Nadal, Djokovic power into 2nd round
LONDON: Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic began their Wimbledon campaigns in dominating fashion, powering into the second round at the All England Club yesterday.
Nadal, bidding to complete a third French OpenWimbledon double, thumped 127thranked Israeli Dudi Sela 63, 63, 62 on a sultry Centre Court.
‘‘Good start. Good result. Of course I did things very well, and other things that I have room to improve,’’ Nadal, who faces 77thranked Mikhail Kukushkin next, said.
‘‘It’s not easy, especially here on grass. The important thing is to be through. I prefer to win in straight sets than in five. Every victory gives you confidence; it doesn’t matter how you win.’’
Djokovic, seeking a fourth title at the All England Club, beat Wimbledon newcomer Tennys Sandgren, of the United States, 63, 61, 62 in windy conditions.
‘‘I do feel good. It’s quite refreshing and I’m looking forward to see how I progress in this tournament,’’ 12time grand slam champion Djokovic said.
Seventhseeded Austrian Dominic Thiem retired injured from his firstround match, trailing 64, 75, 20 to Marcos Baghdatis.
Australian Matthew Ebden claimed his first victory over a top10 opponent at a grand slam, beating 10th seed David Goffin, of Belgium, 64, 63, 64.
Australian Nick Kyrgios fired 42 aces on his way to a 76, (73), 76 (74), 67 (57), 63 victory over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin.
Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro Del Potro eased to a 63, 64, 63 win over German Peter Gojowczyk.
The bighitting Argentine’s best performance at Wimbledon came in 2013, when he reached the semifinals.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev won 15 of the last 17 games to see off Australian James Duckworth 75, 62, 60.
The German recorded his best Wimbledon performance last year by reaching the round of 16.
Spaniard Feliciano Lopez (36), making a record 66th consecutive grand slam appearance, reached the second round with a 63, 64, 62 win over Argentine Federico Delbonis.
In the women’s draw, former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova lost in the first round for the first time in her career after a 67 (37), 76 (73), 64 defeat by Russian compatriot Vitalia Diatchenko.
‘‘I definitely had several chances in the match. Although not playing my best tennis, I opened up a few doors and was a couple points away from winning this match. But sometimes you put yourself in a better or winning position and you don’t finish through,’’ a subdued Sharapova said.
Joining her in exiting the tournament was Czech Petra Kvitova, the twice Wimbledon champion falling 64, 46, 60 to world No 50 Aliaksandra Sasnovich, of Belarus.
Kvitova, who was broken three times in the decider, committed 36 unforced errors as she lost an openinground match at Wimbledon for the first time since 2009.
There were no hiccups for Simona Halep as the topseeded Romanian fired 19 winners and converted four of 10 break points to eased past Japan’s Kurumi Nara 62, 64, while defending champion Garbine Muguruza, of Spain, began with a 62, 75 win over British wildcard Naomi Broady.
French sixth seed Caroline Garcia crashed out following a 76 (2) 63 defeat by Belinda Bencic.
Garcia had 26 winners to Bencic’s 17 but also committed 24 unforced errors against the 21yearold Swiss.
British No 1 Johanna Konta was made to work hard for a 75, 76 (97) victory over Russian youngster Natalia Vikhlyantseva.
Konta last year became the first British woman to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since 1978. — Reuters