That’s all from this live blog today but we are hopeful that our technical issues have passed, and we should be up and running shortly with live updates from Serena Williams against Tímea Babos.
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This live blog is going to take a brief intermission for 45 minutes due to technical problems at Guardian Towers. Sorry.
All of which means that Heather Watson and Daniela Hantuchova are due on Court 1 any moment now. You can follow it with Scott Murray.
But Milos Raonic will not be denied, dominating the tie-break and pinging a backhand past Tommy Haas on match point to seal his place in the third round. He wins 6-0, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6 - he’ll probably feel he made a bit of a meal of it after the first two sets, although I doff my backwards baseball cap to the noble Haas for his refusal to give in - and he will have an ace-off with Nick Kyrgios in the third round. Raonic beat Kyrgios in the quarters last year.
Nick Kyrgios has beaten Juan Monaco 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the third round. He’ll probably celebrate by getting a tattoo of his favourite rock singer or something, the little scamp, then he’ll play the winner of Milos Raonic v Tommy Haas.
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And Haas holds! Raonic nets another forehand and Haas, improbably, has taken the fourth set into a tie-break.
Serving to stay in the match at 6-5, Tommy Haas has just saved three straight match points. Raonic netted a forehand return off a second serve on the last one.
Marin Cilic doesn’t look like he’s going to be detained for very long on Centre Court. He takes the first set 6-3 against Ricardas Berankis. Cilic could play Djokovic in the quarters - he took two sets off the world No1 at that stage last year.
John Isner only needed one tie-break! Blimey. He’s beaten Matthew Ebden 6-2, 7-6, 6-4. Only one tie-break. That’s not very Isner.
Barney Ronay has done an article on Liam Broady’s defeat to David Goffin. He’s sitting to my left, all pleased with himself.
Maria Sharapova has had an easy workout against Richel Hogenkamp. She’s into the third round, winning 6-3, 6-1, and she hasn’t even toyed with the idea of dropping a set yet.
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On Court 18, The Fanatics are out in force and they are making noise. They’re so wacky!
The No32 seed, Dominic Thiem, has won the first set 7-5 against Fernando Verdasco. “As it is Canada day, it is a good choice to pick Mr. Raonic,” says Karl Gibbons, who goes on to tell a tall and untrue tale. “My fact about him is also linked to his Maple Syrup-loving ways: Milos Raonic was once involved in a police chase when he stole a moose from Toronto City Zoo.”
Twelve minutes isn’t a very long time, is it? Don’t answer that actually. I know what you were going to say and this is a family website. Anyway that’s all the time it took for Rojer and Tecau to beat Lukas Rosol and Martin Klizan in the men’s doubles. Obviously Rosol and Klizan retired when they were 3-0 down. Klizan is out of the men’s singles but Rosol beat Ernests Gulbis yesterday and is in Roger Federer’s quarter.
How’s Nick Kyrgios getting on? Pretty well, all things considered. The second set is his and he leads Juan Monaco 7-6, 6-3.
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The ball boy who collapsed on Court 17 earlier is on the mend. Which is good news.
The Ball Boy from Court 17 has been treated and is feeling much better. We wish him a speedy recovery.
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2015
John Isner was never going to miss out on the tie-break action. He now leads Matthew Ebden 6-2, 7-6.
Tommy Haas has called for the trainer. He seems to have a problem with his right shoulder. “Maria Sharapova matches are incredibly slow,” says Alec Cochrane. “She takes so much time in between every point. Turning around to compose herself, getting in position, throwing the ball up so high, etc. If I was playing against her I’d see if I could wind her up by taking serves when she isn’t watching. It’s not too bad on telly, what with replays, but it was terrible live when I was there on Monday. It was a stark contrast to Wawrinka who was taking his serves before the ball kids had got back to their spots.”
Tommy Haas, with his baseball cap on back to front, is back! Down 6-0, 6-2 to Milos Raonic, he’s just won the third set on a tie-break.
Actually it belongs to the Guardian now. Thanks!
A dramatic contest on Court 11 has come to an end. And Russia’s Elizaveta Kulichkova has outlasted Belgium’s Yanina Wickmayer to win 3-6, 7-6, 10-8. That’s an excellent and slightly surprising win for the Russian.
Novak Djokovic was never going to lose to Jarkko Nieminen, was he? The world No1 and favourite is through, beating Nieminen 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 in the Finn’s last match at Wimbledon. Nieminen went for it and hit some wonderful winners here and there but Djokovic was far too powerful in the end.
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Following in her boyfriend’s footsteps on Court 2, Maria Sharapova is firmly in control against Holland’s Richel Hogenkamp. She wins the first set 6-3. “Milos Raonic’s Gangsta Rapper Name is “MainSirCool”, which is an anagram of his name,” Phil Russell lies.
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Another tie-break. Marcos Baghdatis is up against it against John Millman on Court 12.
What’s with all the tie-breaks today? There’s been another one on Court 18 and Nick Kyrgios won it against Juan Monaco. Weirdly the set only took 35 minutes and also surprising is that John Isner hasn’t been involved in a tie-break yet. Although he could be heading for one against Matthew Ebden.
Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas makes short work of her match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich. She’s a 7-5, 6-1 winner.
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@JacobSteinberg Milos Raonic broke two Olympic Games records in 2012, he played the longest match ever (66 games) and the longest set.
— Betty Pavlova (@bettypavlova) July 1, 2015
Indeed. Raonic ended up losing 25-23 to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round - and to compound his agony, Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Petro then broke the record for the longest match at the Olympics in their semi-final. It took four hours and 26 minutes to settle in Federer’s favour, 30 minutes longer than Raonic and Tsonga lasted on court.
We’re two for 10 on Milos Raonic Fact Corner. “Milos Raonic’s favourite cast member of the Simpsons is Terri out of Terri and Sherri,” Tim Jones lies. “He prefers smooth peanut butter to chunky.”
On the subject of speedy serves, Robin Haase last night said that when he reached the boy’s final in 2005, Jeremy Chardy hit a serve that was as fast of one of Andy Roddick’s missiles against Roger Federer in the men’s final. “I can remember that in the finals the guy served the same speed as Roddick against Federer in the final,” Hasse, who plays Andy Murray tomorrow, said. “That’s what I remember.”
I’m checking outside to see if there are no flying pigs in the sky but I can’t see any. Reason being that John Isner broke not once but twice in the first set of his match against Matthew Ebden to take it 6-2 on Court 17.
Bad light stopped Madison Keys in her tracks last night but not to worry, she’s returned this afternoon to polish off her 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Stefanie Voegele. The American, a dark horse in the women’s draw, is into the second round and she’ll be pleased with that recovery after losing the first set.
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I’ll start: Milos Raonic hit the third fastest serve in Wimbledon history in the second set. His clocked in at 145mph, just behind Andy Roddick’s 146mph in 2004 and Taylor Dent’s 148mph howitzer in 2010.
Seeing as we’re so into giving readers homework these days, your task for the afternoon is to find 10 interesting facts about Milos Raonic, who’s giving Tommy Haas a torrid time on Court 1. The second set is in the bag and the Canadian leads 6-0, 6-2.
Worrying scenes on Court 17, where a ballboy has just been carried off by medical staff after collapsing, presumably because of the heat. Having just been outside, I can confirm that it is really hot in SW19. Hopefully he’s okay.
John Isner is a break up against Matthew Ebden on that court.
Worrying sight on Court 17 - a ball boy has had a seizure and collapsed on court. Stretcher just arrived #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/mNLaxZWYeb
— Archie Rhind-Tutt (@archiert1) July 1, 2015
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Steve Johnson fought until the bitter end but the result was never really in doubt on Court 2. Grigor Dimitrov wins 7-6, 6-2, 7-6. Is he finding his form again? He likes this surface.
Why would you wear skinny jeans in court anyway? Show some respect.
Ignore what I said about wearing skinny jeans in my preamble. If you are over 40, do not wear skinny jeans; Tommy Haas trails 6-0, 3-1 against Milos Raonic, busting my theory that this is going to the year of the veteran at Wimbledon. If you’re wearing skinny jeans, take them off now. Unless you’re on the bus. Or in the office. Or in court.
Thanks to Gerard for providing me with some respite. I return in time to see that Bernard Tomic has moved serenely into the third round, beating Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6, 6-4, 7-6. A tight scoreline but it will do. Court 18 is about to see another Aussie enter the fray now, with Nick Kyrgios preparing to duke it ut with Argentina’s Juan “One” Monaco. That should be a good match.
And on that note, here is Jacob to take you through the rest of the afternoon. Ta ta
Oh dear. Trailing 5-4, serving to stay in the set, with the whole court to aim for and the score at deuce, Nieminen wallops a backhand long. Djokovic takes full advantage to wrap up the first set 6-4. Brutal.
Boris Becker is standing up in the coaches’ box on Centre Court and, wait for it, he just touched his left arm with his right hand!
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Over on Court No1, Milos Raonic is not wasting time against Tommy Haas. He has already won the first set 6-0 – the big-serving Canadian is backed by quite a few to go late into next week and he is looking pretty imperious at present.
Liam Broady out of the men's singles
A case of after the Lord Mayor’s show would be harsh on the 21-year-old Brit – his conqueror, David Goffin, is the 16th seed after all and had too much class, prevailing in straight sets 7-6, 6-1. 6-1. As widely reported though, Broady will pocket a much-needed £47,000 for his efforts on his men’s singles debut at Wimbledon, minus of course his fine for uttering one or two expletives in his first-round match.
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Broady has avoided a bagel, defending a couple of match points and going through a few deuces to make it 1-5 in the third set. Over on Centre Court, Djokovic has not taken well to Nieminen having the temerity to break him in the opening game. He now leads 4-3
Here’s more on Kei Nishikori’s withdrawal. You’ll remember of course, he was a potential opponent for Djokovic in a couple of rounds’ time – that is if the defending champ does not bow out today …
It’s all going rather Pete Tong for Liam Broady. He’s two sets to love down, 4-0 down in the third and in serious danger of ending his 2015 Wimbledon campaign with a bagel.
That was a few minutes ago. But they are already under way on Centre Court and Nieminen has broken in the first game of the match!
Here’s Djokovic hitting up, presumably with Nieminen but possibly against a wall.
WATCH World No.1 @DjokerNole get ready to face Jarkko Nieminen on Centre Court #Wimbledon http://t.co/sJo8ZpETqa
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2015
Australian news now. Sam Stosur is into the third round with the minimum of fuss, completing a routine 6-3, 6-4 victory over Urszula Radwanska.
Hello! I’m briefly filling in for Jacob and unfortunately I start by bringing bad news. Liam Broady has lost the second set against David Goffin 6-1 and he trails by two sets to love. Mind you, he won his first-round match from the same position …
James Riach has live coverage of Novak Djokovic v Jarkko Nieminen here. I’m going to get some lunch. Back soon.
While we absorb the sad news of Kei Nishikori’s withdrawal, Richard Gasquet is breezing into the third round. He’s beaten Kenny De Schepper 6-0, 6-3, 6-3. Elsewhere Bernard Tomic leads Pierre-Hugues Herbert 7-6, 6-4.
Nishikori is asked whether his injury record will make him more cautious in future. “I usually play 100 percent in every match so I cannot stop injuries every time. When it happens in a grand slam, it is very sad. But there are more years to come, so it should be ok.” That’s all from him in English.
More from Nishikori. “I have one month before Washington, so I am sure it’s going to be ok. I need to get a good preparation for the US. I always play well in the US and I like hard courts. The injury should be ok for the next tournament.”
Nishikori continues. “During the first match against Simone, especially in the fifth set, it was pretty bad. Somehow I won. I thought it would get better in two days but it didn’t get better. It’s very disappointing. I thought I was playing well on grass so it’s very unfortunate to lose this chance but hopefully I can do well in the US series.”
Nishikori had a calf injury last week. “It is the same injury. It got better before the first match and last week. I thought it was going to be ok but in the last match in the fifth set it was hurting too much. I tried it today in the warm-up but it was hurting, walking and running, so I decided not to play today. It’s not a big injury but I think it is a little tear.”
Kei Nishikori has just arrived in the press room.
Marin Cilic v Ricardas Berankis will move from Court 2 to second on Centre Court. We’ll be hearing more from Nishikori shortly.
KEI NISHIKORI WITHDRAWS
The fifth seed, who was due to play Santiago Giraldo second on Centre Court, has withdrawn from the tournament with an injury. He was struggling in his match against Simone Bolelli on Monday and has decided he can’t play after testing his fitness on the warm-up court this morning.
Daniel Oaker suggests another handsome Bulgarian. You know who it is.
It’s tie-break crazy at Wimbledon today. Now Coco Vandeweghe wins one against Karolina Pliskova on Court 17.
David Goffin, Bernard Tomic and Grigor Dimitrov all needed first-set tie-breaks to de-pluck their plucky underdog opponents. And they’ve both broken early in the second set, the outlook for Liam Broady, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Steve Johnson suddenly looking rather grim.
Looking back at the fire that might have been but might also not have been, Barney Ronay reports that he heard an announcement asking the secretary to please go to the kitchen, before a follow-up informed said secretary that their presence in said kitchen was no longer required. What a day! I blame the weather.
Grigor Dimitrov was pushed to the limit by Steve Johnson in the first set and had to save two set points in the tie-break. He did it. He saved them and eventually he claws his way into the lead. But it’s not entirely convincing from everyone’s favourite handsome Bulgarian.
Meanwhile Sam Stosur is cruising against Urszula Radwanska, taking the first set 6-3. The former US Open champion looks comfortable on Court 12.
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A small improvement from Kenny De Schepper in the second set but not by much: Richard Gasquet now leads 6-0, 6-3 on Court 16 and he is surely heading for the third round. What do we think? Can Gasquet ever do what seemed inevitable when he was a teenager and win a slam? Or has his time passed?
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David Goffin wins the first set 7-6
First-set tie-break: Broady* 3-7 Goffin (*denotes server): Broady nets a forehand to bring an end to a poor tie-break from his perspective. The favourite is ahead.
First-set tie-break: Broady 3-6 Goffin* (*denotes server): Broady saves one of them with a clunking backhand winner down the line.
First-set tie-break: Broady 2-6 Goffin* (*denotes server): Goffin earns a set point.
First-set tie-break: Broady* 2-5 Goffin (*denotes server): Broady is hanging on.
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First-set tie-break: Broady* 1-5 Goffin (*denotes server): Broady makes another error.
First-set tie-break: Broady 1-4 Goffin* (*denotes server): Broady balloons a forehand return.
First-set tie-break: Broady 1-3 Goffin* (*denotes server): Goffin wonks a forehand wide.
First-set tie-break: Broady* 0-3 Goffin (*denotes server): Broady batters a forehand wide. This is a bad start.
First-set tie-break: Broady* 0-2 Goffin (denotes server): A Goffin backhand down the line is too good.
First-set tie-break: Broady 0-1 Goffin (*denotes server): Broady nets a forehand.
Liam Broady has also forced a tie-break. Let’s point-by-point it.
On Court 2, Grigor Dimitrov has been taken to a tie-break by the USA’s Steve Johnson. Dimitrov’s not found the level he hit in his comfortable win on Monday.
Bernard Tomic’s finest performance at a grand slam remains his teenage jaunt into the quarter-finals here in 2011, when he troubled Novak Djokovic over four sets. His career has stuttered since then, on and off the court, but he’s edging closer to a place in the third round this year after winning a first-set tie-break against Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Or was it a fire? This is getting weirder.
Drama at Wimbledon - a tree has fallen down near gate 1 and smashed a Range Rover. Someone's going to get an expensive shock when they leave
— Natalie Pirks (@Natpirks) July 1, 2015
Broady holds. He roars. It’s 5-5. Can he break?
Liam Broady has just saved a set point. He’s not held for 5-5 yet but he is digging in. Although it was a bit of a let off, Goffin netting a backhand.
I can see Court 1 and it doesn’t appear to be on fire. It seems that it was a kitchen fire that is now under control and the gates are now reopened.
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There is word that there has been a fire on Court 1. Looking at the feed of the court, though, people are there...
There is word that there is a security alert at Wimbledon. Gates have been closed and you can hear sirens outside.
Who killed Kenny? Richard Gasquet killed Kenny ... De Schepper. He wins first set 6-0, Gasquet not in the mood to show any patriotic mercy towards his fellow Frenchman. So much for fraternité.
It’s been a hectic start on Court 3. Broady is going for it, hitting the fuzz off the ball with some of his shots, but Goffin is happy to trade cannonballs from the baseline. There has been the odd flash of ingenuity, though, a couple of neat drop shots from Broady, but there hasn’t been a sniff of a break yet. Goffin leads 3-2.
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Grigor Dimitrov has just shown off his footballing skills, volleying a ball back over the net with his right foot after firing a forehand long. He’s fairly good at life, isn’t he?
It’s an all-French affair on Court 16, where Richard Gasquet faces Kenny De Schepper. Gasquet is in command early on, breaking for a 2-0 lead. It’s a match he should win.
“Come on!” Broady barks as he holds his first service game. There’s a raucous atmosphere out on Court 3, nothing like the genteel air of Centre Court.
“First set ... ready ... play.”
And with those four words, day three of Wimbledon is underway.
Liam’s sister, Naomi Broady, is on Court 3, ready to cheer her brother on. Which is nice.
Here comes Liam Broady, walking out on Court 3 to a rapturous reception from people who had never heard of him before Monday but who have now inserted him into their hearts! He is now the country’s favourite Liam, far more popular than Liam from One Direction, who quite frankly has had his day. This is Broady’s time. We are living in The Age of Broady and nothing can stop him*.
*Legal disclaimer: David Goffin can stop him.
Wimbledon will honour the victims of the Tunisia attack on Friday. Here’s a statement from the club.
The All England Club today confirmed that Wimbledon will be joining the national minute’s silence, planned for midday on Friday 3 July, in memory of the victims of the Tunisia attack.
Richard Lewis, Chief Executive of the All England Club, said; “Wimbledon will be joining the national minute’s silence on Friday and we will be asking all those in the Grounds at the time to observe the silence out of respect to the victims in Tunisia and their families.”
On that day play on the outside courts will start at 12.15pm instead of 11.30am.
Preamble
Hello. There comes a moment in every parent’s life when their beloved offspring looks them up and down, smirks and tells them that their skinny jeans look ridiculous; a tremendous blow. But you’re not too old! Don’t listen to the haters! You wear those skinny jeans! You squeeze into those skinny jeans! You wear them with pride! You’re not too old! You don’t look ridiculous! You’re not too old for them! You’re not too old for them! You’re not too old for them! You wear those skinny jeans!
Follow the example set by Venus Williams, Jarkko Nieminen and Tommy Haas this week. They’re not too old. The veterans had a wonderful time on Monday, rolling back the years with some virtuoso displays. Nieminen, who is due to retire soon, ended Lleyton Hewitt’s Wimbledon career, Williams administered Madison Brengle with a 6-0, 6-0 clobbering and Haas, still fighting fit at 37 years of age, made it through in four sets. And so here we are: Nieminen has the small matter of opening up Centre Court proceedings against Novak Djokovic, the world No1, Williams plays Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva last on Court 2 and Haas takes on the seventh seed, Milos Raonic first on Court 1. Raonic has had injury problems lately; is an upset on the cards?
We’ve had a few of those already. Eugenie Bouchard, a finalist at Wimbledon yesterday, fell yesterday, stricken by an abdominal strain against China’s Ying-Ying Duan, while the No3 seed, Simona Halep, was beaten by the world No106, Jana Cepelova. The women’s draw has opened up a little. Belinda Bencic, Ana Ivanovic, Sara Errani, Victoria Azarenka and Andrea Petkovic, all of whom are in action against lowly opponents today, will have to be on their guard but they will be feeling confident. But maybe not too confident given that they are in Serena Williams’s half of the draw. She plays Timea Babos third on Centre Court.
If that all goes to plan for Serena, her third-round opponent could be ... Heather Watson. Britain’s Heather Watson! She’s the last British woman left in the draw and faces the wily Slovakian, Daniela Hantuchova, second on Court 2 today. Watson battled hard to beat Caroline Garcia yesterday and she’s back again to torture us today.
The other Brit to keep an eye on is Liam Broady, who got his first ever win at a grand slam on Monday, coming back from two sets down to beat Marinko Matosevic. Suddenly the country is gripped by Broadymania. Or Liamania. But Our Liam will have his hands full against the 16th seed, David Goffin, on Court 3. His run could come to an end.
What else? Stan Wawrinka is playing! he’s last on Court 1 against Victor Estrella Burgos. We all love Stan. Nick Kyrgios is playing! He’s fun. He’ll treat us to some entertainment against Juan Monaco on Court 18, after Bernard Tomic has confused everyone with his unpredictable nature against Pierre-Hughes Herbert. Then we’ve got Marin Cilic against Ricardas Berankis and Kevin Anderson against Marsel Ilhan - who beat Jerzy Janowicz on Monday.
But the real glamour, gossip fans, is on Court 2, where tennis’s power couple are on the bill. First it’s Grigor Dimitrov against Steve Johnson and then it’s Maria Sharapova against Richel Hogenkamp. Now there’s a couple who can pull off the skinny jeans look. Although maybe not in this weather. It’s very hot. Today’s coverage is being brought to you by a man wearing shorts.
Play begins at: 11.30am BST.
Could the tie-breaks be explained by the heat?
As the heat increases and it becomes more strenuous the likelihood of a game going with serve increases.
That's my theory anyway and it belongs to me.