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Wimbledon: Aussie De Minaur beats Broady to enter 4th round

Wimbledon: Aussie De Minaur beats Broady to enter 4th round
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Wimbledon (London): This has been an unique first week at Wimbledon. No rain delays, bright sunshine, and seeds not biting the dust. On Saturday, when the lesser mortals featured in the first session, it was left to Australian Alex De Minaur to overcome Liam Broady, a wild card, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 for an entry into the fourth round.

This was a match where De Minaur was the odds on favourite against the left-handed Briton. However, with the pattern of play being dictated from the baseline, Broady showed a broad frame of mind to trouble his opponent in the closing stages of the contest. There were six deuces in the last game and finally De Minaur closed out the match.It was a big relief for the Australian from Sydney, even though he had played the same opponent in the second round at Eastbourne, a warm-up tournament last year.

The fact that De Minaur has never lost a Grand Slam match to a player ranked as low as No. 132 Broady, went in his favour on Court 1, where the sizeable attendance watched the two combatants play. Quite often, contests between a right-handed player and a left-handed player provide that extra dimension. Southpaws produce more difficult angles in their shots on the court.

But then, De Minaur has handled many opponents like this before and sealed victory.

There was a mild surprise on Centre Court where two American ladies, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova were engaged in a winner-takes-all fight in the third round.

Coco has been rated very highly these days in women's tennis as at the age of 18, she has been ranked World No. 12 last month. Coco has talked of how Rafael Nadal provides her motivation and is a role model. For his part, Nadal, too, said that it is a matter of time before Coco breaks into the big league.

That was not to happen on Saturday, as Coco choked after winning the first set. With the match going the full distance, it was Amanda Anisimova who played with more freedom and feel from the back of the court. The 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-1 win for Amanda was deserving as she showed aggression and the willingness to play strokes with freedom on either flank.

Former World No.1 Simona Halep hit the cruise control button as she whipped Magdalena Frech 6-4, 6-1 to enter the fourth round. Winner of two Grand Slam titles in 2018 and 2019, coming in the form of the French Open and Wimbledon, the 30-year-old Romanian showed what it is to play with experience.

On a day when the heavyweights like Rafael Nadal and cranky Australian Nick Kyrgios were to play later, top seed Iga Swiatek also was struggling to find her rhythm against Frenchwoman Aliz Cornet. At the time of going to the press, Iga had lost the first set and was leading in the second.

The Middle Sunday has been an off day at Wimbledon all these years. However, this time, there will be play, which is a big departure from tradition. Call it catering to the demands of live telecast or getting one more day's action for fans, Sunday will also be a busy day at the office for the players.

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