Isner’s name is inscribed on a plaque on Court 18 at Wimbledon, commemorating his role in the longest match in the history of tennis during the 2010 edition of the event. “It’s one of the toughest first rounds I could get”.
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Djokovic remains bullish in his Wimbledon preparations, after shaking off his Roland Garros disappointment.
Williams started slow on the grass on Court 1, trailing 3-1 before turning things around and advancing to the second round.
“I don’t think that we’re cheating, I don’t think that’s how you can call it”, Djokovic said. “Oddly enough, it never has been my favourite surface, but I’ve always done really well here.’’ Well, not always and not lately”. She goes into Wimbledon as the top seed with her new partner, India’s Sania Mirza.
Spanish ninth seed Carla Suarez Navarro went down 6-2, 6-0 to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko in just 52 minutes while Italian 24th seed Flavia Pennetta lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas.
Since Hewitt won 13 years ago, only Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have won the grass-court major.
“It’s not of my concern, honestly”.
“I’m just trying to figure out what you want to achieve with this story”. “I’m aware of the adjustment that is required movement-wise, game-wise, and also mentally for the grass courts coming from clay courts”.
The defending champion pounced at the key moments to see off a unsafe opponent 6-4 6-4 6-4 but was more compassionate when it came to the disorientated sparrow which seemed determined to hog the limelight.
Kvitova faces big-hitting Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in the first round on Tuesday, when she hopes to have shaken off a cold that forced her to pull out of the Eastbourne championships last week.
Kvitova also hasn’t played since the French Open, where she lost in the fourth round.
“I’m not a particularly good golfer, but I figure that I can only get better. Playing a higher-ranked player in the first round is a challenge, but everything worked out for me”, Williams said. “I did do it. I’m glad that I did it”.
This year marks 20 years since Hingis made her first appearance in the Wimbledon singles, at the age of 14. “It’s been a great growing experience for me as well, just to be more open and hopefully more inspiring”. “I played golf”, he smiled as he recalled how he spent his time at home in Mallorca last week. “I think those results speak for herself”, said Sharapova, whose Wimbledon opener is against British wildcard Johanna Konta.
John Isner’s serve is in fine form to start Wimbledon, where his career winning percentage is now back to.500.
Sloane Stephens posted a straightforward win over 27th-seeded Barbora Strycova and plays fellow American Lauren Davis next.
It’s been three years (2012 Wimbledon) since Federer last won a grand slam though and time is not on the 33-year-old’s side. “I think since three years now, I feel really good”, Wawrinka said Saturday.
“It feels good”, Williams said.
Despite Wawrinka’s win over Djokovic this month, it’s the 28-year-old Serb who remains the favorite at Wimbledon. Only two women have won all four Grand Slams in the same year – Margaret Court in 1970 and Steffi Graf in 1988 – but 20-times major singles champion Williams is closing in.
It was the ex- world No. 1 Australian’s 56th five-setter in a superb grand slam career in which he also beat Pete Sampras to win the 2001 US Open.
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“I haven’t done well at Wimbledon recently, so that’s the only one that’s kind of eluding me”, Williams told the Associated Press. If it happens, it would be the first time the sisters have met in a Grand Slam since the final of Wimbledon in 2009, and the earliest they have met in a major since the fourth round of the 2005 United States Open.
