. This serves as just the second time that the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour with Raonic leading the head-to-head series 1-0 with a win back in 2013 at the San Jose final.

Kicking off his campaign on Monday afternoon, Milos Raonic defeated Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in straight sets. He struck 25 aces to win the match 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) in two hours and six minutes.

“I don’t really think I actually served that well,” he said. “I just lacked a little bit of intensity and discipline in the right parts of my game. I think it sort of showed, because I would have to dig out of a few problems a few times love/30, break points, maybe situations that I wouldn’t normally let myself get into.”

Apart from reaching the second round of the tournament, Tommy Haas made a little bit of history as the oldest man to win a match at the Wimbledon Championships since 1991. He needed four sets to get past Dusan Lajovic but was able to do so in the end. However, Raonic does not expect age to be a factor in their second round encounter.

“He’s been doing some great things really, so I think age is irrelevant,” said Raonic. “I’ve just got to face Tommy and try to play my best.”

This marks just the second time that the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour with Raonic leading the head-to-head series 1-0 with a win back in 2013 at the San Jose final. He won the contest in straight sets but will now come across the German for the first time on grass, which is an entirely different task.

Having not played a single competitive match in over a month, many questioned Maria Sharapova’s preparedness ahead of her opening round match at the Wimbledon Championships. However, the Russian superstar had little trouble against a tough wildcard and was able to find her way into the second round, where she will now come up against Dutch player Richel Hogenkamp. This marks the first time the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour.

Seeded fourth at this year’s tournament, Maria Sharapova was able to summon up some impressive tennis to defeat British wildcard Johanna Konta in straight sets. The Russian star hit 23 winners to close out the contest 6-2, 6-2.

“It was my first competitive match in about four weeks, so I just wanted to start off really strong, not knowing much about my opponent, just the results she had last week. So coming in without any proper grass court matches, I just wanted to take care of business, and I thought I did a good job of that.”

“I’ve had a really good last couple of weeks now of practice. Of course, in a match situation it’s always different, especially when you haven’t competed in a few weeks. But I felt quite well today.”

Sharapova’s upcoming opponent also had an impressive start to her campaign at The All England Club, as she defeated Wang in straight sets to advance to the following stage of the tournament. Hogenkamp won the match 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and nine minutes.

This marks the first time that Sharapova and Hogenkamp will cross paths on the professional tour. Given Sharapova’s early round dominance at Grand Slam events, she should be a heavy favourite to defeat Richel on Wednesday. While Sharapova can get broken and worked around for a set, her durability and attrition should get her across the finish line.

It was a tough start for Kei Nishikori at the Wimbledon Championships, as he needed five sets to find his way into the second round of the tournament. However, now that he is there, he will encounter Santiago Giraldo, whom he has met on six previous occasions on the professional tour and leads the head-to-head series 5-1.

Seeded fifth at this year’s tournament, Nishikori had to battle hard to work his way out of a tense five set thriller against France’s Simone Bolelli. He managed to take command in the fifth and final set to close out the contest 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. It was his serve that made the difference late in the encounter.

“I got couple good matches before coming here in Halle,” he said. “I’m sure I need more matches to get more experience. And also to win the matches, it’s important for my confidence. I’m sure that I’m playing good on grass now.

“I’m always excited to play on this tournaments, on the grass court. Maybe the result is not coming yet, but I start feeling more confidence playing on here,” he said. “So I hope it’s better result will come.”

In his opening round match on Monday, Giraldo defeated Joao Souza in straight sets to set up his encounter with the top-ranked Japanese player. He beat Souza 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

This marks the seventh time these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nishikori leading the head-to-head series 4-1. Considering Nishikori’s lack of form and injury worries, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Giraldo may upset Nishikori on this surface. However, the Japanese No. 1 has won their last four consecutive encounters in straight sets and should have little trouble extending that to five consecutive wins, even if he is not at his best .

Faced with a potential collision with her younger sister in the next few rounds, Venus Williams advanced to the second round of the Wimbledon Championships, where she will come up against Yulia Putintseva to determine who will be one match away from the second week of the Championships. This is just the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Williams leading the head-to-head series 1-0.

Seeded 16th at this year’s event, Venus Williams produced one of the most dominant matches during the opening day of matches, which ended with a double bagel finish against fellow American Madison Brengle. She hit 29 winners and 13 unforced errors to close out the match 6-0, 6-0 in under an hour.

“She’s had a great last 52 weeks. She’s had really great results in the majors. Playing a higher-ranked player in the first round is a challenge, but everything worked out for me,” Williams said at the post-match press conference following her win on Monday. “I don’t think she played badly. I was just able to convert on the important points.”

Williams’ next opponent, Yulia Putintseva also finished her match in straight sets, even if they were much more competitive sets. She defeated Erakovic 7-6, 7-5 in a match that saw her fire five aces, 31 inners and 26 unforced errors to close out the contest in two hours and 13 minutes.

This marks just the second time that Williams and Putintseva will cross paths on the professional tour, with Williams leading the head-to-head series 1-0. Given her remarkably dominant showing in her firs match on court, it would be difficult to envision Williams losing this second encounter to a lower ranked player. However, Williams has shown inconsistency over the years so it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that she is upset in the second round.

One of the Wimbledon Championships’ favourite sons, Roger Federer, will return to the lush grass courts at SW19 in search for his eighth title at the event, as well as his 18th Grand Slam title overall. His first match-up will be against Damir Dzumhur, whom faced once previously last month at the French Open. Federer leads the head-to-head series 1-0.

A couple of weeks ago, Federer lifted his latest title on the grass courts in Halle following a straight sets win against Andreas Seppi. He beat the Italian 7-6,6-4 in an encounter that lasted an hour and 48 minutes. It was the eighth time that he was announced champion at the Gerry Weber Open, which puts him alongside Rafael Nadal and Guillermo Vilas. It was his 86th title on the tour overall and offered him the necessary momentum ahead of the Wimbledon Championships.

“2013 was difficult, 2014 was better and now 2015 after this week is even better and I hope I can keep it up. I think one big secret on grass is when to hit which shot and playing the score the right way. You might be playing perfect but then in one moment you take a bad decision and grass makes you pay for it all. So, this week has been great if I look at the whole thing. I don’t think I got broken anymore the last four matches I played. The first match was extremely close but I won all the tie-breaks this week, which gives obviously big confidence knowing that in the crucial moments my game was right there.”

In a surprising decision, Damir Dzumhur lost his third round match-up to Federer at the French Open, and instead of quickly making the transition to clay, he decided to play a clay court Challengers event in Moscow, which he lost in the quarter-final stage. He now heads into his second match with the legend with no match time on grass under his belt.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional circuit and should be a match that Federer wins in straight sets. Given that he has barely ever watched Dzumhur play tennis, this could be competitive affair until Federer finds his rhythm and analyzes his opponent’s game.

Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal will begin his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday afternoon at the All England Club when he meets Thomaz Bellucci in the opening round. This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nadal holding an undefeated 4-0 head to head record against the Brazilian.

After losing just his second match ever at the French Open this year to be denied a 10th title at Roland Garros, Nadal fought valiantly all week in his first grass court tournament of the season Stuttgart to claim the title following a straight sets victory against Victor Troicki. He won the match 7-6(3), 6-3 to earn his first title on grass since the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. However, he followed that up with a opening round loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Aegon Championships, which is likely why he is keen to get a few more matches in before Wimbledon, where he will be seeeded 10th this season.

‘It is more difficult not being seeded top four,’ he said in an interview. ‘I am seed 10 because I didn’t play well enough and I was out injured for six months last year. I am where I deserve to be and I hoped to be in a higher position back here. I am going to work for that, but what gonna happen, gonna happen. I need to do it my way.”

Nadal will begin his campaign against Thomaz Bellucci, who only played one match on grass so far this season and that was a loss to Alexander Zverev at Nottingham. His best performance to date this season was at Geneva, where he won the clay court tournament.

This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Nadal leading the series 4-0. All three of their previous encounters took place in Grand Slam events, except for their latest meeting, which took place in Rio. Nadal will likely hold the advantage this time around but all eyes will be on him to see if he will be ready for the fortnight ahead.