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Tomic, Stosur surge into 3rd round

 

Tomic, Stosur surge into 3rd round

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Tomic, Stosur surge into 3rd round

TENNIS: Bernard Tomic powered his way into the third round at Wimbledon last night, getting past experienced American James Blake in straight sets 6-3 6-4 7-5.

TENNIS: Bernard Tomic powered his way into the third round at Wimbledon last night, getting past experienced American James Blake in straight sets 6-3 6-4 7-5.

An elated Tomic ran over to the Fanatics fan club and shook their hands in appreciation of their support after the triumph.

Tomic's performance was a study in remaining calm under pressure from the vastly experienced American's persistent baseline play and keeping his unforced errors to a minimum.

Blake, who has been ranked as high as No 4 in the world and is considered one of the nice guys of the tennis circuit, had no answer to Tomic's big serve and occasional attacks at the net.

But Tomic, who ate bananas during the breaks in play to counter the problem he faced in his previous match where he felt dizzy and unwell, was at his relaxed, confident best.

There were no signs from the 20-year-old of any distress that his father John had been banned from attending by the ATP and Wimbledon organisers.

Earlier, in less time than it takes the spectator queue to snake its way across to Court 18 on the edges of the Wimbledon complex, Samantha Stosur summarily dispensed with her second-round opponent Olga Puchkova.

Stosur romped through the match in less than an hour 6-2 6-2 with a fiery forehand display of 22 winners that kept Puchkova, a part-time model, pouting rather than smiling.

It was a welcome portent of form for the Queenslander, the only Australian woman in the Wimbledon draw, who was barely troubled beyond an occasional wayward serve and she will now face the big-serving German Sabine Lisicki in a test of raw strength.

"Lisicki has a big serve as well, but I will be really trying to go for it. It will be power, power, power and I have to try and combat that. We have both got good serves, so whoever does that better will come out on top.''

Stosur acknowledged she was now loving the grass surface of Wimbledon after enjoying her best tournament here -- a factor she puts down to brushing aside past troubles with claycourt opponents and quickly refocusing.

"I love it now. It's all going well, it's made me think `what have I been doing all that time','' she said. Stosur said she hadn't encountered any of the slippery conditions complained of by other players and felt the ball was bouncing slightly higher than usual.

"I feel I have enough time on the ball, I'm not too rushed, I feel I'm now aggressive and not panicking, not rushing the ball. I feel I have a bit more time,'' she said.

Lleyton Hewitt's fan club, the Fanatics, were out in force.

But for Australian women's tennis, Stosur's quick adjustment to the grass surface, breathtaking power and intent to proceed way beyond her previous third-round Wimbledon appearances were more than evident. Stosur greeted the crowd with a thumbs-up after the match.

Hewitt was defeated by no.189 Dustin Blake yesterday (6-4, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2). The 2002 Wimbledon Champion admitted "I lost my way". It was a day of upsets, with Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova also bundled out.

AAP

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