Ward joins Murray in third round
Originally published on 02/07/15
The 2013 champion was in impressive form as he swept to a 6-1 6-1 6-4 victory in an hour and 27 minutes on Court One.
Murray had won three of his four previous encounters against Haase, but the Dutchman had taken him to five sets at the 2011 US Open and Murray needed four sets to get past him again at Flushing Meadows last year.
“The first couple of sets were excellent,” said Murray. “I moved well today, hit the ball a lot cleaner from the back of the court. It was a good match. I’ve obviously had some tough matches with him in the past. I know when he’s on he can make it extremely difficult. He can be pretty flashy and play two or three great games in a row. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t give him that opportunity.”
Murray will face No.25 seed Andreas Seppi in the third round after the Italian twice came from a set down to beat talented teenager Borna Coric 4-6 6-4 6-7 6-1 6-1.
“Seppi has had such good results this year,” Murray said of his next opponent. “He made the final a couple of weeks ago in Halle, and he plays well on the grass. He won against Roger [Federer] at the Australian Open this year. He’s capable of playing some top tennis.”
There will be multiple British men in the third round for the first time since 2002 after British No.3 James Ward defeated Jiri Vesely 6-2 7-6(4) 3-6 6-3 to reach the last-32 for the first time in his career. Ward, who is set to break into the top 100 for the first time following his run at Wimbledon, will face Canadian world No.56 Vasek Pospisil in the third round.
“It’s something you work for throughout your whole career,” said Ward of his breakthrough. “Probably with that last win [against Luca Vanni] it just squeezed me inside [the top 100]. Now with the win today, it definitely puts me in there. It’s pleasing, something to look to build on.
“I’m into the third round of Wimbledon; I can’t ask for anything more at the moment. I’m still playing in this tournament and looking to win another match on Saturday."
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