SHARE
COPY LINK
WIMBLEDON 2015

ROGER FEDERER

Federer and Nadal brush aside Wimbledon heat

Seven-time champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 winner, raced into the Wimbledon second round Tuesday as the tournament sweltered in near record-breaking heat.

Federer and Nadal brush aside Wimbledon heat
Switzerland's Roger Federer is seeking an eighth Wimbledon crown. Photo: AFP

Second seeded Federer, bidding to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles and take his majors tally to 18, enjoyed a 67-minute 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, the world number 88 he beat at the French Open this year.
   
Federer will face Sam Querrey of the United States for a place in the last 32.
   
“I was happy I played aggressive,” the 33-year-old Swiss said.

“I was always going to miss playing that way a little bit but also he hung around,” he said.
   
“He changed up his game a little bit which made it a little bit more difficult so it was interesting for me. But I'm very happy, always, to win like that.”
   
Nadal, defeated in the second, first and fourth rounds in the last three years, reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci, his fifth win in five meetings against the 42nd-ranked Brazilian.
   
Tenth-seeded Nadal, his lowest ranking for a decade, faces Germany's Dustin Brown for a place in the last 32.
   
Defending women's champion Petra Kvitova, the second seed, took just 35 minutes to reach the second round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kiki Bertens, the world number 108 from the Netherlands.
   
Kvitova, also the 2011 champion, dropped just one point on serve and next meets Kurumi Nara of Japan for a place in the last 32.
   
“It's great to be back on Centre Court and unbelievable to see all the people clapping,” said the Czech, who had been laid low by illness in the week before the tournament.
   
Kvitova's only dropped point on serve came on a double fault in the final game of the match.
   
The powerful 25-year-old left-hander would have been relieved to have enjoyed a brief first round outing as temperatures rocketed to around 30C.
   
Wednesday is expected to see a Wimbledon record high of around 35 degrees which would require the heat index, where matches are briefly suspended, to be consulted.
   
Organizers say the heat rule, which allows for a ten-minute break between the second and third sets of women's matches, can be used when temperatures rise above 30.1C.

 'Beautiful sun' 
   
However, the rule which has been adopted by Wimbledon after lobbying from the WTA, does not apply to men even though they have to slug it out over the best of five sets.
   
The highest-ever temperature recorded at Wimbledon was 34C in 1976.
   
Nadal, who lives in sun-kissed Mallorca, said he would be happy to see the sun keep shining.
   
“In Australia it can be much, much worse so it's no comparison but actually it's beautiful,” said the Spaniard.
   
“When you have this weather here in Wimbledon it's probably one of the best places in the world.”
   
French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was probably wishing for a few clouds after he spent more than four hours to see off Luxemburg's Gilles Muller 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
   
Joining Kvitova in the second round was tenth seeded German Angelique Kerber who handed compatriot Carina Witthoeft a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing.
   
Kerber, a semifinalist in 2012 and who won the Birmingham tournament on grass in the run-up to Wimbledon, took just 45 minutes to clinch victory, firing 21 winners past the world number 53.
   
It was the third so-called “double bagel” result of the women's first round.
   
Later Tuesday, 2013 champion and home favourite Andy Murray takes a 2-0 career lead over world number 59 Mikhail Kukushkin into their opener on Centre Court.
   
Like Murray, Kukushkin is coached by a woman — his wife Anastasia.
   
Murray beat his rival twice in 2012 at Brisbane and then at the Australian Open in the fourth round.
   
That remains Kukushkin's best run at a major although he did reach the third round at Wimbledon in 2014, when he lost to Nadal.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

ROGER FEDERER

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Roger Federer is talking optimistically about returning to his "highest level" after knee surgery, but does tennis have to start adjusting to a future without the Swiss star?

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?
Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

SHOW COMMENTS