June 22 (Reuters) – Andy Murray’s second-round win at Wimbledon over Germany’s Tobias Kamke was so routine that the British number one was barely quizzed about the match on Wednesday.

Instead, the Scot was grilled about what film he had watched on Tuesday (Scream), what movie he plans to watch before his next match (Scream II and Scream III) and what he thinks about the row erupting erupted over a united British soccer team at the London 2012 Olympics.

“I don’t want to get into any of that political stuff. I’ve been involved in the Olympics, played under Great Britain, and it was an unbelievable experience,” fourth seed Murray told reporters after his 6-3 6-3 7-5 win.

“I loved it. It’s not for me to decide. It’s up to the federations, that they can decide.

“Certainly not getting drawn into any political stuff around this time of year, because we know what happens with that,” grinned Murray, who once got into hot water after proclaiming he always backed the team facing England in a football match.

The British Olympic Association angered Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales by trumpeting a ‘historic agreement’ for Britain to field a united team at the London Games after a 52-year absence.

The three associations oppose the idea of their players joining any Team GB as they fear their independent status on the world soccer map could be jeopardised.

LONDON (Reuters) – With more spare time than she would care to remember over the past year, the one thing Venus Williams does not want is to lose early at Wimbledon and have even more of it on her hands.

The five-times champion has only played in four tournaments over the past year — three of them grand slams — as she has had to bide her time on the sidelines while allowing her battered body to recover from a series of injuries.

On Wednesday, it looked as if she might suffer her earliest exit at the All England Club since falling in the second round in 2004 but her fighting instincts carried her to a 6-7 6-3 8-6 win over 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.

“When you lose, that gives you extra time to go practice and work out in the gym. But I prefer not to have the extra time,” explained Williams, who is seeded 23rd.

“I’ve had a ton of extra time to be in the gym in the last five months, then the three months before that, then the three months before that. So it’s been too much gym time.

“I needed that win and I’m glad it worked out for me.”

Playing Date-Krumm, who made her Wimbledon debut when Williams was just a nine-year-old wannabe in Compton, has certainly made the American think about her own tennis life-span.

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters) – With more spare time than she would care to remember over the past year, the one thing Venus Williams does not want is to lose early at Wimbledon and have even more of it on her hands.

The five-times champion has only played in four tournaments over the past year — three of them grand slams — as she has had to bide her time on the sidelines while allowing her battered body to recover from a series of injuries.

On Wednesday, it looked as if she might suffer her earliest exit at the All England Club since falling in the second round in 2004 but her fighting instincts carried her to a 6-7 6-3 8-6 win over 40-year-old Kimiko Date-Krumm.

“When you lose, that gives you extra time to go practice and work out in the gym. But I prefer not to have the extra time,” explained Williams, who is seeded 23rd.

“I’ve had a ton of extra time to be in the gym in the last five months, then the three months before that, then the three months before that. So it’s been too much gym time.

“I needed that win and I’m glad it worked out for me.”

Playing Date-Krumm, who made her Wimbledon debut when Williams was just a nine-year-old wannabe in Compton, has certainly made the American think about her own tennis life-span.

LONDON (Reuters)- – It is not often that Venus Williams is spooked by a 40-year-old player who had gone 14 years without winning a match at Wimbledon.

But the five-times champion was left wide-eyed and gasping for breath before she squeezed past Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-7 6-3 8-6 in spellbinding second-round match on Wednesday.

When the players walked on to a covered Center Court at 1200 GMT as torrential rain lashed down over the All England Club, most pundits thought Date-Krumm would be back in the locker room in under an hour. No one told the Japanese warrior.

For 23 unbelievable minutes, Williams was trapped in her own personal nightmare, failing to hold serve even once as Date-Krumm surged to a 5-1 lead.

It almost seemed as if the court had suddenly shrunk in size for the wayward Williams as she repeatedly hit long and wide, missing the lines by a distance.

It was a poor show from Williams against a player who until this week had not won a match at the citadel of grasscourt tennis since 1996.

In fact, when Date-Krumm made her Wimbledon debut in 1989, 36 competitors in this year’s women’s field had not been born while most of the others in the 128-strong draw were still in nappies.

LONDON, June 22 (Reuters)- – It is not often that Venus Williams is spooked by a 40-year-old player who had gone 14 years without winning a match at Wimbledon.

But the five-times champion was left wide-eyed and gasping for breath before she squeezed past Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-7 6-3 8-6 in spellbinding second-round match on Wednesday.

When the players walked on to a covered Centre Court at 1200 GMT as torrential rain lashed down over the All England Club, most pundits thought Date-Krumm would be back in the locker room in under an hour. No one told the Japanese warrior.

For 23 unbelievable minutes, Williams was trapped in her own personal nightmare, failing to hold serve even once as Date-Krumm surged to a 5-1 lead.

It almost seemed as if the court had suddenly shrunk in size for the wayward Williams as she repeatedly hit long and wide, missing the lines by a distance.

It was a poor show from Williams against a player who until this week had not won a match at the citadel of grasscourt tennis since 1996.

In fact, when Date-Krumm made her Wimbledon debut in 1989, 36 competitors in this year’s women’s field had not been born while most of the others in the 128-strong draw were still in nappies.

LONDON (Reuters) – It takes just 10 seconds to read the 33 words printed on a new, oval plaque mounted outside Wimbledon’s Court 18 to commemorate the longest ever tennis match, which took place at the All England Club a year ago.

It is a typically understated acknowledgement by Wimbledon organisers to the feat achieved by John Isner and Nicolas Mahut – but then no amount of words could sum up an act of extraordinary human endurance that spanned three days and lasted 11 hours and five minutes over five sets.

On Tuesday, those two same gladiators will return to the All England Club for a re-match after they were shocked to be drawn together for a first-round clash that is being dubbed “Wimbledon War II”.

“I’m very happy to come back to the U.K. and play in front of the English fans and at the same time I’m a little bit worried about being able to meet the expectations. It’s a question of not letting people down,” Frenchman Mahut, who lost last year’s epic match, told Reuters in an interview in the days running up to the grasscourt grand slam.

“Freakish”, “astonishing”, “unbelievable”, “mind-boggling”, “bizarre” are just some of the words competitors used when Isner and Mahut were drawn together again for this year’s championships – the same words that were used to describe their first-round encounter last June that hypnotised a global audience of billions.

Going into Tuesday’s encounter, American Isner summed up the sentiments of the two players best by saying: “It’s weird and it’s cruel.”

At the time of the draw last Friday, Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett twisted the knife further by suggesting: “There is every possibility we could schedule it for Court 18 again.”

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) – It takes just 10 seconds to read the 33 words printed on a new, oval plaque mounted outside Wimbledon’s Court 18 to commemorate the longest ever tennis match, which took place at the All England Club a year ago.

It is a typically understated acknowledgement by Wimbledon organisers to the feat achieved by John Isner and Nicolas Mahut - but then no amount of words could sum up an act of extraordinary human endurance that spanned three days and lasted 11 hours and five minutes over five sets.

On Tuesday, those two same gladiators will return to the All England Club for a re-match after they were shocked to be drawn together for a first-round clash that is being dubbed “Wimbledon War II”.

“I’m very happy to come back to the U.K. and play in front of the English fans and at the same time I’m a little bit worried about being able to meet the expectations. It’s a question of not letting people down,” Frenchman Mahut, who lost last year’s epic match, told Reuters in an interview in the days running up to the grasscourt grand slam.

“Freakish”, “astonishing”, “unbelievable”, “mind-boggling”, “bizarre” are just some of the words competitors used when Isner and Mahut were drawn together again for this year’s championships – the same words that were used to describe their first-round encounter last June that hypnotised a global audience of billions.

Going into Tuesday’s encounter, American Isner summed up the sentiments of the two players best by saying: “It’s weird and it’s cruel.”

At the time of the draw last Friday, Wimbledon referee Andrew Jarrett twisted the knife further by suggesting: “There is every possibility we could schedule it for Court 18 again.”

LONDON (Reuters) – A Wimbledon final without Roger Federer almost seemed unthinkable 12 months ago but the ‘unthinkable’ happened last July when the most gifted player to have picked up a tennis racket discovered he was no longer on the guest list for the showpiece match at the grasscourt grand slam.

But the man who enjoyed the privilege of opening Center Court proceedings at the All England Club for seven successive years – including 2009 when Rafa Nadal was unable to defend his title – is now back to reclaim his crown.

The six-times Wimbledon champion purposefully strode into the grounds on Saturday at 1027 GMT and even the miserable British weather did not dampen his spirits as he went through his paces during a 30-minute hit with his friend Tommy Haas.

Just in case Federer had forgotten the identity of the current holder of the title, Nadal navigated his way through the couple of hundred people jostling for space around the outside court and the Spaniard was soon nodding his head in appreciation as Federer finished off the session with a flurry of aces.

Job done for the day, Federer exchanged high fives with his great rival and walked off court knowing that he was just seven matches away from drawing level with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw’s record of seven men’s titles.

Dressed in an all white track suit, Federer settled into a green chair in a bunker of the All England Club to have a chat with Reuters about how much he wants to win back the Wimbledon crown, his desire to reclaim the world number one ranking, his various records and how he combines his on court commitments with fatherhood.

REUTERS: Roger, last year was the first time in eight years that you were not involved in the final weekend at Wimbledon. What was that like for you?

LONDON (Reuters) – Francesca Schiavone can offer plenty of ideas about how to succeed on clay. When it comes to grass, however, she has only one suggestion.

“You should ask Roger (Federer) because I don’t have a lot of (grasscourt) wins,” the 2010 French Open champion told Reuters in an interview before dissolving into fits of laughter.

“I wish to speak with Roger somehow and get tips but I don’t know if that can be possible. I will try to do the best with what I have but if I have the opportunity I will ask him,” the 30-year-old added as she put the finishing touches to her Wimbledon preparations.

Tapping into the brain of the six-times Wimbledon men’s champion may be a good idea for the Italian who desperately wants to improve on her 2010 showing at the All England Club.

After unexpectedly capturing the Roland Garros crown last June, joy quickly turned to despair as she lost in the first round at the grasscourt major. In fact her record on green lawns for 2010 stands at, played two, lost two.

“The days after winning the French Open were really tough for me. For 10 days I was very busy and could not control my energy. I arrived over there (at Wimbledon) with less energy,” explained Schiavone.

“For me to be really focused and be competitive is important to play good tennis. So it was not easy and I couldn’t finish and close my match in two sets. I had the opportunity and I lost,” she added, referring to the 6-7 7-5 6-1 defeat by Vera Dushevina.

LONDON, June 19 (Reuters) – Francesca Schiavone can offer plenty of ideas about how to succeed on clay. When it comes to grass, however, she has only one suggestion.

“You should ask Roger (Federer) because I don’t have a lot of (grasscourt) wins,” the 2010 French Open champion told Reuters in an interview before dissolving into fits of laughter.

“I wish to speak with Roger somehow and get tips but I don’t know if that can be possible. I will try to do the best with what I have but if I have the opportunity I will ask him,” the 30-year-old added as she put the finishing touches to her Wimbledon preparations.

Tapping into the brain of the six-times Wimbledon men’s champion may be a good idea for the Italian who desperately wants to improve on her 2010 showing at the All England Club.

After unexpectedly capturing the Roland Garros crown last June, joy quickly turned to despair as she lost in the first round at the grasscourt major. In fact her record on green lawns for 2010 stands at, played two, lost two.

“The days after winning the French Open were really tough for me. For 10 days I was very busy and could not control my energy. I arrived over there (at Wimbledon) with less energy,” explained Schiavone.

“For me to be really focused and be competitive is important to play good tennis. So it was not easy and I couldn’t finish and close my match in two sets. I had the opportunity and I lost,” she added, referring to the 6-7 7-5 6-1 defeat by Vera Dushevina.