Five matches to watch at Wimbledon on Wednesday:
Murray faces dreaded Dustin
-- Defending champion Andy Murray faces the freewheeling Dustin Brown, whose unorthodox serve-and-volley style caught out Rafael Nadal at
the same stage two years ago. The British world number one is lacking
match practice but should have more than enough to beat the 97-ranked
dreadlocked German. However, the gangly Brown's unpredictable playing
makes him a treacherous second round opponent.
Head-to-head: Murray leads 1-0
Venus looks to put tears behind her
Five-time
champion Venus Williams is trying to concentrate on tennis against the
backdrop of the impending legal action she faces back home in the United
States over a fatal car crash.
But the
37-year-old veteran, devastated by the incident, broke down in tears in
her post-match press conference on Monday when the subject came up.
Her
second round opponent on Court One is Chinese rising star Wang Qiang.
Williams beat Wang in straight sets in the French Open first round in
May in their only previous encounter.
Head-to-head: Williams leads 1-0
Nadal faces Young
Rafael
Nadal must fancy his chances of winning a third Wimbledon title this
time out after securing a historic 10th French Open crown last month. He
clocked up his 850th career victory as he cruised through his first
round match on Monday and next faces Donald Young of the United States,
the world number 43, in the third match up on Centre Court.
"I
haven't had many matches on grass for the last few years, but I had
some positive feelings," said Nadal, who missed last year's tournament
with a wrist injury.
Head-to-head: Nadal leads 2-0
Konta eyes Vekic revenge
Less
than three weeks ago, Johanna Konta was denied a grass-court title when
Donna Vekic beat the British number one in the Nottingham final. Now
they meet again with the stakes even higher in the second round in the
opening match on Centre Court.
World
number seven Konta defeated Hsieh Su-Wei in her opener and is looking to
make the last 32 of her home Grand Slam for the first time. To do so,
she will have to find a way to see off Croatian world number 58 Vekic,
who insists all the pressure is on Konta. "Maybe I will have a chance in
that she will feel more pressure than me, especially on Centre Court. I
don't have much to lose," Vekic said.
Head-to-head: 1-1
Schedule switch suits Azarenka
--
Having to wait around all day to play her first round match on Monday
against CiCi Bellis was a real pain for Victoria Azarenka, who would
rather have spent the down time at home with her baby son Leo.
Two-time
Grand Slam winner Azarenka, playing her first major since giving birth
in December, eventually got on court late in the day and slogged through
a three-set victory, but she criticised the All England Club's decision
not to give her a scheduled slot.
The
organisers appear to have listened as the former world number one's
second round match against Russian 15th seed Elena Vesnina is first up
on Court Three at 11:30am (1030 GMT).
Head-to-head: Azarenka leads 7-0
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