Nadal and Serena hit stride at Wimbledon

Rafa Nadal needed four games to adjust his sights for grasscourt combat at Wimbledon yesterday while another former champion, Serena Williams, powered through to the second round in convincing style. Mallorcan Nadal, looking to reclaim the title he won in 2008 and 2010, found himself 4-0 down against Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci on Centre Court before a barrage of heavy hitting took him to a 7-6 6-2 6-3 victory in two hours 15 minutes. Williams, the day after her sister Venus was bundled out in the first round, restored family honour with a 6-2 6-4 defeat of battling Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova. After world number one and title holder Novak Djokovic and six-times winner Roger Federer moved safely through on Monday, Andy Murray was the last of the men’s big four in first round action later on Centre Court against Nikolay Davydenko. Wildcard Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion, lost 6-3 6-4 6-4 to French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga while 20th seed Bernard Tomic’s surprise 3-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 defeat by Belgian wildcard David Goffin made it a bad day for Australia. Hewitt, still one of the game’s most ferocious competitors despite the ravages of his long career, would have raised an eyebrow at 19-year-old Tomic’s post-match analysis. “My quality of tennis should be getting me to a lot of semi-finals, finals at tournaments or even winning,” he said. “But lack of concentration, not working hard, it costs you.” Women’s defending champion Petra Kvitova had the honour of opening Centre Court proceedings on what is traditionally Ladies Day at the All England Club. Like Nadal, she also took a while to find her rhythm before beating Uzbekistan’s Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4 6-4 in a match interrupted by the first raindrops of the week. Deposed world number one Victoria Azarenka was untroubled against Irina Falconi, screaming to a 6-1 6-4 victory while former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, the 24th seed, survived a scare against home favourite Laura Robson before winning 2-6 6-2 6-4. Second seed Nadal, who has never lost in the first round of a grand slam, admitted he was a touch fortunate to progress in three sets against the 80th ranked Bellucci. “I served well at the beginning and I made more mistakes than usual,” Nadal said. “I was lucky to come back to win the opening set after being 4-0 down.” Serena, whose career has teetered on the brink since she collected her fourth Wimbledon singles title in 2010, was given a decent workout by Strycova on Court Two. The fired-up 30-year-old let out a roar when she closed out the match and looked in the mood to fly the Williams flag throughout the fortnight after five-times champion Venus’s disheartening display on the opening day. “Definitely a little relief, I think I was letting out a lot of cries. I was happy to get through that,” Williams told reporters, refusing to reveal her thoughts on being scheduled on the club’s third-largest court. Murray has last laugh as Davydenko downed London: Home favourite Andy Murray had the last laugh as he silenced Nikolay Davydenko’s taunts with a straight sets win yesterday to kick off his Wimbledon campaign. The Russian had claimed players laughed at the British fourth seed, believing he regularly makes a song and dance out of his injuries. But Murray left Davydenko licking his wounds by beating him 6-1, 6-1 6-4 on Centre Court. Davydenko, 31, a former world number three, who won the 2009 World Tour Finals, has seen his ranking drop to 47 and he was outclassed by his Scottish opponent. “I’m desperate to get the tournament going because there’s a lot of talk from a lot of people,” Murray said afterwards. “It’s never easy playing at Wimbledon in the first round but that was a good start. The first two sets were very good. I got off to a great start and then relaxed. “Since Queen’s I’ve been itching to get going. “I was hitting the ball very clean from the beginning of the match.” He faces either Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic or Israel’s Dudi Sela in the second round. Murray, making his seventh Wimbledon appearance, has never lost his opening match at the All England Club and has made the semi-finals on the last three occasions. He is bidding to become the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men’s singles crown. Murray has come under fire in recent weeks from the likes of Virginia Wade, the last British singles winner at Wimbledon, who won the ladies’ title in 1977. She called him a “drama queen”, claiming the 25-year-old exaggerated any bumps and bruises he may be feeling. “We just laugh sometimes,” Davydenko told The Sun newspaper yesterday. “Sometimes he walks on court, he looks tired, like he doesn’t want to run anymore and then he runs like an animal. He has done that all his career. “He may have a pain somewhere but if you ask any player they will all say they have pains here and there. Nobody says they are perfect. It’s just not possible.” Murray showed no bitterness at the end of the match, shaking hands with Davydenko at the net.