Wimbledon 2012 Update: Murray, Roddick and Fish All Advance to Round Three
In Thursday action at Wimbledon 2012, Andy Murray gave the home crowd at Centre Court some concern when he was broken in his first service game, but held the rest of the way and broke Ivo Karlovic four times for a 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(4) win to reach the third round. Murray has reached the semifinals at the All England Lawn Tennis Club the last three years as he continues his quest to be the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win Wimbledon. Murray next faces Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus.
Andy Roddick of the U.S. advanced to the third round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time this year when he beat Bjorn Phau 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-3 on Thursday. Roddick has struggled to date in 2012, coming into Wimbledon this year seeded 30th. Roddick hit 13 aces, lost serve once and won 25 points at the net. The three-time Wimbledon runner-up will next play the number seven seed, David Ferrer of Spain.
Mardy Fish’s back was against the wall today as he faced local favorite James Ward on Thursday. Coming off his first match, Fish’s first since heart surgery, he missed his post-match press conference due to exhaustion, thus leaving the rest of his Wimbledon appearances in doubt. That doubt, combined with the crowd support Ward received from the British faithful, was a lot to overcome, but the 10th seeded Fish was victorious and moves on to the next round after a 3-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 win over Ward. Fish’s next opponent will be Belgium’s David Goffin, already an upset winner over the number 20 seed, Bernard Tomic of Austria in the opening round of action.
"I feel pretty tired," said Fish. "My legs are pretty tired. But it feels good to win. It certainly feels good to win a match like that. It sort of felt like a Davis Cup-type atmosphere at the end."
