Wimbledon 2017: Roger Federer wraps up first round win too quickly as Alexandr Dolgopolov retires through injury
For the second time on Tuesday, Centre Court saw a men's singles match finish before its time
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Your support makes all the difference.Roger Federer wanted to wrap up his Wimbledon first round win against Alexandr Dolgopolov as quickly as possible, but he did not want to win as quickly as this.
The seven-time champion was rushed onto Centre Court after Martin Klizan retired injured against Novak Djokovic after just 40 minutes of tennis. Then, in the next match, Dolgopolov retired after 43 minutes, during the fourth game of the second set.
It was a disappointment for all concerned: for Dolgopolov himself, for Federer and of course for the fans who paid for their tickets and would have hoped on Tuesday morning to see both Djokovic and Federer at their best.
Because the crowd here at Centre Court were delighted to see seven-time Wimbledon champion Federer back here on Tuesday. They might have normally been torn between wanting to see a dismissive masterclass or to see Federer play for as long as possible.
As it happened they got less than three quarters of an hour of tennis and just 10 completed games. Federer was cruising towards what would have been a very comfortable straights set win when Dolgopolov pulled up injured.
It was clear even in the first game that Federer would breeze this match, breaking Dolgopolov at the very start and playing with a control and range that his opponent could not match. Dolgopolov could never live with Federer and the Swiss legend’s best two shots, two forehand winners in the seventh game of the first set even came in a game that he lost. The 6-3 set first win came easily enough.
The second set felt like more of the same but when Federer broke again through a Dolgopolov double fault it was clear the Ukrainian was struggling. At 3-0 down in the second, Dolgopolov forfeited and everyone on Centre Court wondered what to do next.
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