(June 28, 2013) -- As expected, rain bookmarked the beginning and nearly the end of proceedings on day five at Wimbledon. But even with top seeds on the men's side advancing, it still didn't quell the overall sense of weirdness pervading the first week of competition.
After rain delayed play for several hours, the day got off to an abrupt start when No. 29 seed
Grigor Dimitrov and Slovenia's
Grega Zemlja came back out to Court No. 3 to complete their match from Thursday. Dimitrov, serving in the fifth set down 8-9, quickly found himself down match point after he fell on the previous point. Saying that the court was unsafe, Dimitrov stopped play as a light drizzle began to fall.
But the rain only delayed the inevitable after both men returned to the court when conditions cleared. Zemlja, on his sixth match point, ripped a forehand pass later in the set to complete the two-day, over four-hour 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 victory.
Zemlja is now the first Slovenian man into the third round of Wimbledon and will next take on Juan Martin Del Potro.
The sense of oddness continued during the third round match between No. 15 seed
Nicolas Almagro and No. 24 seed
Jerzy Janowicz. Though both of these men lived up to their seedings, those watching the match on Centre Court seemed unsure of who to root for or even if they should take a rooting interest at all. Polite applause often greeted each player after they made a winning shot and it was clear that the majority of spectators in the less than full arena were passing the time before the local hero Andy Murray was set to take the court next.
Janowicz, in perhaps an unintended ode to the big serving bombers who dominated the event back in the early 1990's, used his huge serve and deft touch to frustrate Almagro for the length of the match. Almagro could never really find an answer to Janowicz's serve as he bombed down 30 aces, including one at match point, to seal the 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-4 win.
Janowicz now finds himself taking on veteran
Jurgen Melzer, who ended the self-described "magic" run of Ukraine's
Sergiy Stakhovsky. Stakhovsky, who used his serve and volley game to upset defending champion Roger Federer, found less success with his formula against the Austrian as Melzer went on to win 6-2, 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Germany's
Dustin Brown, who used his own cavalier serve and volley game to upend former champion
Lleyton Hewitt the round before, had no answers against No. 111 in the world
Adrian Mannarino of France. Mannarino, who had not won an ATP main draw match since Auckland back in 2012, now finds himself in the fourth round after he dispatched Brown 6-4, 6-2, 7-5.
Murray Glides as Ferrer Struggles
No. 2 seed
Andy Murray admitted he finds himself dealing with even more pressure to perhaps win his first ever Wimbledon title after the carnage of "Black Wednesday." Today he faced a tricky match against veteran Spaniard
Tommy Robredo, who made a name for himself at the French Open, coming back from deficits to win in five sets.
But Murray made sure to keep things tidy, especially after he faced a break point during his attempt to serve for a two sets to love lead. Murray survived that challenge and went on to win 6-2, 6-4, 7-5.
"I think there's a lot more pressure on me now with them being out," said Murray about the loss of Federer and Rafael Nadal from his section. "I mean, I don't read the papers and stuff. But there are papers in the locker room, so you see some of the headlines and stuff. It's not that helpful. But, yeah, you need to be professional enough to not let that stuff bother you and just concentrate on each match. I think I did a good job of that today. I played well, my best match of the tournament so far."
No. 4 seed
David Ferrer got a tougher test than expected from fellow Spaniard
Roberto Bautistia Agut. But Ferrer went onto prevail 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5.
Ferrer will next face No. 26 seed
Alexandr Dolgopolov.
A number of matches were cancelled because of the rain, including the anticipated clash of
Ernests Gulbis and
Fernando Verdasco.
One thing is for certain, the weirdness and the wetness of this year's Wimbledon will continue to be a factor for all those hoping to take advantage of the massive opportunity before them.