Day 2 Part 1 Queen's

Hello, and welcome today to have a gone Championships. It almost feels

like day one is only one match was greeted yesterday on Centre Court.

Today, weather permitting, it's time to play catch-up and a busy schedule

is planned. The stars are out in force come good the defending

champion, this man, Andy Murray comedy world number two. No re-night

with his coach. Their first target is this week and this title, there

he aims to become the undisputed king of Queen's.

He is aiming for history here again, with a fifth title but the final

scenes long way away. We are in search of five minutes of tennis

just now. The weather has been so bad, they were planning to start

play at 1130, but more showers came through. As you can see, the covers

are off and hopefully we'll get some play. But more showers are expected.

What a line-up we have on all the courts today is the kind play this

catch up. The former world number seven, Fernando Verdasco against

standard Wawrinka -- Stan Wawrinka. Nicolas Mahut has won four titles,

and all the long grass. Nick Kyrgios and Milos Raonic will be want to see

and Kyle Edmund against Gilles Simon. It was a difficult day

yesterday and it is proving another difficult day for spectators, just

trying to stay dry and keep the brollies up. Trying to, well,

fighting with the poncho. No, he is having more difficulty than most.

Everyone is sitting under the brollies and there's not a lot of

places where you can shelter here at the Queen's Club. Is still

struggling. But when you are a steward you can leave your post and,

everybody having problems. Someone please help him next door! He made

it! Andrew and John are with me. This morning, it has been raining,

it has been awful. Was that a poncho? Was that designed or was it

just clingfilm? It look like clingfilm. You cannot cut the

clingfilm of any diggers like the middle like one of those. It is

quite right just now. Get them out there now! Difficult day for

everyone and difficult for the players. Only Tuesday, already feels

like Thursday but we will be all right. Hopefully we get some tennis

today and hopefully they will be careful because it will be slippery

for the bespoke by the stars in action, even on Court Number One

really have former champions, Marin Cilic and Gregor Demetrios and Juan

Martin Del Potro and Poland to mature, there are stars everywhere.

This is a top event, they go to a year after year. Three years in a

row. They love coming here and the draw reflects that. We lost Nadal

and Jo Wilfried Tsonga but look down you can see grand slam champion is

everywhere. It is a big deal when you lose star names but we have

plenty of them. This first match, up against Sandra Rinker -- stand above

Rinker, here's another one, as I hear they are approaching the court.

That is good sign. I think so, it is interesting because Stan Wawrinka

has never played great on grass, is a great striker of the ball and

movement not as good perhaps an as flexible as of the top players on

grass. Does not move as or defend as well but Richard Krajicek, that was

a very good signing. Very shrewd. Yes, Stan himself said he hated

grass as a kid but has grown to like it because it plays more like a hard

court because the courts are getting firmer and he feels with his serve

and backhand has the game to succeed. We always imagine in your

mind you say Stan Wawrinka and you think big, sweeping ground strokes,

particularly the backhand, his forehand is no slouch either. That

can break anyone down. I think the big deal for him is the blog return.

To get into the rally to begin with and from the back of the course will

think of himself as 50-50 against anyone. How he uses the chip and

block and slice is what I think Richard Krajicek can bring, it was

that ability to knock it back into play that brought him the 1996

Wimbledon title. On a grass court, great signing. He does not see and

others Wimbledon champion, he likes to play himself down but twice a

quarterfinalist, if you get into that position. Very nearly a

semifinalist last year with that amazing match rate -- against

Richard Gasquet. Stan was saying he was Richard Desmond Richard Deacon

had come forward and make that first volley and make it count, how to

finish point at the net that they've played so much from the back of the

court that it is almost like they don't what to do. That is what

everyone is trying to do now if they are to be the likes of Djokovic,

come forward and attack. Exactly, the players now defence all well and

when you're out why Deacon still on these angles make great passing

shots but someone like writer will say, you can cut the angles off,

take the ball in the air and move up because his instinct is not to do

that. The other services it is not quite as imperative to do that, on

grass you need to. What Andrew touched about is not click so well,

I think it is the mental side. You have the game. All that cyclist.

Will be important. I think that is why he has added and has already got

a good team in place but has added quite a because he wants to learn

how to win on the grass and believes he has the game to win on grass so

that, half of it is the mental battle, the belief in yourself. At

first volley when you are a baseliner, that is the key. He is

not a greater volley, he has improved it. He has such good ground

strokes, if he picks the right once some of the volleys he should be

hitting so easily. There is a stand of Rinker. Current

ranking of number five. Just dropped out of the top four after not

defending his title at the French. He may find events of that title and

making it all the weight any final, Andy Murray was too much there. I've

got to be honest, Magnus Norman is the man who deserves the credit for

taking Stan Wawrinka to these grand slam titles and making himself for,

five, six rather than 14 to 16 because when he took him on in

Portugal in clay back in 2013, he got him to handle his game properly

and get the most out of it and one aspect of that was the chip and

everything else. Whilst we focus on Krajicek, Magnus Norman, Magnus is

still with him. Yes. Magnus is magnificent and he is quiet and goes

about his business in a different way so the camera is on him this

week but Magnus is superb. Yes, Stan is back here at the Queen's Club,

had some success here but let's see what he has to say when he spoke

when he arrived here couple of days ago. Good clay-court season, how is

it to go from clay to grass? It is maybe the most difficult change for

me, in the season because it is quite extreme for my game. You don't

have so much time, but the last three years have I have been doing

well, I've been quite happy with the way I was changing my game for the

grass court and I always enjoy coming back here, staying in London,

it is really nice. The weather is not so good this time, but welcome.

It has been old, the French Open was heavy conditions as well. Yes, it

has been a few weeks of rain. It wasn't easy therefore the players

but you don't have many choices. Hopefully it will change here. Last

year was amazing weather. What you enjoy about playing on grass?

Quarterfinal Wimbledon last two years. Do you see yourself as a

future Wimbledon champion? I don't see myself there. Why not? Because

that is not the way I think. I improved a lot in the last three

years. I have been playing well last year against Gasquet at the review

before against Roger. I know the more I spent time, the better I

start playing so hopefully this year I can go further. And in your camp

you know you have a guy who knows how to play our grass court. Court

Krajicek. Yes, he knows how to play. He has been playing quite well over

their, his experience, his game, his vision on the grass courts, a game

can help me I hope and we are happy with having him in the team. He

always plays it down, even when he got his first Grand Slam come off

quite affected by it because it is a big change in what happens in your

life and endorsements and everybody wants a bit of you. It caught him

off guard a little. He is admirable. He has been under the shadow of

Roger Federer for so many years and I don't think anyone thought, him

included, he was going to win a Grand Slam. He has no one to does

McKee has now won two and now still doesn't walk around looking like a

grand slam champion but I have a feeling of Richard Krajicek can get

him and does well here at Queens, gets into the quarterfinal area at

Wimbledon, maybe this time quite it will help him get the belief you can

go on further because he has won two slams come he can do it. And a Davis

Cup and Olympic old in the doubles with Roger Federer. He has the

tools. Remember the match against Andy Murray plays, the first match

under lights? I don't know what you're that was. The thousand nine?

I think it was very four years ago? Clocking of that, what about his

opponent, Verdasco. Do you remember the match against Murray in 2013

when he was 2-0 up and Murray was on the ropes in the quarterfinal and it

was a five set thriller and Murray came through it and went on to win

the title? And easily managed to forget and his match against Nadal

in the semifinal of the Australian Open one year was the finest tennis

I've ever seen. This is the first round match we have at Queen's Club

this year and he can see where he is with that shirt on. He has a natural

disguise today. Person you cannot see. He is a tough player, might

have dropped his rankings down to 53 but he was top ten for many years. A

nasty first round, the entire Queens door is littered with Notts -- nasty

first-round draws. He knows his way around the grass court another

beautiful serve. Lefties are more effective or grass court. Yes, and

we will speak again about how the weather was bad, the court will be

so be on that server will slide in and I'm sure Stan Wawrinka will not

like the conditions at the start. This is not an easy first-round

match. We will see of Wawrinka will be changing any sort of tactics,

speaking about coming forward and he spoke about, he wants Richard to

tell him where to serve on grass and when and how to finish points.

Krajicek and his generation at the service motion and probably still

has one of the most studied service motions of all time and it is the

easiest thing in the world, it is silk. There are people you want to

copy and with the serve, Richard was one of them. San is there and he

will get the job done. I'm looking for him to start shipping and

getting into the rally. -- chipping. If he gets engaged it will get

interesting. There are matches where he looks like he would rather be

somewhere else, and we will see about his intensity today, hopefully

they will have some great tennis ahead of them. This could go three

sets. Yes, this could be a tight one. I think so as well. What Andy

said with Stan, he sometimes wanders off. Again, his court presence. Is

that rain on the camera? Another warm up. There we go, a familiar

sight. They cannot change this one said if everyone agrees? They cannot

lay a process, first to nine. We need to ask the tournament director,

they've played two matches in a day, which is a big ask, from players,

particularly if we have another day like this and tomorrow and there is

another rain on Thursday. It could be two matches a day for three days

in a row. I'm not sure players will want to do that, they can go on to

next week before the sponsors and everyone with tickets that is not

ideal. Cannot change the format,. They never have. I was thinking

about that this morning, we are supposed to know the rules and I

cannot remember. I don't think we've ever had such a bad opening, of

course we've had rain, but to have four days potentially of getting

possibly the first round through, it is unheard of. This is where you

don't want to be first on the schedule because you have to be

present. You certainly don't want to be last! But at least you know where

to stand there and you can go all rather than stick around. You want

to get played all year matches will back up. The sun has come out now.

Well, they will start. Let's hang over -- handover to the

commentators. I hope you get a lot of tennis!

COMMENTATOR: Watching outdoor tennis has been a pretty miserable

experience, at Roland Garros, Rome, Stuttgart. Verdasco won a tournament

in the cadet -- in Bucharest earlier in media which lasted until Monday.

We have tennis at 1:15pm on the Tuesday of Queen's.

Well, the stars is -- not the stuff that Wawrinka wanted. Richard

Gasquet, the number four seed and the only match to be completed so

far... He went out. The tournament does not want to lose another of it

big names early on. Not a disaster, because a guy like Verdasco has been

there and do not. He also has quite a big name.

That was an exhibition of the forehand for which she is renowned.

-- which he is. Good afternoon, Peter, by the way. Our you? Thank

you very much. Interesting hearing them talk about Wawrinka's demeanour

in the building to the match, but he still does not strut in a way that

you would expect grand slam champion is to do. -- in the build-up to the

match. Would you expect that? That is not who he is. He will probably

always be up and down. He is emotional. When he is playing well,

here's all some. When he is not feeling it, here's less than

awesome. -- when he is playing well, he is awesome.

I think the real challenge for Stan is, especially on a slippery court

like this, coming to grips with the surface, moving on the court, when

will he slide, when will he stick? It takes quite a while to really get

the feel of grass. And, of course, Stan has played here

many times. But still, I think you almost have to have a mindset that

is predisposed to, OK, I am good on grass. If you come into it thinking,

I'm not really looking forward to it, it is harder. That there is

grass and grass, of course. If we had had a month of blistering

sunshine, this court would be very different. Absolutely. If we had had

a month of blistering sunshine. If. There are a few more umbrellas going

up. He said joyfully! A nice touch from the Spaniard. If

you have just joined us, the most fantastic programme on court today.

This match followed by Murray against Mahut, then Raonic against

Kyrgios. Jeal seem on playing at the end. If ever you wanted good

weather, this is it -- Gilles Simon playing at the end.

You saw has slippery and greasy it is up the back of the court.

Wawrinka lost his footing. You get the feeling that that serve

will always be there for Verdasco. And Stan is clearly... He is

obviously having a word, saying he is not happy with the service. Stan

has unilaterally sat down. I am a double grand slam winner, I do not

want to play, I will sit down. Verdasco obviously wants to carry

on, he is all smiles. Where is the balance of power? If the players say

no go, that is it? If they say it adamantly enough. If a guy like Stan

says it adamantly enough then, yes, sir. Clean your weight as McGraw and

shoes, so. UMPIRE: The court is getting more slippery. We will hold

off for a little bit. Hopefully the rain stops and we can get back soon.

COMMENTATOR: There was a stand-off which led to a row at the French

Open. Halep and read one scope of got eliminated. -- and Agnieszka

Radwanska. Two highly ranked players got knocked out in conditions that

they said would simply not playable. More footballing than tennis

conditions! Andy Murray hit with two of his sons the other afternoon. But

they were saying that player safety is paramount, and they felt... They

both lost, so they were not happy, but they both felt, as David Ferrer

reiterated with Spanish radio later, that player safety was put at risk

on the altar of television and providing entertainment for the

public. It is interesting how it has come

full circle. When I first started playing on the tour even before

then, VJ arbitrageur played against Rob Lever at the U.S. Open. They

played through a steady drizzle for an hour. It got so bad at one point

that one player as for his bakes to be brought out, he changed into

spikes, much like athletics bakes, chewing up the court. That is when

he started to lose. They play, much as footballers do, right through the

rain as long as it was a fine mist and not getting in your eyes when

you serve. It was just, play on. It was that way for quite a long time.

And now it seems that it simply spits on the court it is like, oh,

it is too dangerous, we have to go off! -- that if somebody spits. It

has to be perfect conditions before they allowed play to continue. To

counterbalance that, the game is much more physical, energised and

energetic now, with all due respect to Rob Lever, who was argued with

the best player of all time. It was more genteel. -- with all due

respect to Rod Laver. Discuss. I think you are doing massive

disservice to players who were Amazons, amazing athletes. The

points are much longer, no doubt. They would never have thought of

playing 30 shot rallies on a grass court back then, one, because the

courts were not good enough, you would never have gotten 30 good

bouncers. And somebody would have gone to the net. He would have had

to, because in those days it was almost like any good bounce is a

bonus. That is why the strokes were different. Chopped ground strokes.

The points were much shorter, but they were very athletic, these guys.

To watch Rod Laver cover the net was impressive. So who makes the call,

do you think? The umpire or the players coming out and saying, we

have had a five-minute hiatus, we are happy to go again? It might be

James, the umpire, or the tournament referee who basically says, you

know, let's give it a shot, guys. There is kind of a mizzle in the

air, if you like, but it is not really raining. As you get older,

things are not you. People have their umbrellas up when it is not

raining. Put them down, come on! I will let you know when I get older!

The problem here is that it is Tuesday, the court has only had one

much play done it, so the grass is still very moist and green. Any

little drizzle makes it very slippery, as we saw with the way

that Stan slipped. Not just on that last point. For the tournament

organisers, with every hour that goes by, they are heading towards

some moments where they are thinking, what are we going to have

to do? What contingency plans can be implemented? They are getting too

far behind the eight ball. I started that without knowing that we would

straightaway here from the tournament director, he with Andrew

Cotter. Here is the man with the answers. We

have not reached the contingency plan stage, the weather is dry you

shut the moment, you are hoping for the best for the rest of the day? --

the weather is quite dry at the moment. We have looked at every

weather gauge we can get our hands on, we think we have a clear

34-macro hours this afternoon to get plenty of playing. We have play

across six courts already, hopefully getting under way soon. Centre Court

is pretty dry, it has been covered, very well protect it. We got play on

pretty quickly and it has not taken on too much water with this shower.

It can be frustrating for you when you have these narrow whether

Windows, just get them playing quickly, sometimes it takes a while?

By the time you know the court is dry enough to play, the net has gone

up, the cupboards have come across, play and knock up and all those

sorts of things, a gets quite frustrating. But we are endeavouring

to get things under way as soon as we can, I think we have dinner

reasonable job. Looking down on the court, it looks like the rain has

stopped and we will be back and away soon. How far behind which you had

to get before looking at taking some matches indoors? -- would you have

to get? We are nowhere near that stage yet. We have plenty of days

left in the week, the tournament lasts until Sunday, we have

potentially eight match court, lots can take place at the same time, we

are very confident. You have been escorting David Beckham around, how

is he? A blood very excited to be here. Romeo is a big tennis fan, he

is very excited to see Andy this afternoon.

And finally, happy birthday, are you enjoying it? It has been

interesting, but of course I am. It is the best place in the world. The

tournament director is hoping with the rest of us, as the players come

back out. COMMENTATOR: After a limited amount of play, Verdasco

will serve a deuce in the second game having broken Wawrinka in the

first. A break is never a break until you have handled yourself

afterwards. That's break was 8.5, nine minutes or so. You expect it

will not be the first of the day. Or the only one of the day.

That is the perfect start for the Spaniard.

And that is just what Stan wanted. He is not built like an awful lot of

other top tennis players. He is a solid individual and the sound from

his racket, especially on the serve, it carries weight in audio terms. He

is one of the strongest players, for sure. It's the ball -- hits the ball

with a huge amount of power. The question for Stan is, again, can he

find his way into the proper state of mind. He seems to flip in and out

of that from time to time. If you are in the psychiatrist's chair, he

interesting guy. So many people on the tennis tour have parents who are

tennis coaches or basketball stars or handball players or something.

His parents have both worked with disabled and disadvantaged children,

they run a home for kids with serious disabilities and he was

brought up in that environment. Speaking to him he said that has

given him a different approach to the game compared to lots of people.

Despite that, he has ability to seize life in the round, he has had

to live in Federer's shadow for so long, you wonder if that is an

element in his psyche was back -- in his psyche.

It has to have had some sort of impact. But that is, I'm not sure.

The difficulty for Wawrinka on this surface is he knows when he's

feeling right, there is no one that can play with him.

Young Milosz taking in a bit of the environment. Taking out the weather.

-- checking out. But on a slippery court like this one it is very

difficult to feel you can play your best tennis. So Wawrinka is then

forced to hit the ball around and play defence. That must be

inhibiting. His finest hour in the French Open against Dokovic 15

months ago, he hit the ball so hard with complete freedom. That was not

bad from the back of the court. He will probably disappear through for

a woman. On a scale of 1-10, how amazed we you that John McEnroe

ended up coaching me Nutbrown which -- Meyler 's row which? Not at all.

I think this book with each other. -- Raonic. In the court -- because

John comes at the game with a different perspective, he will give

there which -- give him nuggets he hasn't heard before. Can we loss

open up his mind and take those on board? Might be a challenge.

Fascinating to see. McEnroe in the coach's box this afternoon.

Touching. That second serve from Verdasco was

not great but none the less, almost lost his footing. You've got to have

secure footing on the baseline to serve like these guys too.

I didn't see that come almost lost his footing serving? His foot just

slipped a couple of inches. That is good to see. I don't think

it's been a great summer for bees. It has been a horrific decade for

bees, we need as many as possible! Just not near my drink, please.

In an idle moment, and there were lots of them, I have an outbreak of

double faults, at the French Open we spoke about the phrase the bees

knees, which is a ridiculous phrase because bees do not have knees.

I think he will take that, even if it didn't quite land. And I will

tell you, even if you don't want to know, that in the 1920s.

There was a competition to find ridiculous phrases using animals,

including phrases like the cat's whiskers and there were dozens of

them, to what three have survived and the bees knees is one of them.

Stunned into silence. I can die a happy man.

Wawrinka dug himself out of a hole there. That forehand, Verdasco lined

up and thought it would skip through the court and it didn't. It hung

there and he was a way out in front. And Wawrinka hits his racket into

the turf, that is two breaks of serve for the Spaniard.

Verdasco certainly doing a better job of dealing with the

circumstances just now. He is actually tiptoeing around the court

and therefore has not slipped nearly as often as Wawrinka.

Then he got the quarterfinal here in 2011, Wawrinka, Stan got the semis

here when he lost to Grigor Dimitrov who ultimately went on to win it.

What do you make of the cup with Wawrinka? Interesting. I guess Stan

and Magnus Norman thought, let's get some grass court expertise. Magnus

was always Constable on the clay court, as Stan has always been.

Perhaps Stan thought he will give me a nugget or two that will put me

over the top because if you can win on hard courts, you can win on clay,

why not grass? Grass isn't, especially the dry variety, is not

that much different from the other services these days ago as it is

quite slow. It is not much quicker than a hard quarter clay court. If

Richard can give him a nugget or two in his mental approach in how to

deal with it, maybe that will make Stan a contender here as well.

Sometimes you make those and occasionally you don't.

The Chelsea goalkeeper, former Stoke city and Jose Mourinho was here last

year speaking about how he watches more tennis on television and

football. -- than football. As most sane

people would. One thing Jose Mourinho did say last

year, he said he had or tennis and problem is unlikely but, you never

know how long the game will last. You cannot plan your life. -- is

unlike football. The chance to get one of those

bricks at -- breaks back. Before we began to predict this would be three

sets. That can be around 20 or it can be two and a half. With the

rain, it could finish on Friday. Very conservatively played for him,

yet it skidded through the court, highly effective.

Another opportunity for Wawrinka to break back. That was a lovely serve.

Beautifully executed right across court. This slice serve out wide is

therefore Verdasco to hit all day long. He didn't actually mean to

serve and volley, but played it well.

Fantastic. A brilliantly deep shot return. Then

just look at that backhand crosscourt, and the ankle. A short

angle, Head with power. Unreturnable. -- a short angle, hit

with power. He was crying a passing shot winner

that which would have gotten back into this set -- he was eyeing.

Wawrinka was eyeing a break back, but consolidated by Verdasco. He is

just one game away from this opening set. A free game here for Verdasco,

really. He can almost swing. Yeah, and in that regard it as a

free game for Wawrinka as well. He is just trying to find a little

rhythm. He has written this set off already.

How cross do players, top players are specially, get when they get a

foot faulted? -- top players especially? Everybody is different,

but like most players they will think, what are you, blind?! I don't

foot fault! Don't you know who I am?!

I think that overhead from Verdasco would have been enjoyed by all club

players watching this afternoon. A free game for Stan, he took

advantage of it. Now it is up to the Spaniard to serve, to take this

opening set. Threatening clouds, as you can see

on our picture, everywhere. But at the moment, maybe they are a little

bit higher than of late. The good thing is that the flags, certainly

on the main stand to the right, are really quite gusty and mystery. That

may be good news. There was an element of few minutes -- humidity

yesterday that meant that when the rain was here, it could not move on.

But maybe ourselves Asian maybe the wind that blows away the rain. --

may be our salvation. At the rain has gone, so the other rains might

be coming quicker? But they do not have time to drop their water, they

are going so fast! Going sideways, never hitting the ground. That is my

recollection of geography O-level! David and Romeo.

Do you suppose he rings up to get tickets for himself, or does he have

somebody to do that? I think EQ is out in front! -- I think he queues.

At the Piccadilly line to Barons Court. Of all the footballers, he

might. -- get the Piccadilly line. That second serve has been the bane

of Verdasco 's existence for quite some time now. They just sometimes

leads him. -- it just sometimes leaves him.

It is inexplicable, to a large extent. His service action is

beautiful, it really is very good. His ball toss, perhaps, is erratic.

That might getting into trouble. He just does not have the confidence.

That you would think he would have. Verdasco is doing a nice job of

staying on the offensive. Whenever Wawrinka gets a ball that he can

hits, he is overanxious, trying to do too much.

So, Fernando Verdasco takes the first set against Stan Wawrinka. And

I think of the number two seed has cause for concern. SUE BARKER: What

a way to finish off the first, the two-time champion in trouble.

Another two-time champion will be next, weather permitting, Andy

Murray. He was out on the practice court earlier when it was quite

bright, he got a full rack this session with his coaches, Jamie

Delgado, who has been there since the start of the year, and Ivan

Lendl, who just arrived from America yesterday. He got a full practice

against Alex Ward on Court number three today, it is obvious that

Lendl is making Murray be more aggressive. I think we will expect

to see a more aggressive Andy Murray going through his grass court

season. That is Murray and Lendl back together, hopefully Andy Mark

Roe will be on Court very soon, against Nicolas Mahut, who has come

straight from a grass tournament victory in the Netherlands. --

hopefully Andy will be on court very soon. A difficult start for Andy

Murray, a difficult start for Wawrinka, he needs to take some of

these break points against Fernando Verdasco.

COMMENTATOR: Bees two met on grass last year at Wimbledon. Wawrinka won

in straight sets. -- Vives two met. In their career head-to-head, they

are two apiece. This is their solitary meeting on grass. Sam will

want -- Stanwell want to get the second set off to a good start. --

stand will want. As long as he gets up to a competitive start here, he

is essentially 50/50 to win this match. A very important stage of the

match right now. That is worth the challenge. UMPIRE: Mr Wawrinka is

challenging the call. The ball was called out.

COMMENTATOR: Are you linked up with him? Cyclically. -- cyclically.

Peter Fleming's eyesight... Is terrible! But I could just feel

the ball! Two double faults for Wawrinka,

against three for Verdasco. Note to self, do not go in. Or at

least don't approach crosscourt. Give him the down the line shot, it

is wide open. That was a hot dog minus the

sausage! Certainly not a lot of mustered on one. That is just the

kind of first game that Wawrinka wanted. On both occasions, Verdasco

came into the net when he got past, very straightforwardly, and when he

gave Wawrinka the chance to lob him to secure that first game. Is both

times he went crosscourt, which made it more difficult for him to cover

the net -- but both times. That is a very dark cloud. Do not adjust the

colour on your set, that is a very, very dark cloud ominously hanging

over us. Is it coming through at 80 mph?! It is going to come by so

fast! There is no combating that! That is

a sort of 1- to combination. There are those dark clouds! -- that is

the sort of one-two combination that took Verdasco into the top ten for a

few years. That was asking a lot for even his

forehand. Two very powerful forehands. It is

interesting that everyone thinks about Wawrinka's backhand, how great

it is, yet he is more aggressive of the forehand more often than not.

That is a solid hold for the Spaniard. Level-headed.

The clock will strike to lack -- two very shortly.

That was the 1-2 from the Wawrinka. We've had 45 units of play, which

about midday today we had almost given up on that.

Case number three for Wawrinka. Having been broken twice in the

first set. -- ace. He is looking solid at the start second.

Take that! It has been that style of tennis which served him so well in

set number one, just slapping winners left right and centre. Can

he string a few more together here? That return of serve was at 84 miles

per are, he now has to look at a second serve.

That is a third double fault for Renke having made 40 - zero for this

game he is now back at deuce. -- for above Renke -- Wawrinka.

Come on, you heard, from Wawrinka because he knows it is important to

hang onto the server early in the second set, he does not want to go

behind on break here. And that is the famous forehand from

the Wawrinka that puts him ahead. You're one of the most cerebrally

members the tennis fraternity, probably ever, I would like to

mention something to that happened yesterday in the mid-of the rain

breaks, bonded to someone, and it turned out it was a guy called

Professor Zoltan mum off who is Professor of neurology at Oxford

University. He is a serious boffin, who travels the world lecturing on

your science, fitting in with tennis tournaments because he is a tennis

fanatic. Ismet neuroscience. He speaks to the boffins of Spain to

coincide with the Madrid open and Rome to speak. Anyway, have I guess

what the exam question was the second year students at Oxford

University this year, their second year exam in the neuroscience

department was described the neurological process going through

tennis player's mind when preparing to return serve and implement the

action. How cool is that have a professor like that? -- to have a

professor. Yes. Can I get back to you in a second?

Thankfully the knowledge of that is not acquired to actually return

serve. -- required. He only had tickets for yesterday

because he has got to go back and mark all of the answers to that

question. We will have a roundtable discussion

at the next rain break about the neurological functions required to

do that. That sounds like fun, will we sell

tickets for that? It will be on the red Button, extensively.

That tucked Wawrinka up very well in the body serif and a simple put

away. What I wouldn't give to the forehand like that! What a thing of

beauty. Do not be deceived by the shadows on

the court, it is just a postage stamp of blue above just now.

That is a big, heavy serve from the Spaniard.

There it is. Second-class at the moment.

Is that blue? You might need to make some adjustments.

Really interesting point, Verdasco put the ball in an awkward position

but Wawrinka never took the split septal he was going the wrong

direction and took the circle route to change to read and get the ball

and did not get there in time. -- split step.

I kind of feel that this is an important game, if Wawrinka got a

broken way Verdasco is serving, he might find it hard to get back in

the match. No sooner said than a break point

for Verdasco. That time Wawrinka got the ball to

kick off the court surface. As wet as it is, that is probably a bit of

a strange reaction and Verdasco miss timed it.

When it is slippery and wet like this you would expect people to

slide through and slice into the body. The kick service much more

difficult execute. Wawrinka's serve got himself out of

trouble, that kick-serve and another big serve straight to the body. And

then that serve down the middle. You're speaking about Wawrinka's

technique on the volley. This is maybe why Richard Krajicek has been

brought in to help him with his technique on the grass. What is

wrong with this? In fact, the volley, there is nothing wrong with

that. But what we missed as he is just running. Back in the old days,

what these great serve and volley is, McEnroe, labour, Rose Edberg,

you run to it and just as your opponent is about to hit the ball

you take a hot and land on both feet so that you can go to either side

very quickly. Stan did not do that, he was just running, so it took him

a little time to actually take his first step to the left and it was

too slow and he was off balance and missed the volley as a result. I

think because players come to net so seldom these days because it is very

difficult with the strings, the players can put so much top-spin on

the ball, it is difficult to defend the net. They just are not practised

enough to be effective up there. And it hurts them, not many weeks of the

year, but this would be one of them. All dogs and new tricks. At 32, how

easy is it to teach Stan Wawrinka to split step going into the net? It is

a mental discipline. It is something that I think players would be set

well served to do before every shot, so once you get into that habit it

is routine. You are right, it does take a little time to eradicate the

old, bad habits. That was right, right, right on the

baseline. There is Becks and there is everybody looking at him. I

wonder how you ever, ever come to terms with that.

John, you said earlier that if there was one footballer that you might

find taking the tube, that it would be Becks? The Piccadilly line,

certainly. The service is much better than the

central. Verdasco doing a nice job of mixing

up the player, wrong footing Wawrinka. It is getting into the

Swiss player's head. Struggling to stay upright.

That is a great way to move your opponent about like that.

And there is the Chelsea keeper, Begovic. He changed at Fulham

Broadway! 113 miles an hour, but it is not the

speed, it is the angle of the slice. We have an intriguing game, do we

not? Many in the crowd appear as

distracted by we've -- as we were by that cloud. Hanging ominously over

Centre Court. A solitary cry of, come on, Stan!

From the crowds. Crowd, singular. Do you sense the tennis public at

large appreciates Wawrinka and his talent? Or is he always just kind of

off the pace of the big dies? Both. -- the big guys?

I think anyone that knows tennis can really appreciate how well he can

play on any given day or week, for example.

Despite clear signs of frustration from the Swiss, he is OK at the

moment, going on serve. And Npower ladies and gentlemen, players

suspended. -- UMPIRE: Ladies and gentlemen, play is suspended.

COMMENTATOR: Nobody saw that coming. I think we thought we had got away

with it and then, Wolf, down came the rain. -- and then, woof. The

wind is substantial. I think this might be a delay of quite some

duration. Wawrinka will be delighted that he managed to hold his serve

and going out 4- three. You are right. Here comes a monsoon! Yikes!

It is tipping its down now. So Verdasco will be a bit cold and

stiff when they next come out. And to serve at 3-4 will be a bit of a

shaky moment for him. What has been your take on how Wawrinka has played

so far? He is clearly not confident yet, he has not quite worked his way

into the event. Which is quite often the case for him. He takes a little

while to warm to the circumstances. These people might take a little

while to warm after this drenching! Is that Hale, or just very, very

heavy rain? -- is that hail? James Key of the bumblebee displays that

he left something behind. Tactical error. It cannot be the umpire's job

to take the microphone away, surely?! It appears to be. I think

he has got to the point that he is still wet, he does not occur. He is

like a little kid, he is like, this is fun! Get inside! About it is a

colourful site by virtue of umbrellas, otherwise the sky is the

colour of a white T-shirt when you have washed it too often and gets

progressively more grey and grubby. That is it at the moment. Although,

actually, further away, just behind the clubhouse, it is a bit brighter.

That is the direction it is coming from. You should be here! Possibly!

So many big sporting events taking place in this country over this

week. It is such a shame that the weather is as it is at the Heights,'

is, of summer. -- at the heights, in inverted commas. But I think it has

gone, umbrellas are going down as quickly as they came up. So 80 mph

winds are good for something after all! You could have synchronised

umbrella putting up and putting down. Andrew Cotter or somebody

could be in the middle of Centre Court, and when he said go,

everybody could put umbrellas about the same time. What a fantastic shot

that would be. And then bring them down at the same time. I think he

has just volunteered for the job! State and for that! -- stay to and

for that! -- stay tuned. We will have a chat with a mere Begovic in a

moment. Speaking of goalkeepers, Petr Cech, formerly of that parish

and no of Arsenal, was here a couple of years ago. Apparently he is very

handy. He is very tall, and I think he is a left-hander, six foot six,

hammering down an angled left serve, that would do a lot of damage to a

lot of players. I think Glenn Hoddle was a good tennis player as well. In

your pump, Peter, when there was pro-celebrity things like that,

footballers take part? They tend to play golf as opposed to tennis?

Yeah. A phew, but with no huge amount of skill. Jimmy Hill was a

very avid tennis player. He was. And a guy who used to play for

Southampton called Glen Cockrell, he was a very handy tennis player. That

is a miserable picture, although she is smiling through the rain in the

middle. It is a great opportunity for many companies to advertise

their wares by way of their umbrellas. Let's go back to Sue who,

like us, is in the comfy warmth of the studio full stop I feel I should

have that sign, you should be here! We're in a lovely, one studio, out

of the rain. We have been talking about food all is, Graeme Le Saux

plays a lot at Wimbledon, a very keen tennis player and improving all

the time. Asmir Begovic, we will be hearing from him as soon as we get

him to agree to stand under an umbrella on the balcony and talk to

us. At least we have had just over an

hour of tennis, and a very entertaining match, although in very

difficult conditions, cold, blustery and a slippery court. Fernando

Verdasco seems to have adapted a lot that Obama number two seed, Stan

Wawrinka. Hopefully, as John said, it is looking brighter over the

clubhouse. So in about half an hour will get players back on. The good

news is they got the covers on before the downpour. They tended

perfectly. If they had waited for that, you add another 30 minutes on.

It was only driven it -- drizzling when they got the covers over. It

does not look like it at the moment, but we might be OK. We forecast

another two days of this. Just behind you and over your left

shoulder is Heathrow. I am looking at the aeroplanes, there were some

little tales coming down, along with the Hale, -- that were some little

tails coming down, along with the hail. Over Queen's Club you are 25

for 30 seconds away from touchdown, they were disappearing into black

clouds. If you are a nervous flyer, you do not want to be up there right

now! We heard that the forecast is better, hopefully we will get some

more play. The match that we have seen at the moment, Verdasco has

played well. Big forehands, attacking and moving well, better

than stand. It has been a very smart match so far. It has been the tale

of somebody who really wants to be in these conditions, and another

player that has not stopped Verdasco did not worry about the dampness of

the court and has stuck in, whereas Stan has been muttering, slipped a

couple of times, he is not comfortable. One player is, one is

not. At this level, even the top players and the level slightly

below, if they are not mentally and physically right in the match they

will lose. It is taking chances, he has been broken three times but has

had six break points and not been able to take them. All grass ever is

is a pointer two here and there. Until you find the rhythm and you

see that the surface under your feet as comfortable, there is so much

uncertainty, which is why they are added the week between the French

Open and Wimbledon in the first place and extended the grass court

season, so guys can get a handle on how to move on it. Yet Novak

Djokovic, with the Wimbledon Haas he has won, he has never played a grass

court tournament beforehand. -- with the Wimbledon Haas he has won. Yawn

blog was the same. -- Bjorn Borg. They require matches. What was that

about the rain clearing up?! Yes! It is absolutely... I can hardly hear

you. Unbelievable. Andrew was talking about the movements, that is

the big issue. You couldn't find a bigger gulf between coming from clay

to grass. One extreme to the other. Totally, which is why, as Andrew

says, although there is a little bit more in three weeks, when there was

only a two week gap, that was the greatest feat in tennis by Miles

when somebody won both back to back, because the difference between the

services and the movement is knighted today. In the old days, it

was a joke of the balls bouncing down here and appear at the French,

the movement and sliding is totally different. The different shoes they

have adapted to. Somebody can win back-to-back, the French and

Wimbledon, it is still amazing. Three weeks apart, incredible

whoever can do it. They were talking about the difference in the

movement. The desk, there is a likeness to his movement. Some of is

confidence. -- Verdasco, there is a lightness to his movement. If he had

started better in 2013 Wimbledon, we might not have seen Murray become

the first written in 1000 years to win Wimbledon. He has a likeness of

that, he moves well. Stan does not look it on television, he is a big

unit. He likes to Head from a very firm days. A very firm base here

looks like planting your foot. You look like you are risking your life

or a need ligaments. Give Stan three or four matches, he will be fine.

But watch this year. -- this here. He does not like that, who does?

Right before Wimbledon, you do not want to take risks. Grass courts

change dramatically. If we get much play we will see the chord change

over the week. Over Wimbledon, the court that starts on the first

Monday to finals day is totally different. I member when Martin Del

Potro when he hyped extended his knee a couple of times. Running

around, hitting big ground strokes from 15 or 20 feet by the baseline

is not the right place to be for the first two or three days of the

tournament, especially not this one. They prepared this court with only

seven days of play in mind. A preparatory certain way. Very hard

and unease, quite juicy grass on top. -- they prepare it a certain

way. You would put socks around it in the old days. How times have

changed! They have studs on their shoes now.

They are back in the locker in that next up when play resumes Andy

Murray will take on Nicolas Mahut. Andy had a wonderful run through the

French Open and was in the final against Novak Djokovic. Andy got up

with him a couple of days ago. The last time I saw you on the telly you

were coming off the French Open final. Great effort to get the final

come you look tired, it's only a week on, you look better. I took

five full days off and didn't hit any balls or go to the gym, was just

at home with the family and I got a little bit sick. I think I would

just run down, I didn't feel too bad. It had been long few weeks. The

French Open. It was tough. A good tournament but any time you get to

final and do not when it is a bit disappointing. I'm better now.

Amazing, the final full four Grand Slams. It is just a fantastic

effort. You ran into a brick wall in the final, you played well. I played

some good stuff in the final. Beginning of the second set was

important, I had a break point in the first time in -- first game and

did not get it come he settled after that and started playing very well.

A few years ago I wouldn't have expected to have been in the French

Open final, so to have improved on last year's performance and getting

to the semifinals is progress, but also disappointing when you do not

win. Of course, but you beat him at the Italian open, which is the

drastic result in playing on clay, you must be so fit and ready for the

grass court season, do you find it an easy transition? I feel like the

movement and stuff for me comes quite naturally in comparison which

I move onto the clay court it takes the time to get used to the movement

on clay, on grass like a lot of trouble moving but I feel fit and in

good shape, I played lots of matches but on grass I get out of breath

quite quick because the ball is coming back much faster, the rallies

are a lot quicker, although they are shorter. It is slightly different

and that takes a little well to get used to. Do not want up to slowly

because Nicolas Mahut knows how to play on grass courts. That is a good

way to get onto the grass and into the swing of things, playing some

with that experience? Well, he is number one in the world in doubles,

I lost in once in the first round here before in a close match, so it

will be a tough one. He likes these conditions and has played well here

in the past. I need to be ready for that. Is he have a fifth when he

would be something. Yes. It is a bit goal of mine to try and do that. It

has not been done before here. I will give it a good shot. He

certainly will. Had a wonderful season on the clay courts. He has

made changes physically and technically trying to have bigger

second service. He has made the changes and has gone from someone we

thought doesn't like the clay into force. He loves the clay now and

look at his game, you look back at it and say, why didn't he earlier? I

think the back injury was the main thing. That needed the surgery

because every time he moved on to the clay, he had changed his

movement to get rid of the back pain and after the surgery he feels pain

free. I think that is true, but I don't think he ever totally believed

he was going to win the French or get close to it as he has done. Look

at his game now, his movement is ridiculous. He can get cheap points

on his serve that other players cannot get. His drop shot is

magnificent. The only one that consistently gets the ball past him

is a Djokovic. He moves so well on it. There is no reason he cannot win

the French now. This one player, really, I am exaggerating, but the

one main player in his way, other than that, he can beat all of these

players on clay and any surface come as the complete player. He might

against Stan Wawrinka was something. Yes, the match against Stepanenko is

something in the first round. In a different way. The cutest was not in

the ignition. It was all me that point of crisis motivation and two

sets down when he went, no, but get stuck in. Suddenly he engaged and

got through that one. I think it was two points for him to be from now

on. The next one he was against Matias Boruc. A French guy that no

one has heard of before. And suddenly he started developing his

game. He has a great match player. Yes, and he hates losing. It is

obvious, but he competes, he does not want to shake hands having lost,

which is why lenders about because the only person he loses to now is a

Novak Djokovic. He just had a clay-court season, Andy, where he

won 18 matches and lost three. He only lost to Nadal and Dokovic. He

won Rome, the Italian open, and he didn't lose a set. Including

Djokovic, who was tired in the final. It is remarkable. He thinks

he can complete the full set. He has a one US Open and Wimbledon, he has

Olympic gold and the Davis Cup, there is no, some people said you

feel sorry for him? No! He has done fantastically well, how many of us

can say we maximise -- maximise what we got? That is why I love watching

him play, we should make the most of him because there is not a country

in the world that wouldn't have liked Andy at the head of their game

and the I hope it continues for ages and then becomes Davis Cup captain.

You'll speak but Lendl's influence but you mentioned Djokovic, we

looked at the point yesterday, her for a heady years, he holds all four

Grand Slam titles you have to salute what he has put into the game, what

he has changed physically, mentally, technically, he has just got better

and better and the bar is raising all the time. It is scary now with

him. He could go on to become the greatest player of all-time. No

question. As long as the motivation there, it doesn't like it is

diminishing at the moment. You beat him? The problem as it is maybe over

the problem as it is maybe overly best-of-3 sets come piece starts

badly you can maybe jump ahead and you get fortunate, but over five

sets the physicality of is the chink in his armour? I don't know.

Mentally at one stage years ago he had a couple of times of defaulting

matches or getting injured on the court, people said he even had a

reputation of being a choker at one stage. And erotic mentioned that.

Look at him now. -- Andy Roddick mentioned that. He changed his diet

as well. And he has changed it again. He went gluten-free but now

he's some fish but is more or less a vegetarian. He says he needs a

little bit of fish. Maybe that is the secret. We are all looking for

something. No stone left unturned. Physically he has got it and the

flexibility, he has taken clicks ability to whole new level. It is

frightening. He is a reprimand. The funny thing was, he was telling a

story once about how he was stretching in a park in Madrid, went

for a run, he can stretch. I've seen him have his foot straight above,

meaning the hamstring should go pain like a rubber band. He saw someone

else stretching like him and he was competing with this person, it

turned out to be Serena Williams doing the same thing because she is

unbelievably flexible as well. He will not leave any stone unturned in

pursuit of what is a virtual perfection from the back of the

court. His overhead is rubbish. And that is it. What will you do, bring

him in so you can lob him? Got to see how it goes. It was interesting

and watching Lendl on the practice court with Andy, we spoke about it.

Everyone knows he wants to attack dog of it and it was interesting, he

was right on the baseline really attacking the shots and that is how

Lendl will try and take him through this grass court season. He has to

do something different because the results in the slams, he has not had

any success for a while. It is just these little, small things he will

work on. I still believe it is the mental side that Lendl will be

pushing all the time, getting into his head, just firing him up and

making sure no wasted energy in the early rounds and he tends to do. No

shouting at the box. That will be at. The positive stuff, noises he

should try and suddenly not say anything. No, that is part of his

DNA. But he has to be tuned in on a positive way for the bees getting

stuck in right off the bat. This will also be interesting for Jamie

Delgado, who has a magnificent job coming in and will be part of this

team listening to Lendl. What a tuition to have to to mimic for

occult -- to have for a coach. He's one of the Masters and to be with

these. There he is, with these two greats, and I achieve an Lendl. This

will be a sponge frame to soak it all in. What a great occasion for

him to be part of this team. And Andy was saying it has been greater

Jamie around because he lives nearby in Wimbledon. They are good friends.

Yes, I think they entered the Snooker championship together. I

heard he was very competitive in that, surprise surprise. I'll is

already didn't win. There was a large crowd who went to watch him.

That is a small room! Jamie Delgado would did very well with Gillies

Miller. He is a smart guy, Jimmy has been unable for donkeys years,

probably playing the most intelligent game in his own head

now. It takes a lifetime to learn it. Sadly, physically you lose it

around 28, 30, 32, just when you begin to learn the game. He has a

lot to bring. I'm impressed me did well with Gillies Miller and can say

he was at the helm when Andy made the French Open final. And they will

work hard with Andy because it is one of these frustration days and

marries a second centre and we get some more play. We had a number of

celebrities enjoying the tennis including Chelsea goalkeeper Begovic

and we can hear from him now with Andrew. Clashing umbrellas with us,

who is very tall and this is disturbing. You are a tennis nut and

sport -- supported Stan Wawrinka. Yes, I'm a big tennis fan and was

invited by stand to watch him play. So I happily accepted. They were

speaking highly, I think they were speculative about your own prowess

as a tennis player. You must have a big serve? I would say the server

and my forehand my strength. I get Oblak a little in my off-season with

friends, which is nice. But not as much as I would like. You're

obviously used to this weather, this does not disappoint you, the only

day your kind are here today? At the moment, it is a shame that there is

a rain delay, but living in England you get used to it and ensure it

will pass and we'll see more tennis later on. That stock football

because the greatest nations in Europe, Scotland and

Bosnia-Herzegovina, did not qualify. You're what it's dispassionately,

what have you made of it? As -- I think it has been a good tournament

and seems wide open, anyone's to win and we will see who gets hot towards

the end of term and picks up form. It is interesting so far. I'm not

saying other comment on Chelsea, what about your future? I reports

linking you with a possible move. Anything on that? .Com I think that

is pure speculation, I'm looking forward to enjoying a couple more

weeks off in my time with my family and beginning of July getting back

to pre-season and focusing on Chelsea. Nothing else in my mind

just now. Rampant speculation. Thank you, enjoy the rest of the day. I am

told it will dry up and perhaps a comeback first time. Thank you for

speaking to us. Lovely to hear from him. Big sports fan. Great knowledge

on question of sport. Big fellow. Yes,. Wouldn't want to take the ball

into him. He must have a big serve but we're still waiting for the

winter stop. They are hardy, some of these spectators, sitting here and

waiting for more tennis to happen. It looks brighter it will be at

least 30 minutes or so before there is any play. Andy Murray, second on

Centre Court we've spoken a lot about him and even Lendl and out

that it was booking about Nicolas Mahut come his first-round opponent,

really tough customer who knows his way around grass coming off a

victory in the Netherlands. Matt ready and comfortable on the

surface. -- match. And had a win against Andy on this surface. He is

an awkward customer. Did not look quite so happy. Not on that one. Of

course he had the famous match at Wimbledon. He loves this surface and

it suits him perfectly. Comes in with one of the best of all these in

the game. Number two in the world in doubles under Jamie Murray and this

is a difficult first round the Andy Murray to play.

He is one of my favourite players. For a start, he still plays doubles,

only about 13 singles players in the top 50 by any doubles at all, I love

that. He won his first match at to level in the year 2000, you clearly

wants to be out there. I love the way he dives on the court, he gets

amongst it. That match against Roddick, 2007, two match points. A

tie-break in the third set. He has provided us with great entertainment

but he seems to lose the match is that we enjoy the most. -- the

matches that we enjoyed the most. He had that epic match with John Isner.

Then he became a father about year and a half later, he made John Isner

his godfather! -- the baby's godfather. Really?! I am not going

to Brighton to be godfather, get out of here! He has got the game to hurt

Andy, Andy can take this easy, as we have seen with Wawrinka. He has a

lovely serve, it is not huge but he positions it well. He comes in at

the right time, excellent volley, he can spot when players are playing

defensively, he can get in quick. He is natural at volleying, loves to

attack the ball. It is not an easy much for him to play. It is a good

one if you get through it, because you are coming against a tough

player, but I think Gandhi would have preferred someone else in the

draw rather than Nicolas. And the weather is helping. It is an even.

And he has the ability to rest and recuperate after his last win. There

are not that many grass court tournaments around, Murray wins a

lot of them. He has won four titles, all of them on grass. It is not an

easy era to be a grass court specialist Asian Mark make hay!

We remain hopeful that we will get more play. The tournament director

has said there is another window of opportunity, so fingers crossed. We

will bring you a match that was on Centre Court yesterday which we were

not able to show you when we came off the air on BBC Two, featuring

the number four seed Richard Gasquet against Steve Johnson of the USA. We

are at the start of the tie-break, Johnson to serve. The commentators

are Peter Fleming and Andrew Cotter. COMMENTATOR: The French has been

working hard. You could hear him labouring.

Barking for the towel, the mini-break disappears.

Good play. Flicking the ball over Gasquet.

Considering the nerves that he is no doubt feeling right now, that was

about as well as he could play that point. A chance for Gasquet to

attack a couple of serves of Johnson.

The crowd is getting excited, lively at this point of the evening. There

is not segregation between the two sets of supporters. I am sure it

will be fine! A little slice of early on, then

returns to his plodding ways. Midway through the dry lake, it was almost

as though Gasquet through a gratuitous shot into the Johnson

forehand just to keep him honest. But he paid the price Boyd. As soon

the American got to hit a forehand, he was in control. -- but he paid

the price for it. As... Gasquet is against it once

more. -- is up against it. Once again, Gasquet opting for

disguise over efficiency. Courts the top of the net. He had Johnson

moving the wrong way. Two big serves will do it for the American.

Once again, the forehand does it work. Steve Johnson, four set

points. There is a bit of a difference in

those forehand speeds. Taken with an ace, the man who was two breaks down

and similarly out of this first set, Steve Johnson takes it against the

number four seed. Richard Gasquet is going to have to do with the long

way. It has been long enough already. Finally have a set up on

the board. The match started at around 12:30pm. Steve Johnson takes

it, his first appearance at Queen's. Gasquet only has himself to blame.

Having been in 4-0, rolling his way to the first set, but not so. 4-0

game was just a real donation. He threw in and forced errors, which

allowed the American to settle and just relax, not worry. And to start

to get into a rhythm, a routine. And, of course, the stop and start

nature of that first set did not help Gasquet. Once he realised that,

oh, my goodness, I am in danger of allowing him back into the set, he

tightened up a little bit. Incidentally, on Court Number One,

Kevin Anderson is through. He has beaten Vasily in straight sets, two

tie-breaks, though. There are a few quarterfinal places to be filled.

They will not have made the draw yet. Four qualifiers still too

redistributed. -- to be decided. What a rally! That will be a warning

for Gasquet. Could have hit somebody there.

And that racket will be retired. UMPIRE: Code violation for racket

abuse, warning, Mr Gasquet. What a difference that last rally.

The allegiance of Steve Johnson seem to have forced to winsome quick

points. Hansen emerging. It shows what a difference a bit of

confidence can make. That last rally, 29 shots. Johnson's sliced

backhand had a lot of bite. At the start of the match, it was pretty

tentative. Gasquet has that slump shouldered, Billy good look. --

Billy good. The American served so well, it will not be easy for

Gasquet to create many break point. On the right is Johnson's coach, he

has worked with a few American players such as John Isner, Mardy

Fish, James Blake. Very pleased with what he sees at the moment. What a

turnaround in this match. Johnson in control, set up.

You are assuming he is pleased? Did he give it away? Poker face.

A different player now. Confident enough to try a few different

things. He is in the flow now. Before the match, the gears were

binding, he was thinking. You don't want to think, you just want to

react. That is what he is doing now. But Gasquet has been in many

positions such as this over his long career. Johnson drops his level for

the moment. Gasquet certainly has the calibre.

Time and time again on that forehand, he backs up the break.

He serves hard. Up over 130 mph in heavy conditions today.

You speak about players finding their feet on grass. Johnson is

certainly doing that. Cannot miss! Steve Johnson has

transformed himself into a combination of Novak Djokovic ten

Andy Murray. Cannot miss the backhand now.

The Gasquet has to hold because two breaks down against this man with

this serve. Very tough, even for a man of his quality.

It is that combination, Gasquet's level has dropped as much as

Johnson's picked up. That could have been awkward but he

is OK. Gasquet saves the second break point. That was the kind of

shot Gasquet was hitting so often in the early going, opening the court

with the short angle. We've not seen many of those recently.

Gasquet does not have a huge serve. But that one was well directed.

Gasquet holds and remains just one break adrift, which might be very

important. It is something to have a look at,

we have been speaking a lot over many years about the great backhand

of Gasquet, the one hand that is so damaging at times. Different spin he

puts on the ball on the back cans of respective players and Gasquet is so

powerful in his backhand is very damaging whereas Steve Johnson is

generally sending it the other way, sliced far more than top-spin. Let

me show you the numbers. I promise we will show the numbers.

I can tell you we can save that for later. -- save.

Take a look at the amount of time to Steve Johnson's stirrer of -- server

with new balls goes with the sliced backhand. Gasquet, for more

top-spin. Gasquet clinging on, but again, that

is not the way he is going to win this match. He must somehow figure

out a way to stay it on the attack as often as possible.

Of course, if Johnson continues to put in a lot of first serves, there

will not be many chances for Gasquet to get on the attack.

Again, if there are nerves, they are not showing them. The level has not

dipped. This is a different thing to look at

as well, speaking about the backhand of Gasquet and how much higher it

bounces on clay, much law on grass. -- much lower.

Probably would have made the backhand had he not lost his

balance. Just punched its down the line. We

did not really get to see whether Gasquet took a pop -- proper split

step. It is likeable, you have to guard the near post, especially

against a guy like Johnson who does not often hit the ball that

accurately. Another opportunity, there is a case

in point of the sliced backhand against the top-spin backhand and

the sliced winning. He is doing a nice job of keeping that in an

awkward part of the court. He knew before it landed it was

good. And Steve Johnson has the double break as close to a place in

the second round now. Well, Richard Gasquet, number four

seed, 10th ranked player in the world. Really up against it. Here is

this point where it is this pensive slice against the backhand top-spin

of Gasquet. As Peter said, using it so well. It is a real throwback. He

is trying to imitate Kendra was wall someone. -- Ken Rosewall. Just a nod

there. Those are the numbers we were speaking about, the number of times

Gasquet hits his backhand with the beautiful top-spin and Johnson's

slice. Working wonderfully well now just hitting the ball so cleanly,

has not made many unforced errors in the last half a dozen games, more

than that. Serving with a double break advantage.

We have seen some way worse challenges, this one quite close.

Away word. Correct to challenge, the first successful challenge.

Gasquet flummoxed. Even the mis-hits are working for Johnson.

What a mistake. All he had to do was heated in the court. Gasquet had

gone the other way. Bright evening sunshine here at

Queen's Club now. Another challenge by Gasquet. It

certainly looked long. If this is long, far too many unforced errors

from Gasquet. A little bit foggy but we are told

it is out. There we are. That may be the last few chances for

Gasquet now because Steve Johnson remains two breaks to the good.

Gasquet has the disinterested look now that sometimes he can just

wander away when things are getting away from him. Serving to stay in

it. Beautiful touch. Feathered over the

net by Gasquet. By some distance, Steve, some

distance. Gasquet at the very least ensures

Steve Johnson will have to serve for it. Tell us about this, Peter.

Haskett and his problems today. I have been looking ahead to Wimbledon

because he has such a good record on grass. Things to be concerned about?

He will be really disappointed, as his team will be. Sebastien Grosjean

must be tempted to send him to bed without supper tonight because it

was a childish performance really. At 4-0 played a terrible game,

donated unforced errors and the bottom of his confidence fell out of

his game. And of course, it -- the stopping and starting didn't help

matters. Once Johnson was able to secure the first set, it was one-way

traffic. Only thing that save Gasquet, well I don't think rain

will, it is if Johnson collapses now. Unlikely.

Gasquet, with the freedom of the man who has tension in there, but

Johnson will certainly be tight. This will be a major scalp.

It was good from Johnson but Gasquet really should have punished him. You

may be right, Johnson might be nervous because he is playing

against top ten players coming into this match bought up a set and two

breaks allows him to play in a lot more relaxed fashion.

They have only actually been on court under an hour and a half. Oh,

dear. And that can only be over eagerness, excitement.

Gasquet with a chance to nibble back into that lead of Johnson. Yes, talk

about good fortune. The return was a bit of a mis-hit, hit the net cord

and just died. What a serve. And precious those are

to Johnson right now. And another one brings Steve Johnson

to match point. Now Johnson has it. What a victory

for Steve Johnson, the fourth seed Richard Gasquet is out and Steve

Johnson survives and skips through the rain and delays and moves

through to the second round. What a victory, one of the biggest in his

career. How satisfying was that win for you

today? That is an important win for the year, trust me, that will

hopefully this start of a good second half of the year to me. It

didn't start very well but a couple of rain delays helped me out and I

played well on the fourth try. Maybe I just need more rain delays. What

did you do particularly well out there today? Richard Gasquet is

Wimbledon semifinalist, he has done a lot on grass. What was the key? I

neutralised his backhand. If I can do that, that is a good sign for me.

It was a hugely frustrating day for everyone in the crowd today. Great

that you were both able to come out and play such an exciting match,

including by my count about 40 shot rally at one point which Richard

wasn't too pleased with the result of, but you were. For a time in the

day I thought you guys were going to get in three matches because I was

going to lose so quick but I turned it around. I'm pretty glad I turned

it around when I did and that was a big point in the second set.

Everyone here is kicking their keels, getting the time to pass by

when it rains. What do you do as a player? Just in the locker room,

hanging out. You try not to think about it because it is tough to stay

mentally engaged. Fortunately the weather permitted and we were able

to get at least one singles in today. Many congratulations today,

Steve, and good luck for the next one.

It was David Law asking the question, it took about six hours

start to finish that match, it was awful. What about Gasquet now. He

has gone out in the opening round. Find an entry form for Nottingham

next week if you want more matches. He needs time on the court, but

Steve Johnson is a great advocate of the American College system. Four

years he did there. I think it was Southern California. It is actually

the only match that has been completed and we are day and a half

in so Gasquet has gone out, Wawrinka is on trouble on the Centre Court,

and Lopez is against Cilic. Unbelievable strength.

All good grass players. You would have been happy if it was

quarterfinals, perhaps semifinals in this first round. The strength of

this jaw is amazing, but there's a lot of minefields out there for the

top players, particularly when the weather conditions are like this and

these are dangerous matches for the top seeds. When his tournament

starts, it is going to be really good! We are hoping to get more play

today. This is the bottom half. Outstanding, the players. The Centre

Court match is probably the pic, Kyrgios and Raonic. I just want to

see John McEnroe's reactions when things don't go his way. I bet he

puts on a stony face and I bet it doesn't last. Well, we are hoping

for play. You can see the covers are still on, the umbrellas are still

up. We have had some play, just over an hour. The Das -- Fernando

Verdasco one set against Stanislas Wawrinka. It is a wonderful

tournament, such a popular tournament and that's why it

attracts such a wonderful array of stars. It is a great event, the

players love it. The is close to everything in London. The facilities

are fantastic, everything from food to transport. You see the quality of

the players going out on Court Number One. I am particularly

interested to see Grigor Dimitrov this year because he is looking for

a second career now. When he first started, he looked like world number

one, world number two, he will be the next guy. It was all too much

pressure. It was, but he had some great results. Beat Andy Murray at

Wimbledon. He's that good but he has fallen away so I look forward to

watching his progress over this grass court season. If he cannot

call down and think about tennis and nothing else, I think he can be a

factor at the very top. Anyway, we are continuing to sit here at the

Queen's Club and watching the rain come down. We are going to take a

break for about half an hour. We will be back with an update had

fully with some live tennis but no play before four o'clock so we will