IMAGES from the matches played on Day 2 of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday.
Champion Garbine Muguruza opened up traditional 'ladies day' on Wimbledon's Centre Court with a 6-2, 7-5 win over British wildcard Naomi Broady in the first round on Tuesday.
Since the pair last contested a match seven years ago, Muguruza has gone on to become a two-time Grand Slam champion and the Spaniard produced an assured performance to dispatch the 138th-ranked Broady.
Broady, who saved eight of the 11 break points she faced, survived a match point on her serve in the 10th game to the delight of the cheering fans but the third seed made no mistake two games later as she wrapped up the win.
Muguruza will play either Belgium's Alison van Uytvanck or Slovenia's Polona Hercog in the second round.
Former champion Sharapova beaten by fellow-Russian qualifier
Wimbledon's 2004 champion Maria Sharapova tumbled out of the tournament in the opening round for the first time, beaten at her own game by fellow-Russian Vitalia Diatchenko 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-4 as the evening shadows crept across Court Two.
Sharapova, seeded 24th, managed to stay with qualifier Diatchenko, who plays with a similar heavy-groundstroke style, through long baseline rallies and numerous deuce games, hoping her experience would tell.
Diatchenko, 27, had a medical time-out at 3-3 in the first set for treatment on her side and back. She appeared to be moving well afterwards but called the trainer again in the final set.
Nerves jangled as the first set reached its climax and she could not find the shots to disturb the 31-year-old five-times Grand Slam winner in the tiebreak, which Sharapova won with an unreturnable serve.
Sharapova, 31, broke Diatchenko's serve early in the second set and looked to be cruising until her opponent roared back with stunning stokes to win three games in a row and bring the scores level.
The younger woman was more composed during the second tiebreak, earning early minibreaks and winning the set with a big serve that Sharapova put wide.
Both players roared with effort as they exchanged shots and each pulled off some stunning winners in the third set.
Sharapova broke twice but each time Diatchenko replied in kind and she wrapped up an unlikely victory in just over three hours when the former champion double-faulted.
Djokovic races past Sandgren in opener
Novak Djokovic did his best to finish off his first-round match at Wimbledon in time for Court One fans to head off to watch England’s World Cup clash with Colombia.
The Serbian just failed but a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of American Tennys Sandgren was an impressive way to kick off his challenge for a fourth title at the All England Club.
Djokovic, 31, is seeded 12th here — his lowest Wimbledon seeding — but after a problematic 12 months since pulling out of last year’s tournament with an elbow injury there are signs that the former world number one is coming back to form.
He was clinical against the 57th-ranked Sandgren who was making his Wimbledon debut and who had played only one Tour match on grass prior to arriving in London.
When he moved a double break ahead in the third set the end seemed imminent but Sandgren rescued one break to delay the inevitable before Djokovic finished with a flourish.
Nishikori recovers to reach Round 2
Japan's Kei Nishikori overcame a mid-match blip to beat American qualifier Christian Harrison 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Up next for the 24th seed is Australian Bernard Tomic, who ousted Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the opening round.
Del Potro marches on
Fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro fired 22 aces on his way to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over German Peter Gojowczyk.
The big-hitting Argentine’s best performance at Wimbledon came in 2013, when he reached the semi-finals.
Former champion Kvitova makes early Wimbledon exit
Twice former champion Petra Kvitova slumped out of Wimbledon in the first round on Tuesday, beaten by inspired world number 50 Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-4, 4-6, 6-0.
Eighth seed Kvitova, who withdrew from the Eastbourne tournament last week with a hamstring injury, appeared to be moving well but looked pale and drawn particularly in the first set.
Kvitova, 28, has worked hard this year, winning five titles. The Czech, Wimbledon champion in 2011 and 2014, won back to back tournaments in Prague and Madrid, and successfully defended her title on grass in Birmingham last month.
Sasnovich, 24, kept her cool throughout the two hour 14 minute match. She went for her shots, served with pace and variety and played big points apparently without nerves.
That was until the 10th game of the second set, when, serving to stay in the set, she started to feel the pressure.
She served two double faults to give big-hitting Kvitova set point and though she saved that one, she lost the set with a forehand out wide.
The wobble seemed to galvanise the Belarusian, however.
She came out fighting in the third set, capturing game after game with steady defence and exquisite shot-making, including drop-shot winners and getting the better of a volley rally at the net.
Kvitova, by contrast, showed only flashes of her old grasscourt brilliance and produced 36 unforced errors. She sent down aces but missed simple forehands and was troubled by the wind as well as her own lack of composure.
Sasnovich completed victory with two aces in a fitting end to a fine performance.
"It was a good match but I can play better as well," Sasnovich said. "I was just warming up when the match was 5-0."
Thiem's Wimbledon bid ends with first-round retirement
French Open runner-up Dominic Thiem's Wimbledon adventure ended abruptly in the first round on Tuesday as he retired with an apparent back injury while trailing Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
The Austrian was sprawled on his stomach on Court Two as he received a deep-tissue back massage from the trainer before the start of the third set.
The trainer then rolled the seventh seed on to his back to manipulate Thiem's shoulders but the intervention failed to have the desired affect as he called it quits after losing the next two games.
Baghdatis was leading 6-4, 7-5, 2-0 when Thiem retired.
Konta and Edmund fly British flag
British number one Johanna Konta made hard work of beating 103rd-ranked Russian Natalia Vikhlyantseva 7-5, 7-6(7) in her opening match at Wimbledon.
Konta, a semi-finalist last year, lost control of a match she seemed to have in her pocket and was mightily relieved to escape a sticky Court Two with victory, having squandered five match points in the second-set tiebreak.
With Andy Murray missing, Konta, seeded 22, and men's 21st seed Kyle Edmund are shouldering the hopes of the home nation -- a burden Konta seemed to be handling well for a set-and-a-half against tricky 21-year-old Vikhlyantseva.
She broke serve at 5-5 on her way to taking a tight opening set and had points for a double-break in the second set when Vikhlyantseva served at 2-4.
Konta failed to push home her advantage, however, and dropped serve in the next game.
Vikhlyantseva then held and Konta found herself in a difficult situation at 4-5 when she failed to punish a short ball and saw a backhand winner flash past her.
She saved the set point with a superb deep forehand from wide but a crass attempt at a dropshot handed Vikhlyantseva another chance to take the match into a decider.
Konta saved that one too but in the tiebreak she let a 6-2 lead evaporate and then served a double-fault at 7-6.
She got the job done at the sixth attempt though with an easy volley into an open court.
Dominika Cibulkova will provide a further test for Konta in round two.
Edmund enjoyed a routine 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over Australian Alex Bolt and is the last British man left standing after teenager Jay Clarke fell in five sets to Ernests Gulbis.
