Murray, Kvitova advance in cool conditions
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THIS was more like a gentle workout than a grand slam match for Andy Murray.
Bidding for his second Wimbledon title in three years, the third-seeded Murray was barely tested yesterday as he swept past an ineffective Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 on Court 1 to advance to the third round at the All England Club in London.
It took Murray only 1 hour, 27 minutes to dispatch the 28th-ranked Haase, who beat him on a hardcourt in Rotterdam in 2008 but never mounted a serious challenge on Tuesday.
Murray, who became the first homegrown men’s champion in 77 years when he won Wimbledon in 2013, is setting himself up for another serious title run this year.
“It was a good match from start to finish for me and obviously getting the early lead helped,” Murray said. “I was very happy with the way that I played.”
Haase held at love in the first game, then didn’t win another in that set as Murray took 17 of the last 19 points, including 13 in a row in one stretch. Murray won nine games in a row overall to go up 3-0 in the second and take complete control.
Murray played a solid all-court match, with 25 winners, five aces and 11 unforced errors. He broke six times and saved the only break point he faced. Haase was erratic and had numerous mis-hits, finishing with 27 unforced errors, to 19 winners.
Out of desperation, on one point in the third set, Haase ran right toward Murray as he prepared to hit an overhead smash, then ducked away at the last second as the Briton drilled the ball down the middle.
Roger Federer, going for a record eighth Wimbledon title, was up on Centre Court against American Sam Querrey, followed by two-time champion Rafael Nadal against qualifier Dustin Brown of Germany.
Defending women’s champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic also advanced, brushing aside Japan’s Kurumi Nara 6-2, 6-0 on Court 1. Second seed Kvitova will face either Serb 26th seed Jelena Jankovic or Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina for a place in the last 16.
Also, 13th-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia 6-0, 6-2.
Fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki nearly blew a big lead before recovering to beat Denisa Allertova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 7-6 (6).
The former No. 1, who has never advanced past the fourth round at Wimbledon, was up 5-1 in the second set but faltered as Allertova won five straight games. The Dane held to force the tiebreaker, where she converted on her second match point.
“All of a sudden it’s 5-6 instead of comfortably in the locker room having won the match,” Wozniacki said. “In the end of the day, I won. I kept fighting. That’s tennis sometimes.”
Former finalist Sabine Lisicki came from a set and a break down to beat Christina McHale of the United States 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 on Centre Court.
The 18th-seeded German, who was runner-up in 2013, was broken in the opening game of the second set but turned things around by breaking right back and then won the last five games of the decider, closing the match out with a backhand winner.
Lisicki next meets French Open semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky, the 15th seeded Swiss.
Two seeded women were eliminated in early matches: No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova of Russia fell 2-6, 5-7 to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, while No. 25 Alize Cornet of France was ousted by Olga Govortsova of Belarus, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 1-6.
They third seed Simona Halep, seventh seed Ana Ivanovic and Carla Suarez Navarro, seeded nine, in failing to get beyond the second round.
After the hottest day on record in Wimbledon history on Wednesday, temperatures were cooler and a light drizzle forced a 45-minute delay to the start of play on the outside courts.
Women advancing to the third round included No. 10 Angelique Kerber of Germany, No. 20 Garbine Muguruza of Spain and French No. 31 Camila Giorgi.
Another British player, James Ward, joined Murray in the third round, beating Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic 6-2, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3.
It’s the first time since 2002 that two British men have gone past the second round at Wimbledon.
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