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Wimbledon PHOTOS: Nadal overcomes first-round jitters; Somdev loses
Rafael Nadal was made to suffer in a nervous return to the Wimbledon lawns, harried and rattled through a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan - his 700th tour win.
The world No. 1, seeded two at Wimbledon, had lost his past three games on grass, going out in the first and second rounds at the All England Club in the past two years, as well as losing in the first round at Halle two weeks ago.
Klizan, 24, used his fizzing 100mph (160kph) forehand to play on Nadal's first-round jitters as he attempted to call an early halt to the Spaniard's tilt at a third French Open and Wimbledon double.
But after twice tumbling to the ground and scrambling to his feet to win points, Nadal began to find his grasscourt range and, with the sun-drenched crowd behind him, earned a second-round revenge match-up against his 2012 conqueror Lukas Rosol.
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Somdev goes down fighting to Janowicz
Somdev Devvarman battled for more than three hours but had to settle for yet another first-round defeat after losing his opening match at Wimbledon to 15th seeded Jerzy Janowicz of Poland.
The Indian’s 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 defeat was his 10th in the first round in his last 13 tournaments since winning the Delhi Open in February.
He failed to cross the first round in all three Grand Slams this season. Ironically, he lost a gruelling five-set opener to Janowicz at the Australian Open.
On Tuesday, though, Somdev raised hopes of an upset against the world No 25, who struggled with his serve while sending down a staggering 19 double faults.
But once Janowicz got his forehand going, he had Somdev gasping.
The Indian lacked the game to counter the Pole on grass as his baseline style of play was unproductive.
The Polish giant, standing at 6 ft 8 inch, also tested the Indian with a variety of drop shots which at times was a struggle for Somdev to even reach.
When he was broken in the fourth game of the fifth set after saving four break-points, handing a 3-1 cushion to Janowicz, the writing was clear on the wall. Janowicz ended the misery with a backhand down the line winner.
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Federer back with a flourish
They walked on to Wimbledon's Court One as two fellow 32-year-olds, but that's where the similarity between Roger Federer and Paolo Lorenzi ended as the Swiss began his pursuit of a record eighth Wimbledon title with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 romp.
A year after leaving the All England Club as a shell-shocked second-round loser, Federer was back to his sublime best as he teased and tormented Italian Lorenzi with a heady mix of laser-sighted serves and stinging groundstrokes.
The exhibition certainly won the approval of his coach Stefan Edberg, who whipped off his sunglasses soon after the start to get a better look at the elegant winners flowing off Federer's racket.
After squandering five match points on the Lorenzi serve, the fourth seed finished it off with his ninth ace to set up a second round meeting with either Frenchman Julien Benneteau or Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
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Wawrinka avoids another first-round exit
Stanislas Wawrinka bludgeoned his way into the second round of Wimbledon for the first time in three years with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Portugal's Joao Sousa.
The Australian Open champion has struggled at the All England Club during his career, losing his opening match five times in nine visits, but he never looked in danger of another early exit on a sun-baked Court Two.
The fiery fifth seed, who reached the semi-finals of the Queen's Club warm-up tournament earlier this month, delighted the crowd with some sizzling forehands and backhands which proved to hot for claycourt specialist Sousa to handle.
Wawrinka looked a little frustrated with himself on occasions but never gave Sousa the slightest glimpse of a break point as he cruised to victory.
He fired 18 aces, several on second serves, as he moved through to face either Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu or Kazakhstan's Aleksandr Nedovyesov in the next round.
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Lisicki proves worthy of ladies day honour
Sabine Lisicki, last year's women's singles runner-up, opened her Wimbledon campaign with an emphatic 6-2, 6-1 victory, proving she was worthy of the privilege of kicking off Centre Court action.
Opening proceedings on the main show court on the second day of the tournament, known as ladies day, is usually reserved for the previous year's champion, but Marion Bartoli, 29, has now retired from the game.
A smiling Lisicki, the world No.19, looked at ease right from the coin toss ceremony overseen by Bartoli. The 24-year-old German wasted no time seeing off Israel's Julia Glushko, ranked 79, winning in less than an hour to help erase memories of her nervy and emotional performance on the same court in last year's final.
That final was 24-year-old Lisicki's best Grand Slam performance to date, knocking out five-time Wimbledon champion Serena Williams on the way - a feat she may have to repeat if she is to book another final appearance this year.
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Sharapova crushes Murray
Former champion Maria Sharapova showed no mercy to British wildcard Samantha Murray in a brutal 6-1, 6-0 first-round victory.
The Russian fifth seed, bidding for a French Open-Wimbledon double after claiming the Roland Garros title this month, was forced to deuce in her opening service game but barely broke sweat after that in a one-sided contest lasting 58 minutes.
World number 247 Murray, no relation to the reigning men's singles champion, never looked capable of causing a shock as Sharapova dominated the rallies with her rasping groundstrokes.
Sharapova, who shot to stardom in 2004 when she beat Serena Williams to win the Wimbledon title, aged 17, said she was pleased to be off to a flying start after the quick turnaround from the claycourt season.
"It's such a quick turnaround," she said. "You just want to be physically rested but also have enough preparation and practise going into Wimbledon, it's a thin line.
"But I've recovered mentally and physically."
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Bartoli shines briefly at Wimbledon
In normal circumstances Marion Bartoli would have played Centre Court's opening match on so-called Ladies Day - the honour traditionally bestowed on the defending women's champion on the second day of the tournament in southwest London.
The Frenchwoman retired shortly after her fairytale run to the title last year, sick of the physical demands of a sport that left her barely able to lift her arm above her head.
She still honoured her appointment, though. The 29-year-old, clad in a summery cream outfit and platform shoes she designed herself, received a standing ovation from the packed stands as she walked on to the Centre Court turf just before play started.
Holding her hand was a young player from the tennis academy for disadvantaged children that was set up by British player Elena Baltacha, who recently succumbed to cancer.
It was a typically classy piece of organisation by the All England Club and a moving moment for Bartoli.
"I'm sorry I got so emotional - I couldn't hold my tears being on the Centre Court and supporting #Rally4Bally at Wimbledon," Bartoli said on Twitter.
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Keys continues good form
In the women's draw American Madison Keys, tipped as a dark horse for the title after winning in Eastbourne last week, cruised past Puerto Rico's Monica Puig 6-3, 6-3 in the first round.
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Radwanska thrashes Mitu
Fourth seed and 2012 runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska had little trouble against Romanian Andreea Mitu, as she registered an easy 6-2, 6-1 victory to advance to the second round.
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Wozniacki completes easy win
Former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, seeded 16, also had an easy outing in her first round match as she beat Shahar Peer 6-3,
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