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Preview: Can Roger Get Rolling In Centre Court Return At Wimbledon?

  • Posted: Jun 29, 2021

Eight-time former champion Roger Federer will make his highly anticipated return to Centre Court on Tuesday as he takes on Adrian Mannarino in the first round at Wimbledon.

No man has won more titles at the All England Club than Federer, but the Swiss great could have his work cut out for him as he looks to kick his comeback into high gear at his favourite Grand Slam event.

Federer, who was sidelined for much of the abbreviated 2020 season due to knee surgeries, has been struggling to regain his top form as he approaches his fifth tournament of the year. He’s found himself in uncharted territory more than once, recording his first second-round loss at the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle and withdrawing from a Grand Slam for the first time at Roland Garros (w/o Berrettini).

But the sixth seed reassured press that he is ready to fight for a record-extending ninth singles trophy at Wimbledon. He is determined to stay positive and not let any negativity get to him, as he said was the case in his Halle defeat (l. to Auger-Aliassime). 

“The good thing now, looking back, is I know it will not happen here because I’m ready, I’m excited, I’m pumped up. I know I can do so much better,” Federer said. “I think I’ve got to take the positives out of these past few weeks, that I’m actually here at Wimbledon right now and I have a chance. 

“I know if I get rolling, I get into the second week – which is the goal here right now – that I get stronger and stronger as every match goes by. I believe it’s very much possible.”

[TENNIS POINT]

Federer will face France’s Mannarino in his opening match, which he will play second on Centre Court on Tuesday. The Swiss owns a 6-0 lead in their ATP Head2Head, and has only lost one set out of the 16 they’ve contested. The pair’s last meeting took place here at Wimbledon; Federer will be hoping for another confidence-boosting win after beating the lefty 6-0, 7-5, 6-4 in 2018. 

World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev arrived at the All England Club with a brand new accolade to his resumé: his first tour-level grass-court title, after taking down Sam Querrey in the ATP 250 Mallorca Championships final. 

“I’ve always liked playing on grass. Four years ago, I would say that it was my favourite surface. But after my results on hard courts I couldn’t say anything else other than hard courts, and I still like playing on hard courts more,” Medvedev told press in Mallorca.

“It was important for me to get these things like titles going, because we don’t have a lot of tournaments [on this surface]… It’s always a good feeling and it gives you a lot of confidence.” 

During his week in Mallorca, Medvedev got to enjoy some typical Spanish gazpacho as he tore through the draw only dropping one set. Now, he eyes another dish best served cold as he starts his Wimbledon campaign with his sights set on revenge against Jan-Lennard Struff, the player who knocked him out in the first round in Halle. Medvedev leads 3-1 in the ATP Head2Head against the big-serving German.

He will have a bit of extra motivation this fortnight too; Medvedev could end the tournament as the new No. 1 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings, overtaking Novak Djokovic, though he would have to win his first Grand Slam title to do so. He could also rise to the top if he reaches the final and Djokovic does not.

Also on tap on Day 2, another mouth-watering first round rematch pits Nick Kyrgios against 21st seed Ugo Humbert on Court 12. When these two met in Melbourne this year, they delighted Aussie fans with a marathon five-setter that went down to the wire, with Kyrgios upsetting the Frenchman 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. But Humbert arrives on a hot streak after taking down Andrey Rublev in Halle to win his first ATP 500 title. The pair are even at one win apiece in their ATP Head2Head. 

Elsewhere at the All England Club, Zhang Zhizhen will take a historic step for China as the first man to contest the main draw at Wimbledon in the Open Era. The 24-year-old Shanghai-born qualifier, who goes by the nickname ‘ZZZ’ in the West, will take on Antoine Hoang on Court 6 as he makes his Grand Slam debut. 

Read More: Carrying The Weight Of National History, Zhang Says ‘It’s Just The Beginning’

Fans of the one-handed backhand will also be in for a treat as Great Britain’s Daniel Evans, the 22nd seed, faces 39-year-old Feliciano Lopez on No. 2 Court. Spanish lefty Lopez won their only previous meeting at the Australian Open in 2016, but Evans will surely enjoy the support of his home crowd. He also arrives with plenty of momentum after reaching back-to-back quarter-finals at an ATP Challenger Tour event in Nottingham and the cinch Championships at The Queen’s Club. 

Click Here To View Full Day 2 Order Of Play.

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Resilient Murray's Clear Message: 'I'm Going To Keep Playing'

  • Posted: Jun 28, 2021

Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray flirted with disaster on Monday evening on Centre Court. The former World No. 1 led 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-0, putting himself on the verge of a berth into the second round at the grass-court major. But that advantage rapidly disappeared.

Suddenly, Basilashvili won seven consecutive games to force a fourth set and the momentum was fully on the Georgian’s side. Would the Scot be able to physically and mentally recover from that letdown? Like he has throughout his career, Murray fought back. It is the same trait that has helped him return from his latest hip surgery of 2019, and it is that resilience that carried him to a four-set triumph against Basilashvili.

“I didn’t deal with the pressure well at the end of the third set. But having to come back out and try and win a match, having just lost seven games in a row from 5-Love up on Centre Court, a lot of players would have capitulated there, and I did the opposite of that,” Murray said. “There is pressure in that moment as well. When you’re starting the fourth set, having just lost seven games on the spin, the headlines of that [would have been that] you have choked… and it’s one of the worst defeats of your career.

“[That is] what you would have heard after that match had I lost. [It] is not easy to turn that around.”

Murray’s battling spirit was apparent, and it was not something new. Tennis fans have seen it throughout the 34-year-old’s career. But where did he learn to compete as well as he does?

“I was just exposed to competition from a very young age with my brother and then with tennis and playing sports,” Murray said. “There was that element of winning and losing, elements of [that in] pretty much everything I was doing as my hobbies or in my spare time.

“Whether that was playing football or tennis, golf, whatever, I was always playing games and always competing. I have enjoyed playing board games and that sort of stuff. [I have] just done it loads since I was a kid, so I just had a lot of exposure to it it just comes quite naturally.”

After the match, Murray had plenty of emotions. The Scot was thrilled to win, and he was even in a joking mood after disclosing that he used the restroom during the break after the third set — Murray made sure to note it was a “No. 1” — when the roof was closed. But most noticeably, the three-time Grand Slam winner made clear that he is here to stay.

“I keep getting asked is this going to be my last Wimbledon, last match? I don’t know why I keep getting asked about it,” Murray said on court. “No, I’m going to keep playing. I want to play… I can still play at the highest level. He’s ranked 28th in the world and I haven’t hardly played any matches and I beat him.”

It was a memorable match for Murray, who enjoyed the loud crowd on Centre Court, which helped push him through despite his hiccup.

“I realised the past 18 months not to take moments like that for granted. Enjoy those things that we love doing,” Murray said. “I think everyone was into it today. It was a really good atmosphere, and it didn’t feel like the crowd was half full.”

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Murray Escapes Basilashvili To Make Winning Return At Wimbledon

  • Posted: Jun 28, 2021

Two-time former champion Andy Murray made a dramatic return to singles action at the All England Club on Monday, overcoming a late wobble as he toppled 24th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the second round at Wimbledon.

Murray was making his first Wimbledon singles appearance since 2017, when he reached the quarter-finals before falling to Sam Querrey in five sets. He missed the 2018 event due to ongoing recovery from hip surgery, and competed only in men’s doubles (w/Herbert) and mixed doubles (w/S. Williams) here in 2019.

Playing in just his fourth Tour-level event of the year, Murray fired 17 aces against Basilashvili as he improved his perfect record in Wimbledon first rounds to 13-0. He is now 3-3 on the season. 

Murray, currently No. 118 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, had his work cut out for him as he faced the in-form Basilashvili, who has lifted two ATP Tour trophies this season, on Centre Court. 

The wild card did not face a break point, but was unable to make any inroads in the Georgian’s service games across the first nine games of the set. Murray chipped away at Basilashvili’s aggressive game by adding variety to his groundstrokes, breaking up his opponent’s rhythm and never letting him get comfortable. 

As a result, Murray earned 39 unforced errors off the Georgian’s racquet in the match, and 13 in the first set. A Basilashvili drop shot attempt into the net took Murray to his first break point at 5-4, which he converted to take the opening set. 

With the first set under his belt, Murray settled into the match and redirected Basilashvili’s pace as he fired nine winners to take the second. He was nearly untouchable in the early stretches of the third set, with three breaks of serve – including back-to-back breaks to love – putting him 5-0 ahead and closing in on the victory. 

But Basilashvili refused to wilt away, and the 24th seed took advantage of a spate of unforced errors from Murray to work his way back into the set. He got two of the breaks back as he directed traffic to the misfiring Murray backhand, and saved two match points to close the gap to 5-4. 

Murray’s first serve percentage took a dive in the second half of the third set (from 84 per cent in the first set to 56 per cent) as Basilashvili kept the pressure on. The Georgian broke twice more, and Murray struck his 13th unforced error of the set to give Basilashvili a lifeline in the match.

View Monday’s Schedule | Listen To Radio Wimbledon | List Of Broadcasters (PDF)

After a brief pause in play to close the roof over Centre Court, Murray came back swinging in the fourth set as he edged his way in front after three straight breaks and held serve for the first time in six service games to lead 3-1. That would prove to be decisive as, nearly one hour and a half after his first match points, Murray once again arrived at match point. This time, he claimed the victory to see off Basilashvili and book a place in the second round. 

Murray will next face either German qualifier Oscar Otte or French qualifier Arthur Rinderknech. Otte and Rinderknech were deadlocked after three hours and 39 minutes in the fifth set at 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(5), 9-9 when their match was suspended due to darkness. Rinderknech claimed the first set while Otte took the next two, before the Frenchman sent them into a fifth. 

Did You Know?
Murray is contesting his 51st Grand Slam event here, extending his record for most Grand Slam appearances by a British man in the Open Era. He claimed sole ownership of the record, ahead of Tim Henman, by contesting his 50th Grand Slam event at Roland Garros last year.

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