Aussies Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis scored a big upset on Wednesday in the opening round of doubles action at Wimbledon, taking out ninth seeds and 2015 champions Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6(4), 7-6(4), 7-6(4). There were no breaks of serve in the match, but Kokkinakis/Thompson hung tough to advance in two hours and 44 minutes. Next up for them are qualifiers Ariel Behar and Aliaksandr Bury or Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Demoliner. Fourth seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo needed just 80 minutes to move past Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 6-4, 6-0, 6-3. Kubot/Melo are unbeaten on grass this year after winning titles at the Ricoh Open (d. Klaasen/Ram) and Gerry Weber Open (d. Zverev/Zverev). Awaiting them...
Rafael Nadal looked very much like the two-time Wimbledon champion he is on Wednesday, attacking with confidence and controlling throughout his second-round match against Donald Young of the U.S. The 2008 and 2010 champion cruised on Centre Court, routing Young and avoiding a late hiccup to advance 6-4, 6-2, 7-5. Nadal reaches the third round for only the second time since 2011, when the Spaniard reached his fifth and most recent title match at The Championships. “I think I played a solid match. Serving well. It's true that in the third I served a little bit worse. But in general terms, I am happy. I played well,” Nadal said. Early upsets have plagued Nadal of late at the All England...
Top seed Andy Murray wasted no time getting down to business on Wednesday at Wimbledon, storming into the third round with a convincing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Dustin Brown. “It was a good match from my end. I served well until the last few games. I returned well. I didn't make many mistakes and hit a lot of good passing shots,” said Murray. “I was really happy with it, obviously.” Brown is highly capable of big upsets on grass, as evidenced by his second-round win over Rafael Nadal at this very event in 2015. But the German struggled to find his footing on Centre Court, hitting casual errors throughout the match while Murray proved to be rock solid. The...
Kei Nishikori overcame the serve-and-volleying Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, who famously upset Roger Federer in 2013, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-1, 7-6(6) on Wednesday at The Championships. Nishikori is looking to advance past the fourth round this fortnight and post his best Wimbledon result yet during his ninth appearance. Last year at Wimbledon, the Japanese right-hander had to retire from his fourth-round contest against Marin Cilic. Last month, Nishikori also had to pull out of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle with a left hip injury. [ALSO LIKE] But the ninth seed looked in good health against Stakhovsky, who qualified and was playing in the Wimbledon second round for the fifth time. Nishikori had two set points in the second set to take...
