(June 25, 2013) -- After yesterday's stunning upset of
Rafael Nadal in his opening round match, it was more or less business as usual on the men's side Tuesday at Wimbledon.
Top seed
Novak Djokovic expected a tricky opening round match against Germany's
Florian Mayer. The two men met last year in the quarterfinals, which perhaps helped Djokovic prepare for the German's unorthodox game style.
Despite engaging in several spirited rallies, there was little doubt who who would be the victor, as Djokovic emerged the winner with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win.
"Knowing his quality, knowing that we played quarterfinals last year gave me enough reason to obviously not underestimate him and respect the fact that I need to be 100% focused from the start and try to have the control of the match. And it's what I've done. I've played well in important moments," Djokovic said afterwards.
Things got a little bit slippery for No. 4 seed
David Ferrer, as he found himself tumbling on the slick grass during his first-round match against
Martin Alund of Argentina. Despite Ferrer dropping the second set, the Spaniard rallied to eventually secure a 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win.
Tomic Gets Dizzy, Bests Querrey in Five
In perhaps the match of the day, No. 21 seed American
Sam Querrey found himself locked in a five-set battle with Australia's Bernard Tomic, a contest that took several different plot twists before the day was done.
After winning the first two sets in tiebreaks, Tomic was unable to close out the match in straights as Querrey earned the third set 6-3. Later in the fourth set, Tomic halted play due to a dizzy spell, resulting in a protracted time out for the Aussie.
When play resumed, Querrey took the fourth set. But Tomic bounced back with some of his best play of the match late in the fifth set to pull out the 7-6(6), 7-6(3), 3-6, 2-6, 6-3 win.
The loss by Querrey will send
John Isner back up the rankings to become the No. 1 American player yet again.
It was a mixed day of results for Americans as a whole. Veteran
James Blake advanced while
Ryan Harrison lost in four sets to France's
Jeremy Chardy.
Tuesday also saw the return of
Juan Martin Del Potro, who skipped this year's French Open due to illness. Del Potro advanced into the second round with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-1 win over Spain's
Albert Ramos.
Aside from Querrey, the only other seeded player to fall was No. 16 seed
Philipp Kohlschreiber, who retired in the fifth set during his match against Croatia's
Ivan Dodig.
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(Photo Credit: Stephen White/CameraSport) |