2013 Tennis Thread

Wozniacki suffers shock defeat in Eastbourne semis

Fifth seed Caroline Wozniacki was dumped out of the Eastbourne semi-finals following a 7-6(8) 5-7 3-6 defeat to Jamie Hampton.
Wozniacki, the world number nine, took the opening set on a tie break on the south coast and looked on course for a place in Saturday’s final.
But the number 41-ranked Hampton fought back to take the second set 7-5 and the third 6-3 to defeat the Dane.
After having to qualify for the event, Hampton will now unexpectedly face another unseeded player in the form of Russia's Elena Vesnina in the final.
Vesnina was completely dominant during her semi-final against Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer, romping to a 6-2 6-0 victory in just 52 minutes.
Vesnina was particularly dominant on her serve where she lost just eight points in the entire match.
In s-Hertogenbosch fourth seed Kirsten Flipkens made the final after beating Garbine Muguruza Blanco and will face Simona Halep in final after he defeated third seed Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3 6-2.

WTA Eastbourne semi-final results

Elena Vesnina (Russia) beat Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) 6-2 6-0

Jamie Hampton (USA) beat 5-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) 6-7(8) 7-5 6-3

WTA 's-Hertogenbosch semi-final results

Simona Halep (Romania) beat 3-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 6-3 6-2

4-Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) beat Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) 6-3 6-1

Simon and Lopez set up SW19 rehearsal at Eastbourne

Gilles Simon and Feliciano Lopez booked their places in the ATP Eastbourne final on the same day they were drawn to face each other at Wimbledon.
Second seed Simon booked his spot with a 6-4 6-3 win over seventh-seeded Italian Andreas Seppi, while Lopez blasted past Ivan Dodig 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in a battle of unseeded players.
It is the first time that either player will contest an ATP final on grass although Lopez is a fan of the surface having reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals on three occasions.
Simon won the only previous meeting between the pair in Rotterdam five years ago.
Lopez said of the double meeting with Simon: "This is tennis, and sometimes these things can happen.
"In a way it is good, because if I win or if I lose, I will take some feedback for the match on Tuesday, and I think for him the same."
Meanwhile in 's-Hertogenbosch, Stanislas Wawrinka also booked a first final appearance on grass after beating Spain’s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1 6-4. The match was closer than it appeared with the second seed having to save 10 break points in the match.
He will face former Queen's finalist Nicolas Mahut in the final. The unseeded Frenchman secured his final place with a 6-3 6-3 win over Belgium's Xavier Malisse.

ATP Eastbourne semi-final results

2-Gilles Simon (France) beat 7-Andreas Seppi (Italy) 6-4 6-3

Feliciano Lopez (Spain) beat Ivan Dodig (Croatia) 7-6(3) 6-1

ATP 's-Hertogenbosch semi-final results

Nicolas Mahut (France) beat Xavier Malisse (Belgium) 6-3 6-3

2-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-1 6-4

Del Potro warms up for Wimbledon with Gasquet win

Juan Martin del Potro tuned up for Wimbledon with a victory over Richard Gasquet at the Boodles exhibition tournament at Stoke Park.
The Argentine beat the Frenchman 6-3 4-6 10-5 – with the deciding set being a champions tie-break.
Del Potro is seeded eight for Wimbledon and while he has never got past the fourth-round at SW19, he will fancy his chances this year after being placed in the same quarter of the draw as fourth seed David Ferrer.
Also at Boodles on Friday, Bulgarian prospect Grigor Dimitrov won six points in a row at the end of the match to beat Poland's Jerzy Janowicz 6-1 7-6(5) while Alexandr Dolgopolov enjoyed a straight sets win over Sam Querrey.

Vekic primed for Wimbledon at 16

When a 16-year-old like Croatia's Donna Vekic bursts on to the big stage by reaching tournament finals the words "next big thing" are never far behind.
The pitfalls of surviving the assault course of professional women's tennis have swallowed up many an emerging talent, yet when a former great like Chris Evert starts talking up the London-coached Croatian it is worth listening.
"She has tremendous mental ability and is tremendously confident and poised for someone of just 16," 18-times Grand Slam champion Evert said this week.
"I'm not saying top 10 just yet but top 20 definitely in the near future."
It is a bold prediction but Vekic, coached by Tim Henman's former mentor David Felgate, is already turning heads.
Last September, in her main draw debut on the WTA Tour, she reached the final in Tashkent and last week in Birmingham, in her first grasscourt tournament on the Tour, she blazed to the final where she lost a tight match to veteran Daniela Hantuchova.
Vekic could be excused a self-congratulatory pat on the back. Instead, she sounded mildly disappointed at not already having a first career title under her belt.
"Things have happened really quickly and I'm pleased about that considering I'm just 16 but I wanted to win desperately," she told Reuters. "Sometimes you are not quite ready."
"But when I get to my third final I want to win it."
Felgate made it clear she was not satisfied merely getting to finals. "Not to put too fine a point on it she was upset and pissed off," he told Reuters. "She knows she had a chance."
"She wasn't happy but I like that attitude."
Osijek-based Vekic, who speaks English like a native, calls London her second home and has the looks to attract big sponsors, is already drawing parallels with a young Maria Sharapova - a comparison Felgate is quick to play down, especially as the Russian won Wimbledon at 17.
"All you can ask for as a coach is that you want to work with someone who is determined to improve," he said.
"I don't know how good she's going to be, she's obviously doing very well at the moment. She is not scared to be pushed and has a good head and a good heart. If you combine that with the weapons she has that's why we have what we have today."
Preparing for her first senior Wimbledon, having reached the junior quarter-finals, world No.64 Vekic will arrive in the enviable position of having nothing to lose - a luxury that will become rarer the higher she climbs up the rankings.
"I'm very excited, it will be my first senior Wimbledon. I played juniors there but that's not quite the same thing," said Vekic, who could face former world number one Caroline Wozniacki if she survives her first round match against Petra Cetkovska.
"Growing up, Wimbledon was my favourite slam and I like grass so maybe I can win it one day," she added.
Having Felgate on board, an experienced coach who helped Henman reach four Wimbledon semi-finals, helps. However, she quickly batted away any suggestion that her links to London could one day see her change national allegiance.
"I've spent a lot of time in London but definitely not," Vekic said when asked the question. "Besides all the British players have great slices and I don't have one yet so I don't think that would work out."
She possesses other weapons though, namely a crunching forehand and a first serve that packs a punch. Felgate said she even practises serve and volley on occasion.
"She naturally likes to come forward," he said. "It's a case of adding a few more strings to your bow."
Evert, whose classic career-long rivalry with Martina Navratilova Vekic said she loved watching on DVD, warned against over-hyping the Croatian teenager.
"I like her and I have talked to her about her game," Evert said. "She is a tall girl, powerful, good groundstrokes but she's only 16 and still has to physically develop. She is still growing into her body."
Living the dream she may be but Vekic still has her schoolwork to consider, and then there is the packing.
"I love going to all the good restaurants but I'm not keen on travelling and packing the suitcases. I ask my mum to do it sometimes but she just rolls her eyes because she hates it too."

Halep wins second title in as many weeks

Simona Halep made it two titles in as many weeks as she defeated Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens in the final at 's-Hertogenbosch.
The unseeded Romanian won her first ever WTA title on clay in Nuremburg just last week but showed she is the tour's in-form player with a 6-4 6-2 win over the fourth seed as she quickly adapted to the grass.
Halep has now won 16 of her last 18 matches including qualifiers and she also beat the top seed (Roberta Vinci) and the third seed (Carla Suarez Navarro) on her way to victory in Holland.
She took full advantage of a poor serving performance from Flipkens to take the victory, breaking the Belgian on five occasions during the match.
The 21-year-old will now be identified as a dark horse for Wimbledon where she faces Olga Govortsova in the first round before a potential second round meeting with sixth seed Li Na.

Vesnina triumphs in Eastbourne

Strong winds played havoc with her skirt and brought her a warning for time-wasting but Elena Vesnina rose above the problems to win her second WTA Tour title on the grass of Eastbourne on Saturday, beating American qualifier Jamie Hampton 6-2 6-1.
Hampton, who recovered to stun much-fancied Caroline Wozniacki in the last four of the grass-court tournament, squandered break points in the fifth game of the opening set, and from then on she lost all momentum.
Vesnina, who made her career breakthrough winning WTA Hobart in January, coped better with strong winds and tricky conditions on the south coast to take another piece of silverware in a stunning season for the Russian.
The 23-year-old Hampton, an American qualifier ranked at number 41 in the world, could not replicate her heroics against former world number one Wozniacki as she mustered just three games in a one-sided match.
Vesnina looked convincing throughout on her serve, and the Russian will head into Wimbledon brimming with confidence on the surface after taking the title in Eastbourne in comprehensive fashion.
The Devonshire Park courts at the seaside resort, always known for windy conditions, proved especially tricky for finals day and Vesnina was warned for taking too long to serve early in the second set as she tried to stop her skirt flapping.
When the Russian complained, umpire Mariana Alves told her: "I understand, but we can't wait forever."
Afterwards, Vesnina was all smiles, saying her first tour win, in Hobart in January, had come in similar conditions. "Before I hated to play in the wind, I was struggling so much, but now I just love it," she said.
The 36th-ranked Vesnina, who won the French Open doubles title with Ekaterina Makarova this month, picked up a cheque for £76,000 for the Aegon International win which she said gave her "a lot of confidence and positive emotions" for Wimbledon, which starts on Monday.

Rafa happy to arrive on two knees

Rafa Nadal will begin a hazardous path towards a third Wimbledon title on Monday just happy to have arrived at the grasscourt slam with a full complement of knees.
Almost a year after suffering one of the worst defeats of his career to Czech hitman Lukas Rosol, Nadal ventured back into the All England Club this week after claiming another French Open triumph, just as he did 12 months ago.
The difference this time is that his body appears to have paid a far smaller price to claim an eighth Roland Garros title than it did to chalk up number seven in 2012.
Asked to look back to his five-set defeat by Rosol last year, Nadal admitted it was a mistake even to turn up in leafy south-west London last year.
"I was not ready to play here. That's the real thing. I play with an infiltration (painkilling injection) from the first day," Nadal, seeded five this year, told reporters after practising on Saturday.
"Last year I played here because it's a tournament that I love. I tried my best. But after Roland Garros my knee was not there any more. After here I was not able to compete in one more tournament during the rest of the season.
"That's tennis and that's the sport. You lose, you win. That's part of the game. But that experience for me last year was too much. I suffered too much.
"If you are in the final rounds and if you have to protect or play with an infiltration, it's fine. But playing with an infiltration from the first day doesn't exist. Wimbledon was not a good decision for me."
Since returning from that left knee injury in February, the 27-year-old Nadal has claimed seven titles from the nine tournaments he has contested.
The heavy schedule was why the 12-times grand-slam champion made the decision to skip a grasscourt tune-up in Halle and enjoy a few more days in the Mallorcan sunshine.
"You cannot forget the tennis when you have Wimbledon in two weeks. It's impossible. But I stopped for a few days," Nadal said. "This time of year in Mallorca it's great as we have a little time to enjoy the sea.
"Not playing a tournament before here always makes it a little bit tougher because you really play with the real feelings only when you are playing matches."
It is all systems go now though as Nadal tries to get up to speed on grass. Being seeded in line with his world ranking of five means he could have to beat defending champion Roger Federer, world number two Andy Murray and top seed Novak Djokovic in successive matches.
After what happened last year though, Nadal is not even looking that far ahead and has no complaints about the draw.
"I didn't play a lot on grass the last couple of years, so I really take care about myself about the first round. I don't think about the other things," said Nadal, who plays Belgium's Steve Darcis on Monday.
"My view is if I arrive to the quarter-finals is because I will be ready. But for me, it's going to be very tough to be there."

No complaints from Murray at being in tough half

With British hopes of elusive home success once again resting on his shoulders, Andy Murray could have been forgiven an envious glance Novak Djokovic's way after the Wimbledon draw was made on Friday.
Top seed Djokovic got lucky with the two other members of the so-called "big four", defending champion Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, ending up in second seed Murray's half.
It could have been worse for Murray too - he was spared a potential quarter-final with fifth seed Nadal - although the Scot knows that should he reach the last four Nadal or Federer will most likely be waiting.
"I have no issue with the seeding. I'd rather Rafa and Roger were on the other side of the draw, but they're not," the 26-year-old, bidding to go one better than last year when he became Britain's first men's finalist here since 1938, told reporters.
"Hopefully I'll be able to put myself in a position where that becomes relevant, because that would mean getting to the semi-finals, and I'd love to be there."
The ATP rankings system means Spain's David Ferrer is fourth seed at Wimbledon this year and Djokovic's predicted semi-final foe. While there is no disputing Ferrer's credibility as a grand slam contender, 12-times major winner Nadal is clearly superior.
Wimbledon's seeding criteria can adjust the world rankings, depending on recent grasscourt results, but Ferrer's quarter-final run last year and Nadal's shock second round exit meant there was no chance the Mallorcan would be bumped up.
Murray believes it is a fair system.
"I really don't think it (Nadal's seeding) should have been (higher)," said Murray, who has lost his three Wimbledon clashes with Nadal. "Even with the formula and stuff, because of Rafa's result here last year it was always going to be difficult for him to move up in the seedings.
"Ferrer made the quarters of Wimbledon last year, made the semis of the U.S. Open, he made semis at the Australian Open. The guy deserves to be seeded where he is. It's not like he's got there by fluke."
Djokovic may feel he was due a break.
The Serb had the misfortune to face claycourt king Nadal in the semi-finals of the French Open, losing an epic five-setter in what was effectively the final in most people's eyes. Nadal then beat Ferrer to claim an eighth Roland Garros title.
"I honestly wasn't thinking about it too much because it's a matter of luck and it's a matter of a coin toss," Djokovic, looking for his second Wimbledon title, told reporters.
"Some people would say that I was, you know, lucky with the draw. But it's a grand slam, so I don't think that there is any easy way to the title."
With the queues already forming and "Murray Mania" about to get into full swing, at least the Scot's first round should not cause him or his followers too many headaches.
Germany's 32-year-old world number 95 Benjamin Becker, who Murray beat on the way to winning this month's Queen's Club title, is his first hurdle on Monday.

Sharapova takes swipe at Serena over boyfriend

The dust has barely settled since their French Open final scrap but Maria Sharapova fired the first volley at Wimbledon title rival Serena Williams on Saturday, taking aim at the American's personal life.
Sharapova, who lost for the 13th time in a row to Williams when they clashed at Roland Garros a fortnight ago, could not resist when asked her opinion on her rival's controversial comments on a high-profile teenage rape case in Ohio published in Rolling Stone magazine.
"Obviously I have a tremendous amount of respect for Serena and what she's achieved on the court. You can never take anything away from that," 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova told reporters.
"I was definitely sad to hear what she had to say about the whole case."
Williams has since apologised after quotes attributed to her suggested the victim had been drunk.
In the same article Williams also apparently referred to Sharapova's relationship with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov. Russian Sharapova responded on Saturday.
"As for myself, or whether it was about somebody else, nothing personal, you know," Sharapova told reporters.
"At the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of respect for what we do on the court. I just think she should be talking about her accomplishments, her achievements, rather than everything else that's just getting attention and controversy.
"If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids.
"Talk about other things, but not draw attention to other things. She has so much in her life, many positives, and I think that's what it should be about."
Defending Wimbledon champion Williams is set to hold her pre-Wimbledon press conference on Sunday.

Lopez sees off Simon to capture Eastbourne title

Spain's Feliciano Lopez won the men's title at Eastbourne, beating second seed Gilles Simon 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 6-0 in a dress rehearsal for their first-round meeting at Wimbledon next week.
Left-hander Lopez also received a warning for taking too much time to serve at the start of the second set as he waited, puffing out his bearded cheeks in frustration, for the wind to subside.
The unseeded Lopez, whose early season was disrupted by injuries, raced 3-0 ahead in the deciding set. Simon saved five breakpoints in game four before putting a forehand in the net to concede another break and spent the rest of the match berating himself loudly.
Luck, too, was against the Frenchman and after saving two championship points in the sixth game he slipped on the grass as he raced in to try to save a third.
Lopez raised a laugh when he eagerly grabbed the winner's trophy from the presentation table before realising that he should wait for the formal handover and putting it back with an embarrassed smile.
"I hope we can make a better show at Wimbledon," he said. "Today conditions were so tough and we did our best but it was so windy."

Mahut beats Wawrinka for first singles title

Nicolas Mahut claimed his maiden ATP title in style, beating favourite Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-4 in the final at Den Bosch.
The Frenchman, 31, has missed action due to a knee injury and slipped to 240th in the world rankings as a result.
But despite a pair of rain interruptions, Mahut remained focused in only his third final and his first since 2007.
Breaking the world number 10 shortly after they returned to court, Mahut then held serve to clinch the opening set.
And after clinching the title with another break of the Swiss player’s serve in the third game of set two, Mahut completed the tournament without having dropped a single set.
"Six months ago, I was not sure I could play again on the tour and here I am with the trophy," he said, making reference to his knee problems.
“I am really proud with the way I played all week. After all the difficulties these past few months this win proves that I was right to keep going."
Mahut, who was runner-up in the men's doubles final at the French Open with Michael Llodra, was given a wild card entry for Wimbledon and will play Czech Jan Hajek in round one.

Troicki beats Haase on final day at Boodles

Victor Troicki overcame Robin Haase on an eventful final day at The Boodles tournament in which Great Britain’s Jamie Delgado also won.
The Serbian collected The Boodles trophy following the traditional one-off exhibition match after beating Dutchman Haase 7-5 6-4.
The two treated the crowd to a highly-entertaining match, producing plenty of skill and inventiveness – something of which the fans are accustomed to at the showpiece event.
“I’ve played this event a couple of times already and I really enjoy it. It’s great preparation for Wimbledon. It’s also a lot of fun and a great facility,” said Troicki.
“This was the perfect warm-up for my first round match at Wimbledon.”
And despite losing the match, Haase was in good spirits, stating that the tournament is always a good warm-up for Wimbledon which starts on Monday.
“It’s always nice to come here. Only the top guys in world play here,” said Haase.
“We were joking around a few times but we both wanted to win, so I think the points were actually pretty good. It was nice to play another match on grass here. It’s good to have a few matches under your belt on grass. Wimbledon is the biggest tournament and the most famous tournament in the world, so you come here and try to get as much confidence as you can.”
Home-favourite Jamie Delgado was also victorious; winning his doubles match with partner James Cerrentani as the pair beat Canadians Raneez Junair and Adil Shamasdin 10-5 in their –first-to-ten-games shoot-out.
Elsewhere, Argentinean Horacio Zeballos looked right at home as he beat Thiemo De Bakker 7-5 6-4.

Murray third on Centre on star-studded Monday

Andy Murray is third on Centre Court on Monday as he opens his Wimbledon campaign with a first-round tie against Germany’s Benjamin Becker.
As tradition dictates, defending champion Roger Federer starts proceedings on the opening day of the tournament as he takes on Victor Hanescu, with women’s third seed Maria Sharapova second on Centre Court for her game against Kristina Mladenovic.
Tennis fans with Court One tickets also have a treat in store with women’s second seed Victoria Azarenka opening up against Maria Joao Koehler before two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal faces Steve Darcis and 11th seed Stanislas Wawrinka takes on another former champion in Leyton Hewitt.
Court Two kicks off at the earlier time of 11.30am, compared to 1pm on the two main show courts, with Ana Ivanovic up first against Virginie Razzano of France.
Men's sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on Belgium's David Goffin in the third match of the day on Court Two.
Court Three has a British feel to it with Elena Baltacha facing Italian Flavia Pennetta and wild card Kyle Edmund in action against 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz following his promising campaign at Eastbourne.

MONDAY’S ORDER OF PLAY (show courts only)

Centre Court

Victor Hanescu (ROU) v Roger Federer (SUI) [3]

Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Maria Sharapova (RUS) [3]

Benjamin Becker (GER) v Andy Murray (GBR) [2]

Court One

Maria Joao Koehler (POR) v Victoria Azarenka (BLR) [2]

Rafael Nadal (ESP) [5] v Steve Darcis (BEL)

Lleyton Heweitt (AUS) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) [11]

Court Two

Virginie Razzano (FRA) v Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [12]

Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) v Marin Cilic (CRO) [10]

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [6] v David Goffin (BEL)

Petra Kvitova (CZE) [8] v Coco Vandeweghe (USA)

Court Three

Elena Baltacha (GBR) v Flavia Pennetta (ITA)

Kyle Edmund (GBR) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL) [24]

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) [14] v Viktor Troicki (SRB)

Estrella Cabeza Candela (ESP) v Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) [9]

Court 12

Fabio Fognini (ITA) [30] v Jurgen Melzer (AUT)

Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [16] v Johanna Konta (GBR)

James Ward (GBR) v Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)

Mario Bartoli (FRA) [15] v Elena Svitolina (UKR)

Court 18

Sara Errani (ITA) [5] v Monica Puig (PUR)

Robin Haase (NED) v Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) [20]

Nicolas Almagro (ESP) [15] v Jurgen Zopp (EST)

Sloane Stephens (USA) [17] v Jamie Hampton (USA)

Serena apologises to Sharapova over boyfriend barb

Serena Williams launched a charm offensive on Sunday as she sought to broker a truce with Maria Sharapova and calm the storm surrounding comments she made about a rape victim.
On the eve of Wimbledon, where she is defending champion, the pre-tournament focus has been on an interview she gave to Rolling Stone magazine that touched on a high-profile teenage rape case in Ohio and brought her into conflict with her Russian rival Sharapova.
The piece included an account of a private conversation between Serena and her sister Venus that the reporter interpreted as an attack on Sharapova's relationship with Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov.
Sharapova, soundly beaten by Serena in the French Open final earlier this month, hit back on Saturday telling the world number one to keep her nose out of other people's business, adding an edge to the women's competition at the grasscourt slam.
"I made it a point to reach out to Maria because she was inadvertently brought into the situation by assumptions made by the reporter," a smiling Williams told reporters.
"I personally talked to Maria at the player party, incidentally. I said, look, I want to personally apologise to you if you are offended by being brought into my situation. I want to take this moment to just pour myself, be open, say I'm very sorry for this whole situation...
"I'm the first person to reach out to individuals and people if I feel that something may have hurt them or something may have been misconstrued."
The controversial interview quoted Serena as talking about a "a top-five player who is now in love".
It added: "She begins every interview with 'I'm so happy. I'm so lucky' - it's so boring. She's still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it'."
While Serena did not deny making the comments, she was clearly angry that her private words had ended up in print.
"I've been spoiled dealing with professionalism here in the tennis world. I'm used to dealing with professional reporters... not writing or commenting on a private conversation that I may have or listening in or eavesdropping and then reporting on it.
"I was involved in a private conversation that he even wrote in the article that he said he was listening to. I take full blame and responsibility for that because I've been in the business for years and years and I should always in a way have my guard up."
Williams was in a relaxed mood ahead of making her Wimbledon bow against Luxembourg's Mandy Minella on Tuesday, blowing air-kisses with golfer Rory McIlroy as she waited in the wings to greet reporters.
A light-hearted chat about her prospects of surpassing Venus and winning a sixth Wimbledon title, however gave way after just five gentle questions.
The subject turned to her comments in the same Rolling Stone interview when she appeared to assign blame to a 16-year-old rape victim for being drunk.
She reiterated her earlier apology and said she had been in close contact with the victim's family.
"It's really important before you make certain comments to have a full list, have all the information, all the facts," she added.
"I reached out to the family immediately once the article came out, and I had a really productive, sincere conversation with the mother and the daughter. We came to a wonderful understanding, and we're constantly in contact...
"I take full responsibility. I definitely wanted to apologise to the family. They've been through so much. In talking to them and learning the whole story, you just learn how strong the young girl is, how strong she's been able to make me through this process, which I think is incredible."

Federer and Murray headline 'Mega Monday'

Dubbed as Mega Monday, the first day of Wimbledon bursts into life later with defending champion Roger Federer, home crowd favourite Andy Murray and women's contender Maria Sharapova all in action on Centre Court.
Seven-time Wimbledon winner Federer begins his tournament against Victor Hanescu of Romania at midday, while Russia's Sharapova takes on Kristina Mladenovic straight after.
Eyes will then focus on last year's runner-up Murray, who begins his search for an elusive Wimbledon crown in a tie with Germany's Benjamin Becker.
Other showcourt feature matches include Rafa Nadal, who has his first round match against Steve Darcis on Court One, while French powerhouse Jo-Wilfried Tsonga plays Belgian David Goffin on Court Two.
In the women's singles, world number two Victoria Azarenka meets Maria Joao Koehler and Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki is up against Spain's Estrella Cabeza Candela on Court Three.

Federer happy to defend title the hard way

There are few players who would welcome the prospect of facing Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in succession but Roger Federer is made of sterner stuff than most.
The Wimbledon champion will stride confidently onto Centre Court to face Victor Hanescu on Monday, 10 years after winning the first of his seven titles here, and says he is not casting a wary eye beyond the Romanian for what lies in wait.
The opening day's action will also feature Nadal and Murray, after the tennis fates conspired to group three of the game's dominant quartet in the same side of the draw.
The remaining member of that elite group, Djokovic, will keep his powder dry until Tuesday, and is a likely final opponent for whoever battles through.
"It was never supposed to be easy winning grand slams," the Swiss, who is eyeing another title to surpass Pete Sampras and William Renshaw as the most decorated man at the All England Club, told reporters on Sunday.
"I'm ready for the challenge. I like tough draws. I don't shy away from them...
"I have a very difficult draw with Rafa being in my quarter... If you want to win the tournament here, you have to beat the best. That's what I'm here for."
The lopsided draw was thrown up because French Open champion Nadal endured a seven-month injury absence following last year's Wimbledon, leaving the Spaniard fifth in the rankings behind compatriot David Ferrer.
Nadal, Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010, begins his campaign in the less popular surroundings of Court One against Belgium's Steve Darcis to make way for home hope Andy Murray on Centre.
Federer, who won his first title of the season at Halle last week, resisted any temptation to query Nadal's seeding, choosing to talk tough instead.
"For me, it's not even worth the talk because it is what it is," the 31-year-old said. "It's not like he's unseeded. He is seeded within the top eight.
"He is seeded, so you don't face him in the first round. Quarter-finals are still a long way away."
Murray, last year's beaten finalist, faces Germany's Benjamin Becker after women's number three seed Maria Sharapova's match against France's Kristina Mladenovic.
The Briton is fuelled with hope following a brilliant year that included a straight-sets gold-medal victory over Federer at the Olympics and a U.S. Open title won in a punishing five-set encounter with Djokovic.
A back injury ruled him out of the French Open, handing him a lengthier preparation than his rivals for the short grasscourt season, while victory in the final of the Aegon Championships at Queen's confirmed he is in top shape.
Federer reduced Murray to tears by winning last year's final but singled the Briton out as the outstanding grasscourt player heading into the championships.
"For me he seems like maybe most natural on this surface. But then the other guys are already Wimbledon champions, Rafa and Novak. Ferrer's in the top four. He's also very good on grass," said the third-seeded Swiss.
"But to me Andy sort of stands out a little bit over the others."
The women's game has been given an extra edge after Sharapova and defending champion Serena Williams became embroiled in a tetchy row on the eve of the championships.
The Russian has been kept apart from Williams in the draw meaning the two rivals will not get the chance to settle their differences on court until at least the final.
World number two Victoria Azarenka is in Sharapova's half and begins her campaign on Monday with a Court One clash against Portugal's Maria Joao Koehler.

Smallville22 said:

There are few players who would welcome the prospect of facing Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in succession but Roger Federer is made of sterner stuff than most.
The Wimbledon champion will stride confidently onto Centre Court to face Victor Hanescu on Monday, 10 years after winning the first of his seven titles here, and says he is not casting a wary eye beyond the Romanian for what lies in wait.

Click to expand...

Well, it won't be Nadal, will it?

Order of play: Monday June 24

Defending champion Roger Federer opens up on Centre Court on Monday, with Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova in action too.
As tradition dictates, defending champion Federer starts proceedings on the opening day of the tournament as he takes on Victor Hanescu, with women’s third seed Maria Sharapova second on Centre Court for her game against Kristina Mladenovic.
On Court One, Victoria Azarenka starts against Maria Joao Koehler before two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal faces Steve Darcis and 11th seed Stanislas Wawrinka takes on another former champion in Leyton Hewitt.
Court Two kicks off at the earlier time of 11.30am with Ana Ivanovic up first against Virginie Razzano of France. Men's sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga takes on Belgium's David Goffin in the third match of the day on Court Two.
Court Three has a British feel to it with Elena Baltacha facing Italian Flavia Pennetta and wild card Kyle Edmund in action against 24th seed Jerzy Janowicz following his promising campaign at Eastbourne.

MONDAY’S ORDER OF PLAY

Centre Court (1pm start)

Victor Hanescu v Roger Federer [3]

Kristina Mladenovic v Maria Sharapova [3]

Benjamin Becker v Andy Murray [2]

Court 1 (1pm start)

Maria Joao Koehler v Victoria Azarenka [2]

Rafael Nadal [5] v Steve Darcis

Lleyton Hewitt v Stanislas Wawrinka [11]

Court 2 (11.30am start)

Virginie Razzano v Ana Ivanovic [12]

Marcos Baghdatis v Marin Cilic [10]

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga [6] v David Goffin

Petra Kvitova [8] v Coco Vandeweghe

Court 3 (11.30am start)

Elena Baltacha v Flavia Pennetta

Kyle Edmund v Jerzy Janowicz[24]

Janko Tipsarevic [14] v Viktor Troicki

Est. Cabeza Candela v Caroline Wozniacki [9]

Court 4 (11.30am start)

Lucie Hradecka v Karin Knapp

Yanina Wickmayer v Vesna Dolonc

Lukas Lacko v Rajeev Ram

Court 5 (11.30am start)

Eva Birnerova v Varvara Lepchenko [26]

Su-Wei Hsieh v Tatjana Maria

Pablo Andujar v Adrian Mannarino

Nicolas Mahut v Jan Hajek

Court 6 (11.30am start)

Stephane Robert v. Alejandro Falla

Car. Suarez Navarro [19] v Lou. Dominguez Lino

Michelle Larcher De Brito v Melanie Oudin

Johanna Larsson v Ekaterina Makarova [25]

Court 7 (11.30am start)

Lara Arruabarrena v Lesia Tsurenko

Lukasz Kubot v Igor Andreev

Edouard Roger-Vasselin v Ernests Gulbis

Petra Cetkovska v Donna Vekic

Court 8 (11.30am start)

Eugenie Bouchard v Galina Voskoboeva

Marc Gicquel v Vasek Pospisil

Dustin Brown v Guillermo Garcia-Lopez

Ajla Tomljanovic v Bojana Jovanovski

Court 9 (11.30am start)

Rogerio Dutra Silva v Sergiy Stakhovsky

Sofia Arvidsson v Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

Andrey Kuznetsov v Albert Montanes

Kiki Bertens v Yaroslava Shvedova

Court 10 (11.30am start)

Adrian Ungur v Benoit Paire [25]

Camila Giorgi v Samantha Murray

Juan Monaco [22] v Bastian Knittel

Christina McHale v. Alexa Glatch

Court 12 (11.30am start)

Fabio Fognini [30] v. Jurgen Melzer

Jelena Jankovic [16] v Johanna Konta

James Ward v Yen-Hsun Lu

Marion Bartoli [15] v Elina Svitolina

Court 14 (11.30am start)

Alize Cornet [29] v Vania King

John Isner [18] v Evgeny Donskoy

Tobias Kamke v Julien Benneteau [31]

Yulia Putintseva v Kirsten Flipkens [20]

Court 15 (11.30am start)

Giraldo/Russell v Dodig/Melo [12]

Bedene/Zemlja v Ratiwatana/Ratiwatana

Kops-Jones/Spears [5] v Peer/Yan

Court 16 (11.30am start)

Silvia Soler-Espinosa v Misaki Doi

Stefanie Voegele v Sorana Cirstea [22]

Fernando Verdasco v Xavier Malisse

Tommy Robredo [32] v Alex Bogomolov Jr.

Court 17 (11.30am start)

Lucie Safarova [27] v Lauren Davis

Marinko Matosevic v Guillaume Rufin

Radek Stepanek v Matt Reid

Court 18 (11.30am start)

Sara Errani [5] v. Monica Puig

Robin Haase v Mikhail Youzhny [20]

Nicolas Almagro [15] v Jurgen Zopp

Sloane Stephens [17] v Jamie Hampton

Court 19 (11.30am start)

Julian Reister v Lukas Rosol

Kenny De Schepper v Paolo Lorenzi

Singles TBC

Pauline Parmentier v Andrea Petkovic

Garbine Muguruza v Anne Keothavong

Federer eases past Hanescu into second round

Roger Federer began the defence of his Wimbledon title by breezing to a straight sets victory over Romanian Victor Hanescu on the opening Centre Court match of the championships on Monday.
The third-seeded Swiss barely broke sweat in demolishing his 48th-ranked opponent 6-3 6-2 6-0 with the final set taking only 17 minutes.
On a chilly afternoon Federer strolled serenely around the lush court and was never remotely troubled in a match lasting only 68 minutes.
"I've won it (Wimbledon) a few times now but it still feels special," Federer told the BBC.
"I still enjoy myself in the first round and it's a pleasure playing on Centre Court again this year. I thought it was a good first round for me. I'm very happy, conditions are pretty cold but it releases some of the pressure now."
Hanescu lost his opening service game and was 3-0 down within six minutes as Federer showcased his broad armoury of attacking shots.
His serve regularly found the lines, with the Romanian floundering in his search for answers and unable to find any sort of rhythm.
Federer, bidding to become the first man to win the Wimbledon men's singles title eight times, will face Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in the next round.

First-round results:

3-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Victor Hanescu (Romania) 6-3 6-2 6-0

Steve Darcis (Belgium) beat 5-Rafa Nadal (Spain) 7-6(4) 7-6(8) 6-4

6-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat David Goffin (Belgium) 7-6(4) 6-4 6-3

10-Marin Cilic (Croatia) beat Marcos Baghdatis (Cyprus) 6-3 6-4 6-4

15-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) beat Juergen Zopp (Estonia) 6-4 7-6(2) 7-5

18-John Isner (U.S.) beat Evgeny Donskoy (Russia) 6-1 7-6(5) 7-6(3)

20-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) beat Robin Haase (Netherlands) 6-4 7-5 7-5

22-Juan Monaco (Argentina) beat Bastian Knittel (Germany) 6-4 6-2 6-3

24-Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) beat Kyle Edmund (Britain) 6-2 6-2 6-4

25-Benoit Paire (France) beat Adrian Ungur (Romania) 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-1

Lukasz Kubot (Poland) beat Igor Andreev (Russia) 6-1 7-5 6-2

Jurgen Melzer (Austria) beat 30-Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-7(5) 7-5 6-3 6-2

Stephane Robert (France) beat Alejandro Falla (Colombia) 6-3 7-6(5) 7-5

Sergiy Stakhovsky (Ukraine) beat Rogerio Dutra Silva (Brazil) 6-4 6-0 6-4

Adrian Mannarino (France) beat Pablo Andujar (Spain) 6-1 6-2 6-3

Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) beat Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3

Vasek Pospisil (Canada) beat Marc Gicquel (France) 6-3 6-2 7-6(3)

Julian Reister (Germany) beat Lukas Rosol (Czech Republic) 6-3 4-6 7-6(5) 6-7(4) 6-4

Rajeev Ram (U.S.) beat Lukas Lacko (Slovakia) 7-5 6-4 6-7(2) 6-2

Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Xavier Malisse (Belgium) 6-7(5) 6-1 6-4 6-3

Dustin Brown (Germany) beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (Spain) 6-3 6-3 6-3

Kenny De Schepper (France) beat Paolo Lorenzi (Italy) 7-6(6) 6-4 6-2

Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) beat Matt Reid (Australia) 6-2 6-2 6-4

Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) beat Edouard Roger-Vasselin (France) 7-6(1) 6-4 7-5

Viktor Troicki (Serbia) beat 14-Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 6-3 6-4 7-6(5)

Selected mens and womens results, a couple of shocks already.

Nadal 6-7 6-7 4-6 Darcis
Federer 6-3 6-2 6-0 Hanescu
Murray 6-4 6-3 6-2 Becker

Ivanovic 7-6 (7-1) 6-0 Razzano
Sharapova 7-6 6-3 Mladenovic
Azarenka 6-1 6-2 Koehler
Pennetta 6-4 6-1 Baltacha
Errani 3-6 2-6 Puig

Kvitova one set all as we speak.