Thursday 26 June 2014 12:30, UK
Daniel Smethurst’s bid to reach the second round of Wimbledon fell short as he was beaten 7-5 6-3 6-4 by John Isner.
Smethurst was attempting to become the only British man other than Andy Murray to win his first-round encounter but was not able to pull off the upset against ninth seed Isner.
The 23-year-old did manage to fashion a total of seven break points on his American opponent’s fearsome serve, but could not convert any of them.
Isner, in contrast, broke Smethurst once in each set to complete the win. He will now be aiming to get past the second round at the All England Club for the first time in his career.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wasted little time in securing a place in the second round of Wimbledon when returning to Court One on Tuesday morning.
The French 14th seed had been left frustrated by heavy late-evening rain which denied him the chance to serve for the match in an epic clash against Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
Tsonga was 6-1 3-6 3-6 6-2 5-4 in front when ominous dark clouds over south-west London delivered the downpour which finally brought play to a halt for the day just after 9pm.
However, Tsonga resumed in positive mood as the sun came out again at the All England Club on Tuesday morning, wrapping up the 11th game to love.
The Frenchman forced three match points following a review of a long serve, when after a rally Melzer fired the ball to the net, which he claimed with an ace.
Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka avoided yet another first-round exit at Wimbledon after brushing Joao Sousa aside 6-3 6-4 6-3 .
The fifth seed had remarkably lost five times in the first round at Wimbledon, including the past two years, however, he smashed 18 aces en route to a comfortable success over his Portuguese opponent.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori is also another seed in the second round of the tournament following a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 triumph over Frenchman Kenny De Schepper, while eighth seed Milos Raonic beat Matthew Ebden 6-2 6-4 6-4.
