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WIMBLEDON 2015

ROGER FEDERER

Federer eases past Querrey into third round

Former champions Roger Federer and Andy Murray swept into the Wimbledon third round on Thursday as a fourth player from the women's top ten tumbled out of the tournament.

Federer eases past Querrey into third round
Photo: AFP

Seven-time winner and second seed Federer eased to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over Sam Querrey of the United States, the world number 36 who has now lost all three times he has played the Swiss and has yet to win a set.
   
Federer fired 32 winners and hit just nine unforced errors in an 86-minute Centre Court stroll with Querrey able to carve out just one break point.
   
The Swiss will face Australia's Sam Groth for a place in the last 16.
   
“I'm very happy with the way I've played now in the first two matches,” said Federer, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year.

“I've had a good run so you don't want it to stop in the first or second round,” he said.

“I guess there's also a little bit of relief that I'm actually playing well at Wimbledon.”

Federer admitted he loves being Wimbledon's great entertainer after producing a candidate for shot of the tournament in his demolition of Querrey.

He added to his repertoire of magical Centre Court moments in the second set.

Sprinting along the baseline, the Swiss great slipped the racket between his legs to direct the ball over the head of the stranded Querrey with an outrageous lob.
   
The 33-year-old's audacious piece of skill brought gasps from the crowd and admiration from Querrey, who was so impressed he said he felt like walking around the net to 'high-five' his opponent.

Take a look at the shot:


Roger Federer réussit un lob génial avec un… par POPnSPORT    

Third seed Murray, the 2013 champion, was equally dominant, taking just one minute longer than Federer to reach the third round by seeing off Robin Haase, the world number 78 from the Netherlands, 6-1, 6-1, 6-4.

   
The Briton smashed 25 winners past Haase and goes on to face either experienced Italian Andreas Seppi or highly-rated 18-year-old Croatian Borna Coric.
   
“I started quickly and Robin was a little bit slower at the beginning and then he started to come back in it, he played better tennis,” said Murray, after his fourth win in five matches against his fellow 28-year-old.
   
Murray caused some amusement when he threw his wristband into the crowd where it hit the head of All England Club chairman Phillip Brook, who then handed it as a gift to Prince Charles' wife Camilla who was sitting next to him.
   
“Normally you see who catches it. Then the Duchess opened up her bag and my wristband was in there, so he obviously had given it to her,” said Murray.
 
Kvitova untroubled 

Women's defending champion Petra Kvitova reached the third round with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Japan's Kurumi Nara in a Court One little-and-large tussle.

Second seed Kvitova will face either Serbian 26th seed Jelena Jankovic or Russia's Evgeniya Rodina for a place in the last 16.
   
The Czech fired 10 aces and 23 winners in her 58-minute win over the world number 57.
   
In the first round, she dropped just one game against Kiki Bertens, winning in 35 minutes.
   
“It was a good match from my side,” said 1.82-metre (six feet) tall Kvitova, who towered over the 1.55-metre (five feet, one inch) tall Nara, the smallest player in the world top 100.
   
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki made the third round with a 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) win over Denisa Allertova, the world number 83 from the Czech Republic.
   
Wozniacki, who has never got beyond the last 16, next takes on Italian 31st seed Camila Giorgi.
   
German tenth seed Angelique Kerber was also a winner, seeing off Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5, 6-2 while 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska, the Polish 13th seed, defeated Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic 6-0, 6-2.
   
However, the women's draw opened up even further when Russian eighth seed Ekaterina Makarova, a quarterfinalist in 2014, went down 6-2, 7-5 to unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia.
   
Before this tournament, the world number 65 Rybarikova had never won a match at Wimbledon in seven years of trying.
   
Makarova joined third seed Simona Halep, seventh seed Ana Ivanovic and Carla Suarez Navarro, seeded nine, in failing to get beyond the second round.
   
Rybarikova goes on to face Belarus qualifier Olga Govortsova who put out French 25th seed Alize Cornet 7-6 (8/6), 2-6, 6-1. Cornet knocked Serena Williams out of Wimbledon last year.
   
German 18th seed Sabine Lisicki, the 2013 runner-up, fought back to defeat Christina McHale of the United States 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
   
Lisicki next meets French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky, the 15th seeded Swiss.

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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.

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