• London 2012 - Tennis

Federer sneaks through, Murrays miss out

ESPN staff
July 28, 2012
Roger Federer saw three match points pass him by in the second set © PA Photos
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Roger Federer's quest for Olympic singles gold remains intact after the world No. 1 survived a scare in the guise of Colombia's Alejandro Falla.

The Swiss dropped the second set, but recovered to claim a 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory to set up a second round encounter with Julien Benneteau, who defeated Mikhail Youzhny 7-5 6-3.

Falla threatened to cause a major upset at Wimbledon two years ago when he won the opening two sets against Federer before falling in five, and he had the top seed sweating when he saved three match points before roaring back to take the second set.

Federer looked to be firmly on course for victory as he served for the match, but a wobble saw him lose four games on the bounce as Falla rallied to force a decider. However, Federer, who is desperate to add Olympic gold to his 17 grand slam titles, recovered to wrap up victory in an hour and 47 minutes.

On the other side of the draw, Andy Murray's path to the final opened up after sixth seed Tomas Berdych crashed out at the hands of Steve Darcis. Berdych, who was seeded to meet the British No. 1 in the quarter-finals, failed to reach the second round after slumping to a 6-4 6-4 defeat.

Murray and brother Jamie tasted defeat in the doubles competition, going down 5-7 7-6(8) 7-5 to Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Alexander Peya.

Britain's Elena Baltacha thrilled the home crowds as she set up a second-round clash with former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic. Baltacha, handed a wildcard for the women's singles competition, saw off Agnes Szavay 6-3 6-3 to reach the last 32. She will face a sterner test in the shape of Ivanovic, who defeated American Christina McHale 6-4 7-5.

Another Brit, Anne Keothavong, took the first set against former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, but still fell to a 4-6 6-3 6-2 loss.

Serena Williams sailed into the second round with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Jelena Jankovic, while Sam Stosur's woeful record at the All England Club continued as she bowed out with a 3-6 7-5 10-8 defeat to Carla Suarez Navarro.

Former French Open champion Li Na also failed to progress as she fell 6-2 3-6 6-3 to Daniela Hantuchova.

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