posted on Jun, 21 2004 @ 05:08 PM
Croatian giant-killer
Ivo
Karlovic was at it again on Monday as he downed men's 13th seed Paradorn Srichaphan. Last year Karlovic made the biggest headlines on day one by
stunning defending champion Lleyton Hewitt on Centre Court. And this year he was too good for Thailand's Srichaphan. It didn't look good for Karlovic
when he dropped the opening set 6-3. But after that he ground his opponent down, winning the next three sets 6-4 6-4 6-4.
British number two
Arvind Parmar endured an opening-round exit from the Wimbledon championships after being brushed aside in straight sets by
Gilles Elseneer. But Parmar, who has usurped out-of-form Greg Rusedski as Tim Henman's closest domestic rival, forced all three sets to a tie-break
but was found wanting each time as his Belgian opponent triumphed 7-6 7-6 7-6.
Queen's Club finalist
Sebastien Grosjean is safely into the second round. The 10th seed, who was beaten by Andy Roddick in the traditional
warm-up event last week, beat French compatriot Thierry Ascione 6-4 6-2 6-4.
Juan Carlos Ferrero strolled into the second round with a straight-sets win over Julien Boutter. In what was a serve-dominated match, the sixth
seed emerged a 6-4 7-6 6-3 winner.
Goran Ivanisevic admitted he may have to turn off the waterworks for a while after emphatically booking his place in the second round at the
expense of Mikhail Youzhny. Ivanisevic broke down in tears when he beat Australian Pat Rafter in an unforgettable final three years ago. But shoulder
surgery prevented the Croatian from defending his title and a knee injury sustained at Queen's kept him away from the All England Club last year. Many
expected the 32-year-old left-hander, who will call time on his 16-year career at the end of this tournament, to fall at the first hurdle this time
around. But he used up huge slices of luck and shrugged aside a couple of untimely rain delays to secure a 6-3 7-6 6-2 victory against the
highly-rated Russian.
Lleyton Hewitt blew a huge sigh of relief after avoiding a repeat of last year's humiliating first-round exit from Wimbledon with an emphatic
victory against Jurgen Melzer. Hewitt bore the indignity of becoming the first defending Wimbledon champion to fall at the first hurdle and he
admitted the painful memories of that result had crossed his mind before Monday's match. But there was little cause for concern as he swept aside the
temperamental Melzer 6-2 6-4 6-2 to book his place in the second round at the All England Club.