Wimbledon 2019, singles round-up: Defending champion Angelique Kerber knocked out; Roger Federer, Ashleigh Barty win

Defending champion Angelique Kerber knocked out Unseeded American Lauren Davis came from a set down to knock out defending champion Angelique Kerber in the second round of Wimbledon. [caption id=“attachment_6937131” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Angelique Kerber reacts during her loss to American Lauren Davis at Wimbledon 2019. Reuters[/caption] Davis failed to even get through qualifying and only made the tournament as a lucky loser after some of the wild-card spots weren’t used, but pulled off perhaps the biggest upset of the week by beating Kerber 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. “It’s almost surreal,” said Davis, who started the year ranked outside the top 250. Davis said the turning point came when she was up a break at 3-2 in the second set and managed to hold after saving three break points. “I told myself you’re strong, you can do it, you belong here,” Davis said. Kerber beat Serena Williams in last year’s final. Roger Federer continues dominant run through Wimbledon Even a rare visit to No 1 Court couldn’t slow down Roger Federer at Wimbledon. [caption id=“attachment_6937111” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Roger Federer celebrates after winning at Wimbledon 2019. Reuters[/caption] The eight-time champion beat British wild-card entry Jay Clarke 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 to move into the third round. Clarke is only ranked No. 169 but held his own against Federer in the second set until the tiebreaker, when the Swiss star won four straight points to take a 5-2 lead. He then jumped out a 3-0 lead in the third set and broke again in the final game. Last year, Federer lost his only match on No 1 Court to Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals after wasting a two-set lead. But he said the new roof over the stadium made it feel more like his usual surroundings. “I really enjoyed myself on Court 1 today with the roof. I couldn’t really tell if it was Centre Court or Court 1, actually,” Federer said. John Isner loses five-set thriller Last year’s semi-finalist John Isner has been knocked out in the second round of Wimbledon, losing a five-setter to Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan. [caption id=“attachment_6937101” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  John Isner in action during his loss to Mikhail Kukushkin at Wimbledon. Reuters[/caption] The hard-serving American was one set away from the victory but lost 6-4, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on No. 3 Court. Kukushkin broke in the opening game of the fifth set and held serve the rest of the way, converting his first match point when the ninth-seeded Isner sent a backhand long. Isner reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon last year before losing a five-setter to Kevin Anderson that lasted more than 6½ hours, the second longest match in Grand Slam history. Isner was also involved in the longest, beating Nicolas Mahut in an 11-hour match that finished 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon in 2010. Two-time winner Petra Kvitova survives early scare Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova overcame a shaky start to come back and defeat Kristina Mladenovic 7-5, 6-2 and reach the third round. The No 7-seeded Kvitova was broken in the opening game and trailed 5-3 in the first set. Mladenovic served for that set at 5-4 and held three set points but failed to convert, double-faulting away her initial chance to close it out. Mladenovic later double-faulted twice more to get broken and make it 5-all. Kvitova, who won titles at the All England Club in 2011 and 2014, wasn’t even sure she could compete at the tournament this year until right before it began. The left-hander missed the French Open because of an injury to that forearm. Elsewhere, former semi-finalist Johanna Konta reached the third round with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova on Centre Court. The 19th-seeded Briton lost in the 2017 semi-finals to Venus Williams, but this is only the second time she’s been past the second round. Ashleigh Barty extends winning streak with win over Alison Van Uytvanck Top-ranked Ash Barty stretched her winning streak to 14 matches and reached Wimbledon’s third round with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Alison Van Uytvanck. [caption id=“attachment_6937091” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ashleigh Barty extended her winning run to fourteen matches. Reuters[/caption] Barty is coming off titles at the French Open and the Birmingham grass-court tuneup tournament. She never has been past the third round at All England Club. She could have wrapped things up even quicker against Uytvanck but failed to serve out the match at 5-2 in the second set, the only time she was broken. Barty is playing her first tournament at No 1. Van Uytvanck upset defending champion Garbine Muguruza last year en route to the round of 16 at Wimbledon. No 9 Sloane Stephens of the United States and No 15 Wang Qiang of China also advanced in straight sets.