Kerber through as Federer and Djokovic's opponents retire
July 4, 2017
Germany's Angelique Kerber (above) is safely into the second round of Wimbledon after a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 victory over Irina Falconi on Center Court.
The number-one seed from Kiel in northern Germany took just under one-and-a-half hours to defeat the American qualifier and set up a second-round match with former semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.
It's been a difficult 2017 for Kerber who has struggled to replicate the success of last year when she won two grand slams and reached the Wimbledon final, losing to Serena Williams. But after an early break gave her a 3-0 first set lead, she never looked in danger against Falconi.
"When I stepped on to the court, all the memories from last year came back, but I tried to concentrate on today's match," said Kerber. "I'm happy to be back, but this year is completely different for me. I'm just happy I'm through the first round,"
Djokovic, Federer through
In the men's draw, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both progressed after their respective opponents retired injured. Slovakian Martin Klizan was forced to quit with a calf injury when trailing by one set and 0-2 to Djokovic before Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukaine also retired.
Elsewhere, Germany's Mischa Zverev joined Dustin Brown in round two after he beat Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. The Australian caused controversy post-match when he claimed that he wasn't really interested in tennis any more.
"It was definitely a mental issue out there," Tomic told reporters. "I tried to find a bit of momentum but I couldn't find any rhythm. I wasn't mentally and physically there and I felt a little bit bored, to be honest."