Wimbledon – Roger and Novak stay strong, Pliskova out

Pliskova taken out by Rybarikova at Wimbledon

Ryabarikova defeated Pliskova in the second round of Wimbledon in a tough three set match, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Even though Pliskova was the favorite to win not only the match but also the tournament, she met a tough defeat in Rybarikova.

The Czech chance of coming home with the title were crashed when both Petra and Pliskova lost their matches, and it was a little bit of a surprise that Pliskova was unable to close out the match, because there was a point when she was a set and a break up. All she needed to do was win her service game, something that shouldn’t be hard for an extremely strong server and an ace machine like her, and she would have won the match.

However, Rybarikova proved that she was in the match to win it, and produced some spectacular shots and good returns to slowly break Pliskova and win the match. “It is very difficult to play Karolina,” Rybarikova said.

In her next match Rybarikova will play Lesia Tsurenko on Saturday. The last time Rybarikova reached the third round was in 2015, and she definitely must be happy to be able to match that at this year’s Wimbledon.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer mostly cruised through his second round match against Dusan Lajovic 7-6 (7-0), 6-3, 6-2 on a humid evening on Centre Court. Even though Dolgolopov, Roger’s first round opponent, retired due to an ankle injury, Roger did not seem too out of the match mentality, although he did say that he struggled with nerves during his second round match.

“I struggled early on. I couldn’t get rid of the nerves and struggled to find my rhythm,” reflected Roger.

“I should feel comfortable here, and I do, but the problem is on grass if you’re struggling it can take a while. I wasn’t to worried. Nerves are a funny thing, sometimes you get horribly nervous and other times it’s a piece of cake. I’m happy it happened in the second round.”

Roger did play some amazing tennis in the second and third set after he got over his initial shakes, and the fact that Roger is even having nerves is a sign that he is taking this tournament seriously, and has his mind set on the trophy. With his initial nerves out of the way, Roger will probably be playing more aggressive and his opponents should keep an eye out.

Djokovic’s routine 2nd round at Wimbledon

Second seed, Novak Djokovic blew past his second round opponent Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. It was a simple straight forward affair, as can be seen by the score, and Novak seemed in full control, no longer the troubled warrior aura surrounding him as it had during clay court season.

It took Djokovic only a little over an hour and a half to bear Pavlasek, and in his next match he will face Ernest Gulbis, a tough opponent, but not too tough for Djokovic to handle if he continues to play the way he has been playing.

“Overall I managed to impose my own rhythm and play the game I intended to play,” said Novak.

Novak and the rest of his team must be happy about how things are looking up, and the fact that Novak seems to be in a better mental place than he was before. In fact, Novak was even managing to have some fun on court, even though he wasn’t playing his best tennis in the first set.

As the second and third set proceeded, Novak managed to cut down on unforced errors and worked his way through the match.

However, it will be crucial for Djokovic to put more pieces of his game back together as the competition becomes tougher.