Ace Kerber weathers Liu scare
Bouchard hit for six by ex-cricketer Barty
LONDON: Former Wimbledon finalist Angelique Kerber had to come from a set down to oust American qualifier Claire Liu in the women’s singles second round yesterday.
The 11th-seeded Kerber of Germany broke decisively for a 4-3 lead in the third set before serving out a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory against the 18-year-old Liu, the youngest player in the tournament.
Kerber lost the 2016 final to Serena Williams.
Liu, who won the girls’ title last year, was at her first Wimbledon and faced a top-10 ranked player for the first time. At No.237, Liu was the lowest-ranked woman to make the second round.
Earlier, Eugenie Bouchard’s hopes of emulating her 2014 run to the final were hit for six by former professional cricket player Ashleigh Barty in the second round yesterday.
The Canadian, whose ranking has fallen to 188th from a career-high five in 2014, had to contest three qualifying matches just to make into the main draw at the All England Club.
The effort of winning four matches over the past week to get into round two appeared to have taken its toll on Bouchard as she could do little to stop 17th seed Barty storming back from 5-2 down in the second set to seal a 6-4, 7-5 victory.
Bouchard even had a set point at 5-3 up on Barty’s serve but the Australian, who took a two-year break from tennis in 2014 for a stint in professional cricket, wriggled out of that corner and won five games in a row to finish off her 24-year-old opponent.
The win carried Barty into the third round here for the first time. She will next face either 14th seed Daria Kasatkina or Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
Japan’s 18th seed Naomi Osaka beat Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the third round.
Osaka is playing at Wimbledon for the second time and will need another win to surpass her 2017 debut at the All England Club, when she crashed out in the third round.
Meanwhile Stan Wawrinka couldn’t muster another comeback, losing to Italian qualifier Thomas Fabbiano 7-6 (9/7), 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) in the men’s singles second round.
The match was suspended because of rain on Wednesday with Wawrinka leading 6-5 in the third set, but Fabbiano wrapped up the victory quickly to equal his best Grand Slam result by reaching the third round.
Wawrinka, whose ranking has fallen to 224th following knee surgery, came from a set down to upset sixth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the first round for just his second Grand Slam victory since last year’s Wimbledon.
Eighth seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa beat Andreas Seppi to set up a thirdround meeting with Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.
The hard-serving Anderson hit 34 aces against the Italian to win 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4.
The 25th-seeded Kohlschreiber ousted Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3).
FEDERER MASTERCLASS
When Roger Federer’s lunging mis-hit spun high into the air and turned into a glorious lob, Lukas Lacko must have known it was going to be one of those days when he might as well enjoy having the best view in the house.
It was just too bad the Slovakian could not put his feet up and enjoy the jaw-dropping spectacle.
Two days after creating a stir at Wimbledon with his new mega-bucks clothing deal, Federer was back making a style statement with his dazzling tennis as he gave Lacko a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 dressing down to reach the third round on Wednesday.
The Swiss champion was at his breathtaking best as he crafted 48 exquisite winners during a 90-minute masterclass that seemed more an exhibition of his shotmaking than a charge towards a record ninth Wimbledon title.
“On certain days it goes better than others,” summed up a grinning Federer, who will be seeking a 10th successive win at the All England Club when he takes on Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff next.
WOZNIACKI WOES
Caroline Wozniacki’s honeymoon on grass was short-lived as she became the 11th women’s seed to fall on the first three days at Wimbledon in a 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 secondround defeat by Ekaterina Makarova on Wednesday.
The Danish second seed, who won the Eastbourne tournament last week, fought to the bitter end against the tenacious Russian, succumbing on the sixth match point after an absorbing match lasting two hours and nine minutes on Court One.
It was a bitter defeat for the 27-yearold Dane, who was expected to challenge for the Wimbledon title after winning her maiden Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open in January.