The second day at Wimbledon opened with the unhappy information Andy Murray wouldn’t be capable to play his singles, which prompted emotional reactions across the floor but in addition evoked reminiscences of one of many nice press conferences in latest historical past in tennis.
Did somebody say the title Bond? James Bond?
Not Nick Kyrgios, who’s an enormous fan of the Scottish nice. Kyrgios had some information of his personal, revealing in a commentary gig he shall be hitting with Novak Djokovic on Wednesday after the Serbian “superhuman” returned to the court docket with a straightforward opening spherical win.
On a rain-delayed day the place Australians Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin and Adam Walton progressed and Thanasi Kokkinakis launched a late comeback towards Felix Auger Aliassime in a match but to complete, Aleks Vukic contemplated how finest to beat Carlos Alcaraz tomorrow.
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De Minaur knocks out fellow Aussie | 01:05
KYRGIOS STEPS UP TO FOR JOUST WITH THE ‘DJOKER’
Nick Kyrgios will bounce from the commentary field and on to the grass courts at Aorangi Park on Wednesday to hit with seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic as he takes one other step in his comeback from a career-threatening wrist damage.
The Australian mentioned on ESPN in the course of the Serbian’s dominant 6-1 6-2 6-2 win over Czech Republic qualifier Vit Kopriva that he could be hitting with the famous person he as soon as used to ridicule on social media however has now shaped a bromance with.
Kyrgios, who’s planning on a comeback subsequent month in doubles and has additionally dedicated to a UTS exhibition occasion at Forrest Hills within the lead-in to the US Open, mentioned he can’t wait to hit some balls with the rival who defeated him in 4 units within the 2022 Wimbledon remaining.
“(I’m) hitting with Novak tomorrow on his day off (and) feel like a little kid again. Feeling excited. (It has been a) long way back from this surgery,” he posted on social media.
Djokovic, who will play British wildcard Jacob Fearnley within the second spherical, didn’t look hindered by latest knee surgical procedure on a torn meniscus in his left knee.
But it was additionally notable the Serbian appeared to carry one thing in reserve on a few strokes – he appeared to keep away from leaning into low slices on the backhand wing and open-stance forehands, for instance – however was not totally examined by his lowly-ranked rival.
“Obviously I started a little bit more cautious, I would say. I didn’t really maybe go for certain shots 100 percent in terms of … the far balls in the first set. I played … just enough to win confidently in straight sets. I felt like as the match progressed, I moved better,” he mentioned. “Those couple points I think when I broke him in the second set, I did one slide. That was the first slide of the grass court season for me. I haven’t done it even in a practice week, so that was a great test.
“After that, I felt happy that I did it, because in a way you also feel mentally hesitant to do those extreme movements. But knowing that I can do it is, obviously, very comforting and very positive.”
NOTHING BLACK OR WHITE WITH THE DJOKOVIC AS HE ADOPTS SHADES OF GREY
Aside from rehabilitating the knee, Djokovic has had one other problem he’s but to go, particularly discovering a white knee brace to adjust to Wimbledon’s all-white clothes coverage.
“I actually just met (the) chairwoman just before walking onto the court. She gave me the thumbs up, so it was okay,” he mentioned.
“Of course, we did check in the days prior if we have a permission. We’re trying to find a white one, trust me. I saw Frances Tiafoe played (and) he had actually a black colour sleeve. Grey, I think, it’s maybe slightly better towards the white.”
ALCARAZ ON THE HUNT FOR A GIRLFRIEND, WHICH SPELLS TROUBLE FOR AUSSIE ALEKS
As Aleks Vukic contemplated how he would go about tackling defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday, the Australian identified that anybody was beatable in the event that they weren’t at his finest.
The Sydneysider famous even legends may get up on the incorrect aspect of the mattress, or get right into a spat with their higher half, and so forth, as he ready for his or her conflict on Court No.1.
“Sometimes … it’s less drastic, as if they don’t play well or something like that. Who knows?” he mentioned.
“Sometimes you wake up and you’re (feel) low energy or, I don’t know, his girlfriend is pissing him off the day before. These kind of things happen. And you need to be in the right space and I’m going to try to capitalise and do my best to do that on Wednesday.”
Advised that Alcaraz had declared he was available in the market for a girlfriend in a characteristic story revealed within the United Kingdom on the eve of the match, Vukic chuckled.
“Well maybe he is out late, or something,” he mentioned.
AUSSIES TO FEATURE IN MURRAY TRIVIA QUESTIONS
Andy Murray didn’t obtain the singles farewell he deserved from Wimbledon, with the Scot deciding to not threat additional harm after present process surgical procedure on his backbone to take away a cyst every week in the past.
Barring a exceptional comeback subsequent yr – and there have been some in London on Tuesday who wouldn’t rule out the dual-Wimbledon champion having one other crack on the grass in 12 months time – his pending retirement has ensured a few Australians may turn into the subject of trivia questions across the United Kingdom in years to come back.
Jordan Thompson stands because the final man to play the previous world No. 1 in singles given it was towards the Sydneysider on the Queen’s Club a fortnight in the past that Murray felt a lack of sensation in his legs.
And Alexei Popyrin shapes as the ultimate sufferer of Murray throughout his distinguished profession, with the dual-Olympic gold medallist producing a formidable efficiency at Queen’s towards the big-serving Australian previous to the cyst flaring a day later towards Thompson.
“I didn’t bring my best level that day. I think I was a little bit starstruck about the situation (of) playing Andy Murray,” Popyrin mentioned.
“I am a huge fan of his and I think he’s one of the greatest of all time, just a super great, unbelievable player with what he’s done for tennis. It was just a really weird situation for me.”
Murray’s adorned profession has been the topic of nice fanfare over the previous few weeks in London, comprehensible given the 37-year-old ended a drought of 77 years relationship again to Fred Perry when defeating Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon title in 2013.
The right-hander, who defeated Milos Raonic to win his second Wimbledon and Roger Federer on the All England Club and Juan Martin del Potro in Rio de Janeiro for his gold medals, additionally led Great Britain to interrupt a drought of 79 years when successful the Davis Cup in 2015.
This journalist had the fortune of aiding Murray, who practised at Wimbledon on Tuesday and is hopeful of enjoying doubles along with his brother on Thursday, when he was the visitor columnist for The Australian for numerous years and located him beneficiant and insightful.
THE TIME JAMES BOND CRASHED A MURRAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Murray’s retirement additionally evoked reminiscences of one of many extra surreal press conferences in tennis when, after he reached the ultimate of the US Open in 2012 in what proved to be his first main title, two legends determined to gate crash the query and reply.
It was already a surreal scene at Flushing Meadows because the sky darkened with a monster storm entrance shifting in from Long Island Sound, prompting hurricane alarm programs to ring amid a mass evacuation of individuals from the tennis centre in Queens.
We’ll depart it to Andy’s mum Judy to element what unfolded within the corridors underneath Arthur Ashe Stadium after her cellphone pinged halfway by way of his semi-final towards Tomas Berdych.
“It was Alex Ferguson. He said, ‘I can see you. I’m in a suite and I’ve got an orange top on.’ I said, ‘You need to be more specific’, and he said, ‘Look up, I’m waving at you. Come up to the suites after the match.’” she advised The Times.
“I went up to find him and, of course, he made me have a glass of wine. Then he said, ‘I want to see Andy.’ I said, ‘Right, OK. I’ll try to get you down into the player area.’ The security is tough down there, but I thought, ‘Well, he is Sir Alex, so we’ll try.’
“We got to the bottom of the stairs and Sean Connery was there. He says, ‘Aw, Judy, this is wonderful. Andy’s in the final.’ The two of them were so excited and they obviously knew each other.
“Alex was like, ‘We’re just going to see Andy. Come with us.’ So I’m standing outside the media room with the two of them and the security guards are trying to move us on because there’s been a hurricane and they are clearing the whole arena. And they (said), ‘Let’s just go in,’ and I was saying, ‘You can’t go in.’
“Andy is up on the podium and the two of them walk in, don’t look anywhere near the media, go straight onto the podium and just start this conversation between them. Then Andy said, ‘Hi mum’, so I went over, gave him a hug and he said, ‘You’ve been drinking.’
“Andy does not drink and he can smell wine at ten paces. The three of us were ignoring the press conference and it was just these two great white knights of Scotland going crazy about what Andy had done. It was quite a surreal moment for all of us.”