Tennis

Murray advances, Wawrinka sets up Del Potro clash

Andy Murray wasted no time in seeing off Liam Broady in an all-British first-round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday, while Stan Wawrinka was too strong for teenager Taylor Fritz on a rain-affected day two.

Murray was eager to avoid a repeat of his marathon early-round encounters in the French Open and the second seed needed only an hour and 42 minutes to beat outsider Broady 6-2 6-3 6-4 on Centre Court.

The world number two will face Lu Yen-hsun in the first round, while Wawrinka faces a potentially tricky test against Juan Martin del Potro after the fourth seed beat Fritz 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 6-7 (2-7) 6-4.

Fit-again Argentine Del Potro ousted Stephane Robert in straights set in his first grand slam match since the 2014 Australian Open.

Australian Nick Kyrgios outlined his promise, turning on the style by conjuring up an audacious hot-dog lob for a winner in his 6-4 6-3 6-7 (9-11) 6-1 triumph over the experienced Radek Stepanek.

Kyrgios’ compatriot Bernard Tomic, seeded 19, had just been pegged back at two sets apiece against Fernando Verdasco when rain brought a halt to matches on the outside courts.

 

MURRAY SERVES UP A TREAT

Murray only faced two break points in a one-sided match against his friend Broady and was encouraged by the way he served in a commanding display.

He said: “I hit the ball pretty clean today. I think offensively I was good. I felt like I could have moved a little bit better and I didn’t defend as well as usual.

“But I served well, too. That was pleasing. Got a lot of free points on my serve, served a pretty high percentage, especially in the first two sets. I didn’t give him many chances on my serve. When I was in difficult situations, I served well.”

 

DEL POTRO MAKES UP FOR LOST TIME

Del Potro has had a torrid time as he has struggled to shake off a wrist injury, but the 2009 US Open champion made up for lost time by coming out on top against Frenchman Robert in his first grand slam match in 894 days.

The 27-year-old was beaten at the semi-final stage by Novak Djokovic in his last appearance at Wimbledon three years ago and he was delighted to be back.

He said: “That was a great sensation after three years.  I played a great match against Djokovic in the semi-finals here in 2013, but I never had the chance again to play on grass courts.

“This year is completely different for myself, and I am enjoying tennis a lot. Of course, when you win your first round, everything is much better.  I’m looking forward to play a great match against Wawrinka.”

 

KYRGIOS READY TO ROLL UP FOR BROWN CIRCUS

The enigmatic Kyrgios hit the ground running with an eye-catching victory over Stepanek backed by his vocal Australian supporters on number two court.

Kyrgios produced what will surely go down as one of the shots of the tournament, even at this early stage, when he lofted a stunning through-the-legs lob over Stepanek and is predicting another entertaining encounter with Dustin Brown, who beat Dusan Lajovic in a five-setter.

Asked what to expect from his match against Brown, he said: “It’s a circus. But it’s good. You know, his style of tennis, it’s just big. He’s got a big serve. He likes to come in. He’s creative. I think that’s important to have in tennis.”

 

MULLER RACKS UP ACES IN GIRALDO MARATHON

Gilles Muller was made to work for his place in the second round, beating Santiago Giraldo 4-6 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 15-13 on Court 11.

The 39-ranked Muller belted down a whopping 51 aces in an epic contest which lasted four hours and 15 minutes to set up a meeting with Andrey Kuznetsov, who ousted 29th seed Pablo Cuevas.

Last year’s semi-finalist Richard Gasquet dumped out Brit Aljaz Bedene, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was another Frenchman to go through at the expense of Inigo Cervantes.

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