British number one Andy Murray continues his quest for Wimbledon glory on Thursday when he faces Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the second round.
Murray struggled to find his rhythm during his four-set first round victory over American Robby Kendrick and the Scot will have to raise his game to progress against the 20-year-old Gulbis, ranked 74 in the world.
The pair are scheduled as the third match on Centre Court, due to begin at around 1700 BST.
On Wednesday, Roger Federer demonstrated why he is adored by centre court but Maria Sharapova's return to Wimbledon's main stage turned sour as the Russian became the tournament's biggest casualty to date.
Playing with a fluency that was missing in his first round victory, Federer strolled to a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Ominously, Federer, who next faces Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, said there was still plenty to more to come from him.
"I had to be solid and that's what I was," he said. "There are many rounds to pass and there will be guys who have nothing to lose against me. But I'm confident and I'm playing great."
Novak Djokovic, the man Federer is due to meet at the semi-final stage, also advanced to the last 32 but the Serb will be acutely aware that he will have to raise his game significantly if he is to prevent the Swiss maestro from claiming a sixth singles title at the All England Club.
With the crowd roaring on her opponent, Sharapova went down to a three-sets defeat to Gisela Dulko that will inevitably raise questions about whether the 2004 champion will ever reign again.
It was notable that support for Argentina's Dulko rose in parallel with the increase in the decibel levels of her opponent's grunting.
But Sharapova insisted that she had not been affected by the way the crowd had turned against her.
"That was the least of my worries today," she snapped after her 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 loss. "I was just trying to win a tennis match."
Sharapova was playing only her fourth tournament since she resumed playing after a ten-month lay-off during which she underwent surgery on her right shoulder.
But her exit was as much about how well Dulko played as any rustiness on the part of the Russian.
Returning Sharapova's serve superbly and deftly moving her opponent around the court, Dulko went a set and 3-0 up before Sharapova reeled off seven successive games to claim the initiative.
At that stage -- 0-1 down in the third set -- few would have bet on Dulko at that stage but the 24-year-old recovered and, after a rollercoaster final set, she clinched the biggest win of her career on her fifth match point.
Sharapova's demise could ease the path to the final for Serena Williams, who demolished Australia's Jarmila Groth 6-2, 6-1 and underlined her determination to stop sister Venus from claiming a sixth singles title here.
"I should have won more than twice here and I didn't," she said. "Hopefully I can rectify that this year."
Zheng Jie, the 16th seed and a semi-finalist here last year, also went out, beaten 6-3, 7-5 by Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, who will now face Japanese number one Ai Sugiyama.
Djokovic eased into a third round meeting with big-hitting American Mardy Fish with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win over German qualifier Simon Gruel, but the Serb was far from buoyant about his prospects for the rest of the tournament.
"I can't say I am genuinely pleased because I had a lot of ups and downs in the match but I'm happy to get through in straight sets," he said.
"I have no expectations, I'm not putting any pressure on myself. Nobody is talking about me and I'm happy with that."
Former Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga strolled into the last 32 without striking a ball after his second round opponent, Simone Bolelli of Italy, pulled out with a back injury.
Tsonga, France's number one and the ninth seed, will face Croatian 22nd seed Ivo Karlovic for a place in the last 16.
Israel's Dudi Sela upset 18th seed Rainer Schuettler 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 to earn a crack at 15th seed Tommy Robredo, who came back from two sets down to beat Stefan Koubek, of Austria.
Portuguese 16-year-old Michelle Larcher de Brito, who has caused a stir with her high-pitched screaming, cranked up the volume against Francesca Schiavone, but the Italian veteran triumphed 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4).
Roger Federer's bid for a record 15th Grand Slam title got underway in familiar fashion as the five-times champion settled into Wimbledon's new-look centre court with a straight sets demolition of Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun.
Federer, the men's favourite in the absence of injured champion Rafael Nadal, recovered from going a break down early in the first set to win 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 and set up a second round meeting with Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who had a similarly straightforward win over Argentina's Agustin Calleri.
by Agence France-Presse
Fine, dry conditions ensured there was no need of the new retractable roof that has been installed above Wimbledon's most famous court as part of an 80-million-pound upgrade.
Federer also went largely untested and his post-match comments betrayed his confidence that he is destined for his seventh consecutive final.
"It is good to get the first match out of the way and get into the tournament," the Swiss said. "Once you are in, things become a little easier because your mind is right in the tournament."
Novak Djokovic, the man seeded to meet Federer in the semi-finals, endured a much more testing afternoon. The Serb was forced to battle for three and a half hours to complete a 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/1), 6-2, 6-4 win over France's Julien Benneteau.
Djokovic next faces German qualifier Simon Gruel but the tournament is over for James Blake, the 17th seed, and Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez, the 21st seed who lost in five sets to Slovakian Karol Beck.
Blake's demise was the more surprising. The American had arrived here with high hopes after finishing as runner-up to Andy Murray at Queen's but he could not reproduce that form here and was comfortably beaten 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) by journeyman Italian Andreas Seppi.
"After Queen's I really thought I a great chance to do very well," Blake admitted. "It's been my worst slam and I just don't understand why."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the French ninth seed who could present Federer's first real threat if both men advance to the last eight, had to battle hard to overcome Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5).
Robin Soderling, Nadal's conqueror at the French Open, also went through, the 13th seed accounting for Luxembourg's Gilles Muller 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.
There were no major upsets in the women's draw with Serena Williams, Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova all easing through, although Sharapova was briefly in trouble when she trailed 1-4 and 3-5 in the first set to Ukrainian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova.
The Russian recovered however to win 7-5, 6-4 and set up a second round meeting with Argentina's Gisela Dulko, one of the few women who can compete with her in the glamour stakes.
Serena Williams, who could face Sharapova at the quarter-final stage, swept Portugal Neuza Silva aside 6-1, 7-5 and had an ominous warning for her rivals.
"I thought I could have played a ton better, especially on key points," said the American. "Hopefully as the tournament goes on and progresses, I'll get there."
There was disappointment for the home supporters when 15-year-old Laura Robson, last year's junior champion, led by a set and a break before going down to former Daniela Hantuchova, a former world number five.
Hantuchova now faces last year's surprise semi-finalist Zheng Jie, who battled to a 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4) victory over Kristina Barrois of Germany.
Also into the second round are India's Sania Mirza, who secured a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 win over big-hitting German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, and Michelle Larcher de Brito, the 16-year-old Portuguese player whose noisy grunting caused controversy at the French Open.
Larcher de Brito was relatively muted during a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Klara Zakopalova but insisted she would not hesitate to turn up the volume as the going gets tougher.
"Nobody can tell me to stop grunting," she insisted. "If they have to fine me, go ahead, because I'd rather get fined than lose a match because I had to stop grunting."
MANILA, Philippines – Shane Mosley said he wants to fight Manny Pacquiao so whoever wins will get to face the winner of the Floyd Mayweather-Juan Manuel Marquez showdown which was recently postponed and tentatively rescheduled to September.
“Yeah, that is the perfect scenario. That’s the way it is supposed to happen in real boxing,” Mosley, the 38-year-old WBA welterweight champion from California, told fighthype.com as he continued to beg for a fight with Pacquiao.
“Malapit na lumuhod (Soon he’ll be on his knees),” said one of Pacquiao’s advisers, Wakee Salud, of Mosley. The matchmaker from Cebu said everybody is going after the Filipino champion because of the “ton of money” involved.
Mosley has practically swallowed everything in seeking the fight with Pacquiao, announcing that he’s agreeable to a catchweight under 147 lb (the welterweight limit), put his belt on the line, and settle for 40 percent of the earnings.
On the other hand, WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, the choice of Top Rank president Bob Arum as Pacquiao’s next opponent on Nov. 14, is still keeping his cards close to his chest, saying he can only fight Pacquiao at 145 lb.
Arum said Pacquiao has agreed to fight the pride of Puerto Rico at 144 lb, although his trainer, Freddie Roach, said the 28-year-old Cotto should go down to 143 lb because he’s a “dangerous” fighter as compared to what others think.
Arum met with another Pacquiao adviser, Mike Koncz, in Las Vegas yesterday and presented the boxer’s emmisary of the fight proposal. Pacquiao will look it over once Koncz returns to the Philippines, then decide whether he likes it or not.
“We’re trying to see if Pacquiao is going to accept it or not,” said Mosley.
Pacquiao should get no less than 65 percent of everything if he fights Cotto, who’s coming off victorty over Josh Clottey, a bloody, hard-earned win that raised some eyebrows on whether he can stand toe-to-toe with the hard-hitting Pacquiao.
“I think a fight with me would bring a lot more money and a lot more prestige worldwide. We’ll see what happens... the bigger fight is me and Pacquiao. We have the biggest names by far and Pacquiao’s legacy wouldn’t be damaged losing to me,” said Mosley.
In short, Mosley is saying that he’s better than Cotto, and even Pacquiao. True enough, experts think he can give the reigning pound-for-pound champion a tougher time on the ring than Cotto.
“We’re trying to make the fight but I guess Bob Arum is trying to make the fight with Cotto for his own reasons. That’s where we’re at right now,” said Mosley, adding that Arum is giving Cotto a big fight so he could keep him in his stable.
Pacquiao is also looking at a fight with Mayweather, and if the fight with Cotto pushes through, and he wins, then the undefeated American and ex-pound-for-pound champion may be next in line early next year.
That leaves Mayweather without a chair when the music stops.
“Well, either I’ll wait or I’ll retire until somebody is ready to fight. I won’t retire. I’m just going to hold on to my belt until they come out of hiding and want to make a fight. I’ll just keep training and be ready,” Mosley told fighthype.com. - By Abac Cordero (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)
There’s no stopping WBA welterweight titleholder “Sugar” Shane Mosley from getting what he wants—a showdown with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.
Mosley, a former No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter himself, took it out on Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum.
“The only person that’s stopping the fight is Bob Arum. Bob Arum has his own investments into the fight as far as him wanting to re-sign Cotto and get him a big fight,” he told Percy Crawford of FightHype.com.
“Then he has Pacquiao. He will give Cotto a little money to keep him happy because he really doesn’t deserve any of it,” he said of the Puerto Rican WBO welterweight champion.
Talks about a Pacquiao-Cotto fight gained ground after Cotto defeated Joshua Clottey last June 13 at the Madison Square Garden in New York. Negotiations for Pacquiao’s next bout are said to be ongoing.
Bigger fight
Mosley, meantime, has been vocal about his desire to fight Pacquiao. He even offered a 40-60 split just to face “the Pacman.” He stressed that his fight with Pacquiao will be a “bigger fight” than Pacquiao-Cotto.
“We have the biggest names by far and Pacquiao’s legacy wouldn’t be damaged losing to me,” remarked Mosley.
“I just want to tell Pacquiao to do the right thing for boxing,” he went on.
“I don’t understand… well, I do understand what Bob Arum wants to do, but I wouldn’t understand why Pacquiao wouldn’t take the fight.”
He then suggested, “I think you guys should put a poll up and the Philippine fans vote which one they think would be a bigger fight and who they want to see Pacquiao fight next, Shane Mosley or Miguel Cotto!”
“Let’s see who the Philippine fans want Pacquiao to fight next,” added Mosley.
Michael Phelps has picked up a new endorsement since his three-month suspension ended. The 14-time Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer has a multiyear deal with H2O Audio, a San Diego-based maker of waterproof headphones and accessories.
