Wimbledon 2021: Ashleigh Barty beats Anna Blinkova but Elina Svitolina is out
Ashleigh Barty beats Anna Blinkova as the Wimbledon draw opens up further for her with the exit of third seed Elina Svitolina.
Ashleigh Barty beats Anna Blinkova as the Wimbledon draw opens up further for her with the exit of third seed Elina Svitolina.
Watch the best shots as 18-year-old British wildcard Emma Raducanu beats Marketa Vondrousova to reach the third round of Wimbledon.
Roger Federer is a beloved figure around the world. No matter what tournament you attend, fans passionately cheer for the 39-year-old Swiss. But while the eight-time Wimbledon champion appreciates the support, he does not take it for granted. The 103-time tour-level titlist says that if he were in the fans’ shoes, he might not cheer for the favourite.
“I never really walk out and expect everybody to be for me, to be honest. I’m a little bit the same. Sometimes I like the underdog,” Federer said. “You want to see a close match, too. It does go in phases. When you see another guy hit great shots, I hope they applaud the guy. You want the atmosphere to be there.”
The 20-time major winner, who defeated French veteran Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Thursday to reach the third round at The Championships, has put himself in the fans’ shoes. Would he want the favourite to always come out on top?
“If it’s sort of one way only, it’s also not what it’s supposed to be,” Federer said. “I think you applaud in tennis the good shots, the good plays. Eventually when it gets really, really tight, down to the wire, that is where you see who people are cheering for.”
Photo Credit: AELTC/Ben Solomon
Federer believes that because he is well-known throughout the world after more than two decades of success, some fans automatically are on his side. But he would not mind if fans take his opponent’s side. In the third round, he will play home favourite Cameron Norrie.
“Not everybody in particular has to be for me,” Federer said. “At the end of the day, you have to focus on your game. If the crowd gets into it, it’s good, even if it’s maybe for him. Let’s see what happens.
“The worst is if there’s a lot of people sitting there but there’s no noise. On Centre Court you always have a guaranteed good atmosphere regardless if they are for or against you. So that’s why I think for me it’s such a wonderful court to play on.”
On paper, Federer’s victory against Richard Gasquet was ordinary. But could it be the win that opens the door for the Swiss to find the level to push deep into the fortnight?
“What I was able to do today gives you a lot of confidence,” Federer said. “You can start to play so much more freely.”
After Gasquet forced a first-set tie-break, Federer took full control of the match and he hit 32 winners to just 13 unforced errors the rest of the way.
“I thought it was a good match. I was actually very happy with my [Daniel] Evans match this year, the [Marin] Cilic match in Paris was good for me, too,” Federer said. “I think this one is up there with the top three. I think it was a nice match back for me.”
Eighteen-year-old British wildcard Emma Raducanu stuns 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon third round.
Eight-time former champion Roger Federer moved up through the gears on Thursday as he became the oldest player in 46 years to reach the third round of The Championships.
The sixth-seeded Swiss recorded his 19th victory in 21 matches against Richard Gasquet of France 7-6(1), 6-1, 6-4 on Centre Court over one hour and 51 minutes.
Federer, the oldest player to reach the Wimbledon third round since Australia’s Ken Rosewall, aged 40, in 1975, extended his sets-winning streak to 27 in a row against Gasquet, who last beat the Swiss at the 2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
The 39-year-old Federer, who is building his grass-court form after losing in the NOVENTI OPEN second round to Felix Auger-Aliassime two weeks ago, will next face British 29th seed Cameron Norrie for the first time at tour-level on Saturday.
Federer has a 103-13 match record at the All England Club and is attempting to break a tie with Rafael Nadal for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam championship crown.
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In a nervous start for both players on Centre Court, it wasn’t until the tie-break that Federer, who struck 18 winners in the first set, got into full flow. Gasquet, who had performed well, hit his second double fault to conclude the 49-minute set.
Gasquet struck a 112mph backhand winner down the line off a Federer smash to go up 40/0 in the second game of the second set. But that triggered an immediate response and Federer got to a 5-0 advantage, and later hit a sixth ace to clinch the set.
Federer continued to threaten Gasquet’s serve in the third set, finally breaking through after the Frenchman mis-timed a backhand drop shot at 3-3. Gasquet saved a match point at 3-5, 30/40 with a fine forehand approach and easy put-away. But minutes later Federer struck his 50th winner – an ace – to complete his victory.
Gasquet, 35, is a two-time semi-finalist at Wimbledon, losing in the last four in 2007 (l. to Federer) and 2015 (l. to Djokovic).
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina becomes the latest women’s singles seed to suffer an early exit at Wimbledon, losing in straight sets to Poland’s Magda Linette.
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