Kvitova, Radwanska lay down Wimbledon markers

Omnisports

June 29, 2016 1:19 AM

There were Wednesday wins for Petra Kvitova and Agnieszka Radwanska at Wimbledon, while Belinda Bencic was thrilled to play on Centre Court.

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Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and former finalist Agnieszka Radwanska each made confident starts to their latest campaigns at the All England Club on Wednesday.

For the second day in succession, play on the outside courts was disrupted by showers, but 10 competitors in the women's singles draw were able to get victories under their belts.

Tenth seed Kvitova - the winner of this event in 2011 and 2014 - wasted little time after her match with Sorana Cirstea had been delayed, the Czech racing through the first set in just 15 minutes en route to a 6-0 6-4 win.

Radwanska, runner-up to Serena Williams four years ago, dropped just three games in a thrashing of Kateryna Kozlova, while there were also straight-sets victories for Belinda Bencic and Johanna Konta, the latter triumphing at SW19 for the first time.

Konta, who had resumed on Wednesday holding a one-set lead over Monica Puig, will now face Eugenie Bouchard on Centre Court, after the Canadian also completed her rain-delayed first-round tie.

RADWANSKA FACING POTENTIAL EURO WOE

After easing into round two, Radwanska - who has now won 22 sets out of 22 in Wimbledon first-round ties - expressed hope that she would not be on court during Poland's European Championship quarter-final with Portugal.

"I have watched every game," she said. "I've been trying to schedule my practices just to watch Poland's matches. I'm cheering them all the time. So I hope I'll finish early on Thursday."

However, Radwanska could be in for disappointment following the release of Thursday's order of play. Her second-round tie with Ana Konjuh, who beat Karin Knapp in round one, is the fourth match scheduled to take place on No. 2 Court.

KVITOVA CONTENT WITH STRONG START

Kvitova fired 20 winners in her victory over Cirstea, while making only eight unforced errors.

"Every match is different. Of course, I'm kind of glad how I played, how else everything looked today on the court," she said.

BENCIC HAPPY TO BE CENTRE OF ATTENTION

There was an unexpected bonus for Swiss teenager Bencic, as her clash with Tsvetana Pironkova was switched to Centre Court late on Wednesday.

For a player who grew up watching compatriots Martina Hingis and Roger Federer shine on Wimbledon's biggest stage, the news represented a dream come true.

"When I was told I had goosebumps all over my body," revealed Bencic. "The supervisor came to me and told me I was going to play Centre Court. I was really happy.

"I mean, it's basically Roger's court. I feel this is going to be my court hopefully soon."

STEPHENS AND WATSON WITH WORK TO DO

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Andrea Petkovic were two other seeds to progress, but Sloane Stephens will return to action on Thursday facing a first-set tie-break in her interrupted match with Peng Shuai.

Great Britain's Heather Watson, who could face reigning champion Serena Williams in round three having come agonisingly close to springing a shock at the same stage last year, is a break down at the start of set three against Annika Beck.

Omnisports

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