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Agassi, Henman, Nalbandian through to third round
London, June 27: World number one Andre Agassi overcame a tenacious Lars Burgsmueller to reach the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-3 7-6 6-3 win on Thursday (June 26).
London, June 27: World number one Andre Agassi overcame a tenacious Lars Burgsmueller to reach the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-3 7-6 6-3 win on Thursday (June 26).
The 1992 champion and second seed got off to a flying start on the sun-drenched court one as he broke the 88th-ranked German in the first game to surge into a 2-0 lead.
Burgsmueller struggled to find his rhythm and achieved only 38 percent success on his serve in the first set, which the American won in 34 minutes with a blistering forehand cross-court pass.
Burgsmueller put in a dogged performance in the second but ran out of steam in the tiebreak and lost it 7-4, before Agassi finished off his opponent with an emphatic smash on his second match point.
Agassi will face an intriguing third-round showdown with 27th seed Younes El Aynaoui for a place in the last 16.
Last year's surprise Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian moved into the third round of this year's grasscourt slam on Thursday with a 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory over fellow South American Andre Sa.
The burly Argentine, seeded sixth after his heroics last year, settled more quickly on a half-empty court one than his Brazilian rival and got the early break, mixing his powerful backhand drives with some well-disguised drop shots.
The experience of last year, his first senior grasscourt event, has given him a great confidence boost on the tricky surface, he said.
"The final last year was difficult for me, it was my first time on centre court, but the experience was very important, it was a big thing for me," he told reporters.
"That has helped me a lot because after that I started playing very well, with much confidence and it has helped me this year too," he said.
The first set was a largely scrappy affair, peppered with a few moments of brilliance, and Nalbandian took it fairly comfortably as 84th-ranked Sa struggled to find his feet.
Sa, who reached this stage when his Argentine first-round opponent Mariano Zabaleta retired due to illness, staged a fight back in the second set, threatening to level.
However, the Brazilian's surge relied as much on Nalbandian's errors as his own winners, and the Argentine slowly cut those out.
The 26-year-old Sa's confidence crumbled in the third set. He broke Nalbandian twice, but the Argentine still proved far too strong.
Nalbandian said he felt he had played well and put his errors down to the conditions.
"I feel better this year but today was a little difficult, there was a bit of wind which changed a lot," he said. "But I feel good."
Nalbandian will face Slovakian Karol Kucera in the next round. Tim Henman carried British hopes into the third round, beating French qualifier Michael Llodra 6-4 6-4 6-3.
After British number two Greg Rusedski went out under a cloud on Centre Court on Wednesday, an excited crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief then cheered wildly when Henman, 28, wrapped up the match with a smash after one hour 54 minutes.
The 10th seed and last home player left in the draw, looked edgy on his serve during the first two sets but played the big points well, unlike Llodra who capitulated twice while serving to stay in the set.
Llodra, ranked 136 in the world, had not won a match outside qualifying before Wimbledon this year and managed to convert only two of his 10 break points, coming off second best in volley exchanges.
Henman, dubbed the nearly-man after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals four times in the last five years, grew in confidence as the match progressed.
His injured shoulder which needed surgery last November appeared to be holding out well, though his serve lacked the power of previous years.
All British hopes of winning the men's singles title for the first time for 67 years, are once again pinned on Henman, whose form has suffered since the injury.
Rusedski was knocked out by favourite Andy Roddick in a match marred by an angry outburst from the Briton who exploded in a stream of expletives after he felt a point should be replayed following a call from the crowd.
Spectators were asked several times on Thursday to keep quiet during play and Henman scowled at one point when a mobile phone sounded.
But the crowd also enjoyed a moment of celebrity when they became extras in a romantic comedy film being shot at the club and entitled "Wimbledon".
Play was delayed by half an hour while film-makers whipped the spectators into a frenzy as they pretended to cheer the Wimbledon champion.
The cheers that greeted Henman afterwards were perhaps a little more wistful, but the British hopeful has a good chance of reaching the second week as he plays another qualifier Robin Soderling of Sweden in Saturday's third round.
French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, seeded three, encountered a formidable opponent in Nicolas Escude. But the Frenchman was forced to retire with a groin strain as he trailed 6-7 6-3 6-3.
Bureau Report
Last year's surprise Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian moved into the third round of this year's grasscourt slam on Thursday with a 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory over fellow South American Andre Sa.
The burly Argentine, seeded sixth after his heroics last year, settled more quickly on a half-empty court one than his Brazilian rival and got the early break, mixing his powerful backhand drives with some well-disguised drop shots.
The experience of last year, his first senior grasscourt event, has given him a great confidence boost on the tricky surface, he said.
"The final last year was difficult for me, it was my first time on centre court, but the experience was very important, it was a big thing for me," he told reporters.
"That has helped me a lot because after that I started playing very well, with much confidence and it has helped me this year too," he said.
The first set was a largely scrappy affair, peppered with a few moments of brilliance, and Nalbandian took it fairly comfortably as 84th-ranked Sa struggled to find his feet.
Sa, who reached this stage when his Argentine first-round opponent Mariano Zabaleta retired due to illness, staged a fight back in the second set, threatening to level.
However, the Brazilian's surge relied as much on Nalbandian's errors as his own winners, and the Argentine slowly cut those out.
The 26-year-old Sa's confidence crumbled in the third set. He broke Nalbandian twice, but the Argentine still proved far too strong.
Nalbandian said he felt he had played well and put his errors down to the conditions.
"I feel better this year but today was a little difficult, there was a bit of wind which changed a lot," he said. "But I feel good."
Nalbandian will face Slovakian Karol Kucera in the next round. Tim Henman carried British hopes into the third round, beating French qualifier Michael Llodra 6-4 6-4 6-3.
After British number two Greg Rusedski went out under a cloud on Centre Court on Wednesday, an excited crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief then cheered wildly when Henman, 28, wrapped up the match with a smash after one hour 54 minutes.
The 10th seed and last home player left in the draw, looked edgy on his serve during the first two sets but played the big points well, unlike Llodra who capitulated twice while serving to stay in the set.
Llodra, ranked 136 in the world, had not won a match outside qualifying before Wimbledon this year and managed to convert only two of his 10 break points, coming off second best in volley exchanges.
Henman, dubbed the nearly-man after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals four times in the last five years, grew in confidence as the match progressed.
His injured shoulder which needed surgery last November appeared to be holding out well, though his serve lacked the power of previous years.
All British hopes of winning the men's singles title for the first time for 67 years, are once again pinned on Henman, whose form has suffered since the injury.
Rusedski was knocked out by favourite Andy Roddick in a match marred by an angry outburst from the Briton who exploded in a stream of expletives after he felt a point should be replayed following a call from the crowd.
Spectators were asked several times on Thursday to keep quiet during play and Henman scowled at one point when a mobile phone sounded.
But the crowd also enjoyed a moment of celebrity when they became extras in a romantic comedy film being shot at the club and entitled "Wimbledon".
Play was delayed by half an hour while film-makers whipped the spectators into a frenzy as they pretended to cheer the Wimbledon champion.
The cheers that greeted Henman afterwards were perhaps a little more wistful, but the British hopeful has a good chance of reaching the second week as he plays another qualifier Robin Soderling of Sweden in Saturday's third round.
French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, seeded three, encountered a formidable opponent in Nicolas Escude. But the Frenchman was forced to retire with a groin strain as he trailed 6-7 6-3 6-3.
Bureau Report