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Hewitt offers Federer some fatherly advice
Lleyton Hewitt's advice to dad-to-be Roger Federer on how to cope with juggling parenthood and tennis is simple -- make sure your wife is up to scratch.
Asked what tip he would offer the 14 times Swiss grand slam champion, whose wife Mirka is heavily pregnant, the Australian father of two replied with a grin: "I hope Mirka's a good wife".
The 2002 Wimbledon winner, who booked his place in the third round on Thursday, said his wife was the better nappy changer.
"Bec's better, but I'm not bad," he told a news conference.
"Bec has been unbelievable for me. Made life a lot easier. I'm sure Mirka will be that kind of solid rock for Roger as well."
The 2002 champion, something of an underdog after slipping down the rankings following hip surgery last year, directed proceedings from the baseline to win 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 and book his place in the third round at Wimbledon.
"I executed perfectly, hit the ball great, served unbelievable for most of the match. I took it to him right from the start," the former world number one told a news conference.
"I competed as well as I've ever competed ... (it was the best I've played) probably since 2005."
Del Potro sent flying
Juan Martin Del Potro leapt over the net, dived across the court and was often left rooted to the spot as his idol Lleyton Hewitt produced his best tennis in years to cut the lofty fifth seed down to size on Thursday.
The Australian had expected to face a different Spanish-speaking, bandana-wearing player in this round before holder Rafael Nadal withdrew from the championships injured and the draw was reshuffled.
Hewitt grasped his opportunity with both hands.
A cheeky drop shot in the fourth game of the second set had Del Potro charging forward and jumping over the net as if he was competing in the high hurdles.
After the Australian grabbed the second set with a smash, 20-year-old Del Potro -- affectionately cheered on as "Del Boy" or "Juan Man" -- was again sent flying by a drop shot as he tumbled sideways after stretching to reach it.
Against the 1.98-metre Del Potro, Hewitt was never going to have much opportunity to use his renowned topspin lob but when he did get the chance he made it count by setting up break point in the first game of the third.
As the sun beamed down on Centre Court and Hewitt turned up the heat with 14 aces, including three in a row, a small yellow-and-green-clad Australian contingent got up and launched into a rendition of "Feelin' hot, hot, hot."
Hewitt had to serve for the match twice after Del Potro broke in the 10th but he made sure second time around when the Argentine's service return went long.
The pair spent longer than is usual shaking hands at the end of the match which was mainly down to the Argentine.
"I said 'congrats'. He's one of my idols. I said 'You are in very good shape again, so I'm happy for you and good luck'," said Del Potro, adding he still had lots to learn on grass.
Safina eases into round three
Top seed Dinara Safina blasted her way into the third round at Wimbledon Thursday with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Paraguay's Rossana De Los Rios.
Safina, the world number one but still chasing her first grand slam crown, used a mix of powerful serving and superior groundstrokes to unseat the South American, ranked 99 places beneath her.
The Russian took the opener in 35 minutes courtesy of a single break and another break was all she needed to wrap up the match in an hour and 22 minutes, sealing victory with a crunching backhand crosscourt winner.
Safina will bid to reach the fourth round here for the first in her career against Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens.
Ivanovic happy to be one of the crowd
When Ana Ivanovic reached the summit of women's tennis following her French Open victory last year, the Serb forgot one thing -- from now on she could only go down.
A year after competing at Wimbledon as top seed, she is now just one of the crowd, ranked 12th in the world, but she could not be happier.
"Up until last year, my career was always going up, and my rankings were always improving. Then once I got to the top position, I had some setbacks," said the 21-year-old after her 7-5, 6-1 second-round win over Italy's Sara Errani on Thursday.
"It was a little bit hard for me to accept it. I just thought it's always going to be up the hill and it's always going to be better and better. But it's not always the case.
"You learn how to accept some losses, and it makes you stronger and makes you appreciate wins even more."
She has had to come to terms with a lot of defeats in recent months as she has yet to win a title in 2009.
The Serb tried to revive her fortunes by hiring coach Craig Kardon, who had previously worked with Martina Navratilova, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati, but terminated that partnership after just four months.
Before the start of Wimbledon, she returned to work with her sponsor's elite coaching staff and since the set-up includes her former mentor Sven Groeneveld, she has started to enjoy her time out on court again.
"Seeing Sven, it's really good. I think from all the coaches, he knows my game the best. We spent a couple of years working together," said Ivanovic, who was beaten in the fourth round of the French Open last month.
"We went through a lot together, so he knows not only my game but also he can tell in my face expression how I'm feeling."
Murray deals with pressure by having fun
If Andy Murray turns up for a match this week wearing a cricket helmet, do not be alarmed.
The third seed has been keeping up his usual tradition of fun forfeits with his support team to lighten the pressure he faces as he bids to become Britain's first Wimbledon men's singles champion since Fred Perry in 1936.
His Latvian second-round opponent Ernests Gulbis was probably wishing the Scot had been playing with a cricket bat after Murray bombarded him with some excellent serves in a near flawless 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 victory on Thursday.
"I thought I played well. Served really good for the whole match. Apart from the very first game where he had a couple of chances on my serve, I didn't give him another breakpoint," the 22-year-old world number three told a news conference.
"I used my variety very well. It was much, much better than the first match."
The Scot, far from convincing in a four-set first-round victory over American Robert Kendrick, made just five unforced errors against Gulbis in the one hour 28 minute match.
"I didn't make many mistakes from the ground. When I did get myself into a point on his service game I made him work very hard for the points. I hit some good passing shots and finished points when I was inside the court," he said.
As light relief, Murray and his team have this week been playing their usual "football-tennis" -- which involves kicking a ball over the net -- to warm up in training sessions and whoever loses has to do a forfeit.
Dane keeps winning
Ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki's 6-0, 6-4 defeat of unseeded opponent Maria Kirilenko was the only women's match to feature on the main show court for Thursday's second round matches.
The 18-year-old Dane, who has produced consistently good results to break into the top-10 for the first time, continued her good run of form.
A relative rookie on grass but tipped by none other than Wimbledon great Martina Navratilova as a dark horse, Wozniacki justified the faith by winning her maiden grass court title at Eastbourne just prior to Wimbledon..
Gonzalez lets it all hang out
Fernando Gonzalez of Chile beat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the round of 32.
The 10th seed won despite dropping the opening set courtesy a crucial double fault in the tie-break.
Earlier, the scorch marks and splinters of graphite embedded in the glistening turf bore testimony to some Gonzalez fireworks as the Chilean 10th seed blasted into the men's singles second round on Tuesday.
Gonzalez, who fell in the semi-finals of the French Open after destroying Britain's big Wimbledon hope Andy Murray in the last eight, had cranked up his nuclear-powered forehand to dispatch surly Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 7-5, 6-3.
More performances like that and he could become a real threat to Murray again in the quarter-finals, although the tendinitis in his right knee was clearly bothering him as he opened his grasscourt campaign.
"Vamos Gonzo" was the cry from the flag-waving Chileans crammed into the stands under south-American sunshine.
Gonzalez responded with smiles, jokes, some scintillating tennis -- and one memorable Latin meltdown which had a ball girl ducking for cover and him being issued with a code violation.
In these days of poker-faced players and controlled emotions, Gonzalez lets it all hang out.
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