Had Roger Federer fallen to Alejandro Falla on Monday, it would have been one of the greatest upsets in Wimbledon history. But it wasn’t the only near upset in the tournament’s first round.

Former Illini men’s tennis player Kevin Anderson battled No. 7 Nikolay Davydenko to five sets but fell just short 3-6, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 9-7.

Anderson captured the first set comfortably. After winning a close second set, he appeared in control of the match.

Davydenko battled back to grab the third set and stay alive, and with a fourth set win, made it a whole new match. Both players held serve until Davydenko broke Anderson to pick up the win.

Later in the day, No. 5 Andy Roddick exerted his dominance over Rajeev Ram, another former Illinois tennis star.

Ram could not match up with the hard-serving right-hander, as he fell in three sets, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. The tournament is not over for Ram, who will compete in the doubles portion with teammate Eric Butorac.