LONDON: Defending champion Serena Williams racked up her 80th Wimbledon victory Tuesday while Andy Murray raced through before rain brought action at the All England Club to a soggy halt.

World number one and six-time champion Serena, bidding for a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title, battled to a 6-2, 6-4 win over Swiss qualifier Amra Sadikovic, ranked at 148 in the world.

She will face fellow American Christina McHale for a place in the last 32.

Top seed Serena won her 21st major at the All England Club 12 months ago by beating Garbine Muguruza.

But her hopes of going level with Steffi Graf’s Open era record of 22 has stalled since that day.

Murray, the 2013 champion, made a flying start to his bid for a second Wimbledon title as the world number two crushed compatriot Liam Broady 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

The 29-year-old brushed aside the world number 235 and will next play Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun.

Minutes after Murray had completed victory, heavy rain brought a halt to action on all courts except Centre Court where the roof was closed.

Earlier, Swiss fourth seed Stan Wawrinka defeated American teenager Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4 to set-up a second round blockbuster against Juan Martin del Potro.

Injury-plagued del Potro, a former US Open champion, is playing in his first Grand Slam since the 2014 Australian Open after undergoing three wrist surgeries.

Del Potro made the second round by beating France’s Stephane Robert 6-1, 7-5, 6-0.

Nick Kyrgios, the Australian 15th seed, beat Czech wildcard Radek Stepanek, at 37 the oldest man in the draw, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (9-11), 6-1.

He next faces German wildcard Dustin Brown who got past Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

BOY FROM NOWHERE

In Monday’s late matches, Marcus Willis — a tennis coach — earned himself a place in Wimbledon folklore and a spot in fans’ hearts by beating Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis, ranked 718 places above him, 6-3 6-3 6-4, sending the Court 17 crowd into utter delirium.

The fairytale continues for the 25-year-old world number 772 — who described himself as a “loser” and a “fat boy”, who had earned just $65 in prize money this year before Monday, who had to get himself in shape and who coaches at 30 pounds an hour to pay the bills — with an unlikely second round match-up against seven-time champion Roger Federer and a guaranteed 50,000 ($66,000).

Federer beat Guido Pella 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 in his return to Grand Slam tennis after missing the French Open with a bad back.

Women’s second seed and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza also made the second round with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win over Italy’s Camila Giorgi.

Results (prefix number denotes seeding):

Men’s singles:

First round: Mikhail Kukushkin (Kazakhstan) bt Martin Klizan (Slovakia) 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; 2-Andy Murray (Britain) bt Liam Broady (Britain) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4; Gilles Muller (Luxembourg) bt Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 15-13; 14-Roberto Bautista (Spain) bt Jordan Thompson (Australia) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3; 4-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) bt Taylor Fritz (US) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4; 26-Benoit Paire (France) bt Franko Skugor (Croatia) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 2-6, 6-3, 10-8; Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) bt Stephane Robert (France) 6-1, 7-5, 6-0; 22-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) bt Rajeev Ram (US) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4; Benjamin Becker (Germany) bt Facundo Bagnis (Argentina) 6-3, 6-3, 6-1; 31-Joao Sousa (Portugal) bt Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5; John Millman (Australia) bt Albert Montanes (Spain) 7-5, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Juan Monaco (Argentina) bt Taro Daniel (Japan) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2; Marcel Granollers (Spain) bt Victor Estrella (Dominican Republic) 6-2, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; Albert Ramos (Spain) bt Vasek Pospisil (Canada) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; 15-Nick Kyrgios (Australia) bt Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (9-11), 6-1; Dennis Novikov (US) bt Luke Saville (Australia) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4; 7-Richard Gasquet (France) bt Aljaz Bedene (Britain) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3; Dustin Brown (Germany) bt Dusan Lajovic (Serbia) 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; 12-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) bt Inigo Cervantes (Spain) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; 25-Viktor Troicki (Serbia) bt Tristan Lamasine (France) 6-4, 6-2, 6-2; Lu Yen-Hsun (Taiwan) bt Alexander Kudryavtsev (Russia) 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.

Women’s singles:

First round: Tara Moore (Britain) bt Alison Van Uytvanck (Belgium) 6-3, 6-2; Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) bt Pauline Parmentier (France) 6-3, 7-5; 6-Roberta Vinci (Italy) bt Alison Riske (US) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3; 30-Caroline Garcia (France) bt Cagla Buyukakcay (Turkey) 6-2, 6-3; Timea Babos (Hungary) bt Katie Swan (Britain) 6-2, 6-3; Elena Vesnina (Russia) bt Tamira Paszek (Austria) 7-5, 6-2; Yulia Putintseva (Kazakhstan) bt Marina Melnikova (Russia) 7-5, 6-2; 1-Serena Williams (US) bt Amra Sadikovic (Switzerland) 6-2, 6-4; Daria Gavrilova (Australia) bt Wang Qiang (China) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4; 19-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) bt Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Croatia) 7-5, 6-3; Duan Yingying (China) bt Kristyna Pliskova (Czech Republic) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; Christina McHale (US) bt Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 7-5, 6-2.

Monday’s remaining results:

Men’s singles:

First round: Andrey Kuznetsov (Russia) bt 29-Pablo Cuevas (Uruguay) 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4; 3-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Guido Pella (Argentina) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3; Jeremy Chardy (France) bt 17-Gael Monfils (France) 6-7 (4-7), 6-0, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2; Daniel Evans (Britain) bt Jan-Lennard Struff (Germany) 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (9-7), 7-5; Robin Haase (Netherlands) bt Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5; Steve Johnson (US) bt Malek Jaziri (Tunisia) 7-5, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4; 27-Jack Sock (US) bt Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; Marcus Willis (Britain) bt Ricardas Berankis (Lithuania) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4; Thomaz Bellucci (Brazil) bt Ruben Bemelmans (Belgium) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 1-6, 8-6; 5-Kei Nishikori (Japan) bt Samuel Groth (Australia) 6-4, 6-3, 7-5.

Women’s singles:

First round: 15-Karolina Pliskova (Czech Republic) bt Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) 6-2, 0-6, 8-6; Mona Barthel (Germany) bt Danka Kovinic (Montenegro) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3); 22-Jelena Jankovic (Serbia) bt Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) 6-2, 6-2; Marina Erakovic (New Zealand) bt Irina Falconi (US) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8; Francesca Schiavone (Italy) bt Anastasija Sevastova (Latvia) 7-6 (9-7), 6-4; 4-Angelique Kerber (Germany) bt Laura Robson (Britain) 6-2, 6-2; 26-Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) bt Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) 6-3, 6-2; Varvara Lepchenko (US) bt Teliana Pereira (Brazil) 5-7, 7-6 7-3), 6-2; 5-Simona Halep (Romania) bt Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (Slovakia) 6-4, 6-1; Misaki Doi (Japan) bt Louisa Chirico (US) 6-1, 6-2; 2-Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) bt Camila Giorgi (Italy) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2016