Wimbledon Day 2: Murray is the Centre of Attention

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

So often we get a seed exodus. The seeds just seem to part like the Red sea, they seem to dissipate and just fade away. Upsets abound and, in fact, there are so many upsets these days that they don't warrant more than a shrug. And Wimbledon has taken over as the place where upsets happen. Well, it always had that but the French took over before Wimbledon once again reasserted it's reputation. With Court Two, or the "graveyard of champions," going it took a knock to its reputation. McEnroe, Connors, Cash, Sampras and both Williams sisters have fallen on Court Two. So has Hingis.

But this year there have been few upsets so far. And it actually makes a nice change. On the women's side, the upsets and the double bagels have gone hand in hand. The ninth seed just lost 2 and 0, which is ridiculous. The third seed just lost in three in the first round. And nobody seemed to be surprised.

All we've lost in the men's tournament is a slew of low seeded clay court specialists and Tommy Robredo. Robredo when he finds form is top fifteen but he is in a slump right now. Perhaps another whacky Wednesday is on the cards but right now all is calm. All is peaceful. And the favorites remain in the draw. Well, the seeded ones. Ilhan defeated a 2013 semi-finalist and he only needed four sets.



Well, let's delve into the second day and no mention of Lleyton or Hewitt. Not many, anyway. But Hewitt's memory shall live on here at ATP BACKSPIN. And in HQ he goes into our personal hall of fame. Kim Clijsters sometimes gets a mention, and in a similar way so will Lleyton...

Question: How many Wimbledon titles do the Bryans have?

*Suicide Picks*
We all know how this works. Pick a player to win each round but you cannot pick them again. And these are the picks I picked last week when the draw was announced.

MS 1st Rd: Dolgopolov d. Edmund (W)
MS 2nd Rd: Lopez [15] d. Basilashvili
==
WS 1st Rd: Wickmayer d. Kulichkova


CENTRE COURT: FEDERER D. DZUMHUR
...Some things never change. The US Open will always make a ridiculous schedule decision [sometimes more than one] for no reason whatsoever. Nadal will always take forever to serve and never get called on it. The Cubs will always be irrelevant come September. Obama will always make good decisions and get nothing except derision. These things seem to be written in the stars. Add to that list Federer winning in the first round of Wimbledon. Apart from that one time Falla actually turned up ad was really good Federer has been dominant in first rounds. In the 68-minute contest Federer never gave up even a break point though he did break five times himself, winning 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Federer hit 26 winners while winning 81 per cent of his own service points. He was very impressive. He came to the net 33 times and it seemed to work. Up next for Federer is Querrey. Fed will try to neutralize the serve and then work on the backhand of Querrey. Using slice is a good way of making the big man bend, but Querrey does not have the best defense anyway. It could be tight in certain spells but it will be comfortable overall.
=============================
CENTRE COURT: MURRAY D. KUKUSHKIN
...The Brits will tell you that Murray fought his way out of a very tight spot against a dangerous opponent. The truth is probably closer to Murray defended well and his opponent choked. Kukushkin had Murray on the ropes in the second set. He had come back from a large deficit and served for it at 6-5. From 30-0, Murray won seven straight points and the match was effectively over. Murray won a tight three setter 6-4, 7-6[3], 6-4. It had some great tennis and some more mediocre tennis. It had flashy tennis and boring tennis. And both players played well. Both men hit some stunning shots. Kukushkin hit 31 winners, more than Murray. Murray needs to up his second serve win percentage, too. At 48 he will not beat anyone. His second serve is probably the weakest shot in the Big Four. Not just for serves, but overall. Murray now gets Haase. And Haase can cause the Brit some serious problems. The Dutchman got to the final of the boys tournament ten years ago. He has been as high as 33rd in the world and he has been to a third round here. If Murray wants to be taken seriously, this is a good match to make a statement.
=============================
COURT ONE: NADAL D. BELLUCCI
...Bellucci actually plays lovely tennis. He plays beautiful tennis. It can be really smooth and really powerful at the same time if he is timing it right. And against Nadal, the points were fantastic. The two of them were singing a duet. Imagine instead that Bellucci is Barbra Streisand and Nadal Neil Diamond. And their match was "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." At times it was beautiful. Of course, you can feel free to insert any duet you wish. And obviously there were uglier patches. It took the tenth seed two hours to come through 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. The match was fairly close but Nadal was always in control. Nadal only lost his serve twice but he did hit 23 unforced errors. And five double faults. Nadal was finding his feet and it looks like he has found them. They were right where he left them. Nadal plays Brown next. And there is serious upset potential there. Brown can do it. He has the serve and the talent. It will be a fun game to watch. And recently at Wimbledon it is the kind of match Nadal might lose.
=============================
COURT ONE : BERDYCH D. CHARDY
...Berdych knew from the moment the draw was announced that Chardy in the first round would be a test. He had "test" tattooed on his forehand. And old Berdych would have lost in five. He would have gone out and then looked back and wondered why and how. Old Berdych would not have fought it. But this new Berdych fought hard. He lost to Gulbis in the first round of Wimbledon a few years back and there was almost a lack of battle.
Berdych won 6-2, 6-7[8], 7-6[3], 7-5[5] and broke three times to one. Berdman hit 55 winners and just 16 errors. His opponent went a very respectable 57-30 and won the aces war by 19-16. Chardy is setting just inside the top 40. With luck and a solid hard court campaign, he could be a seed for the final slam of the year. Mahut is next. Berdych is going to have a full pair of hands. Mahut could beat him. And of all the places it could happen, Wimbledon would be the place.
=============================
COURT TWO: TSONGA D. MULLER
...Tsonga and Muller had the potential to go four or five sets. And so it did. Tsonga his 38 aces to his opponent's 37. And that's pretty good by the tournaments standards so far.



Tsonga won 7-6[8], 6-7[3], 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. There actually ended up being four breaks in this match. The scariest thing was that Tsonga hit 69 winners and just 19 errors. Tsonga played big time tennis, and he was rewarded. Tsonga takes a step closer to Murray. And if he can start to gather momentum, find some form and make his serve work, he will be deadly. Could he possibly have too much for Muzza to handle? The past says no. The British pundits, rather predictably, say no. But does that matter? Not when it is Tsonga down the other end.
=============================
OUTER COURT SELECTION: GRANOLLERS/LOPEZ D. KOWALCZYK/ZELENAY
...There is no fact checking needed, just instinct to know this was one of the longest doubles matches Wimbledon has ever had. It is also one of the longest men's doubles match we have ever had. It took 4 hour and 25 minutes for the sixth seeds to come back from the dead. They won 3-6, 4-6, 7-6[6],6-4, 15-13. Both sides saved multiple match points and both sides play fantastic doubles. They had to qualify just to make the main draw. And then they were unfortunate enough to draw a doubles side with pedigree and a lot of talent. But they have acquitted themselves well here. The Spanish duo will have a while to wait before their next match, but it will surely hurt Granollers who has a singles match tomorrow.
=============================


Any other notes?
* - It's nice to see Tsonga back and doing well again. He is a real threat to go deep.

* - Kukushkin is so dangerous and yet he never seems to be given his due. He played some fantastic tennis against Murray and outclassed world the number three in his backyard for parts of the second set.

* - ATP BACKSPIN does not stand by gossip. But if the subject of gossip were to come up, BACKSPIN might slyly mention that it finds the Vekic and Wawrinka rumor distasteful. For many reasons. But since it is just rumour there's no need to respond.

* - While we're on the subject of the gossip that we don't respond to, here is a factual article: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis/wimbledon-2015-ajla-tomljanovi-insists-nick-kyrgios-is-just-a-good-friend/story-fnibcgxs-1227422807830

* - Casey Dellacqua won 6-2, 6-2 against Paszek. It was a very impressive result. 17th seed Svitolina is up next. And in the doubles she has Stosur/Hantuchova. Should she make the third round of singles, she would equal her best result ever here. It was back in 2008.

ANSWER: The Bryan Brothers made the Wimbledon final from 2005-7, 2009, 2011 and 2013-14. They were triumphant in 2006, 2011 and 2013.

Well, I'm out for now.


Thanks all and visit WTA BACKSPIN please.

Read more!