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Federer Opens Wimbledon Campaign

  • Posted: Jun 28, 2016

Federer Opens Wimbledon Campaign

Jun272016

Swiss going for record eighth Wimbledon title

Roger Federer brought his best tennis when needed to open his 18th consecutive Wimbledon with a 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Argentine Guido Pella.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion never faced a break point against Pella, who is now 0-4 in tour-level grass-court matches. But Federer also struggled to break the left-hander, going one for nine on break points. Finally, at 4-3 in the third set, the third seed broke Pella and served out the set at love.

His win sets up a dream second-round matchup for Brit qualifier Marcus Willis, No. 772 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Willis had to go through pre-qualifying at Wimbledon and has had to cancel teaching lessons to continue playing at the Grand Slam.

The World No. 3 will look to continue his march to history. Federer, who has lost to Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, is trying to become the first man to win eight Wimbledon crowns. The 34 year old also now has 303 Grand Slam wins, putting him three wins away from tying Martina Navratilova for the most Grand Slam wins.

Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov prevailed against Russian Evgeny Donskoy 6-2, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) to advance to the second round. Dolgopolov, the 30th seed, nearly doubled his winners to unforced errors, 45 to 24. He next will face Brit Daniel Evans, who outlasted German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(7), 7-5.

David Goffin advanced to the second round at The Championships for the second consecutive year. Goffin, the 11th seed, swept British wild card Alexander Ward 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 31 minutes.

The 25-year-old Goffin is fresh off his best showing at a Grand Slam when he reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros earlier this month (l. to Thiem). The Belgian enjoyed his deepest run at Wimbledon last year when he made the fourth round (l. to Wawrinka).

Goffin next will face French qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin, who came back to beat Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Denis Istomin, who lost in the first round in Nottingham last week, upset 20th seed Kevin Anderson 4-6, 6-7(13), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-3. Istomin broke the South African three times in the three-hour and 35-minute match. The Uzbekistani next will face Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, who outlasted Brazilian Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-3, 7-6(6), 5-7, 3-6, 6-3.

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Where There's A Willis There's A Way

  • Posted: Jun 28, 2016

Where There's A Willis There's A Way

Jun272016

The Brit recorded the biggest win his of career at Wimbledon

Marcus Willis has spent much of this year working as a teaching pro at the Warwick Boat Club, but he may want to consider putting in his notice after defeating Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania on Monday at Wimbledon.

The British qualifier, who was the last direct entrant into the pre-qualifying tournament for Wimbledon, played the match of his life in defeating Berankis, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Willis defied his Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 772, hitting 14 aces and 43 winners to defeat a player ranked more than 700 spots higher than him. The plucky Brit also saved 19 of 20 break points during the match. He raised his arms in triumph after hitting a service winner on match point and rushed to celebrate with friends and family.

Marcus Willis celebrates after winning his first-round on Monday at Wimbledon.

“It’s quite a nice life, isn’t it,” said Willis. “I haven’t experienced this. Goran Ivanisevic just came around and shook my hand. He’s my hero.”

Willis was once a highly touted junior ranked in the Top 15 of the ITF Junior Rankings, but struggled to immediately replicate that success on the pro tour. He blamed poor living in his first few years for his results not matching his talent.

“I was bigged up a lot.  Then I got dropped in the real world. I lost a lot of confidence, made some bad decisions and went out too much. Lifestyle wasn’t good,” said Willis. “I didn’t have the drive. I found it three years ago. I worked very hard with my coach, Matt Smith, in Surbiton. Ridiculous times in the morning and ran myself into the ground, but it’s worth it now.”

Just as he found his drive, his body betrayed him. Willis struggled with injuries and was limited to just one tournament this year in January. He took up a coaching job and began playing in French and German tennis leagues in the hopes of putting together enough money to return to the tour full-time in January, but the guaranteed £50,000 he’ll earn for reaching the second-round will go a long way towards bringing him back sooner.

His dream run now becomes surreal as he gets ready to play No. 3 seed Roger Federer in a match that could potentially be placed on Centre Court.

“I’m not sure he can play on grass,” joked Willis. “Obviously it’s an amazing dream come true. I get to play on a stadium court.  This is what I dreamed of when I was younger. I’m going to go out there and try to win the match. I might not.  But I’m going to give everything, as I have the last seven matches.”

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Novak Makes 'Almost Flawless' Start

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016

Novak Makes 'Almost Flawless' Start

Jun272016

The top seed is on a 15-match win streak at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic showed no sign of nerves in attempting to defend his Wimbledon title, earning a convincing win on Monday over British wild card James Ward.

The No. 1 seed and three-time champion was in control throughout the match and didn’t allow his opponent a chance to develop momentum. Djokovic won the first nine games of the match on his way to reaching the second round at Wimbledon for the 12th consecutive year.

“I honestly didn’t expect myself to start that well,” said Djokovic. “It was just a matter of time when James would win his first game. I knew that the reaction of the crowd, and his own reaction, would be the way it was. The first part of the match was almost flawless, so I’m very pleased with the way I started Wimbledon.”

Djokovic made tennis history at Roland Garros by completing the career Grand Slam, becoming just the eighth player and fourth in the Open Era to do so. He’s also the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at once. Although he took time to enjoy the moment, his attention turned towards Wimbledon shortly after his victory in Paris.

“The tennis schedule is such that it requires immediate focus on the next tournament. Literally after a week or so, I had to start training and getting myself in shape for grass,” said Djokovic. “I try to take the best from the past and try to remember those nice moments. Thankfully, there were plenty of those nice moments on the tennis court in the last couple of years.”

Djokovic will next play Adrian Mannarino of France, a dangerous grass-court player who reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2013. Although the win over Ward was his first official match on grass this year, he said the relative lack of match play on the surface wasn’t a worry for him.

“Obviously when you’re on the court and you’re part of an official match, it’s different. [But] I had plenty of time to practise, get some match play during the practise sessions, a lot of points with different players,” said Djokovic. “I think it’s enough. It hasn’t been an issue three times so far in the past five years, so I don’t see any issue now.”

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Wimbledon 2016: Marcus Willis produces a shock as Novak Djokovic wins through

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016
Wimbledon on the BBC
Venue: All-England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July
Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details

Defending champion Novak Djokovic reached round two of Wimbledon as Great Britain’s world number 772 Marcus Willis stole the headlines on day one.

The qualifier stunned world number 54 Ricardas Berankis, earning £50,000 in the process having won £220 all year.

Willis, 25, faces seven-time champion Roger Federer, who beat Guido Pella.

Dan Evans overcame Jan-Lennard Struff in four sets and Britain is guaranteed three men in round two as Andy Murray faces Liam Broady on Tuesday.

British number one Johanna Konta is also in action on day two, when women’s top seed Serena Williams starts her defence of the title on Centre Court against Swiss Amra Sadikovic at 13:00 BST.

  • Day Two: Order of play

Big names survive (so far)

American Kevin Anderson, seeded 20, and Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, seeded 21, were the best-ranked players to go out on day one.

Djokovic – seeking a calendar Grand Slam having already won the Australian and French Open titles this year – produced 21 unforced errors but was in no mood for an upset as he overcame Britain’s James Ward in straight sets on Centre Court.

The Serb has not lost at a Grand Slam since his defeat by Stan Wawrinka in last year’s French Open final, a run of 29 matches.

There were also wins for David Ferrer, Marin Cilic and David Goffin in Djokovic’s half of the draw, while sixth seed Milos Ranoic served 27 aces to advance in straight sets.

Fifth seed Kei Nishikori faced a 142mph serve – the fastest of day one – from Australian Sam Groth but won through 6-4 6-3 7-5.

Willis, meanwhile, becomes the lowest-ranked player to reach round two since 1998, courtesy of his 6-3 6-3 6-4 win. He took advantage of Berankis’ missed opportunities, as the Lithuanian converted just one of 20 break points.

Another Williams record

French Open champion Garbine Muguruza provided an early show of grit on day one as she faced a tough test against Italy’s Camila Giorgi before progressing 6-2 5-7 6-4.

The number two seed is in the same half of the draw as five-time champion Venus Williams, who equalled Amy Frazier’s record of appearing in 71 Grand Slams as she overcame Croatia’s Donna Vekic in straight sets.

Williams, 36, has not won a Grand Slam singles title since 2008 – in which time her sister Serena has secured 13.

The 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic was the first notable scalp in the ladies’ draw, citing an injured wrist after defeat by 21-year-old qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, who hit 19 winners.

Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, a finalist in 2013, blasted nine aces – including three in a 52-second opening game – to beat Poland’s Magda Linette.

British number ones enter the fray

Britain’s best ranked woman Konta arrives at SW19 as the 16th seed, having reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January.

Fresh from becoming the first British woman to reach the semi-finals of Eastbourne’s Aegon International since 1976, she faces Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig, whose appearance in the last four at Eastbourne was her second grass-court semi-final of the summer.

On paper, Murray’s draw against the world number 235 looks more straightforward, although Broady has been seen hitting with high-profile names such as Raonic and the Canadian’s coach John McEnroe this week.

“It’s an opportunity for him to play on one of the biggest courts in the world with a huge audience and try to cause an upset,” said Murray, champion in 2013.

There will be added scrutiny of world number two Murray as he embarks on his first Grand Slam since reuniting with coach Ivan Lendl, who formed part of his camp when he won his two majors.

More British interest

In all there are seven British players in action on day two.

Wildcard Katie Swan, 17, will hope to upset Hungarian Timea Babos, Heather Watson takes on Germany’s Annika Beck, Tara Moore plays Belgian Alison van Uytvanck, and British men’s number two Aljaz Bedene faces French seventh seed Richard Gasquet.

Away from the home interest, Swiss fourth seed Stan Wawrinka plays American 18-year-old Taylor Fritz, while Australian 15th seed Nick Kyrgios faces a fascinating contest against 37-year-old Czech Radek Stepanek.

In the women’s draw, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska plays Ukraine’s Kateryna Kozlova and two-time former champion Petra Kvitova faces Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

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Djokovic beats Ward at Wimbledon – highlights & men's round-up

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016
Wimbledon on the BBC
Venue: All-England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July
Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both made serene progress to the second round of Wimbledon with straight-set wins on the opening day.

Defending champion Djokovic – trying to win a calendar Grand Slam – beat Briton James Ward 6-0 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

Third seed Federer, troubled by injury problems this year, saw off Argentina’s Guido Pella 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.

The Swiss will next play British qualifier Marcus Willis, who stunned world number 54 Ricardas Berankis.

Federer, without a Grand Slam title since winning at SW19 in 2012, was below his best but beat the world number 52 in two hours and five minutes.

Nice to be back – Federer

Seven-time champion Federer, who missed last month’s French Open because of a back injury, said it was “nice to be back”.

“I felt great,” he told BBC Sport. “I’m so happy to be here. I have worked hard since February to be here and hoped not to miss Wimbledon and to be here fully fit so we will see if I am.”

The Swiss added he was “intrigued” by the progress of Briton Willis, the world number 772.

“It is what our sport needs, where guys come from nowhere,” said the 17-time Grand Slam champion.

“We have had a hard time producing those players and I am really looking forward to playing him – couldn’t be more excited.”

‘Flawless first nine games’

In the first match on Centre Court, Djokovic – searching for his fourth SW19 title – took the first nine games but Ward fought back in the second set, finally getting on the scoreboard in the 10th game, much to the delight of the partisan crowd.

But Djokovic – who holds all four Grand Slam titles – showed his class and big-game experience to advance.

“James was serving with a lot of precision and it was not easy to break his serve,” the 29-year-old told BBC Sport.

“There is not really not much to say about the first nine games – it was flawless.

“I felt great and nerves kicked in for James. He started playing better in the second set and it got close – it was solid performance from me, though.

“This is probably the most unique experience in tennis, playing as the defending champion, on untouched grass. It is really special to feel this tradition.”

McEnroe’s positivity surprises Raonic

In front of new coach John McEnroe, sixth seed Milos Raonic overcame Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 6-4.

“John is one of the more positive people, especially a contrast to the way he might have been on court,” said the Canadian.

“He’s very persistent in enforcing the positive things you do well. I think he shows that. It’s good to have him here and that he has made the time possible.”

Fifth seed Kei Nishikori needed a medical timeout but overcame big-serving Australian Sam Groth 6-4 6-3 7-5 in two hours and 10 minutes.

In for the long haul

Sam Querrey was involved in an opening-round match against Czech Lukas Rosol that lasted three hours and 21 minutes. The American, seeded 28th, won 12-10 in the final set.

Querrey had lost the first two sets on tie-breaks but won the next two 6-4 6-2 to force the epic decider.

It was nowhere near the record set by John Isner and Nicolas Mahut in 2010, won 70-68 in the final set by Isner after 11 hours and five minutes of play over three days.

Celeb spotting – Sam Smith, Alfie Allen

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Wimbledon order of play – who plays when?

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016

All England Lawn Tennis Championships | Wimbledon, England

Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Centre Court (13:00 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
1 S Williams (US) v Sadikovic (Swi) Women’s Singles
Broady (GB) v A Murray (GB) 2 Men’s Singles
Wozniacki (Den) v Kuznetsova (Rus) 13 Women’s Singles

No.1 Court (13:00 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Fritz (US) v Wawrinka (Swi) 4 Men’s Singles
Puig (Pur) v Konta (GB) 16 Women’s Singles
10 Kvitova (Cze) v Cirstea (Rom) Women’s Singles

No.2 Court (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
15 Kyrgios (Aus) v Stepanek (Cze) Men’s Singles
Verdasco (Spa) v Tomic (Aus) 19 Men’s Singles
3 A Radwanska (Pol) v Kozlova (Ukr) Women’s Singles
Watson (GB) v Beck (Ger) Women’s Singles

No.3 Court (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
7 Gasquet (Fra) v Bedene (GB) Men’s Singles
Riske (US) v Vinci (Ita) 6 Women’s Singles
8 Thiem (Aut) v Mayer (Ger) Men’s Singles
11 Bacsinszky (Swi) v Kumkhum (Tha) Women’s Singles

Court 4 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Millman (Aus) v Montanes (Spa) Men’s Singles
Parmentier (Fra) v Siniakova (Cze) Women’s Singles
Zeballos (Arg) v Youzhny (Rus) Men’s Singles

Court 5 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Tursunov (Rus) v Sousa (Por) 31 Men’s Singles
Hsieh (Tpe) v Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) 21 Women’s Singles
32 Pouille (Fra) v Copil (Rom) Men’s Singles

Court 6 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Pospisil (Can) v Ramos-Vinolas (Spa) Men’s Singles
Buyukakcay (Tur) v Garcia (Fra) 30 Women’s Singles
Young (US) v Mayer (Arg) Men’s Singles

Court 7 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Lamasine (Fra) v Troicki (Ser) 25 Men’s Singles
Ram (US) v Lopez (Spa) 22 Men’s Singles
Rodina (Rus) v Tsurenko (Ukr) Women’s Singles

Court 8 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Gavrilova (Aus) v Wang (Chn) Women’s Singles
Becker (Ger) v Bagnis (Arg) Men’s Singles
Moore (GB) v Van Uytvanck (Bel) Women’s Singles
Niculescu (Rom) v Krunic (Ser) Women’s Singles

Court 9 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Saville (Aus) v Novikov (US) Men’s Singles
14 Bautista Agut (Spa) v Thompson (Aus) Men’s Singles
Boserup (US) v Maria (Ger) Women’s Singles

Court 10 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Lu (Tpe) v Kudryavtsev (Rus) Men’s Singles
Vesnina (Rus) v Paszek (Aut) Women’s Singles
Olivetti (Fra) v Barton (Aus) Men’s Singles

Court 11 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
26 Paire (Fra) v Skugor (Cro) Men’s Singles
Giraldo (Col) v Muller (Lux) Men’s Singles
Delbonis (Arg) v Fognini (Ita) Men’s Singles
Makarova (Rus) v Larsson (Swe) Women’s Singles

Court 12 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Cervantes (Spa) v Tsonga (Fra) 12 Men’s Singles
Robert (Fra) v Del Potro (Arg) Men’s Singles
Bouchard (Can) v Rybarikova (Svk) Women’s Singles
Sasnovich (Blr) v Mladenovic (Fra) 31 Women’s Singles

Court 14 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
McHale (US) v Hantuchova (Svk) Women’s Singles
Putintseva (Kaz) v Melnikova (Rus) Women’s Singles
Vesely (Cze) v Sijsling (Ned) Men’s Singles

Court 15 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Pliskova (Cze) v Duan (Chn) Women’s Singles
Kukushkin (Kaz) v Klizan (Svk) Men’s Singles
Knapp (Ita) v Konjuh (Cro) Women’s Singles

Court 16 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Lajovic (Ser) v Brown (Ger) Men’s Singles
Swan (GB) v Babos (Hun) Women’s Singles
24 Zverev (Ger) v Mathieu (Fra) Men’s Singles

Court 17 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Daniel (Jpn) v Monaco (Arg) Men’s Singles
32 Petkovic (Ger) v Hibino (Jpn) Women’s Singles
27 Vandeweghe (US) v Bondarenko (Ukr) Women’s Singles

Court 18 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
19 Cibulkova (Svk) v Lucic-Baroni (Cro) Women’s Singles
Dodig (Cro) v Berdych (Cze) 10 Men’s Singles
18 Isner (US) v Baghdatis (Cyp) Men’s Singles
18 Stephens (US) v Peng (Chn) Women’s Singles

Court 19 (11:30 UK start)

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Granollers (Spa) v Estrella Burgos (Dom) Men’s Singles
Elias (Por) v Albot (Mda) Men’s Singles
Minella (Lux) v Tatishvili (US) Women’s Singles

To Be Arranged

Seed Player Player Seed Competition
Pironkova (Bul) v Bencic (Swi) 7 Women’s Singles
Kontaveit (Est) v Strycova (Cze) 24 Women’s Singles

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Cilic Advances To Second Round At Wimbledon

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016

Cilic Advances To Second Round At Wimbledon

Jun272016

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Wimbledon 2016: Garbine Muguruza beats Camila Giorgi as Venus Williams equals a record

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016
Wimbledon on the BBC
Venue: All-England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July
Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details

French Open champion and 2015 Wimbledon runner-up Garbine Muguruza won a tense contest against Italy’s Camila Giorgi to reach round two at SW19.

After taking the first set 6-2, the number two seed could not dominate and took just four of 19 break points.

World number 67 Giorgi levelled but in game three of the decider, Muguruza won six break points and eventually took one, going on to win 6-2 5-7 6-4.

“It was very tough,” said Muguruza, who faces Slovakian Jana Cepelova next.

“I like to play tough matches, it puts me more into the tournament and gives me more confidence.”

Giorgi – considered by many to be better than her ranking suggests – was left to rue 42 unforced errors, 12 more than the world number two, who despite her lofty ranking, has only twice progressed past the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam.

Venus closes in on Grand Slam record

Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams equalled the record number of appearances at a Grand Slam as she survived an early scare.

The 36-year-old saved two set points when 6-5 down to Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the first set before taking a tie-break, going on to win 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

The world number eight now has 71 Grand Slam appearances, equalling American Amy Frazier’s record set in 2006.

Williams is in the same half of the draw as Muguruza but now faces world number 115 Maria Sakkari of Greece in round two.

Sakkari took one hour and 22 minutes to see off China’s SaiSai Zheng, almost half an hour less than Williams required to progress in one hour 51 minutes.

“The first set there were some hairy moments, down some set points, but I guess that’s where experience sets in,” said Williams, playing in her 19th Wimbledon.

This was Williams’ first match on grass this year and though she did not hit top gear throughout, she showed killer instinct to hold serve under pressure to take a 5-4 second-set lead before pressing her opponent into a decisive break.

Blistering Lisicki

Germany’s Sabine Lisicki, who holds the fastest ever women’s serve at 131mph, took just 59 minutes to beat American Shelby Rogers, hammering nine aces at a top speed of 122mph.

Lisicki took just 52 seconds to win the opening game – which included three aces – and her reward is a meeting with 14 seed Sam Stosur, who beat Poland’s Magda Linette 7-5 6-3.

Lisicki’s brilliance on serve was partially matched by American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who produced more aces than any woman on day one with 11. But nine double faults – another day one high in the ladies’ draw – meant she still lost in three sets to Lucie Safarova.

Ivanovic pain prompts qualifier joy

The 23rd seed and 2008 French Open winner Ana Ivanovic could not cope with the pressure applied by Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.

The 21-year-old qualifier was making her Grand Slam debut but defied her world ranking of 228 to hit 19 winners and take four out of five break points over the course of two sets.

Ivanovic, who reached the semi-finals at SW19 in 2007, apportioned some blame to a wrist injury. “It caused me a lot of miss hits,” she said.

Ninth seed Madison Keys, winner of the Aegon Classic earlier this month, did not suffer the same upset as Ivanovic, showing good touch in seeing off Laura Siegemund 6-3 6-1 as she looks to improve on a place in the quarter finals last year.

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Willis Pinching Himself Ahead Of Wimbledon 2016 Debut

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016

Willis Pinching Himself Ahead Of Wimbledon 2016 Debut

Jun272016

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Wimbledon 2016: Kyle Edmund loses in first round to Adrian Mannarino

  • Posted: Jun 27, 2016
Wimbledon on the BBC
Venue: All-England Club Dates: 27 June-10 July
Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and app. Click for more details

Kyle Edmund was the first Briton to be knocked out on day one of Wimbledon after a straight-sets defeat by France’s Adrian Mannarino.

The British number three, 21, lost 6-2 7-5 6-4 in two hours and two minutes to the world number 55.

Defeat means the Yorkshireman is still searching for his maiden win in the men’s singles at Wimbledon.

Eight other Britons – including former British number one Laura Robson – are also playing on the opening day.

Edmund had the honour of being the first home player to walk out on to court, but was unable to provide a winning start for a partisan crowd on Court Two.

Ranked 13 places below his opponent, he lost his serve early in the first set and never recovered in an edgy display.

Mannarino, who reached the last 16 here in 2013, broke again in the opening game of the second set, before Edmund finally started to cause the French number nine some problems with his crunching forehands.

There was a brief glimmer of hope for Edmund when he broke back for 5-5, only to instantly lose the next game and allow Mannarino to serve out for the second.

That meant Edmund had to do something that he had never previously done – to fight back from two sets down and win in five.

But another slow start in the third set left him scrambling.

Mannarino, 27, broke in the opening game and, although Edmund recovered that three games later, the Briton slipped up again to go 5-4 down.

And the left-handed Frenchman clinched a place in the second round for the fifth time with a clinical hold to love.

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