Morigami advances

WIMBLEDON, England (Kyodo) It was mixed fortunes for Japan on the third day of the Wimbledon Championships as Akiko Morigami booked a place in the second round of the tournament, and Aiko Nakamura and Ayumi Morita were both ousted Wednesday.

Japan's Akiko Morigami celebrates winning a point against Italy's Alberta Brianti during their match on Wednesday at Wimbledon in London. Morigami won 6-4, 6-0. AP PHOTO

Morigami secured a strong 6-4, 6-0 victory over Italian Alberta Brianti, following a self-proclaimed "more aggressive than usual" approach in order to overcome the differences of a grass court.

"In the first set I was 5-1 up and then it went to 5-4 but I managed to win the next game and the set, and after this I just played my own tennis so it was an important turning point in the match," Morigami said of her win.

Meanwhile, in a high-profile match on the packed show court 13, Nakamura was defeated in her second round by Swiss favorite and world No. 9 Martina Hingis in straight sets 1-6, 2-6 in just over an hour.

Despite Hingis' obvious lead, Nakamura's determination not to give up was apparent until the end of the very last game where she forced her opponent to work through five match points in order to secure her final victory.

"The result shows my ability — I have to take this result badly," Nakamura said.

Hingis explained how she thought she had managed to "beat Nakamura down a little bit mentally," by breaking her serve, even after the Japanese had reached a number of game points during her service, and thereby making her think she "could not finish games."

Earlier in the day, Morita — making her Grand Slam singles debut — lost out to world No. 28 Mara Santangelo from Italy in a well-fought match at the All England Club which ended 1-6, 6-3, 3-6.