Wimbledon 2012: Watch Live Stream Online of Federer, Djokovic, Sharapova In Friday?s Action; Preview

By Jason Le Miere | June 29 2012 8:17 AM

When and where: Day five's play at the All England Club at 6.30 a.m. ET. Coverage will be provided by ESPN, with a live stream available on ESPN3. Viewers in the U.K. can catch the action across the BBC, with a live stream accessible on the BBC Sport website.

Reuters

Roger Federer will have to get through Julien Benneteau on Friday if he is to have a chance of taking advantage of Rafael Nadal's exit.

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Preview: After the shock elimination of Rafael Nadal yesterday, Novak Djokovic may well have a spring in his step as he opens up proceedings on Centre Court on Friday. The Serbian will be taking on his first seeded-opponent of these Championships in Radek Stepanek.

The World No. 1 has progressed to the third round without the loss of a set and is looking to build momentum heading into the second week. He will not be taking the 28th-seeded Stepanek, lightly, however. The Czech is known as one of the trickiest competitors on the ATP tour, with a fiercely competitive persona and an all-court game.

Djokovic has won all but one of their seven meetings, though, and will be hopeful of conserving energy ahead of the future challenges that await.

Roger Federer is another who is sure to have been buoyed by Nadal's exit to Lukas Rosol. Having tasted defeat to the Spaniard in a dramatic final in 2008, the former world No. 1 will be reassured that he cannot suffer the same fate as he chases a record-equaling seventh Wimbledon title.

The Swiss takes on Julien Benneteau in third-round action on Friday. The Frenchman, ranked 32, actually got the victory the last time these two met back in 2009. Federer remains an overwhelming favorite but will not be able to take anything for granted.

There are also a couple of intriguing women's matches taking place on the fifth day of action. Second up on Centre Court, third seed Agnieszka Radwanska goes up against British hope Heather Watson. With her solid play from the back of the court, Watson has already exceeded expectations in reaching the third round. Radwanska will be the heavy favorite, but the Pole doesn't carry the type of heavy ground-strokes that will knock Watson off the court. If the Guernsey native can play without nerves then she could give Radwanska a test.

There is the potential for a high quality match as Kim Clijsters takes on 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva. Clijsters is coming into the tournament off an injury-hit year as she plays her final Wimbledon before retiring after the US Open. Zvonareva, seeded 12th, has a good recent record against the Belgian and got the victory when the pair last met at the All England Club, two years ago.

There will also be plenty of eyes on Court 1 as top seed Maria Sharapova faces Su-Wei Hsieh.