LONDON—Day 2 at Wimbledon did not disappoint even with the intense heat. While 28C/84F is not blazing hot to some it is for London. One visitor collapsed in Court 2 at the beginning of the match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Muller, which turned into the most exciting match of the day.
Tsonga, seeded 13, entered as the obvious favorite, but Muller has enjoyed a strong 2015. No doubt it would be a great match, but no one expected this. Both players protected their serve in the first set with Tsonga forcing a tie-break. He won the set, but the second set was also pushed into a tie-break. Neither player relented while on serve.
Tsonga fired back in the third with a convincing win, but Muller was not going down without a fight. He regained control and stole a serve in the fourth set to force a fifth set.
Fire in Muller dissipated before the spectators. It was all Tsonga in the fifth set with five aces, two breaks, and ten winners.
Defending champion Petra Kvitova breezed through her first round, only dropping one game in 36 minutes. Roger Federer easily defeated Damir Dzumhur for the second time this year. At the press conference, a reporter asked him about the alleged Djokovic cheating scandal. Before the reporter finished, Federer sighed and lowered his head. He remained as polite as he could, but his answers dripped with sarcasm.
ROGER FEDERER: I heard about it, like one quote. I didn’t read the media here to be honest. I don’t know where we’re quite coming from.
No, I have not heard or seen anything, to be quite honest, while I was playing.
Q. Or any player?
ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, that has happened before.
Q. It has?
ROGER FEDERER: What do you think in 1, 500 matches? Of course it has happened.
Q. Can you go into more detail for me?
ROGER FEDERER: Not really. Ask me questions about the match or something.
Eugenie Bouchard crashed and burned against Duan Ying-Yang. The young Canadian is experiencing an awful sophomore slump. The loss will bump her out of the top 20. Simona Halep, world number-three and 2014 French Open finalist, lost in three sets. Her struggles at the Grand Slams continue. No doubt she will not receive a lot of hype at the US Open in August.
Serena and Venus Williams pulled out of doubles, but the referee’s office did not announce a reason. Last year, Serena was visibly ill in their first match and pulled out after three games. The sister could potentially meet up in the fourth round of singles. American Jack Sock lost in his opener in four sets. He was mediocre at best, but shined in the second set.
Andy Murray finally defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in two hours, 12 minutes in straight sets. Murray dominated the first set, but allowed Kukushkin to creep back into the match in the second set. He lost his serve three times and displayed visible frustration on the court.
“I lost my serve a bit in the end of that second set,” he told the press. “There was a period where I missed like 10 or 12 first serves in a row and let him back into it there. I found it difficult to play aggressive tennis out there. You know, I was glad to get through in straight sets.”
Caroline Wozniacki, down 4-2 in the first set, fought back to the match and bageled Zheng Saisai in the second set. She withdrew from Eastbourne due to her back, but after a slow start she looked smooth and confident. Zheng called for a trainer to look at her wrist and Wozniacki continued to move, more than likely to keep her back loose. She performed a few serves for the crowd and flashed her signature smile.
Rafael Nadal sailed through without any major problems. It looks like the tenth seeding is not bothering him. If he plays like this he will finally make it into the second week, something he has not done in awhile.
Keep your eye on Angelique Kerber. I consider her a dark horse in this year’s tournament. She double bageled her opponent in 42 minutes and looked flawless during the match. Expect her to go far, maybe even the semifinals.
The second round starts tomorrow with a great lineup at Centre Court:
Novak Djokovic vs. Jarkko Nieminen
Santiago Giraldo vs. Kei Nishikori
Serena Williams vs. Timea Babos
Also, Breitbart News sits down with Rufus the Hawk and his handler Imogen tomorrow morning.
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