Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova reached the Wimbledon second round today as 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt’s 17-year All England Club career came to a bruising end.
Defending champion Djokovic enjoyed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber with crucial breaks in the ninth game of each set.
But the world number one and top seed again found himself defending allegations that coach Boris Becker is using various means to coach him from the sidelines, a practice which is banned.
“I’m just trying to figure out what you want to achieve with this story. Do you want to say I’m cheating, my team? I’m really trying to figure out what’s behind this,” fumed the 28-year-old Djokovic.
The usually affable Serb added: “There are certain ways of communication which is encouragement, which is support, which is understanding the moment when to clap or say something that can lift my energy up, that can kind of motivate me to play a certain point. But it’s all within the rules.”
Djokovic, playing his first match since his defeat to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final three weeks ago ended his hopes of completing a career Grand Slam, hit 12 aces and 36 winners past world number 33 Kohlschreiber.
He next faces Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen who defeated Hewitt 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 11-9 in a four-hour marathon.
It was Hewitt’s last singles match at the tournament — and 44th five-setter at the majors — as he plans to retire after next year’s Australian Open.
“To beat him here when it’s my last time here as well, it’s tough to find the words,” Nieminen said.
Top seed Serena Williams, bidding to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to wrap up all four majors in one season, endured a nervy start and was warned for swearing before completing a 6-4, 6-1 win over Margarita Gasparyan, the world number 113 from Russia who has never won a tour-level match in four years as a professional.
“It feels good so far. Just one match but it feels good just to be back here at Wimbledon. I’ve done so well here in the past so I’ll always have so many good memories,” said the 33-year-old American after her 73rd Wimbledon match win secured her a second round clash against Hungary’s Timea Babos.
Fourth seed Sharapova also reached the second round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Britain’s Johanna Konta.
Sharapova, the 2004 champion, will face Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp for a place in the last 32.