‘Fed Express’ stays right on track
But ‘The Fed Express’ was given a real run for his money by the Czech teenager, before going through the gears to prevail in straight sets.
The Swiss world number one registered his 31st consecutive win on grass, but he was made to work much harder than expected.
The first two sets were keenly contested with Minar more than holding his own, but a couple of breaks at crucial moments seemed to break the youngster’s resistance. Federer quickly broke at the start of the third set to race into a 3-0 lead.
A double fault then gifted Federer a second break and the 23-year-old wrapped up the set 6-1 with an ace to seal a 6-4 6-4 6-1 victory.
Marat Safin looked in ominous form as he saw off big-serving Mark Philippoussis in straight-sets. The Russian, who once famously insisted that “grass is for cows”, played superbly against his Australian opponent, winning tie-breaks 7-4 in sets one and two.
The third was another tense affair dominated by serve, but Philippoussis, whose career has been blighted with injury, looked to be in some discomfort with another injury. The big Aussie was eventually broken in the seventh game, and Safin never looked back to eventually close out 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Lleyton Hewitt came through a real scrap on Court 1 to beat Jan Hernych and reach the third round.
The first set was a breeze for Hewitt, seeded three, whose early break was a platform for a straightforward success.
Yet the second set was a real struggle after Hernych claimed the early break and consolidated for a 3-0 lead.
Hewitt fought back to level it, but had to save a set point at 4-5 before holding and then gaining the crucial break in the 11th game.
Hernych controlled the third as Hewitt dropped a set for the first time.
However, the Australian came back fighting in the fourth and claimed the early break of serve before eventually winning 6-2 7-5 3-6 6-3.
Nikolay Davydenko was forced to retire with a wrist injury while ahead against Jonas Bjorkman. The eighth seed won a tense opening set 7-4 on a tie-break, and was leading 2-1 in the second before being forced to quit.
Sebastien Grosjean finally saw off French compatriot Michael Llodra to book his place in round two. Ninth seed Grosjean, a semi-finalist at SW19 for the past two years, came through 3-6 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in a match held over from the previous evening.
Britain’s Greg Rusedski is out after losing 6-7 (10-12) 6-3 4-6 6-7 (5-7) to Joachim Johansson, of Sweden.
In the women’s singles, top seed Lindsay Davenport was never troubled by American compatriot Jamea Jackson. The 1999 winner raced to the opening set without losing a game and won the second set 6-3.
Kim Clijsters wasted little time in disposing of American Marissa Irvin in their second-round clash on Court One. The Belgian, a semi-finalist in 2003 and a four time Grand Slam finalist, always looked in command.
Irvin just could not live with her powerful opponent in the heat.
Clijsters wrapped up a victory for the loss of just two games, entering the last 32 of the competition in a match that took just 44 minutes.
Number three seed Amelie Mauresmo produced a text-book display of grasscourt tennis to dispatch Maria Sanchez Lorenzo in rapid time on Court Two.
The two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist showed just why she is going to be a major threat in this year’s competition as she breezed past her Spanish opponent 6-1 6-3 in just 46 minutes.
Anastasia Myskina managed to keep her temper in check long enough to overcome Aiko Nakamura.
The Russian, seeded nine, appeared agitated throughout the clash on Court 13 against a player ranked 94 in the world. But, despite a first-set lapse which saw her nearly throw away a 5-1 lead, she clinched a 6-4 6-3 triumph.
Next up for Myskina is a clash with 17th seed and Birmingham runner-up Jelena Jankovic, who proved too hot for Mariana Diaz-Oliva.
The improving Jankovic took a while to get going against her Argentine foe, but eventually came through 6-3 7-5.
Russian sixth seed Elena Dementieva was given a real scare by qualifier Sabine Klaschka. Dementieva, a French and US Open finalist last year, lost the opening set 6-2 but despite hitting 18 double faults, the Russian toughed it out to record a marathon 2-6 6-3 8-6 win.
Another Russian, number five seed Svetlana Kuznetsova, was pushed all the way by Indian qualifier Sania Mirza on Centre Court.
In an entertaining encounter, the unheralded Mirza gave reigning US Open champion Kuznetsova as good as she got before losing out.
A relieved Kuznetsova eventually toughed out a 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 win.
