Looking at Round One

128 men and women started play on Monday at the 125th edition of the Championships, and now only 64 of each remain. Well, a bit more than that are left, because of rain on Monday, but the second round will begin tomorrow, and all of the key first round matches are finished. It was a rather uneventful first round on the gentlemen's side, with all of the top seeds advancing rather easily. The only slight hiccup was Robin Soderling, the 5th seed, needing four sets to defeat Halle runner-up Phillip Petzschner and Andy Murray losing the first set before taking the next three 6-4, 6-0, 6-0. On the ladies's side, there was much more drama. Serena Williams, defending champion here, and Vera Zvonareva, the second seed, both needed three sets to advance into the second round. Francesca Schiavone also needed three sets to advance. There were no memorable matches like last year's 70-68 match, and the weather made it difficult for the best tennis to come through, but things are set up nicely for the second round, which we'll preview in a later post.