Wimbledon 2015: Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard Wilt but No Drama in Men's Draw
Even as Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard were shown the door, Roger Federer, Rafal Nadal and Any Murray registered strong performances in their respective 1st round matches at Wimbledon.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray swept into the Wimbledon second round Tuesday but women's third seed Simona Halep and 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard slumped to defeat at a sweltering All England Club.
Second seeded Federer, bidding to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles and take his majors tally to 18, enjoyed a 67-minute, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, the world number 88 he beat at the French Open this year. (Also see: Day 2 recap in pics)
Federer will face Sam Querrey of the United States for a place in the last 32.
"I was happy I played aggressive. He changed up his game a little bit which made it a little bit more difficult so it was interesting for me. But I'm very happy, always, to win like that," said the 33-year-old Swiss.
Two-time champion Nadal, defeated in the second, first and fourth rounds in the last three years, enjoyed a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci, his fifth win in five meetings against the 42nd-ranked Brazilian.
Tenth-seeded Nadal, his lowest ranking for a decade, faces Germany's Dustin Brown for a place in the last 32. Brown beat him on grass at Halle in 2014.
Murray, the 2013 champion, enjoyed a comfortable 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin, the world number 59 and next faces Dutchman Robin Haase.
"It was a tough match. I made it hard for myself at the end of the second set," Murray said.
Defending women's champion Petra Kvitova, the second seed, took just 35 minutes to reach the second round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kiki Bertens, the world number 108 from the Netherlands.
Kvitova, also the 2011 champion, dropped just one point on serve and next meets Kurumi Nara of Japan for a place in the last 32. Her win was the fastest in five years on the women's tour.
Halep, a semi-finalist in 2014, became the tournament's biggest casualty so far when she lost 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to Jana Cepelova of Slovakia.
The 22-year-old Cepelova, ranked 106 in the world, had won only one match on the tour all year before Tuesday but had big match experience by beating Serena Williams in Charleston last year.
She goes on to face another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, for a place in the last 32.
- Record temperatures -
Also exiting was the sport's poster girl Bouchard with the 21-year-old Canadian losing 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 to Chinese qualifier Duan Ying-Ying, the world number 117 who had never previously defeated a player inside the top 75,
The defeat was 12th seeded Bouchard's 12th in her last 14 matches and will see her drop out of the world top 20.
However, Bouchard admitted she had played against medical advice having suffered a grade-two tear of the abdomen in Eastbourne last week.
"Probably would have been smart not to play here, but I couldn't pass on Wimbledon. So I did kind of minimal preparation to save myself for the match," said Bouchard.
Temperatures on Tuesday rocketed to around 30 degrees Celsius but Wednesday is expected to see a Wimbledon record high of around 35 degrees.
Organisers say the heat rule, which allows for a 10-minute break between the second and third sets of women's matches, can be used when temperatures rise above 30.1 degrees Celsius.
However, the rule which has been adopted by Wimbledon after lobbying from the WTA, does not apply to men even though they have to slug it out over the best of five sets.
The highest-ever temperature recorded at Wimbledon was 34C in 1976.
Nadal, who lives in sun-kissed Mallorca, said he would be happy to see the sun keep shining.
"In Australia it can be much, much worse so it's no comparison but actually it's beautiful," said the Spaniard.
"When you have this weather here in Wimbledon it's probably one of the best places in the world."
French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was probably wishing for a few clouds after he spent more than four hours to see off Luxemburg's Gilles Muller 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Joining Kvitova in the second round was 10th seeded German Angelique Kerber who handed compatriot Carina Witthoeft a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing while 13th seeded Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up in 2012, defeated Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray swept into the Wimbledon second round Tuesday but women's third seed Simona Halep and 2014 runner-up Eugenie Bouchard slumped to defeat at a sweltering All England Club.
Second seeded Federer, bidding to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon titles and take his majors tally to 18, enjoyed a 67-minute, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, the world number 88 he beat at the French Open this year.
Federer will face Sam Querrey of the United States for a place in the last 32.
"I was happy I played aggressive. He changed up his game a little bit which made it a little bit more difficult so it was interesting for me. But I'm very happy, always, to win like that," said the 33-year-old Swiss.
Two-time champion Nadal, defeated in the second, first and fourth rounds in the last three years, enjoyed a 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win over Thomaz Bellucci, his fifth win in five meetings against the 42nd-ranked Brazilian.
Tenth-seeded Nadal, his lowest ranking for a decade, faces Germany's Dustin Brown for a place in the last 32. Brown beat him on grass at Halle in 2014.
Murray, the 2013 champion, enjoyed a comfortable 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory over Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin, the world number 59 and next faces Dutchman Robin Haase.
"It was a tough match. I made it hard for myself at the end of the second set," Murray said.
Defending women's champion Petra Kvitova, the second seed, took just 35 minutes to reach the second round, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Kiki Bertens, the world number 108 from the Netherlands.
Kvitova, also the 2011 champion, dropped just one point on serve and next meets Kurumi Nara of Japan for a place in the last 32. Her win was the fastest in five years on the women's tour.
Halep, a semi-finalist in 2014, became the tournament's biggest casualty so far when she lost 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to Jana Cepelova of Slovakia.
The 22-year-old Cepelova, ranked 106 in the world, had won only one match on the tour all year before Tuesday but had big match experience by beating Serena Williams in Charleston last year.
She goes on to face another Romanian, Monica Niculescu, for a place in the last 32.
- Record temperatures -
Also exiting was the sport's poster girl Bouchard with the 21-year-old Canadian losing 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 to Chinese qualifier Duan Ying-Ying, the world number 117 who had never previously defeated a player inside the top 75,
The defeat was 12th seeded Bouchard's 12th in her last 14 matches and will see her drop out of the world top 20.
However, Bouchard admitted she had played against medical advice having suffered a grade-two tear of the abdomen in Eastbourne last week.
"Probably would have been smart not to play here, but I couldn't pass on Wimbledon. So I did kind of minimal preparation to save myself for the match," said Bouchard.
Temperatures on Tuesday rocketed to around 30 degrees Celsius but Wednesday is expected to see a Wimbledon record high of around 35 degrees.
Organisers say the heat rule, which allows for a 10-minute break between the second and third sets of women's matches, can be used when temperatures rise above 30.1 degrees Celsius.
However, the rule which has been adopted by Wimbledon after lobbying from the WTA, does not apply to men even though they have to slug it out over the best of five sets.
The highest-ever temperature recorded at Wimbledon was 34C in 1976.
Nadal, who lives in sun-kissed Mallorca, said he would be happy to see the sun keep shining.
"In Australia it can be much, much worse so it's no comparison but actually it's beautiful," said the Spaniard.
"When you have this weather here in Wimbledon it's probably one of the best places in the world."
French 13th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was probably wishing for a few clouds after he spent more than four hours to see off Luxemburg's Gilles Muller 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Joining Kvitova in the second round was 10th seeded German Angelique Kerber who handed compatriot Carina Witthoeft a 6-0, 6-0 drubbing while 13th seeded Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska, the runner-up in 2012, defeated Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2.