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Federer survives debutant, Serena scraps through, Nadal set to face ‘rival’ Kyrgios


Bangladeshpost
Published : 03 Jul 2019 08:29 PM | Updated : 06 Sep 2020 07:06 PM

Pulses were racing around Wimbledon for around 40 minutes on Tuesday as an All England Club debutant nicknamed ‘The King’ threatened to invade Roger Federer’s grasscourt kingdom.

When little-known South African Lloyd Harris took the first set, the jitters had well and truly set in amongst the 15,000 Centre Court crowd who feared His Royal Swissness could be about to suffer his first opening-round loss at a major since 2003.

But on a day when the Swiss was supported by his parents and family friend the Duchess of Cambridge from the Royal Box, the eight-times champion eventually turned on the style to hand down a 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory.

Contesting his 108th match at the All England Club, Federer had been expected to ease to his 96th win at the grasscourt major considering he was facing an 86th-ranked journeyman who had yet to play a main Tour match on the green stuff.

When Federer fired a double fault in the first game of the second set and followed that by netting an easy volley, the gasps grew louder on Centre Court.

But if Harris harboured any hopes that this might be the day when he will embark on a journey that would allow him to emulate the 1951 feat of American Dick Savitt, who was the last man to win the Challenge Cup on his Wimbledon debut, his dreams were brutally crushed over the next three sets.

It was not the regal performance expected from the supremo contesting a record-extending 77th major but Federer, who got 28 percent of his first serves in during the third set, dropped only five more games and sealed victory with his ninth ace.

Next up for Federer is British wildcard Jay Clarke.

Serena Williams began her first-round clash at Wimbledon in complete comfort, but ended it screaming in delight as she finally suppressed Giulia Gatto-Monticone having been dragged into an unlikely dogfight by the world number 161.

The Italian qualifier, who was making only her second Grand Slam appearance at the age of 31 having amassed a relatively modest $300,000 in prize money throughout a pedestrian career, was eventually subdued 6-2 7-5.

But she put the seven-times champion through her paces, testing the injuries that have limited the American to seven matches since the Australian Open in January.

After taking the first set in 29 minutes, Williams had to wait until the eighth game of the second set to break serve only for the resilient Italian to fire straight back and then level at 5-5.

After getting her nose in front again, Williams brought up match point on Gatto-Monticone’s serve, pumping her fists furiously before wrapping up the encounter following a lengthy rally and rapid exchange at the net.

Like an ageing heavyweight, the 37-year-old Williams clearly still packs a punch but looked well below par and desperately short of sharpness.

Next up for the former world number one will be a second-round clash against Kaja Juvan, a highly-rated 18-year-old prospect from Slovenia who showed off her potential with a 6-4 2-6 6-4 win over Kristyna Pliskova.

It was the “super salty” blockbuster clash tennis fans around the world wanted to see and Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal duly obliged on Tuesday by setting up a second-round showdown at Wimbledon.

When last Friday’s men’s draw set the pair on a collision course, the only fear was that Yuichi Sugita and Jordan Thompson might gatecrash a reunion between the duo who are not exactly considered best buddies on the tour.

As it was, Nadal dispatched the Japanese 6-3 6-1 6-3, while Kyrgios, no stranger to hurling chairs across a court when things don’t go his way, was almost on his best behaviour as he secured a 7-6(4) 3-6 7-6(10) 0-6 6-1 win over his compatriot.

Considering Nadal accused Kyrgios of disrespect after losing to him in Acapulco earlier and the Australian hit back by describing the 18-time Grand Slam champion as being “super salty” in defeat, sparks could fly again when they face off for the seventh time, with their rivalry deadlocked at 3-3.