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Men's wrap: Day 1 - 1 July 2019

tennis01 July 2019 16:58| © AFP
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Defending champion Novak Djokovic got his campaign for a fifth Wimbledon title off to a winning start on Monday, seeing off Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.

Top seed and world No 1 Djokovic had to recover from early breaks in both of the first two sets as well as a nasty fall on the Centre Court grass.

Djokovic, chasing a 16th career major, will faces Denis Kudla of the United States for a place in the last 32.

ANDERSON MAKES QUICK WORK OF DISPATCHING HERBERT

Returning to the lush grasscourts of Wimbledon proved to be just the tonic Kevin Anderson needed as the 2018 runner-up buried memories of an injury-hit year by easing into the second round with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

The South African, who had played only three tour-level events this year before arriving at Wimbledon due to an elbow injury, moved around a sun-kissed Court Three with ease to dispatch doubles specialist Herbert.

The straight-sets win would have come as a huge relief to fourth seed Anderson considering Herbert appeared to be in fine form on grass having reached his first tour level semifinal on the surface at the Halle warm-up tournament.

Herbert can now look forward to getting more vocal support from the local fans as he will be back on court alongside Andy Murray this week, with the duo bidding to win the men's doubles title as the Briton continues his recovery from hip surgery.

For Anderson, he would have been delighted to get off court with a win that took a mere one hour 46 minutes considering the last time he held aloft his arms in victory at the All England Club – it was after surviving a six-hour 36 minute epic against John Isner in last year's semifinal.

Next up for the South African is either Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic or Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.

ZVEREV KNOCKED OUT IN FIRST ROUND

German sixth seed Alexander Zverev crashed out of in the first round, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to Czech qualifier Jiri Vesely.

Zverev, long tipped as a future Grand Slam champion, again flattered to deceive as he was outplayed by the world number 108.

Vesely goes on to play either Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay or Bosnia's Damir Dzumhur for a place in the last 32.

WAWRINKA MEANS BUSINESS AS HE OPENS WITH EASY WIN

Stanislas Wawrinka was barely mentioned in the Wimbledon build-up with all the focus on the men's "big three" and the young guns hoping to shake things up but the Swiss means business.

Outside of eight-time champion Roger Federer, twice winner Rafael Nadal and defending champion Novak Djokovic, Wawrinka is the only other multiple Grand Slam champion in the draw.

With the weapons at his disposal, a beefy serve and a sublime backhand and a big match mentality, Wawrinka should at least part of the conversation when it comes to discussing contenders to make a deep run this fortnight.

The 34-year-old needs a Wimbledon title to complete his career Grand Slam and while, for whatever reason, he has never thrived on the All England Club lawns, he looked razor sharp as he began his 15th successive appearance.

On a sunny Court Two against Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans he belted 26 winners in a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory that took less than an hour and a half.

Admittedly left-hander Bemelmans, ranked 171, was having a decidedly ordinary day with his forehand misfiring completely but it was a powerful statement by Wawrinka nonetheless.

A year ago Wawrinka arrived at Wimbledon ranked outside the top 200 having had knee surgery after the 2017 Championships.

On that occasion he beat Grigor Dimitrov in the opening round but then lost to qualifier Tomas Fabbiano.

Surprisingly for a player of his class Wawrinka has only reached two quarterfinals at Wimbledon, in 2014 when he lost to Roger Federer and in 2015 when beaten by Richard Gasquet.

It is his worst Grand Slam, with his win over Bemelmans improving his career record there to 20-14, compared to 42-14 at Roland Garros, 40-12 at the US Open and 38-13 in Australia.

He has not been into the third round since 2015 and to end that sequence he will have a stern test next against giant American Reilly Opelka.

NO SECRET FOR LOPEZ'S GRAND SLAM RUN

Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez has proved tennis is not necessarily a young man's game as he appears in a record extending 70th consecutive Grand Slam at Wimbledon.

The 37-year-old Spaniard, who had a remarkable Queen's tournament winning both the singles and the doubles titles in over 15 hours of play in total, breezed into the second round beating American qualifier Marcos Giron 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

Lopez said there is no magic potion which keeps him going and has seen him appear in every Grand Slam event since the 2002 French Open.

"There is no secret," said Lopez after beating Giron.

"I mean, obviously the fact that I was healthy during 20 years.

"This is the reason why I was able to play 70 Grand Slams in a row."

Lopez, playing at Wimbledon on a wildcard, said he had always kept in shape.

"I was taking care of my body. I was very professional," he added.

"I'm here playing my 70th Grand Slam. So I'm so happy."

Lopez heads the list for successive Grand Slam appearances by five – Roger Federer's 65 Slam streak came to an end when he did not play in the 2016 French Open.

Another Spaniard Fernando Verdasco is on a 65 consecutive Slam run.

Additional reporting by Reuters

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