Roger Federer survived a scare on Tuesday at the start of his quest for a ninth Wimbledon title.
The Swiss superstar fought back against Adrian Mannarino, before the Frenchman retired at the start of the fifth set, unable to put any weight on his right leg following a slip behind the baseline.
Federer was level with Mannarino, who was celebrating his 33rd birthday, at 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-2 after two hours and 44 minutes of play on Centre Court.
At 2-4 in the fourth set, with Federer serving at 0/15, Mannarino slipped when split-stepping behind the baseline and the Frenchman subsequently required on-court treatment for a right knee complaint. Mannarino attempted to play on, but at the start of the fifth set called time on his seventh ATP Head2Head meeting against Federer.
“It’s awful,” said Federer, in an on-court interview. “It shows that one shot can change the outcome of a match, a season, a career. I wish him all the best and I hope he recovers quickly so we see him back on the courts. He could have won the match at the end. Obviously he was the better player, so I definitely got a bit lucky.
“You don’t get many walkovers throughout a career and you try also not to have it happen to yourself. It’s a reminder how quickly it goes. But of course, I’m obviously happy I can get another chance for another match here. I worked very hard and at the end I enjoyed myself out here today. It was great fun until the end, obviously.”
Federer, who improved to a 102-13 match record at the All England Club, will next challenge France’s Richard Gasquet or Yuichi Sugita of Japan.
Barty through
Australia’s Ashleigh Barty overcame a mid-match wobble to reach the second round at Wimbledon as rain once again halted play on the outside courts on Tuesday.
Barty came through 6-1, 6-7 (1/7), 6-1 against Carla Suarez Navarro in a match filled with emotion on Centre Court, whose roof ensured the match could be finished.
Venus had some worrying moments in her match against Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania. However, the five-time Wimbledon singles champion, playing in her 90th Grand Slam, eventually came through 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Australian men’s number one Alex de Minaur lost in four sets to Sebastian Korda, two days after the victor’s sister Nelly won her first golf major.
Alexander Zverev eased into the second round beating Dutch qualifier Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in just 89 minutes.
The 24-year-old French Open semi-finalist had lost to qualifiers at Wimbledon on two occasions — Ernests Gulbis in the third round in 2018 and to Jiri Vesely in the first round in 2019 — but he made no mistake this time round.
Murray wins
Two-time champion Andy Murray won his first Wimbledon singles match since 2017 on Monday night with a four-set triumph over Nikoloz Basilashvili and hailed the Centre Court crowd which carried him to victory.
Murray, the champion in 2013 and 2016 but who has fought a long battle with hip and groin injuries in recent years, triumphed 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 over the 24th seeded Basilashvili.