Eight-time champion Roger Federer eased into the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday, beating British wild card Jay Clarke 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to equal American legend Jimmy Connors’s record of 17 appearances in the last 32.
Rafael Nadal beat Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3) n a grudge match to set up a third-round meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The eight-time Wimbledon champion, who is chasing a 21st major crown, unleashed 46 winners past the battling world No 169.
“I struggled to take care of business a bit from the baseline,” said 37-year-old Federer who has now reached the third round at the Slams for the 70th time.
“Thankfully I played a pretty good breaker, I had some help from him as he gave me a couple of unforced errors.”
Federer and Nadal’s half of the draw lost two of the potentially more awkward customers in big serving duo John Isner and Marin Cilic.
Ninth-seeded Isner, who played in the epic semi-final last year with Kevin Anderson which lasted over six hours, fell in five sets to unseeded Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in just over three hours of play.
Cilic, the 13th seed and finalist in 2017, lost in straight sets to Portugal’s Joao Sousa, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
Results
Men
2nd rd
Sam Querrey (USA) bt Andrey Rublev (RUS) 6-3, 6-2, 6-3
John Millman (AUS) bt Laslo Djere (SRB x31) 6-3, 6-2, 6-1
Dan Evans (GBR) bt Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO x18) 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2)
Kei Nishikori (JPN x8) bt Cameron Norrie (GBR) 6-4, 6-4, 6-0
Steve Johnson (USA) bt Alex De Minaur (AUS x25) 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER x33) bt Taylor Fritz (USA) 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2)
With AFP Inputs
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!