LONDON -- Jack Sock, muttering to himself on an otherwise celestial day at the All England Club, took a backhand swipe at Sam Groth's lightning service offering and sent it soaring ... off the frame, right into the adjacent Court No. 15.
The 22-year-old from Kansas City, Missouri, had a terrific run at the French Open, beating No. 11 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the first round and advancing to the fourth before falling in four sets to nine-time champion Rafael Nadal. The win vaulted Sock to a career-high ranking of No. 30 and made him a seeded player for the first time at a Grand Slam.
But that was on the red clay of Roland Garros, a surface that plays extremely well under Sock's nimble feet. Grass? That's another story altogether.
Sock fell to the strapping Australian (6-foot-4, 218 pounds) in a match with a curiously consistent scoring line -- 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 -- and now Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament in which he has a losing record (1-2).
On Monday, three American men advanced to the second round: John Isner, Steve Johnson and Denis Kudla. Tuesday there was only one, Sam Querrey.
Here are a few Wimbledon takeaways:
Federer next for Querrey: The American's reward for a 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 win over qualifier Igor Sijsling of the Netherlands? A date in the second round with the player who has fashioned the greatest record at the All England Club: seven-time champion Roger Federer. Querrey lost both of his previous matches against Federer, in 2007 at Miami and a year later at the French Open, and conceded all five sets.
Serving greatness, one swing at a time: Querrey, aware the temperature would rise into the mid-80s, told ESPN.com's Peter Bodo he strung his racket a bit tighter to make his serve even more lethal than usual. Querrey won 41 of 44 first-serve points, for an extraordinary 93.2 percent -- barely edging fellow American John Isner (63-for-68, 92.6 percent) for the best percentage in the tournament so far on the men's side.
Speaking of serving ... Groth had 16 aces against Sock, and he won 51 of 56 first-serve points for 91 percent, fifth among the men here. In May 2012, Groth allegedly hit a serve 163.4 mph at a Challenger event in Busan, South Korea.
Smyczek falls to Fognini: American Tim Smyczek, a 27-year-old from Tampa, Florida, lost to Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. Smyczek, ranked No. 77 among ATP World Tour players, could only convert two break points, five fewer than Fognini. The win balanced Fognini's record for 2015 at 14-14. His career mark is now 202-201. The No. 28 seed next faces Vasek Pospisil, who needed five sets to beat French qualifier Vincent Millot. Fognini has beaten Nadal twice this year, on the way to the final in Rio de Janeiro and in Barcelona.