04/07/2017 Wimbledon Sportsday

Hello and welcome to Wimbledon Sportsday,

Injury crisis on centre court - fans miss out on a full afternoons

entertainment with Djokovic and Federer - as their

The world number one who's under the radar -

Angelique Kerber started her bid for the ladies' title.

And sadly only one winner - Kyle Edmund comes out on top

We hear from Danil Medvedev, the man who produced one

I knocked out Stan Wawrinka yesterday, here more from me later.

And a monumental crash on the Tour de France -

Britain's Mark Cavendish is taken to hospital.

World champion Peter Sagan is disqualified.

Good evening from Wimbledon on a bright and sunny evening. The

weather is set there all week. A dark mood fell over Centre Court -

because the fans - felt somewhat short-changed.

of the best tickets of the week, Imagine settling in for

an afternoon of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer -

only to see them complete For Novak Djokovic Wimbledon Centre

Court has so often been a happy place. It is Novak Djokovic again.

But for this former champion a man once nicknamed the Joker there has

not been much laughter of late. Here are this year it is a new Novak

Djokovic, a troubled 12 months, down to fourth in the world but what is

we can't win it is born a sign that things could be changing. If anyone

could understand his tumble from the top of it is Andre Agassi. His new

coach once returned from a similar slump and he's here to help Novak

Djokovic do the same. Perhaps the best place to start was where things

started to go wrong. A shock early exit from Wimbledon last year

started to slide but he arrived as the number two seed. Martin Klizan

was never really in with a chance. Novak Djokovic winning the first set

with no real resistance. As if things were not hard enough and

injury hampered the efforts of Martin Klizan. The whitefly came

out. Not the way anyone would have hoped the encounter would end. It is

just unfortunate, I'm sure he did not want to finish this way because

it is Wimbledon, it is a very particular tournament for all of us

in the season so I wish you all the best and a good recovery. I will try

to rest and recover and prepare for the next game. I have a lot of

matches in Eastbourne and a lot of matchplay. So through the two the

second round and if used a return to happier times at Wimbledon this

could be the first step on way back. -- if he is to return.

And incredibly there was a similar story in the next match on centre

court where Roger Federer began his bid for an eighth title

But the Ukrainian retired with what seemed an injured ankle

Some spectators booed at the second early end to a match today.

I am joined by the former British number one Annabel Croft. Lovely to

have you with us. A slight controversy, do you think that the

fans could feel short-changed? It is just disappointing because looking

at the order of play it was a fabulous line-up and a chance for

people to see one of the greatest icons in the sport in Roger Federer

and of course Novak Djokovic and it is very unusual to get to

withdrawals on the same day. Just very unfortunate. The only positive

thing to save for Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer is whoever wins the

championship must win seven matches in the course of two weeks. So if

either of them try to win these championships Burgess saving that

bit of extra energy. But is it better to have time on the grass at

this stage of a Grand Slam or to stay fresh? Will I think at this

stage they would prepare to stay fresh. Novak Djokovic played in

Eastbourne before coming here which is unusual for him. He had four good

matches last week in Eastbourne and has gone out on the quality to taste

a bit of the action now in Centre Court. So he will feel fresh and

quashed Roger Federer also had plenty of tennis in the run-up to

Wimbledon. Suffer them it is is being out and soaking up the

atmosphere here. Preparing for a match still takes emotional energy.

Just disappointing for the fans who would have liked to have seen more

of them. And back to Martin Klizan and Alexandr Dolgopolov, do think

think is fair that these guys to come to Grand Slam carrying

injuries, keep the other guys out on tour and perhaps could have taken

their place, out of their Wimbledon places? It is hard to say without

knowing exactly the extent of injuries. For the cynics out there,

for the first-round losers it is almost equivalent to winning a

smaller event. But most players carry a bit of a niggling injury and

I think sometimes the advice of the trainers is if they do not feel they

will be damaging their body further, stopping the season for the rest of

the year, sometimes injuries can loosen up during a match. So

difficult to say what was going on exactly but clearly they could only

play a certain amount. They will pick up their prize winnings and

carry on later in the season. Well we can speculate about Angelique

Kerber because you were commentating on her match.

Before that there was another treat for the Centre Court crowd today -

World number one Angelique Kerber was first out.

Her first opponent was the American qualifier Irina Falconi.

Rarely has the world number one come to Wimbledon so under the radar.

After reaching the summit, her form in the last few months has tumbled.

But on paper her first-round match today looked like a gentle start.

Her opponent Irina Falconi ranked 247 in the world. And has never been

beyond the first round. But after racing to an early lead the familiar

errors of the last few months began to creep into her game. Her

frustration threaten to undo her good work but her experience got out

of trouble. She took the first set but with Irina Falconi now finding

her accuracy she was the one needing to rate performance. Angelique

Kerber has struggled with the spotlight of the number one ranking

but in the second is she showed flashes of the game that got there.

She was able to edge it without the need for tie-break wrapping up the

match in less than an hour and a half. A patchy performance but this

stage it is all about getting through the early rounds unscathed.

It is always good to be mentally strong and on Centre Court I need

all the memories from last year, they came back and it was amazing.

But I was trying to focus on today, on this new match. Angelique Kerber

then passes her first test is not entirely convincingly. But she will

still hope to find that confidence in form that made the best in world.

So Annabel you are in the commentary box for that. The world number one,

a little under the radar. You said you thought she was feeling the

pressure of Centre Court. It is the first time with singer back out

there since reaching the finals and losing last year to Serena Williams.

But she's not coming into the event with a lot of match wins or

confidence. Many players feel they can possibly beat her. Having said

that her opponent today, quite lowly ranked, she gave everyone an

absolute thrill. Just that mix of spins and paste, she played a lot of

sliced balls, did a lot of different things. She was very creative and

the crowd really enjoyed it. So even though the scoreline look

straightforward, it was actually a tricky match and she gave her a good

run for money. I felt there was a feeling of a burden of expectation

from Angelique Kerber. She was walking around slowly in between

points and did not look like someone carrying herself as the top seed,

the world number one, someone enjoying being out there. It felt a

little bit today. You are saying a few women out there feel they could

perhaps knock her out. Who is your pick. It is so wide open as it was

French Open as well. Then we had this unknown bursting through. But

for the women, I'm favouring Karolina Pliskova. She was the

winner last year in Eastbourne. She beat Serena Williams and Venus

Williams and she has the most wonderful service. A huge serve was

up over 200 plus aces during the course of the year. So my money

would head towards her. Petra Kvitova, and perhaps Johanna Konta.

We were guaranteed to have at least one Brit go through today -

that's because compatriots Kyle Edmund and Alex Ward

were pitted against each other on a packed court three -

a tough call for the crowd - who to cheer for?

Joe Lynskey rounds up the British performances on day two.

The superstars come to make history here but the underdogs come to make

a living. Wimbledon body marks the summit for Alex Ward, three wins to

qualify bring a salary and opportunity. 800 places higher in

world tennis is Kyle Edmund, but Alex Ward was out to defy the

rankings. He's not afraid. Taking the first set, a perfect birthday

present for his watching mother. But Kyle Edmund is next in line between

-- behind Andy Murray in British tennis and he wants Wimbledon

memories of his own. Their rankings suddenly look about right. In this

his fifth year at Wimbledon, this is the first taste of winning asset for

Kyle Edmund. Getting to grips with grass takes time. In the end he had

too much from his former training partner, no first-round exit this

year. To get my first win is one of those dreams, those tournaments you

always think about as a kid. It has not been a good tournament for me in

recent years. So it is nice to get that win. If a first win here is the

dream, a first match marks the breakthrough. 20-year-old Katie

Boulter was out to make the most of her wild card shot. She's enjoying

her first match at Wimbledon. She raced to the first set against the

American Christina McHale when the Gallery sensed an upset. But the

experience of Katrina McHale has taken to 60 in the world and the

endurance of grand slam tennis it was a stretch too far. For all the

bravery the experience ends for Katie Boulter until next year.

Disappointment in the end for Katie Boulter Budgie has justified her

wild card entry. A wild card chance also for Brydan Klein, but the

British number six was beaten comfortably in straight sets by his

Japanese opponent. No first-round draw for him and so for James Ward,

he came to Wimbledon as the lowest ranked player in the draw but his

pedigree undermined by a desperate battle with injury. As expected

Marcos Baghdatis had too much for him on court 18 but only matches

will bring disparate back to his best. -- this Brit.

And Annabel you have a lot of experience of playing here and being

the British Blair. Kyle Edmund coming through against a fellow

Brit, that must've been difficult. It is not easy to play your fellow

countryman. If you look at the draw and you are the higher ranked player

and today Kyle Edmund was so much higher rank than his opponent, 860

the world so in many ways you could see it as a great draw. But there is

extra pressure and also extra spice around playing a fellow Brit. And

Alex Ward has been hitting a lot with Andy Murray in the past so it

took some time to settle down in the match. But then he stormed through.

But it is never easy to play against a fellow Brit, I can tell you. Sad

to see Alex Ward go and sad we had to pick between them.

Let's have a look at what else has been happening at

One of the big crowd favourites here,

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina needed seven, yes seven

match points to beat Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Del Potro, no stranger to marathon matches,

played that epic Olympic final against Andy Murray last year

remember, and eventually won in four sets and faces Ernests Gulbis

But there was plenty of controversy on court 14 earlier

where Australia's Bernard Tomic seemed to be under the weather

in his straight sets defeat to Mischa Zverev of Germany.

Tomic called for what seemed like a medical time-out

But afterwards he seemed to suggest that there might not have been

I just tried, there was definitely a mental issue out there. I just tried

to break a bit of momentum but could not find any rhythm. I was not

mentally and physically there with my mental state to perform. I do not

know why, but I felt a little bit bored out there. So to be honest

with you. So I tried at the end I managed to win the set. But it was

too late. What a strange press conference. To say you're bored,

lots of people say you get ?35,000 for going out on a first round and

he should give it back for not trying, and saying he did not

respect tennis than fact. Huge controversy about this press

conference and it should rumble on. I'm sure in many years to come he

might look back at those comments and feel extremely embarrassed about

it. He also went on to say that he just wanted to play tennis for the

next ten years just to earn the money and then never have to work in

his life. He was also asked if you'd like to give the money to a charity

he's said if you ask Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer if they will then

maybe I will as well. He is a complex character and not the first

time he's coming to be is problematic areas with the press. He

had this trim and press come down on him like a tonne of bricks, he had a

difficult relationship with an overbearing father who at times in

his matches he has asked the umpires to remove from matches. So quite a

lot of history going on with him. I think is a complex individual but

quite clearly if you cannot get up and get excited for Wimbledon,

arguably the greatest tournament in the world, my question is should

really be up there playing tennis because clearly you do not really

enjoy it. I think he needs to go away and think about how much he

really wants to play tennis. He has let himself down and also the people

paying money and buying tickets to come and watch. So a few eyebrows

raised in the media room. Thank you so much.

One of the stories of day one was Luxembourg's Mandy Minella

who played her first round match against Italian veteran

Francesca Schiavone while four months pregnant.

Minella is also playing the doubles this week.

But today she posted a lovely picture on Twitter of her husband

and coach Tim Sommer kneeling in front of her at one

of the Wimbledon courts and kissing her stomach.

Minella said that this will be her last tournament

Late on the opening day the unknown 21 year old Danill Medvedev produced

the biggest upset of the first round, knocking out the three time

One year ago the Russian wasn't at Wimbledon -

beaten in qualifying by Britain's hero of 12 months ago Marcus Willis.

John Watson's been finding out what a difference a year makes.

If anyone would tell me this one year ago I would not believe them.

That I would be world number three, beating world number three on Centre

Court at Wimbledon. I'm really happy with how I played and I managed to

win such a match. To have a first Grand Slam victory on Centre Court,

especially Wimbledon, is amazing. Tell us what the atmosphere was like

on Centre Court, it is a very special place. And a lovely moment

after the match for you bent down to kiss the turf. I felt people were

cheering for me a lot, some Russians were there, I was a bit surprised.

When I was leading the crowd went crazy and maybe that was the best

feeling I ever had in my life. And so after the match I just decided to

kiss the grass. I knew I could play well on grass and after of course

beating Stan you must play better than just good and I did that

yesterday. What you make of your opponent in the next round, the

Belgian? I have seen him a lot in other tournaments and he is a great

player. He beat Tommy Haas who beat Roger Federer, so he is a very good

player. I'm just going to try to do my best to get through the next

round. Mark Cavendish has been taken

to hospital after a serious crash at the end of the fourth stage

of the Tour de France when he collided with world champion

Peter Sagan. Peter Sagan has been thrown off the

tour as a result. In cycling it can take just a

fraction of a second four-year world to come tumbling down. Mark

Cavendish had his eyes on adding to his dirty career stage wins but in

the chaos that can swell around the sprinters as they search for the

line, he tangled with world champion Peter Sagan. He was left lying in

the gutter whilst Peter Sagan finished second. He apologised but

it was not enough as organisers kicked the Slovak out of the draw.

Little comfort for Mark Cavendish, he will -- he got back on his bike

and cross the line but he said he was not optimistic of being able to

continue the race. He went to hospital for stitches in a finger

and to check his shoulder which he fears has suffered damage to a

ligament. Before that skirmish overall race leader Gareth Thomas

got caught up in a pile-up. But he escaped with just cuts and bruises.

And he will keep the yellow jersey thanks to rules giving him the same

time as the stage winner. Horrible to see that crash. And this

was the reaction from Mark Cavendish after the race. I was bleeding a

lot, and my shoulder, I had a previous shoulder injury and it is

just been set back, I do not know if I snapped the ligament. I'm not a

doctor, but from the feeling I have, I'm not optimistic. And the incident

itself, what happened? Just Peter Sagan came over. And he came to

apologise first I get on with Peter well, but I do not get, if he came

across as one thing with the elbow, I'm not a fan of his putting his

elbow into me like that. But like I said I get on with Peter. A crash is

a crash. I would just like to know about the elbow.

Arsenal are close to breaking their transfer record by signing

the French international striker Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon.

BBC Sport understands that the 26-year-old,

who scored more than 20 goals in each of the last three

has completed a medical ahead of a reported ?45 million move.

The British and Irish Lions have been enjoying some down time

in Queenstown this week as they prepare for Saturday's

deciding Test against the All Blacks in Auckland -

and their players have been taking time out to meet

Our reporter Katie Gornall is with the party.

The All Blacks have remained in camp this week and they have been

training as usual. The Lions have taken a different approach, they've

been enjoying a few days off in Queenstown to rest and relax and

enjoy the sights. We've seen a few of them out and about in smaller

groups and with friends and family. Today we will give an insight into

just how much the lines staff felt that the break was needed. We heard

from the strength and conditioning coach, this is his third tour with

the lines, he also has been to South Africa and Australia but he believes

this is the most physically and mentally demanding series that is in

part. This is the toughest I've been out on, the travel and the intensity

of the game has increased year-on-year. So the boys are

running more than ever and the contact is more physical than ever

before. So the Lions will resume training on Wednesday year in

Queenstown and before they fly to Auckland before that or nothing

decider. The previous two series when the fabrics like this in

Australia they went to the beach and they've come back and they have gone

on to win the Fed -- the third test. If that formula works then they will

make history on Saturday at Eden Park.

Teenager Billy Monger has driven a racing car for the first time

since losing both legs in a crash during a British Formula 4

Following the crash at Donington Park a fundraising campaign went

viral after Jenson Button and other Formula One drivers donated.

Billy drove a car with hand controls at Brands Hatch..

He wants to make a racing comeback next year.

Now we'll close the show with a very special guest -

I, everyone, it is Andy Murray here. No, obviously I'm feeling OK after

playing pretty well yesterday. Obviously I'm struggling with a very

boring voice. But I'm doing OK. Poor old Andy Murray! This is in fact

Josh Parry, an impersonator who has risen to overnight fame at Wimbledon

because Andy Murray spotted your impersonation and interview due a

week ago as you come as himself. A great bit of viral footage on the

website. Yes I been doing this for four years or so, and had a lot of

success with it, it began in 2013 and I have been doing impressions

ever since. So he was aware of who I was before the video. And let me ask

one more question about this, we do not get to ask Andy Murray questions

about his private life. So do you put us through the ringer on purpose

at Wimbledon each year? Yeah, I mean, that is obviously a pretty

fair question. You know, I try, I'm so boring in other parts of my life,

I've got to give you guys some kind of excitement. Just trying to make

it fun. Well, Josh, lovely to meet you. Giving us your best Andy

Murray. Thank you for watching. We will see you back in Wimbledon

tomorrow.