British number one Heather Watson swept into the third round at Wimbledon with a comfortable straight set win over Daniela Hantuchova, as temperatures soared in SW19 on the hottest day in tournament history. The mercury rose up above 35C , surpassing the 39-year-old record of 34.6C.
With conditions so uncomfortable, Watson did well to finish her match relatively quickly and without over-exerting herself as she cruised to a 6-4 6-2 victory to set up a third-round tie with world number one and five-time champion Serena Williams, who beat Timea Babos 6-4 6-1.
Watson is looking forward to challenging herself against the world's best. "I've never played Serena before, so I'd love to play her," she said. "She's a very, very tough opponent. But I feel like in matches like that, you've got a lot to gain, so it's a real positive as well to play her."
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She'll face a tough test though. "Williams' pursuit of the first calendar Grand Slam for 27 years has reinvigorated her to the point where each match becomes an emphatic statement of her alpha-female standing," says Oliver Brown in The Telegraph. "If she brings even a fraction of this attitude to her duel with Heather Watson on Friday, hostilities will be brief."
Elsewhere, men's defending champion Novak Djokovic eased past Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen 6-4 6-2 6-3 to book a second round tie against the tournament's 27th seed, Australian Bernard Tomic.
Canadian Milos Raonic caused some murmurs in his 6-0 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) win over Tommy Haas when he hit the third-fastest serve in Wimbledon history, clocking in at 145mph to sit behind the American pair of Taylor Dent and Andy Roddick on the all-time board.
The British contingent got smaller once again as Liam Broady failed to match his first round performance, getting thrashed by 16th seed David Goffin 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 6-1.
The men's draw opened up slightly as fifth seed Kei Nishikori withdrew from the tournament with a calf injury, saying "I thought it would be okay but in the last match in the fifth set it was hurting too much and I decided not to play."
