Wimbledon 2019: Roger Federer defeats Britain's Jay Clarke to reach round three
A review of Thursday's action in the men's singles at Wimbledon, as Roger Federer cruised through against Britain's Jay Clarke.
Roger Federer's quest for a 21st Grand Slam crown - and his ninth at Wimbledon - continued at the expense of Britain's Jay Clarke.
The 20-year-old Briton earned the right to share Court One with the Swiss, a player whom Clarke admitted he grew up trying to copy, after beating American qualifier Noah Rubin in the first round.
Clarke was outclassed in the first set and, although he took Federer to a tie-break in the second, the eight-time SW19 champion closed out a 6-1 7-6 (3) 6-2 victory in one hour and 36 minutes.
Clarke had spoken of his desire to follow in the footsteps of 15-year-old Cori Gauff, who stunned Venus Williams in round one, and cause a shock against Federer following his maiden main draw grand-slam victory on Tuesday.
He will have taken hope from the fact Federer, who is 17 years older than him, started slowly and dropped a set for only the second time in a first-round match in his last 17 Wimbledon appearances before comfortably beating Lloyd Harris.
However, Federer was not going to make the same mistake twice and breezed into a 3-0 lead, yet Clarke did briefly respond.
He held serve and hit back to take two break points in the next, but that fired Federer up and he won the game before reeling off the next two to claim the opening set.
Clarke refused to let his head drop and responded in confident fashion with the crowd behind him in the second set, which went with serve to the tie-break, and Federer used all his experience to win it.
The end was near when Federer took a 3-0 advantage in the third and, although Clarke held serve a couple more times, the 20-time grand-slam champion eased to victory.
Rafael Nadal emerged victorious against Nick Kyrgios but the bad feeling between the two showed no signs of easing after a spicy second-round contest.
The two have been locked in a war of words over the last few weeks, with Kyrgios trading insults with Nadal and his uncle Toni and that threatened to spill out on to Centre Court in the Spaniard's 6-3 3-6 7-6 (5) 7-6 (3) win.
There were the customary underarm serves and constant chatter with the umpire, but there was almost a flashpoint in the third set when Kyrgios thrashed a forehand straight at Nadal and opted not to apologise.
It was not the first time he appeared to take aim at his opponent and a furious Nadal let Kyrgios know exactly how he felt by giving him an icy stare, but he got the ultimate revenge by sending the Australian home.
The pair were cordial at the end, shaking hands at the net as tempers cooled. Click here for more highlights of this match. Scroll down for more results
Elsewhere, Marin Cilic, runner-up in 2017, is out after losing in straight sets to Joao Sousa.
The Croatian is having a disappointing year and went out 6-4 6-4 6-4 as Sousa set up a meeting with Britain's Dan Evans.
On paper the British number three's 6-3 6-2 7-6 (2) victory was an upset but, given Evans' form and prowess on grass and his opponent's lack of form, it would have been a disappointment if he had not found a way through.
Things got a little tricky in the third set after Evans had first held match points at 5-2 but he got over the line at the fifth time of asking in the tie-break and then struggled to hold back tears.
Evans last reached round three in 2016, losing to Roger Federer, who has become a semi-regular practice partner, with the pair hitting together at the All England Club on Wednesday.
Fellow Brit Cameron Norrie went out in the second round after suffering a 6-4 6-4 6-0 defeat to eighth seed Kei Nishikori on Centre Court.
It was his first outing on the main show court and it was reward for his maiden main draw win at SW19 on Tuesday.
Last year's semi-finalist John Isner also crashed out after a five-set loss to Mikhail Kukushkin.
Isner, seeded nine, was a set away from victory but ended up falling to a 6-4 6-7 (3) 4-6 6-1 6-4 defeat.
Marcos Baghdatis' retirement was confirmed by a 6-1 7-6 (4) 6-3 defeat to Matteo Berrettini.
The 34-year-old Cypriot announced his plans to call time on his career when his Wimbledon campaign ended, which came in round two at the hands of the Italian.
Baghdatis treated the crowd after the match ended, handing out equipment and even his shoes to the fans on Court Two.
Roger Federer, who beat Baghdatis in the 2006 Australian Open final, led the tributes.
He said: "I remember Marcos when I played him at the US Open in a night session match. He was still very young. He had super long hair. I don't know, I think he took a set off me, too.
"You could see how good he could become because he had the speed, simple technique, forehand, backhand, which is always going to help you throughout the course of your career.
"He also had a winner mentality, liked the big stage. I think that's also one of the reasons he did well here and also in Australia when the big matches came about.
"Off the court, he was always a lovely guy, always very funny, easygoing, good to be around with. So, yeah, I liked him on the court, off the court. I think for Cyprus, he did so much coming from such a small country and becoming, you know, a sporting superstar. I'm sure that was a big deal at home.
"You know, this is his last hurrah, but I hope he can go out in style, do it his way. He's always been a joy to watch also for us players, so we'll miss him once he retires."