Federer and Djokovic aim for match-point glory

[July 06, 2017]    By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be out to complete unfinished business at Wimbledon on Thursday after both were denied a chance to savor match-point glory in their first-round matches.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his first round match against Slovakia’s Martin Klizan REUTERS/Matthew Childs

When seven-times champion Federer takes on Dusan Lajovic and Djokovic faces Adam Pavlasek in round two, they will be hoping to put on an entertaining show from start to finish after Tuesday's fans were left feeling rather short-changed.

Djokovic, winner of three titles here, was leading Martin Klizan 6-3 2-0 when the injured Slovakian went up to shake hands with the Serb after calling time on the match with only 40 minutes on the clock.

Unbelievably for the Centre Court crowd, there were given a repeat performance just over an hour later when Federer's opponent Alexandr Dolgopolov also pulled out when trailing 3-6 0-3.

While the seven first-round withdrawals in the men's field left many questioning if players who are not fully fit should be allowed to start a tournament, on the women's side of the draw the competitors will be keen to live up to Agnieszka Radwanska's observation that "girls are really, really tough".

The 2012 finalist takes on American Christina McHale while last year's runner up Angelique Kerber, who has struggled to recapture the form that carried her to two grand slam titles last year, will be hoping she survives a tricky match against Belgian Kirsten Flipkens.

(Editing by Ed Osmond)

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