in Tennis Articles

London, England – Day 1 of this championships saw Centre Court at Wimbledon – in its current roofless state – give way to the pitter-patter of rain, pushing back matches for over three hours. When the championships finally got underway, play opened to the tune of the pitter-patter of Roger Federer’s feet grazing the perfectly manicured lawns of Centre Court.

No. 1 Roger Federer, vying for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, equaling the record set by Bjorn Borg (1976-1980), breezed through his first-round match in his typical great style, defeating Teimuraz Gabashvili in straight sets.

Also in the top half of the draw, Andy Roddick, Tommy Haas, David Ferrer, and Janko Tipsarevic, amongst several others, advanced through to the second round.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the first day of Wimbledon was the veteran matchup of Britain’s Tim Henman vs. Carlos Moya. Henman, who is entering the twilight of his career, kept Henmania alive for another day when his first round match against Carlos Moya was suspended due to the approaching dusk. Henman squandered four match points in the fifth set, allowing Moya to battle back and tie the fifth set at five apiece.

Day 2 of Wimbledon kick-starts on Tuesday June 26th, 2007, with the remaining top half of the draw matches playing out, followed by first-round matches of the bottom half of the draw.

Bet on Wimbledon with BetUS.com Sportsbook: Day 2 Marquee First Round Matchups:

Tomas Berdych -1800 Nicolas Massu +750

Nikolay Davydenko -240 Evgeny Korolev +180

Mardy Fish +600 Rafael Nadal -1200

Ernests Gulbis +700 Marcos Baghdatis -1600

Lleyton Hewitt -6500 Richard Bloomfield +1400

Robert Kendrick +190 Tommy Robredo -275

Fabrice Santoro +250 Ivo Karlovic -400

Potito Starace +1000 Novak Djokovic -3000

Mikhail Youzhny -1000 Kristian Pless +500

Day 1 Wimbledon Results:

Roger Federer def. Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Andy Roddick def. Justin Gimelstob 6-1, 7-6, 7-5(3)

Tommy Haas def. Zack Fleishman 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Florent Serra def. Philip Kohlschreiber 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4

Fernando Gonzalez def. 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2

David Ferrer def. Sergio Roitman 6-3, 6-3, 6-1

Janko Tipsarevic def. Alexander Peya 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3

Alejandro Falla def. Sam Querrey 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-4

Federer might be winning everything except clay these days, but with online sports betting in the tennis lines, odds and props to earn cold, hard cash!

Nila Amerova is a freelance sports writer and regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room.