Ferrero produces vintage display

Juan Carlos Ferrero Juan Carlos Ferrero, the former world number one, came through an extraordinary match to beat the number 10 seed Fernando Gonzalez on No.1 Court. Ferrero, playing as a wild card because his ranking was not high enough to justify automatic entry into the draw, emerged victorious from a see-saw encounter 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. He will play Gilles Simon in Monday’s last 16. This match had a curious feel to it. It was as if there should be a great gulf between the two players, partly because of their respective rankings (Ferrero was number 115 on May 11, the date of Wimbledon’s entry cut-off, although he is now number 70) but also because of their ages. It feels somehow that Gonzalez is a much newer face, and that Ferrero is definitely the veteran. But actually there is less than six months between them, with Gonzalez turning 29 at the end of July. Early in the first set the Chilean – playing with a heavily-strapped right knee – broke the Ferrero serve. Even then it felt as if this would be the blueprint for the match – that Ferrero had done well to make the third round, but that he could not make it into the second week. Gonzalez was to go on and capture that first set 6-4, but the next two sets unexpectedly upset what felt like the pattern. The second set felt much tighter. Gonzalez had an early break point but sent a wild forehand wide. Then just when a tiebreak looked inevitable, right at the death, with Ferrero 6-5 on serve, the Spaniard grabbed and converted break point. It was a bolt from the blue, and Ferrero greeted it with a Nadal-like cry of: “Vamos!” The third was every bit as tight, although quicker to wind up to its climax – and once again the outcome felt wholly unexpected. Ferrero was at 5-4 on serve when a half-volley forced a backhand error for double set point. Heroically, Gonzalez saved both. Ferrero would not yield, seizing a wonderful crosscourt return off a slow second serve for another set point. The Chilean’s face was bleak with regret as he watched the ball whistle past him, and when Ferrero sent a marvellous passing shot down the line to make it two sets to one, it was too much. Gonzalez smashed his racked twice into the turf, earning a code violation from umpire Fergus Murphy. As you might expect, Ferrero – who had won just one of his 10 previous encounters against top 10 players – selected this moment for a toilet break. Gonzalez’s foul temper receded as quickly as it had arrived, and he waited for his opponent sitting comically on his upended racket on the baseline, grinning and waving at the applauding crowd. But a long opening game proved that he still meant business. He out-thought Ferrero to take the break at once, and clenched his fist to show that the clowning was over. Then just as Ferrero was preparing to serve at 2-4, an announcement came unexpectedly over the public address system that the match might be completed on Centre Court later in the evening. It was all rather confusing – certainly to Gonzalez, who went over to the umpire to ask him to explain what had been said. Ferrero also seemed unsettled, but it did not affect the outcome of the set (although over on Centre Court the roof had closed, and many people were waiting patiently with no more matches scheduled there). Gonzalez closed it out 6-4. Far from tiring, the two players were going at it with renewed vigour, much to the delight of the crowd (with whom, understandably, the announcement that this match might switch to the Centre Court had not been terribly popular). Amid light drizzle, Ferrero saved break points. But the set stayed on serve until the Spaniard was at 5-4, when – typically of this encounter – the end came out of nowhere. Gonzalez put the ball in the net and suddenly it was match point, whereupon he double faulted. Ferrero fell to the ground before the players embraced at the net, and with supreme courtesy Gonzalez waited for his opponent so they could exit the court together. The crowd rose to them. Court 1 - Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round Fernando Gonzalez CHI (10) 6 5 4 6 4 Juan Carlos Ferrero ESP 4 7 6 4 6

Gonzalez keeps good run going

Gritty Gonzalez French Open semi-finalist Fernando Gonzalez kept his hopes alive of a best ever Wimbledon by winning a war of attrition with 2009 debutant Leonardo Mayer. Tenth seed Gonzalez has never got beyond the quarter-finals and has struggled on grass throughout his career. He started slowly against Mayer but came back from a set down to beat the Argentine in a match of few service breaks. Mayer, 22, stole the first set on a tie-breaker, 7-4, thanks to an ace at set point. Gonzalez was never at his best but took his chances on the important points, winning three out of four break points to claim a solitary break in each set. He eventually triumphed 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, taking the match with a backhand volley. American qualifier Jesse Levine awaits in the third round. Levine has enjoyed a fine Wimbledon, knocking out Marat Safin in the first round, and he beat Pablo Cuevas 6-2, 6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 to further enhance his reputation. Radek Stepanek is no stranger to long matches at Wimbledon and he featured in his sixth five-set match in the space of three years at the All England Club. The No.23 seed came through 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 against Potito Starace. Juan Carlos Ferrero had a similar afternoon to Gonzalez. He, too, was beaten in the first set, by Fabrice Santoro in a tiebreak. But the 2003 French Open winner’s experience made the difference in the end and he won 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. There were no such worries for seeds Nikolay Davydenko, Victor Hanescu, Stanislas Wawrinka, David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych who all steamrolled their opponents in straight sets on a day of few upsets. Jurgen Melzer, the Austrian 26th seed, won a “derby” match against the in-form German Benjamin Becker in a closely fought straight sets win, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, 7-6 (7-1). In the ladies’ second round, it was a similarly prosperous day for the seeds. Flavia Pennetta, the 15th seed, of Italy won through 6-2, 6-2 against American Vania King to set up a third-round clash with Amelie Mauresmo. Na Li, the 19th seed, and 20th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues also enjoyed similarly comfortable afternoons. Li, from China, triumphed 6-4, 6-2 over Olga Govortsova. Spaniard Garrigues beat Tathiana Garbin 7-6 (7- 5), 6-3.

Gonzalez grinds down Russian

Fernando Gonzalez No.10 seed Fernando Gonzalez carved out a second round place but was initially made to fight against Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili before wrapping up a 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 victory. Support was clearly on the side of the Chilean, who walked out on Court 18 to ear-splitting applause. But while he may have been the bigger name, the match was by no means one-sided – at least in the first couple of sets anyway. Gabashvili held his own early on in the duel, which saw him match the speed and ferocity of Gonzalez’s groundstrokes in a largely baseline affair. It may have helped him that Gonzalez had not played any grass court tournaments in the run-up to Wimbledon. His last competitive match was at Roland Garros on clay nearly three weeks ago, when he was defeated in the semi-finals by Robin Soderling. Meanwhile, Gabashvili is having the best year of his career, having reached his highest ranking of No.59 in February. Indeed, there was not much to separate the two in the first set and when the Chilean required medical attention to his right knee, it seemed as if there was a potential for an upset. But Gonzalez managed to stay on top. He had four set points at 5-4 but Gabashvili dug his heels in and came off better in a series of superb rallies. But that Russian resistance could not be maintained and two games later a netted volley handed Gonzalez the set on his sixth set point. Drama unfolded in the second set when Gabashvili broke to lead 4-3 but then went 0-40 down on serve and smashed his racket. Gonzalez could not help but smile when his opponent wandered to the chair and changed his racket. He promptly broke him and pocketed the second set 7-5. By the third the Chilean had ruffled his 24-year-old opponent and he went on to comfortably claim the match in two hours and 14 minutes.