Federer Breezes to Wimbledon Third Round in Rare Court No. 1 Appearance
WIMBLEDON, England — Eight-time men's champion Roger Federer moved into the third round at Wimbledon. Defending women's champion Angelique Kerber went out in the second.
Federer advanced as expected on Thursday, beating wild-card entry Jay Clarke 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 on No. 1 Court. But unseeded American Lauren Davis pulled off the unexpected, defeating Kerber 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 on No. 2 Court.
''I told myself you're strong, you can do it, you belong here,'' said Davis, who only entered the tournament as a lucky loser.
Kerber beat Serena Williams in last year's final. Federer won his eighth title at the All England Club in 2017 and was eliminated in the quarterfinals last year.
Despite his pedigree at Wimbledon, Federer played his British opponent on the second biggest court on the grounds instead of his usual spot on Centre Court.
''I really enjoyed myself on Court 1 today with the roof,'' Federer said. ''I couldn't really tell if it was Centre Court or Court 1, actually.''
If the pressure is getting to Ash Barty at Wimbledon, she's doing a great job of hiding it.
The top-ranked Australian came into the grass-court Grand Slam tournament after winning the French Open and a Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham. And she's now won two in a row at the All England Club to reach the third round and stretch her winning streak to 14 straight.
Barty beat Alison Van Uytvanck 6-1, 6-3, needing only 55 minutes on No. 2 Court to advance. And it could have been even quicker but she failed to serve out the match at 5-2 in the second set - the only time she was broken.
''Pretty sharp right from the start,'' the top-seeded Barty said. ''I was able to implement what I wanted to right away and put the pressure straight back on her.''
Barty is playing her first tournament as No. 1 but has never been past the third round at Wimbledon. She will next face Harriet Dart, a British wild-card entry making her second appearance at Wimbledon.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, No. 9 Sloane Stephens and No. 15 Wang Qiang also advanced to third round. Kvitova beat Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-2, Stephens defeated Wang Yafan 6-0, 6-2, and Wang ousted Tamara Zidansek 6-1, 6-2.
Sam Querrey, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017, reached the third round in the men's draw. The unseeded American defeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
