Rank outsider Feliciano Lopez of Spain buried eighth seed Andy Roddick under a hailstorm of aces as he won 7-6 (7/ 2), 7-6 (7/ 2), 6-4 to enter the fourth round at The Championships on Friday.
At a time when millions of dollars spent on the sport by the United States Tennis Association are yielding no results, Roddick was a big hope for the Americans.
But the way Lopez, who had lost seven times in a row before this to Roddick, cranked up his serve and won a pair of tie-breakers was proof he was going to do the damage.
That it happened as early as the third round at Wimbledon will rankle Roddick as he was never able to generate the pace and settle into a rhythm.
Watching left-handed Lopez in action was a delight, though had this been the Wimbledon of yesteryears, with the ball zipping off the surface and staying low, the Spaniard would have found it tough.
For Roddick, this was the 11th straight appearance at this venue, and there was more hype than hope of him doing well.
At a time when the top four in men's section fancy their chances of winning the title, Roddick had to do something big this fortnight.
Having lost three finals to Roger Federer at Wimbledon, Roddick will remain one of the enigmas who couldn't seal a title here.
His aggression was muffled on this day as the bearded Lopez, sporting a white headband and tied ponytail, could play the big shots when he needed them most. Proof of it was the two tie- breaks where Roddick came short.
Apart from the 28 aces which Lopez rifled in, he kept the unforced errors to a miserly seven. The angles he conjured up from the backcourt and midcourt added to his repertoire.
"It's definitely a great win for me. I had never beaten him before, so this is important for me as it comes at Wimbledon," said Lopez.
"I played a tough match against Roddick at Queen's where I lost in the third round. He managed to do something there."
So at what stage did Lopez think he would win?
" Even at two sets to love, I knew Andy was going to be there. I finally realised I had won when I shook hands with Andy. I knew I had won," added the modest Lopez.
"I had a couple of good years before this at Wimbledon but this is unbelievable. When I came into the locker room, my coaches told me I played solid and otherwise I wouldn't have won two tiebreaks," said Lopez.
"For my game, this grass suits well. Everything was working for me today. And to win the first set was important. It was an unbelievable match," he summed up.
Roddick was gracious in defeat.
"He played well and served well. He mixed up his serves well."
In the ladies' section, the big casualty was No. 2 seed Vera Zvonareva, who went down 2- 6, 3- 6 to 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova of Bulgaria.
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki needed to tighten her game in the closing stages to defeat Frenchwoman Virginie Razzano 6-1, 6-3 to enter the third round on Court 2.
Razzano, who defeated Sania Mirza in the first round, produces some good tennis towards the end but it did not suffice.
After the match, Wozniacki stirred up the debate over who plays on the bigger courts.
"I think I deserve to play on one of the bigger courts. Obviously, everyone wants to play in there. It's up to the tournament to decide where we're going to play," she said.
Asked how it felt to play on grass, Wozniacki said: " I think I'm playing well on grass. You know, I'm serving well. I'm moving well. I move the ball around well."
For Venus Williams, it was a stroll in the park as she defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-0, 6-2 to enter the fourth round.
Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova recovered from a poor start to defeat local favourite Laura Robson 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
With Laura serving big early on and throwing her racquet freely, Sharapova was feeling the heat.
But as the fifth seed in the tournament, she knew what it takes to come out of a tight situation.
"I felt I really started slow and she was much more aggressive than me. I really didn't have too many looks on her second serve," said Sharapova.
GOOD DAY FOR INDIA
Friday also saw Indian doubles pairs shine. Third seeds Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi advanced after a 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Croats Ivan Dodig and Lovro Zovko.
Somdev Devvarman and Japan's Kei Nishikori beat Rainer Schuettler and Alexander Waske 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-2.
In women's doubles, fourth seeds Sania Mirza and Russia's Elena Vesnina beat Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic and Kazakh Galina Voskoboeva 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
23:37
Karthick Dharman
Posted in: Breaking News
