Share

Murray wins in front of Queen

Wimbledon - With Queen Elizabeth II watching from the Royal Box, Britain's Andy Murray beat Jarkko Nieminen in straights sets Thursday on Centre Court to reach the third round of Wimbledon.

The fourth-seeded Murray beat the Finnish player 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in front of the queen, who visited the All England Club for the first time since 1977.

Murray is trying to become the first British player to win Wimbledon since the queen watched Virginia Wade win the women's final 33 years ago.

The queen took her seat in the front row of the Royal Box shortly before Murray and Nieminen walked onto the court. They turned toward her and simultaneously bowed as the crowd roared.

Murray, the only British player left in singles, might have been a bit nervous at the start. He faced four break points in the opening game but erased them all, then pulled away from there.

The queen joined the applause when Murray closed out the win. Both players again bowed as they left the court, and they then met with the queen on a balcony overlooking the club's outer courts before she departed after a visit of about four hours.

Over on Court 1, 2004 champion Maria Sharapova advanced to the third round by beating Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-1, 6-4. Seeded 16th, Sharapova won 20 of 23 points at the net.

The queen emerged from a car near the club's practice courts an hour before the day's first matches, and walked toward Centre Court along a walkway lined with spectators. When she reached the members' lawn, she met several players, including Roger Federer, Venus and Serena Williams and Andy Roddick, and former Wimbledon champions Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.

"She said, `Oh, you've been coming here a long time,"' King said. "And I said, `Yes, 49 years in a row,' and she goes, `Oh, that's wonderful.' ... It was really an honor and a big thrill for me, because it is on my bucket list."

Serena Williams greeted the queen with the curtsy she had been practicing. Roddick and Federer bowed. Spectators cheered as the queen then walked across a bridge to the clubhouse for lunch.

While she dined, No. 7-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Alberta Brianti 6-2, 6-0. No. 10 Flavia Pennetta swept Monica Niculescu 6-1, 6-1, and No. 14 Victoria Azarenka beat Bojana Jovanovski 6-1, 6-4. No. 23 Zheng Jie lost to Petra Kvitova 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.

The queen did not attend the resumption of the marathon match on remote Court 18 between American John Isner and Nicolas Mahut of France that has lasted so long it was suspended because of darkness - for the second night in a row.

After 10 hours of play, 881 points and 193 aces over two days, the fifth set was at 59-all. It kept going because neither player could break the other.

The electronic scoreboard froze and then went blank, perhaps from the fatigue of trying keeping up with the longest match in the sport's history. The Wimbledon website also lost track of the score.

Following an overnight suspension, the match resumed Wednesday at the start of the fifth set. More than seven hours later, there was still no winner.

"Nothing like this will ever happen again," Isner said. "Ever."

Second Round Results:

Men

Gilles Simon (26), France, def. Illya Marchenko, Ukraine, walkover.
Tobias Kamke, Germany, def. Andreas Seppi, Italy, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Andy Murray (4), Britain, def. Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Thomaz Bellucci (25), Brazil, def. Martin Fischer, Austria, 6-7 (11), 7-6 (4), 7-6 (1), 6-2.
Julien Benneteau (32), France, def. Andreas Beck, Germany, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Jeremy Chardy, France, def. Lukas Lacko, Slovakia, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-7 (5), 8-6.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10), France, def. Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ukraine, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 5-7, 10-8.
Robin Soderling (6), Sweden, def. Marcel Granollers, Spain, 7-5, 6-1, 6-4.
Xavier Malisse, Belgium, def. Julian Reister, Germany, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.
Fabio Fognini, Italy, def. Michael Russell, United States, 3-6, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Robin Haase, Netherlands, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Sam Querrey (18), United States, def. Ivan Dodig, Croatia, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (10).
David Ferrer (9), Spain, def. Florent Serra, France, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (6), 6-3.
Philipp Petzschner (33), Germany, def. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Women

Agnieszka Radwanska (7), Poland, def. Alberta Brianti, Italy, 6-2, 6-0.
Kaia Kanepi, Estonia, def. Edina Gallovits, Romania, 6-4, 7-5.
Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic, def. Zheng Jie (23), China, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova (16), Russia, def. Ioana Raluca Olaru, Romania, 6-1, 6-4.
Victoria Azarenka (14), Belarus, def. Bojana Jovanovski, Serbia, 6-1, 6-4.
Flavia Pennetta (10), Italy, def. Monica Niculescu, Romania, 6-1, 6-1.
Alexandra Dulgheru (31), Romania, def. Romina Sarina Oprandi, Italy, 6-2, 6-0.
Caroline Wozniacki (3), Denmark, def. Chang Kai-chen, Taiwan, 6-4, 6-3.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (29), Russia, def. Roberta Vinci, Italy, 6-2, 7-6 (1).
Klara Zakopalova, Czech Republic, def. Aravane Rezai (18), France, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.
Sara Errani (32), Italy, def. Arantxa Parra Santonja, Spain, 6-2, 6-2.
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Czech Republic, def. Daniela Hantuchova (24), Slovakia, 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Li Na (9), China, def. Kurumi Nara, Japan, 6-2, 6-4.
Anastasia Rodionova, Australia, def. Svetlana Kuznetsova (19), Russia, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia, def. Ayumi Morita, Japan, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2), 7-5.
Serena Williams (1), United States, def. Anna Chakvetadze, Russia, 6-0, 6-1.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2250 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE