Wawrinka and Nishikori Cruise Into Wimbledon Second Round

Day Two of Wimbledon got underway Tuesday as a number of the sport’s big names took to the court early on in the day. One of those big names was fifth-seeded and defending Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka who drew a first-round matchup with Joao Sousa of Portugal.

The Switzerland native was looking to bounce back from his disappointing first-round exit at the French Open two weeks ago, and did so by cruising past Sousa in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

Wawrinka utilized an excellent serve that allowed him to smash 18 aces over the course of the match, preventing Sousa from picking up any key break points. On the other side, the third-ranked player in the world converted four of his 12 break point opportunities and his 34 winners to secure his spot in the second round.

In the next round he will meet Yen-Hsun Lu of the Chinese Taipei who gutted out a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1 victory on Tuesday. Lu, the 45th ranked player in the world, has already picked up a Top 10 win this season, defeating David Ferrer in the Heineken Open in January, and will look to do so again when he faces off with Wawrinka.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori was another one of the top players to begin their Wimbledon campaigns on Tuesday, as the 12th ranked player in the world beat Kenney de Schlepper of France 6-4, 7-6(5), 7-5. Schlepper had reached the fourth round at last year’s Wimbledon but was overmatched by Nishikori who committed only nine unforced errors all match.

Nishikori has won two ATP Tour titles so far in 2014 and will continue his Wimbledon bid with a second-round contest with American Denis Kudla, who won his match Tuesday over Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan 7-6(4), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5.

Also advancing on Tuesday was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. The 14th seed scratched out a long, five-set duel with Jurgen Melzer of Austria, that was suspended due to rain last night and picked up on Tuesday morning. The Frenchman would eventually prevail 6-1, 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to move into the second round. In an all-American battle, Sam Querrey beat Bradley Klahn 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 to advance on the grass-court.

There are still plenty of matches slated to happen as Day Two progresses, including Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who will both begin their respective Wimbledon campaigns.