Murray motors as Muguruza exits at Wimbledon

Andy Murray recovered from an early break down but hit the accelerator to motor into the third round of the Wimbledon Championships on a dry Thursday which got the grand slam back on schedule after two days of rain.
But French Open winner and 2015 All England Club women’s finalist Garbine Muguruza was ambushed 6-3, 6-2 by Czech spoiler Jana Cepelova in the biggest upset so far at the major.
 “My energy was missing a bit today. Felt bit empty and a little bit sick,” the Spaniard said. “She played great with no fear. My energy has been going down but I felt it right away today. I need to recover, get it back and play well again.”
Cepelova is used to the unusual at Wimbledon after beating seeded Simona Halep at the event a year ago. Murray put an end to the grass heroics of Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, winning on a Lu double-fault . The 32-year-old Asian ace came to the match with an 11-match win streak on the lawns, earning a pair of recent Challenger titles after missing four months due to elbow surgery. But the second-seeded Murray restored order after losing his opening serve to advance on Centre Court. Murray’s win was his 49th at Wimbledon against nine defeats. Murray lost to Lu at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, one of his most painful career memories; he has now won four in a row in the series.
“The first set was tough when I went down a break but I settled in and by the third I was hitting the ball much more cleanly and with more confidence,” Murray said as he won with possible rain approaching. “It was starting to look a bit dark and we had a few raindrops. When it’s like that you are quite anxious to get it done. If you can win easily, it does help.”
Japan’s Kei Nishikori ignored niggling pain from a rib injury to post a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Julien Benneteau. The fifth seed, who has never passed the fourth round at the All England Club, came to the grass-court major carrying his injury. He worked for just over two and a half hours to advance, staging a fightback after dropping the opening set against an opponent who missed eight months last year due to adductor surgery.
“After the first set, I played more aggressively and more solid,” said Nishikori. “It was not an easy match, he started well.
“My injury is not at 100 per cent, but I have a good team around me and we are treating it. The rib hurts on some shots but I’m holding up well. We are doing all we can to cure it.”
Sixth seed Milos Raonic fired 25 aces as he joined Nishikori with a win, beating Italy’s Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-2. Ninth seed Marin Cilic recorded a 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky and Belgian 11th seed David Goffin beat Edouardo Roger Vasselin 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.
French 34-year-old Nicolas Mahut stopped Spain’s 13th seed David Ferrer 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 while 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut got a walkover against Mikhail Kukushkin. Three Americans advanced, with Jack Sock putting his best foot forward in a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 win over Robin Hasse. Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson also won their matches. Australian John Millman beat Benoit Paire 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 while compatriot Bernard Tomic put out Radu Albot 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3.
In the women’s second round, fourth-seeded Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber crushed Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-4. There was a 6-1, 6-1 win over Francesca Schiavone by fifth seed Simona Halep, while Swiss seventh seed Belinda Bencic had to retire trailing 6-4, 1-0 against American qualifier Julia Boserup with a left wrist injury. Teenaged Bencic missed the European clay season with back problems and a leg injury before getting to a grass semi-final in the Netherlands. Eighth-seeded veteran Venus Williams beat Maria Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 and was joined in round three by US compatriot Madison Keys, seeded ninth, who defeated Kirsten Flipkens 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. Former finalist Sabine Lisicki upset 14th seed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2. Dry weather helped officials clear the backlog of first-round matches, some of which were 48 hours behind schedule.