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Wimbledon 2011, Day 4: Roger Federer Cruises; Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams Advance

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams all advanced on a rainy day of Championships action at Wimbledon 2011.

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Wimbledon Results 2011: Roger Federer Breezes Through To Third

Match results from Day 4 of Wimbledon 2011, where (brace yourselves for a terrible shock) afternoon showers have delayed multiple matches at the All England Club.

Roger Federer def. Adrian Mannarino, 6-2 6-3 6-2. If possible, this match was even more lopsided than the scoreboard indicated. With the Centre Court roof closed against the rain that washed out most of the rest of the day's action, the two were able to complete their play at the leisurely hour of 9:25. And Federer was clearly at his ease: the penultimate point was an undisputed ace, and he made Mannarino look downright silly on match point, with a caper that made announcers openly swoon and reminisce of the days of Sampras. Next up for the Maestro: A potential trap match with No. 28 David Nalbandian.

Other Day 4 match results, from those lucky few that actually played to completion, featured a number of mid-draw upsets: No. 18 Mikhail Youzhny dispatched Somdev Devvarman in straight sets, but No. 13 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 26 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, No. 20 Florian Mayer, and No. 13 Viktor Troicki all fell to unseeded opponents.

Players affected by Thursday's rain delay include No. 5 Maria Sharapova, No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, and No. 9 Marion Bartoli, whose second-round matched were canceled outright, along with the Bryan brothers, whose first-round doubles match was delayed for the third time. Unseeded American Ryan Harrison, who's taken No. 7 David Ferrer to four sets so far, and No. 11 Jurgen Melzer, himself in a fourth set against Dmitry Tursunov, will complete their matches Friday (all together now: weather permitting).

Day 5 of Wimbledon 2011 will commence play Friday morning, at 7 a.m. EDT.

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Wimbledon 2011 Results: Sabine Lisicki Upsets French Open Champion Li Na

WC Sabine Lisicki def. No. 3 Li Na -- 3-6, 6-4, 8-6. For the second time in three years, Sabine Lisicki has defeated the reigning French Open champion at Wimbledon.

Having previously defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the third round of Wimbledon 2009, Lisicki today scored a far more impressive win in the second round of the 2011 tournament, saving two match points on her way to upsetting Li Na 8-6 in the third set.  Li, the No. 3 seed in the Ladies' Singles draw, became the highest seed to crash out of Wimbledon 2011.

The battle of the two most recent champions of the grass court event in Birmingham was dictated by serve throughout, with Li clinching the first set 6-3 by a single break.

But Lisicki found range on her returns in the second set, racing out to a 5-2 lead and eventually taking the set 6-4 on her second break.

Li looked to regain control midway through the final frame, breaking Lisicki in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead that she was able to extend to 5-3.

Serving at 3-5, down double match point at 15-40, Lisicki put on the best serving display I've ever seen by a woman not named Serena Williams, smacking bomb after bomb to win four straight points when it counted most, maxing out with an ace at an incredible 124 MPH. Lisicki hit 17 aces in the match, and now leads the women's field with a total of 25 through the first two rounds.

Li was clearly shaken by Lisicki's nervy play, and shakily was broken for 5-5, leveling the match.

Serving at break point at 5-5, Lisicki took a ball out of the air that she should have let drop, hitting an ill-advised swinging forehand volley that sailed well wide, giving Li her second chance to serve for the win.

But Li's forehand completely abandoned her (as had her husband, who departed the stadium several games earlier), and error after error allowed Lisicki to level the match once again at 6-6. 

Lisicki's service mojo returned in her next game, serving her way to a 7-6 edge and putting Li up against the wall for the first time.  And on her third match point of the game, Lisicki finally came through, and collapsed to the ground with joy as Li's final shot sailed wide and long.

For a player who exited the 2011 French Open on a stretcher due to cramping, and the 2009 US Open in a wheelchair due to an ankle injury, getting to exit the court with an enormous smile and a headline-making upset has to be an incredible feeling.

Lisicki, who needed a wild card to enter the main draw of the tournament, next faces unheralded Japanese player Misaki Doi.  Liscki should win that one easily, one would assume, and could face Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round, and potentially Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 4 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

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Wimbledon 2011 Results: No. 5 Robin Soderling Rallies To Survive Former Champ Lleyton Hewitt

No. 5 Robin Soderling def. Lleyton Hewitt 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. No. 5 Robin Soderling outlasted one of the best fighters in the history of men's tennis in his second round Gentlemen's Singles match at Wimbledon 2011, defeating 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt in five sets under the roof of Centre Court.

Even in the years past his prime, Hewitt has always been able to bring some pretty special tennis to Wimbledon. The sliding ball works extremely well with his flat, quick strokes, and he was able to jump out to a shocking two-set lead over the fifth-seeded Swede.

But Soderling, who can often seem mopey when losing on the court, refused to fold.  Soderling broke late in the third set on his first break point opportunity of the match, and took the fourth as well to force a fifth and final set.

Momentum seemed to swing hugely in Hewitt's favor early in the fifth, as he was able to break Soderling's serve in the third game for only the second time in the match for a 2-1 lead. But Soderling struck back immediately, breaking right back in the fourth game to level the set at 2-2 and get back the momentum that he would not lose. 

Serving to stay in the fifth set at 4-5, Hewitt saw two forehand winners from Soderling whip past him, then put two forehand errors of his own to be broken at love to end the match.  Soderling fell to his knees in relief and celebration, and continued with several more fist pumps after the handshake.

Soderling has two extremely tough opponents thus far in Hewitt and Philipp Petzschner, but things should get easier in his next few rounds, until a likely match up with Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.

If this does turn out to be Hewitt's final match at Wimbledon, it's an effort of which he should be pretty proud. Sadly, he's more likely to be haunted by it forever.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 4 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

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Wimbledon 2011 Results: No. 2 Novak Djokovic Cruises Past Kevin Anderson's Big Serve

No. 2 Novak Djokovic def. Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. Novak Djokovic continued his march toward the ATP No. 1 ranking Thursday at the All-England Club, sauntering into the third round with an extremely routine 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over big serving South African Kevin Anderson on Court 1.

Djokovic didn't have much trouble with Anderson's powerful serve in today's windy conditions, though, breaking the 6'8'' Anderson's serve five times in the three sets.

Anderson, who played college tennis at Illinois, beat Djokovic in 2008 at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, at a time when Djokovic was riding high with recent titles at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.  But Djokovic was far more prepared this time around, and was able to outclass Anderson in most every aspect of the match.

Djokovic's next match could be considerably tougher, as he faces the winner of 2006 Wimbledon semifinalist No. 32 Marcos Baghdatis and last week's Eastbourne champion Andreas Seppi.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 4 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

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Wimbledon 2011 Results: Serena Williams Survives Another Three-Setter

Match results from Day 4 of Wimbledon 2011, where it's not pouring down rain ... yet!

• No. 7 Serena Williams def. Simona Halep, 3-6 6-2 6-1. As long as she keeps pulling out those monster serves to her advantage when it counts, I suppose Serena can keep taking it easy in her early sets. The four-time Championships champ won 88% of her first-serve points in the second round, though she notched only seven aces compared to 13 in her tilt with Aravane Rezai. She'll face either No. 26 Maria Kirilenko or Tamarine Tanasugarn in Round 3.

• No. 18 Ana Ivanovic def. Eleni Daniilidou, 6-3 6-0. Is Ivanovic back on form or have her opponents in the Championships thus far just been unspeakable cupcakes? No reason it can't be both, especially since grass is far from her best surface. Ivanovic draws the winner of Agnieszka Radwanska-Petra Cetkovska next.

Other matches of note from early Day 4 action:
• No. 6 Francesca Schiavone def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, 7-5 6-3.
• No. 12 Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Alexandra Dulgheru, 6-0 6-2.
• Nadia Petrova def. No. 14 Anastasia Pavlyuchnkova, 6-3 6-3.
• No. 16 Julia Goerges def. Mathilde Johansson
• No. 19 Yanina Wickmayer def. Anna Tatishvili, 3-6 6-4 6-2.
Tamira Paszek def. Christina McHale, 6-4 6-1.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more results from Day 4 of Wimbledon 2011. Get live scores at the tournament's official website, and watch matches online for free on ESPN3.

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