Wimbledon Roundup | Nadal and Murray through to round 3 while Kvitova bows out

Wimbledon Roundup | Nadal and Murray through to round 3 while Kvitova bows out

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Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray both registered straight-sets wins over Donald Young and Dustin Brown respectively to move into the third round of Wimbledon. However, Petra Kvitova's return was cut short as she was beaten 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 by American Madison Brengle on court two yesterday.

Two- time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal marked his return to centre court yesterday in style as he continued his imperious form en route to beating American Donald Young 6-4 6-2 7-5. The current World No.2 looked to be easing to victory until he was broken by the aggressive American when serving for the match. But the Spaniard broke back and served out to love to seal the win. The 15-time Grand Slam champion hit 37 winners in total - many of those with his imposing forehand - and won 80% of points on his first serve.

Nadal will be joined in the third round by current World No.1 Andy Murray who beat Dustin Brown of Germany 6-3 6-2 6-2. A double-fault from Brown gave Murray the decisive break in the first set and the Brit moved ahead at 3-2 in the second after a superb running backhand pass.

Though there had been concerns about Murray’s hip heading into the match, he was given a good workout by the World No.97 and the Briton came through unfazed by it. Speaking of his injury, the Briton told BBC Sport "My hip is OK.”

"I have moved well in the first couple of matches, it hasn't affected me. I have been getting good practices in and it feels good. Hopefully it stays that way. It's been a good start, hopefully, I can keep it going," he added.

The 30-year-old was at his absolute best on the day as he raced through 11 of the 13 games to seal victory in one hour and 36 minutes without facing a break point, and making just five unforced errors. However, Murray can expect to face a much stiffer challenge when he faces 28th seed Italian, Fabio Fognini in the third round on Friday.

Meanwhile, in the women’s section, Petra Kvitova’s return was cut short by American Madison Brengle. The Czech was playing only her third tournament of 2017, ever since being stabbed in her house in December last year, but went down to the 95th ranked player in the world. 

In the deciding set, Kvitova struggled physically and needed medical help, but managed to complete the match. "I'm glad it is over," said the 27-year-old Czech player afterward.

"It was really tough and I feel really empty. My body is not great but mentally I'm glad it is over. I just need to look to the future and focus and prepare for the next tournament," she added. 

Meanwhile, women’s second seed Simona Halep is safely into the last 32 after a straight-set win over 21-year-old Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia. Halep won 7-5 6-3 to set up a third-round tie with China's Shuai Peng, a 6-2 6-2 winner over Spanish 25th seed Carla Suarez Navarro.

But French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, on the other hand, had to fight hard to get past unseeded Francoise Abanda of Canada. Though Ostapenko, the 13th seeded Latvian, dropped the first set, she bounced back to take the next two sets 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to advance.

In another match, Venus Williams lost the first set before beating world number 55 Wang Qiang 4-6 6-4 6-1 to move into the last 32. The five-time Wimbledon champion was 4-2 ahead in the opening set but squandered four consecutive games to lose the first set. However, the 37-year old recovered well in the decider to move into the third round.

In the final set, Williams broke the Chinese’s serve twice to seal her spot in the third round. Williams will play unseeded Japanese player Naomi Osaka in the last 32 after she defeated 22nd seed Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic 1-6 6-0 6-4.

Finally, former World No.1 Victoria Azarenka reached the third round with a 6-3 6-3 win over 15th seed Elena Vesnina. The 27-year-old Belarusian is playing only her second tournament of 2017 after the birth of her son in December but broke the Russian's serve in the sixth game on her way to taking the opening set. Though Azarenka is currently ranked 683rd in the world, she broke Vesnina’s serve twice more in the second set to secure a third round match against Britain's Heather Watson. 

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