Djokovic, Williams cruise in Wimbledon opener
June 27, 2016
The world's top-ranked men's tennis player, Novak Djokovic, jumped all over his British opponent James Ward, winning the first set to love. Djokovic opened the second with a service break as well, but Ward fought back, taking the set to a tie-breaker.
Djokovic won that affair 7-3 before prevailing by a single break in the third set. The 6-0, 7-6, 6-4 victory sends the Serb, who's on a quest to win all four tennis majors in a calendar year, into the next round of Wimbledon 2016.
One of Djokovic's main rivals, Swiss legend Roger Federer, defeated Guido Pella of Argentina, 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
The tournament ended early for the 21st seed Philipp Kohlschreiber. He's headed home after losing to France's Hugues Herbert 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
In the women's tournament, number eight seed and five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams progressed with a close straight-set win over Croatia's Donna Vekic 7-6, 6-4.
Germany's Sabine Lisicki had a far easier time of it, beating Shelby Rogers of the United States 6-1, 6-3. So did Angelique Kerber who defeated Britain's Laura Robson 6-2, 6-2 .
But former women's number one Ana Ivanovic, nursing a wrist injury, has crashed out of Wimbledon. She lost to world number 223 and Grand Slam debutante Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia. The score there was 6-2, 7-5.