Early Thursday Wimbledon results: Ash Barty cruises, Sloane Stephens and Wang Qiang advance, Sam Querrey defeats Andrey Rublev
By CHRIS LEHOURITES, AP Sports Writer
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — If the pressure is getting to Ash Barty at Wimbledon, she's doing a great job of hiding it.
The top-ranked Australian came into the grass-court Grand Slam tournament after winning the French Open and a Wimbledon warm-up event in Birmingham. And she's now won two in a row at the All England Club to reach the third round and stretch her winning streak to 14 straight.
Barty beat Alison Van Uytvanck 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday, needing only 55 minutes on No. 2 Court to advance. And it could have been even quicker but she failed to serve out the match at 5-2 in the second set — the only time she was broken.
"Pretty sharp right from the start," the top-seeded Barty said. "I was able to implement what I wanted to right away and put the pressure straight back on her."
Barty is playing her first tournament as No. 1 but has never been past the third round at Wimbledon. She will next face Harriet Dart, a British wild-card entry making her second appearance at Wimbledon.
No. 9 Sloane Stephens of the United States and No. 15 Wang Qiang of China also advanced to third round. Stephens beat Wang Yafan 6-0, 6-2, and Wang ousted Tamara Zidansek 6-1, 6-2.
Sam Querrey, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2017, reached the third round in the men's draw. The unseeded American defeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Later, all eyes will be on the marquee matchup between Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios.
It is a rematch from 2014, when a 19-year-old Kyrgios upset then-No. 1 Nadal at the All England Club.
Also, Serena Williams and Roger Federer will play their matches on Wimbledon's second biggest court. They have won a combined 15 singles titles at the All England Club and are accustomed to playing most of their matches on Centre Court.
This time, Federer will be on No. 1 Court against 20-year-old Jay Clarke of Britain. Williams will follow in that arena, facing 18-year-old Kaja Juvan of Slovenia.
Andy Murray will make his debut at this year's tournament, playing men's doubles with Pierre-Hugues Herbert against Marius Copil and Ugo Humbert.