Djokovic, Federer get easy passage
LONDON: It was a short and sweet introduction to this year’s Wimbledon for Novak Djokovic, who breezed into the second round when opponent Martin Klizan retired injured after the first set of their match yesterday.
Djokovic, a three times Wimbledon champion, had taken the first set 6-3 before Klizan called the trainer onto Centre Court to treat a leg injury.
While the 47th-ranked Slovakian emerged for the second set, he lasted just two more games before calling it quits.
There had been little to separate the players in the first set, yet Klizan was in clear discomfort after that and was immediately broken by Djokovic, who then held before the Slovakian limped towards the umpire to end the encounter.
For Djokovic, who has endured a miserable year in which he has relinquished his number one ranking as well as his grip on all four majors, it was an easy start to the tournament, although he had some sympathy for Klizan.
“It was great to be back on Centre Court. It brings back many memories. It’s nice to be back but you never like to end a match this way,” Djokovic said.
“He had issues walking on to court. I tried to focus on my game plan, I was serving well and when it mattered I made a break.
“But you could see he wasn’t moving. I’m sure he didn’t want to finish this way. It’s Wimbledon and it’s a big tournament. I wish him all the best.”
John McEnroe, who was commentating for the BBC, was more scathing about players being able to begin matches when carrying injuries
“There’s got to be a rule for guys who come out clearly not giving or able to give 100 percent. It’s no good for anyone,” he said.
His point seemed to be reinforced when Roger Federer’s opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov retired injured midway through the second set in the very next match.
Seven-times Wimbledon champion Federer led 6-3 3-0 when Ukrainian Dolgopolov withdrew with an ankle injury after 43 minutes.
Federer said the idea had been floated of him taking on the Serb to give the crowd some compensation for their disappointment.
“When I went out, I felt like there was a bit of a letdown from the crowd.
“They couldn’t believe that it happened again, exactly the same situation,” said Federer.
“When I walked up, the chairman said: ‘You guys should go and play for another set and a half.’ I said: ‘Yeah, let me go try to find Novak.’
“I found him in the locker room. I told him, ‘Maybe we should go out and play another set...’ “I feel for the crowd. “They’re there to watch good tennis, proper tennis. At least they see the two of us who gave it all they had. They saw other players that tried at least,” he said.
First-round losers at Wimbledon earn £35 000, potentially encouraging players to take to the court when they know they are not fit enough to compete.
“The question always is, should they have started the match at all?” said Federer.
Second seed Djokovic will now play Czech Adam Pavlasek in the next round.
There can be few things in tennis more embarrassing than being beaten in the first round of a grand slam tournament while ranked number one in the world.
It is a painful memory that is still fresh in Angelique Kerber’s mind, having suffered that misfortune at the French Open just five weeks ago.
But such has been the woeful form of Kerber, many pundits feared she might be heading for a Paris-London first-round exit double yesterday .
Luckily for her she proved the naysayers wrong with her 6-4 6-4 win over American qualifier Irina Falconi.
“Playing first rounds in grand slams are always tough, especially with (the memory of) my first-round match that I lost in Paris,” Kerber said after registering her first win at a grand slam tournament since bowing out in the fourth round at January’s Australian Open.
“I was actually just thinking about point-by-point, trying to finding my rhythm during the whole match,” added the German, who produced 13 unforced errors and only eight winners in a below-par opening set against Falconi. – Reuters