It will be Jarkko Nieminen in the second round for Murray after he won 6-4, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 against Stefan Koubek (having been 5-2 up in the third set).
Nieminen is ranked 67 in the world and had lost both his previous matches on grass this year, but they were against Federer and Becker who are both very adept on the surface.
He reached the QF's back in 2006 so is a solid enough grass courter, but doesn't hit the ball hard enough to trouble Murray.
Murray has won both their previous matches (6-4, 6-7, 6-3 in Canada in 2006 and 7-6, 6-3 in Paris in 2007) and should make it 3-0 on Thursday.
The match is first up on Centre Court and should be done just in time for everyone's attention to turn back to the Isner/Mahut match.
Gilles Simon WILL be Andy's opponent in the third round if he defeats Nieminen.
I'm not surprised. A bad fall in the first round match caused an injury to the serving shoulder of Marchenko, so it would've been a tough ask to win against Simon with that kind of injury.
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King of Slice "He's on a one-man mission to bring the slice back to tennis." Inverdale
I know i'll be criticized for saying this but I detest the thought of having to bow to someone who has been born into privillage. I love tennis but it will always struggle in this country as long as it remains in the hands of the stuffy elite!
In Tae Kwon Do you have to bow to people of higher rank than yourself, and also your opponents whether higher or lower ranked at the start and end of every match. But then, that's about showing respect in the first instance to someone who has earned a higher rank by merit and in the second instance to a worthy opponent. It's not about an inherited position.
I believe in a meritocracy. To me the monarchy is a living relic of the cultural past of this country. A rich cultural past, but no longer necessary to the business of government and the functioning of the state. I'm a historian so that may surprise, as the general impression is that historians are conservative in outlook (that's small c, not big C like the political party).
-- Edited by LadyTigress on Thursday 24th of June 2010 12:38:34 PM
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King of Slice "He's on a one-man mission to bring the slice back to tennis." Inverdale
Much better from Murray and when he plays like that, you wonder how he has not had the results this season.
The serve was excellent and he played a very aggressive game today, which obviously paid off, although whether he will do that when the pressure is really on is another thing.
In Tae Kwon Do you have to bow to people of higher rank than yourself, and also your opponents whether higher or lower ranked at the start and end of every match. But then, that's about showing respect in the first instance to someone who has earned a higher rank by merit and in the second instance to a worthy opponent. It's not about an inherited position.
I believe in a meritocracy. To me the monarchy is a living relic of the cultural past of this country. A rich cultural past, but no longer necessary to the business of government and the functioning of the state. I'm a historian so that may surprise, as the general impression is that historians are conservative in outlook (that's small c, not big C like the political party).
-- Edited by LadyTigress on Thursday 24th of June 2010 12:38:34 PM
I'm a historian too and think exactly the same thing lol
The "monarchy=redundancy?" debate is an interesting one, but Andy's thread is not the place to discuss it. What kind of historian are you? What period or aspect of history do you specialise in?
Fairly summary win for Andy. Things should get a bit more interesting in the third round against seeded Gilles Simon - unless of course Simon does what has become a bit of a habit for him over the past 12 months and inexplicably underperforms and bombs out. It would be good for Andy for have an easy victory over Simon, but then it would not be terribly interesting if Simon can't pull out a decent game tomorrow.
-- Edited by LadyTigress on Friday 25th of June 2010 04:48:05 PM
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King of Slice "He's on a one-man mission to bring the slice back to tennis." Inverdale
I just mean that 6-0 6-0 followed by a retirement would of course be excellent news for Andy, but it wouldn't exactly be thrilling.
As for Gilles, I think he's been patchy since April 2009. He's had some consistent spots, nothing stellar though, and he's put in some atrocious performances as well and it's really bothering him. I would definitely acknowledge that he has not reached the heights of his 2008 performances in the Madrid Masters and World Tour Finals, at which point he seemed like a true danger to anyone and everyone in the game; intense focus, surprising endurance for such a light guy, quick around the court, with a dangerous dose of Murray-style versatility. Even at his best though, Andy was always a shade better - I just like a good juicy tussle of a match I guess! My favourite matches are the really close and competitive ones; they seem to encourage pushing the boundaries of tennis.
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King of Slice "He's on a one-man mission to bring the slice back to tennis." Inverdale
I believe in a meritocracy. To me the monarchy is a living relic of the cultural past of this country. A rich cultural past, but no longer necessary to the business of government and the functioning of the state. 
What kind of historian are you? What period or aspect of history do you specialise in?
I just mean that 6-0 6-0 followed by a retirement would of course be excellent news for Andy, but it wouldn't exactly be thrilling.
