Ok so we are now into day 3 of Wimbledon and its been an entertaining tournament so far with quite a few good matches. And today and yesterday saw the top seeds get into action, Rafa and Andy already had on Day 1, but Day 2 saw Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic go out on court and start their campaign for glory.
Starting with Day 2, Roger started off quite strongly with his first match against the Uzbekistanian opponent Khkushkin, who actually came out quite strong in the first set and pushed Federer to a tiebreak, but Roger held his nerve and took the first set, after that he continued to dominate the match and won in 7-6, 6-4, 6-2. While it wasn't Federer at his best it didn't really need to be as he maintained a good level and it was a big improvement over his first match last year which was a 5 set scare at Wimbledon. But this year Federer definitely looks like he is in a better place, and so far his level appears to be almost as good as it was at the French Open, and if that is the case, Djokovic will seriously struggle to get past him this time too.
Which brings me on to Djokovic who had no such troubles with his campaign as he played against the French opponent Michael Chardy who he dismissed quite easily in straight sets 6-4, 6-1, 6-1. It certainly looks a very convincing start for Djoker and we will see how he goes throughout the tournament, sooner or later though he will meet tougher opponents, but he has been able to wipe them out too, so can the Djoker win the title? He has a chance but I'm inclined to say no, because Federer could still beat him, as he is now on grass and Federer is the lawnmower. Also Rafa after winning at Roland Garros looks very much back on form and he will be inspired to win again.
Anyway onto Day 3, which saw Andies Roddick and Murray out on court again, although I'm not sure why Roddick went out again as he played yesterday also in his 1st round match. Regardless of that Roddick went out and played Victor Hanescu and defeated him in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, it shows Roddick is looking convincing so far, but he was trounced by Murray at Queens so we will see if his form has improved since then. And onto Murray who played the German Tomas Kamke who he defeated also in straight sets in 6-3, 6-3, 7-5, it was a fairly good performance from Andy but it was again a bit erratic as he did make a few unforced errors and was unable to convert as many break points as he could have against Kamke, but in the end he did get the breaks when it counted. However a straight sets win is always a good thing so Andy is safely through to the 3rd round, but from here it gets tougher as he will face Ivan Ljubicic so that will be a test, and after that he could face Richard Gasquet in the 4th round, so it doesn't get easier, and possibly Roddick in the quarter finals. But I'm sure the Muzza will raise his level and rise to the ocassion. Also Ljubicic hasn't got that good a record at Wimbledon having never made it passed the 3rd round, so hopefully that will be the same this time, although they have played each other before with a 3-3 win-loss ratio both ways, so it still won't be easy.
Other news on the courts, we see Rafa go through safely in straight sets as well against Ryan Sweeting in 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, Rafa again looks pretty convincing today and so I'm sure he will be ready for his next opponent. Del Potro was still play out his match against Oliver Rochus as they got to the end of the first set then Delpo had a bit of a tantrum apparently because he lost the first set to his opponent in the tiebreak, and he stormed over to the umpire and demanded they stop, after which he took off his shoes and threw them away. Temper temper. On the ladies side, Venus Williams came through a real battle after an epic match with the oldest woman on tour Kimiko Date-Krum from Japan, after a high quality first set, Krum took it in the tiebreaker, Venus then took the second, and in the third it went to another pulsating decider, where Venus won two games clear in 6(6)-7, 6-3, 8-6, definitely one of the best matches of the tournament yet and one of the best ladies matches of the year no doubt. The cynics prior to the match called it the zimmer match due to the age of both Krum and Williams, but their stamina, energy and athletism totally proved that wrong, and it was a great achievement from Krum. If she played Caroline Wozniacki at Wimbledon, Krum would have thrashed her.
Andrea Petkovic is through also in 3 sets against her opponent Dubois from Canada , Vera Zvonareva got past her Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina in straight sets 6-1, 7-6. Although I was hoping to see the Schiavone match as she plays the hysertic prone Barbara Strycova but due to timing it will tomorrow I think. It was also good to see the young British girl Lauren Robson get through to the second round, although she does face Maria Sharapova tomorrow, no biggie there. ;-) It was also sad to see Heather Watson the British No.2 go out today in 3 sets against her opponent, as she was hampered by a shoulder injury as well, and after the match she was really cut up about it, but chin up, Heather, you've done great so far and you will get there one day.
So that's another day over at SW19, tomorrow we see Federer and Djokovic back in action in their respective matches, so should be fun. In fact a quick update regarding that, both the No.2 and No.3 went through with great ease in both their matches as Rog and Nov won in straight sets. Next up though for the dynamic duo could be a tougher test, as Roger faces David Nalbandian and the Djoker faces Baghdatis. But then again Djokovic has been making so much short work of every player that he may win it in straight sets once again.
But one thing I must comment on is Serena Williams petty complaints about being scheduled to play on Court 2 yesterday instead of Centre Court, which really seems ridiculous. I guess to a 5 time Wimbledon champion it means that bit more, but at the same time a court is a court, just go out and play tennis and get on with it!! But that's what the Williams sisters are like, and in that regard I'm not so keen on them, and it would be great to see someone else win Wimbledon this year instead. However in regards to the men's tennis in spite it all, I would actually still quite like to see Federer win it again. I only really say this because despite the fact I would love to see Andy Murray win the title more than the others, mainly of course because he's never won one, and its on his home ground, I don't think he will be able to get past the top 3 just yet. I would love to be proved wrong and get that plate of words ready and get a knife and fork to eat them, well OK I wouldn't, but you know what I mean. But the way I look at it, out the top 3, Djokovic has won quite enough this year, Nadal has won the French and Wimbledon twice already, so I think its time Federer won the title again. But without a doubt I'd rather see Andy win it any day of the week, twice on Sunday, and then the following Sunday, as between the top 3, they have won quite enough. But first things first, next up for Andy is Ivan Ljubicic, it will be a test but hopefully one he will pass.
That's eet for now....
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