Tennis:Adrian Mannarino stands between Conor Niland and a shot at Roger Federer when Wimbledon gets underway. Niland will face the Frenchman in the first round on Tuesday after finally coming through qualifying yesterday with Federer the likely opponent in the second round.
Niland defeated Croatia’s Nikola Mektic at the Roehampton club in London, winning in straight sets after a series of rain delays held up the contest since Thursday. His reward for becoming the first Irish player in the event since 1984 was a first round meeting with Mannarino, unseeded but ranked 53rd in the world.
The winner of the clash will meet Federer, assuming of course the Swiss ace comes through his first round meeting Mikhail Kukushkin. While the prospect of taking on Federer would be “fantastic” for Niland, Mannarino will be a huge favourite to progress.
”It would be fantastic to play Federer, and, of course, such a match would be on the Centre Court or Court No 1,” Niland said. ”But, of course, I cannot afford to look beyond the match against Mannarino.
“It’s a reasonable draw for me. It would have been very hard for me against a top 10 or top 20 player, but against Mannarino it’s a winnable match if I play as well as I can. A number of qualifiers have gone on to win a round or two at Wimbledon, so hopefully I can follow suit.”