Thursday 2 July 2015 15:49, UK
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams return to action in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Defending champion Djokovic eased past Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets on Monday and will next face Jarkko Nieminen in the opening match on centre court.
The Finn ended Lleyton Hewitt’s final appearance at the tournament when he finally overcame the Australian in an epic first round encounter.
But Nieminen has won just one of his six previous matches against Djokovic and was brushed aside by the Serb in their most recent meeting at this year’s French Open.
In the women’s draw, Williams quickly overcame a shaky start to power past Russian qualifier Margarita Gasparyan 6-4 6-1, setting up a clash against Timea Babos.
The 22-year-old Hungarian has already displayed her talent in the doubles at Wimbledon, reaching the final of last year’s tournament alongside Kristina Mladenovic.
British hopes will be pinned on Liam Broady and Heather Watson, who both advanced with battling wins.
Broady fought back from two sets down to defeat Marinko Matosevic, while Watson dug deep to defeat Caroline Garcia in a match spanning two days, saving three match points in the process.
David Goffin, the 16th seed, should supply another stern test for Broady as they start the day’s schedule on court No 3.
Blocking Watson’s path to the next stage will be Daniela Hantuchova, with the British No 1 sitting above her opponent in the rankings.
Hantuchova is a former world No 5, but has slid to 89 during a dismal run of form and the Guernsey player can approach their encounter in confident mood.
Fourth seed Maria Sharapova and seventh seed Ana Ivanovic continue their bids for the title, while an exciting men’s trio of Stanislas Wawrinka, Grigor Dimitrov and Kei Nishikori take to the court.
