Roddick Falls to Djokovic at London Games
Novak Djokovic needed just 54 minutes to beat American Andy Roddick 6-2, 6-1 on Centre Court at a wet All England Club, Wimbledon, for a place in the third round of the 2012 London Olympics. Djokovic, a 2008 Beijing Olympics singles bronze medalist, hit 14 aces and lost 14 points on serve against Roddick. Djokovic converted all four of his break point opportunities and hit 34 winners to advance to the next round where he will face Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.
“He played great. He was just in the zone," said Roddick. "The conditions were perfect. He was hitting it well. If he is hitting the ball like that, my chance is to serve really well. I didn’t serve great today. I hit the ball fine, [but] he was just too good from the baseline. He was seeing it like a basketball today.”
Hewitt advanced with a win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic, 6-4, 7-5, in one hour and 36 minutes.
Also advancing was Great Britain’s Andy Murray, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Jarkko Nieminen of Finland in just 61 minutes. Murray broke serve in the first game of each set, and won all 16 of his second serve points in an aggressive performance, which included six aces and 26 winners.
“I played well today,” said Murray. “He didn’t start the match that well. Then he definitely played better in the second set. I had the momentum for most of the match. Once I got a break up in the second [set], it was important to stay focused, because I was getting a lot of free points from my serve.”
Murray advances to play Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Richard Gasquet of France. Baghdatis stands the chance of becoming the first ever first Olympic medallist from Cyprus.
