Hantuchova back in style, seeds cruise

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Seeds faced some stern tests as the bottom half of the draw was played out, but all came through with flying colours on the second day of the Championships. None will be more pleased with her win than tenth seed Daniela Hantuchova, who brushed aside two months of injury frustration with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 defeat of Italy’s Sara Errani on Court 6.

The Slovak, whose last match was a loss to Karolina Sprem at Amelia Island in April, missed the entire European clay court season due to a stress fracture in her right heel, and withdrew from the Ordina Open warm-up event in the Netherlands last week. Aside from a three-game wobble after she had built a 5-1 lead in the second set against the world number 57, the 25-year-old will take heart from her efforts.

Before today, 19-year-old Julia Goerges had never played a match at Wimbledon but she certainly made up for that with a 4-6, 7-6, 16-14 defeat of Katarina Srebotnik, the number 23 seed from Slovenia. Ultimately it was the 102nd-ranked German’s ability to hold serve one more time than her more experienced opponent that made the difference as the break-strewn third set trundled on.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, number 16 seed Victoria Azarenka blitzed her way past Tsvetana Pironkova, a 20-year-old from Bulgaria currently ranked number 41 in the world, in just 50 minutes. The Belarusian won an impressive 96% of points on her first serve and 10 out of 11 approaches to the net. Her unforced error count was tidy too – just seven, against 16 from her opponent.

Almost as efficient was Flavia Pennetta, the Italian who played the match of her life to knock Venus Williams out of the French Open a few weeks ago. She was not required to hit such heights today against Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine, winning 6-3, 6-4 in just over an hour.

Pennetta’s compatriot, number 20 seed Francesca Schiavone gave herself the best possible present when she eventually prevailed in her fierce tussle with Austrian teenager Tamira Paszek. The match started on Monday, the Italian’s 28th birthday, but was held over due to bad light. Upon resumption today, play was delicately poised at 4-4 in the second set, but 17-year-old Paszek quickly levelled proceedings at one set all. The decider ebbed and flowed, with Schiavone two points from defeat at one stage . The veteran’s superior all-court game ultimately won the day, 10-8 in the third, and by way of celebration she threw herself onto the turf.

Among the sizeable Russian contingent, number 13 seed Vera Zvonareva advanced in three sets over Aiko Nakamura of Japan, French Open finalist and number nine seed Dinara Safina needed a first set tie-break but won in two against 18-year-old Chan Yung-Jan of Chinese Taipei while Eastbourne finalist Nadia Petrova, the number 21 seed, beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus in straight sets.

The path of 28-year-old Sybille Bammer, the Austrian number 26 seed, was made easier when Swede Sofia Arvidsson retired midway through the second set, while another Scandinavian, Danish number 31 seed Caroline Wozniacki, 17, defeated Eva Hrdinova, a 24-year-old yet to notch her first professional win.

Among the unseeded players, just four ranking places separated Michaella Krajicek, quarter-finalist at the Championships last year, and New Zealander Marina Erakovic. As a pairing, they won the US Open junior doubles title in 2004, but sentiment was left courtside in a youthful battle of nerve. Having lost the first set in a decider, Dutchwoman Krajicek saved a couple of match points at 3-5 in second set to break back, and tremendous scampering saw her build a 5-1 lead in ensuing tie-break. However, once back in the picture, world number 53 Erakovic used her powerful forehand to set up a fourth match point before Krajicek handed her opponent the match with an unforced error.

Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn, surprise victor of the grass court event in The Netherlands last week, continued her good form with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic, while crafty Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama was too good for young Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, winning 6-2, 6-4.