Andy Murray win at Wimbledon after four years
London, June 29
The Centre Court crowd roared when Andy Murray walked out onto the green grass for his first Wimbledon match in four years. He smiled and replied with a thumbs-up. They roared some more when he claimed the first set of his first-round match against 24th-seeded Nikoloz Basilashvili on Monday evening. And again when he claimed the second. And when he seemed on the verge of a stroll through the third.
That’s when things got complicated for Murray, who won the title at the All England Club in 2013 — giving Britain its first male champion there in 77 years — and again in 2016, but since has needed two hip operations and dealt with other assorted injuries. After wasting a pair of match points and ceding the third set, Murray — much to the fans’ delight and, naturally, his own — pulled out a 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-3 seesaw of a victory over Basilashvili, eliciting more roars.
Those shouts just kept coming, interrupting the 34-year-old while he did an interview on court. “I keep getting asked: Is this going to be my last Wimbledon? Last match? I don’t know why I keep getting asked about it. Like, no. I’m going to keep playing,” he said. — AP/PTI
Day 2: Highlights
roger that!
Eight-time champion Roger Federer survived a mid-match wobble, losing two sets against Adrian Mannarino, but booked his place in the second round after the Frenchman retired injured following a fall on court. The match was locked at 6-4 6-7(3) 3-6 6-2 when Mannarino called it quits.
BARTY goes on
World No.1 Ash Barty overcame a mid-match blip to beat Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-7(1) 6-1 on Centre Court and advance to the second round
Easy for PLISKOVA
Former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova began her quest for a maiden Grand Slam title with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Slovenia’s Tamara Zidansek. The eighth seed was joined in the second round by Ons Jabeur, who beat Rebecca Peterson 6-2 6-1. Greece’s Maria Sakkari powered past Aranxta Rus of the Netherlands 6-1 6-1
VENUS put to work
Five-time champion Venus Williams overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu 7-5 4-6 6-3
