W.7- Got No Strings to Hold Them Down?

"My game seems to just get better when I'm here. - Venus Williams

So far, nothing has been able to stop the Williams sisters at this Wimbledon. On Day Seven, even the fabled "graveyard of champions" that is Court 2 couldn't make a dent in their fortified, two-player suit of armor.


AP Photo/Kristie Wigglesworth

In year's past, Court 2 has claimed the Wimbledon lives of both Venus and Serena. Maybe the old bone yard is finally showing its advancing age, because it could only offer up a minor Venus hiccup today as a display of its former power as both sisters crossed over the sometimes-toxic lines and handled their Round of 16 opponents with relative ease, adding even more momentum to the notion that we could get a Williams-vs.-Williams blast from the past in the Ladies Final on Saturday.

First, Venus took the sting out of Russian Alisa Kleybanova, who came into this match as the tournament's women's service ace leader. Williams led 6-3/5-2 and served for the match. That's when Venus experienced that minor hiccup, as she's seemed to encounter each round at this Wimbledon. She failed to convert three match points and soon saw Kleybanova holding three break points to tie the set at 5-5. It didn't happen, of course. The defending champion's game continues to roll into finer shape with each passing match. Venus turned back the graveyard's minor show of force, winning 6-3/6-4 to advance to her ninth SW19 quarterfinal in twelve trips to London.

Serena had no such moment of pause, taking out fellow American Bethanie Mattek 6-3/6-3 in the next Court 2 match of the day. Then, perhaps to rub the Court's seemingly deteriorated aura in its face a bit, the Williams sisters ended their day by eliminating the doubles team of Anabel Medina-Garrigues and Virginia Ruano-Pascual, the winners of the Roland Garros title a few weeks ago. Yeah, that one took place on Court 2, as well.

So sad. After trying and failing to claim a final big-name victim at this tournament, Court 2 has been a miserable failure so far at this year's Wimbledon. Yep, the old dog is tired... and possibly ready to be put down for good. You know things aren't going well for the bone yard when it very well could have had a "Property of Williams" sign posted just outside its entrance on Day Seven. In it's final year at the All-England Club, Court 2's property value is plummeting more and more with each passing match.

As of yet, Venus and Serena aren't showing the same signs of wear and tear... and that's not good news to the other six other women remaining in the draw.



=DAY 7 NOTES=
True to form, Jelena Jankovic did not go quietly into the good London night. Well, she DID as far as the scoreboard was concerned, as she was bounced by veteran first-time slam quarterfinalist Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3/6-2. But, as is usually the case with ol' JJ, the story was everything BUT the match.

She spent all day Sunday getting treatment on her injured knee, and was upset that she was scheduled to play early on Day Seven. With a pained expression on her face, she was hardly the vision of the player who so often can bring a smile to so many faces, whether out of delight or exasperation. Oh, she didn't like that the match took place on Court 18, either... she made some crack about needing to take a helicopter to get there.

As the #2 seed, Jankovic might have had a point about her match's placement... on any other day. But when such a packed singles schedule means both Williams sisters (with a combined six SW19 singles titles between them) are relegated to Court 2, Jankovic (zero grand slam final appearances) has absolutely no legitimate gripe.

...maybe the Gods Evertienne and Borguese, who oversee Roland Garros and Wimbledon, were just preserving the honor of the tennis rankings? Jankovic lost the match in Paris that would have made her the #1-ranked player in the world, and she could have claimed the spot had she reached the SF here. No one would have REALLY believed she was the "best" player in the world had she attained the top ranking, so maybe the Gods were just making sure that we mortals weren't faced with having to make excuses for the ranking system. They have such little faith in us.

...with the #2 seed out, all the top four seeds are gone on the women's side before the QF. That's the first time it's happened in the Open era.

...for the first time in a while in a slam, it seems, there were some thrilling matches on the Men's side, as Mario Ancic came back from two sets to love down, and 4-1 in the 4th, to defeat Fernando Verdasco 13-11 in the 5th. Ancic will now face Roger Federer. The Croat was the last player to defeat Federer on grass, in the 1st Round of Wimbledon in 2002. The Swiss Mister is currently on a 63-match (38 at Wimbledon) grass court winning streak.

Then, VERY late in the day, Andy Murray may have finally come of age on the grand slam stage when he, too, won a match from an 0-2 sets down hole against '07 semifinalist Richard Gasquet. Gasquet served for the match at one point, but Murray surged back with great tennis and even greater emotion. With his howling reactions to brilliantly played points as the Centre Court crowd exploded, he resembled the snarling Lleyton Hewitt in his heyday, or a younger version of the 39-year old Jimmy Connors at the 1991 U.S. Open. Murray will face Rafael Nadal in the QF. If it's any kind of match at all, it could be a classic.

...Shahar Peer got the best of Dinara Safina again, as she and Victoria Azarenka eliminated Safina and Agnes Szavay when the teams completed the 3rd Round Doubles match that was suspended on Saturday.

...in ITF action over the weekend, Backspin's Girl Friday Anna-Lena Groenefeld won her third straight circuit tournament in the $25K in Periguex, France. She also took the doubles title. She's won fifteen straight ITF matches. Meanwhile, fresh off her Girls title at Roland Garros, Romania's Simona Halep claimed her third ITF title of the season in the $25K in Kristienhamn, Sweden.

...some Wimbledon Award updates:

1) Nicole Vaidisova's three-set win over Anna Chakvetadze advances her to the QF (she'll face Zheng Jie for a spot in the semis), enabling her to pull an around-end move to steal away the "Zombie Queen" title following her 2nd Round escape against Sam Stosur, during which she came within a point of being down a disinterested 6-3/0-6/0-4. If the Aussie had been able to convert one of those points, SHE could very well be the one playing Zheng tomorrow. At least Stosur and Lisa Raymond got a 3rd Round win over the #3-seeded doubles team of Peschke/Stubbs today.

2) Agnieszka Radwanska, whose rise has so picked up steam that she's been shifted from the "Fresh Faces" to the "Risers" category as the season has progressed, claimed her second "It Girl" title in less than a full year of slams as she reached her second slam QF of '08 with her 6-4/1-6/7-5 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova (the Contessova served for 5-2 in the 3rd set, only to eventually be broken for 5-6 and see A-Rad serve out the match moments later). It was the second time Radwanska has defeated the Russian in a slam in '08, having upset her in Melbourne. A year ago at Wimbledon, Kuznetsova knocked off A-Rad in the 3rd Round.

3) The "Comeback" award is down to a race between Tamarine Tanasugarn, Nadia Petrova and Zheng Jie. The "Miss Opportunity" will go to either Zheng, Vaidisova, Petrova or Elena Dementieva. Yep, Nadia has been moving along, quietly posting impressive wins following her RU in the Eastbourne tune-up event. She's one win away from reaching her third career slam SF, and the first since Roland Garros '05. Nothing against Punch-Sober, but Petrova's '08 slam SF berth is a pre-season prediction I really, really want to see come true.

Go Nadia! (Sorry, Elena.)

...I hope the Williams family isn't hoping to get any "thank-you notes" from the Radwanska clan. Earlier this tournament, Serena knocked Urszula out of singles. Then, Venus and Serena were the team that took A-Rad out of doubles. Now, Agnieszka faces Serena in the QF. Of course, Williams is the favorite... but Radwanska is building up a healthy list of top-seeded players who have exited grand slam draws thanks to her clever wait-and-see, never-let-them-know-what's-coming game. You know, watching A-Rad matter- of-factly dispatch so many top players in big matches even though she looks like she's on a stroll through the park, I'm now convinced that if she were to ever be cast in a "Women in Prison" film that she'd be a lock for the role of the newbie who shanks the cell block maiden in the back when nobody's looking, securing a power base for herself, all the while never allowing the expression on her face to change one iota.

Okay, maybe that one was a BIT of a stretch... but I liked it anyway.

Needless to say, Serena... watch your back.

...hmmm, it's interesting to note that the winners of both the grass court tune-ups the week before Wimbledon at Eastbourne and 's-Hertogenbosch -- Radwanska and Tanasugarn -- are still alive in the SW19 Final 8.

...all right, how's this one? A-Rad is the tennis version of a prop comic. One moment she'll pull a weird spin out of her bag, then an odd faint move while waiting to return serve (ask Sharapova about that one). While her opponent is still thinking about what she just saw, Radwanska will toss in a clever tactical ploy or an outright trick that'll drive a pure hitter nuts... earning respect through gritted teeth. Then, when no one's looking, she'll actually square her shoulders and blow a conventional groundstroke winner, just to show she can play EVERYONE ELSE'S game, too, whenever the time is right.

I know, I know... Patty Schnyder has sort of embodied that role the past few years. But you always get that scary sense that she might "turn on the audience." Sort of like when you see Carrot Top on the stage. You don't get that with A-Rad.

Oh my Tennis Gods, I actually made a Carrot Top reference in WTA Backspin. I'm sure to be punished for that one.

...and, finally, Venus on the talk that some of the women's players (Sharapova) were paying too much attention to their fashion at this tournament and not enough to their tennis: "Women in general, we like fashion," she said. "It's a huge industry for the athletic companies... In the past, Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals, they wore wonderful things that brought a lot of attention to women's tennis, and that's what they needed at the time. I don't think in any way that it subtracts from the competition level or how well we're playing. The fact of the matter is someone has got to win and someone has got to lose."



*WOMEN'S QF*
(WC)Zheng/CHN vs. #18 Vaidisova/CZE
#14 A.Radwanska/POL vs. #6 S.Williams/USA
#5 Dementieva/RUS vs. #21 Petrova/RUS
#7 V.Williams/USA vs. Tanasugarn/THA

*MEN'S QF*
#1 Federer/SUI vs. Ancic/CRO
Safin/RUS vs. #31 Lopez
Schuettler/GER vs. Clement/FRA
#12 Murray/GBR vs. #2 Nadal/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Black/Huber (ZIM/USA) vs. #6 Azarenka/Peer (BLR/ISR)
#16 Raymond/Stosur (USA/AUS) vs. Makarova/Sfar (RUS/TUN)
#11 Williams/Williams (USA/USA) vs. #13 Mattek/Mirza (USA/IND)
Llagostera-Vives/Martinez-Sanchez (ESP/ESP) vs. Dechy/Dellacqua (FRA/AUS)

*MEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) vs. Granollers-Pujols/Ventura (ESP/ESP)
Petzschner/Peya (GER/AUT) vs. #8 Bjorkman/Ullyett (SWE/ZIM)
#9 Dlouhy/Paes (CZE/IND) vs. #3 Erlich/Ram (ISR/ISR)
Anderson/Lindstedt (RSA/SWE) vs. #1 Nestor/Zimonjic (CAN/SRB)

*MEN'S QUARTERFINALISTS*
[Wimbledon Won/Lost...# of Wimbledons]
42-4...Roger Federer, SUI (10th) - 5 titles
20-6...Feliciano Lopez, ESP (7th)
19-4...Rafael Nadal, ESP (5th)
17-5...Mario Ancic, CRO (6th)
16-11...Arnaud Clement, FRA (12th)
15-8...Marat Safin, RUS (9th)
15-9...Rainer Schuettler, GER (10th)
9-2...Andy Murray, GBR (3rd)




*WOMEN'S QUARTERFINALISTS*
[Wimbledon Won/Lost...# of Wimbledons]
55-7...Venus Williams, USA (12th) - 4 titles
41-6...Serena Williams, USA (9th) - 2 titles
27-11...Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA (12th)
21-7...Nadie Petrova, RUS (8th)
21-9...Elena Dementieva, RUS (10th)
13-3...Nicole Vaidisova, CZE (4th)
9-2...Agnieszka Radwanska, POL (3rd)
6-2...Zheng Jie, CHN (3rd)

*2008 FINAL 8*
[WOMEN/MEN - NATION]
3...Russia (Dementieva - Petrova - Safin)
2...Spain (Nadal - Lopez)
2...United States (Williams - Williams)
1...China (Zheng)
1...Croatia (Ancic)
1...Czech Republic (Vaidisova)
1...France (Clement)
1...Germany (Schuettler)
1...Great Britain (Murray)
1...Poland (A.Radwanska)
1...Switzerland (Federer)
1...Thailand (Tanasugarn)

2008 SLAM QF's - WOMEN BY NATION
[24 = AO + RG + Wimb]
6...Russia
4...Serbia
4...United States
2...Poland
1...Belgium
1...China
1...Czech Republic
1...Estonia
1...Slovakia
1...Spain
1...Switzerland
1...Thailand

*SLAM "IT GIRL" WINNERS*
=2005=
2005 US - Sania Mirza, IND
=2006=
AO - Samantha Stosur, AUS
RG - Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
WI - Li Na, CHN
US - Jelena Jankovic, SRB
=2007=
AO - Shahar Peer, ISR
RG - Ana Ivanovic, SRB
WI - Ana Ivanovic, SRB
US - Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
=2008=
AO - Casey Dellacqua, AUS
RG - Dinara Safina, RUS
WI - Agnieszka Radwanska, POL

*SLAM "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2007 WI - Venus Williams, USA
2008 AO - Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2008 RG - Dinara Safina, RUS
2008 WI - Nicole Vaidisova, CZE




TOP QUALIFIERS: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP & Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd.- Ivanovic d. Dechy 6-7/7-6/10-8 (down 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK (1st Rd.-lost to Zheng)
UPSET QUEENS: The Russians
REVELATION LADIES: The Russians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/ESP, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS & Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova/CZE (all to 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
MISS OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS (lost 2nd Rd. to Kudryavtseva)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Nicole Vaidisova, CZE (point from being down 6-3/0-6/0-4 to Stosur in 2nd Rd.)
LAST BRITS STANDING: Anne Keothavong & Elena Baltacha, GBR (both to 2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STARS xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx



All for Day 7. More tomorrow.

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BACKSPIN TIME CAPSULE: 1990 Wimbledon, Pt.I

(second in a series)

World #1 Steffi Graf was experiencing growing pains (mostly thanks to her father's off-court legal and personal difficulties), and her streak of thirteen straight slam final appearances had just ended in the Wimbledon semifinals. A new force, 16-year old Roland Garros champion Monica Seles, was threatening to take the sport -- and Graf -- by storm. Chris Evert was less than a year into retirement. Gabriela Sabatini STILL hadn't won a grand slam title. And Jennifer Capriati, 14, was the talk of the tennis world.

Meanwhile, 33-year old Martina Navratilova was still plugging away, holding onto the #2 ranking and looking to claim another grand slam title in her epic career, not to mention a record ninth Wimbledon singles championship, against first-time slam finalist Zina Garrison.

Let's flip the switch and travel back in time, as I saw it back in July 1990...



"All Hail the New (and Old) Queen of Centre Court" (July 1990)

Okay, now everyone out there who one year ago believed that at the the conclusion of the 1990 Wimbledon the women's tennis tour would be littered with teeny-boppers who were giving a serious run at the number one player in the world, raise your hand.

Okay, now everyone who thought that if one of two players other than Steffi Graf were to win the U.S. Open in September, either would move past the West German to #1 raise your other hand.

Okay, now for the real kicker. Everyone who thought that Graf would lose three straight tournaments, miss time with a broken finger, suffer sinus troubles, battle tabloid stories about her father, miss a grand slam final for the first time in fourteen tries, talk of early retirement AND that a 33-year old and a 16-year old would be those two who could surpass her do a back flip and recite the Gettysburg address while lighting up the American flag.

(No movement.)

Aha, just as I suspected.

Well, believe it or not, all of that has happened in the space of just one little year. Graf is far from lonely at the top (at least not competitively) -- and this Wimbledon final made her tiny room just a little bit more crowded. In an all-U.S. final (the first since 1985) and an all-Texas loving final (I think I can go out on a limb and say the first ever), 33-year old Martina Navratilova defeated 26-year old Zina Garrison 6-4/6-1 to become the first nine-time Wimbledon singles winner ever (surpassing Helen Wills-Moody's eight) and the oldest since 35-year old Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers in 1914.


Martina... to the nines

Where as Navratilova was an old hand at this gig (nine straight Wimbledon finals, and eleven total), Garrison was a virtual kindergartner in her first grand slam final in singles. Garrison overcame #1 Graf and that 16-year old, #3 Monica Seles in the semis and quarters, respectively, to gain the opportunity to become the first black woman to win this title since Althea Gibson (present at the final) in 1957-58 -- and do it as the lowest seed to reach the final (#5) since 1962. She made the semis here in 1985, but has always failed to live up to expectations as nerves (she cried throughout a match versus Virginia Wade in 1984, lost many close matches and was more upset at defeating Chris Evert in her last U.S. Open than Evert was at losing) combined with her mother's death and a battle with bulimia held her back from reaching the top. But this self-described "old person" has come a long way since her days at MacGregor Park in Houston. She recently married and, I must say, it seems to have done wonders for her game. (Maybe Martina's clothing line helped out a bit, too, since she lost just when she stopped wearing it here.)

Navratilova came into this final knowing that this was the best possible scenario for her ninth title. With Graf gone, her major foe was no longer able to be a thorn in her side (she defeated Navratilova in the last two Wimbledon finals). And even though some may say that the title is tarnished with Graf's absence, it goes down as a win -- and that's what counts. Anyway, who's to say she wouldn't have beaten Graf? Martina's certainly more mentally strong now, fourteen months after she began working with Billie Jean King in an attempt to return to the top (as if #2 wasn't at the top). Her play in this final didn't show much weakness, and her entire tournament went by without a loss of a set (the fourth time she's done that).

Garrison took the first five points of the match, but when Navratilova overcame a break point to go to 1-1 in the 1st set the door of opportunity for Garrison was promptly slammed into her face. Martina had a first serve percentage of 77% and took the opener 6-4.

The 2nd set saw Navratilova finally break Garrison on the fifth break point of a seven-deuce game to go up 2-1, and she never looked back as she breezed to a 6-1 final set triumph. She committed just nine unforced errors in the match and became the first non-#1 seed to win Wimbledon since Evonne Goolagong in 1980. The new (and old, in more ways than one) champ pulled a Casher (a Pat Cash-er, that is), too, as she ran into the stands (much easier than Cash, by the way) to hug her friends and supporters -- a sight that over the past two years seemed to be something that we would never be able to see again.

Navratilova, now with 17 Wimbledon titles (second to King's 20) to her credit, has expressed in the past an affinity with the number nine. Well, this record-smashing win certainly provided a great number of them. It's her ninth title, she did it as age 33 (3 X 3 = 9), she is now 99-9 in her career at Wimbledon, it was her 29th match versus Garrison, it is 1990, and it's her 18th grand slam title and 18th career Wimbledon appearance (multiples of nine). To the nines, as it should be.

While Garrison has now positioned herself as yet another challenger on the tour, Navratilova has positioned herself in a far grander way. This match was televised in her native Czechoslovakia as she is now not classified as a "non-person" after her defection in the 1970's. Finally, her birth country can take full pride in the accomplishments of this magnificent athlete.

Navratilova amazes us at age 33 much the same way Nolan Ryan has by pitching a no-hitter at age 43. No matter the age, she is still at the top of her game. She could be "officially" the best again in the current tense with a win at Flushing Meadows, but she is far greater than that in the sense of overall history.

Let's go ahead and say it. Martina Navratilova is the best women's tennis player. Ever. She says she's going for double-digits and who is to argue with her? Not I.

God save the Queen.

=1990 NOTES=
...Steffi Graf missed the final of a tournament for the third time in 43 events, missed her first grand slam final since 1986, and may be in serious danger of losing the #1 ranking she has held since August 1987.

...Monica Seles' winning streak ended at seven tournaments and 36 matches, and five million grunts.

...Gabriela Sabatini, 20, changed coaches four days before Wimbledon and has been seeking help from a sports psychologist. It must have worked. The shy Argentine reached the semis here for the first time since she did it as a 16-year old in 1986, and showed a new volley game in her match versus Navratilova.

...Jana Novotna, 21, continued to show improvement as she followed up her French Open semifinal performance by reaching the quarters at Wimbledon.

...Hana Mandlikova, 28, ended her 13-year singles career with a 2nd Round loss.

...Jennifer Capriati, 14, continued to add "The Youngest to..." titles to her list of achievements as she reached the Round of 16 and lost to Graf. Making her Centre Court debut in her first pro match at Wimbledon is quite a feat, as is her attitude in the face of all the publicity that has followed her all year. Capriati, who attended a Prince and Rolling Stones concert after she was ousted, said this when asked if she could catch up to Graf: "Well, I mean, I don't know. I don't think she's ever going to change. Unless I improve -- which I hope I do, which I think I will, maybe. I could do better, but, I mean, she was just great. I got to see her forehand. I finally got to hit against it. Now I know why they call it THE forehand. I really hope I improve next year and maybe do better. But I think she had a lot of experience out there. Maybe, you know, I will gain some experience, too."

...'Nuff said.



*ALL-TIME WIMBLEDON LADIES CHAMPIONS*
[title span]
9...Martina Navratilova, 1978-90
8...Helen Wills Moody, 1927-38
7...Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, 1903-14
7...Steffi Graf, 1988-96



So much was changing in women's tennis in 1990.

Steffi Graf's title-less streak would eventually reach five slams. Meanwhile, after losing in the 3rd Round at the U.S. Open later that summer, Monica Seles would win seven of the next eight slams in which she took part. Graf held onto the #1 ranking at the end of '90, but Seles was breathing down her neck. The Yugoslav finally rose to the top spot in March '91, ending Graf's record 186 straight week reign. Seles held the #1 ranking for 21 weeks. Then, in September, she replaced Graf as #1 once again, holding the position for 91 straight weeks until June '93, two months after she was stabbed in the back by an unbalanced Graf fan during a changeover at a tournament in Hamburg.

Graf re-claimed the #1 ranking, just as her "fan" has hoped. Seles didn't play in a grand slam again until the 1995 U.S. Open, and won just one slam singles crown the rest of her career.

Even before Seles' career path was altered, Graf had inherited the role of Wimbledon Queen from Navratilova. She won titles there in 1991-93, and five of six years (the last in' 96) after Navratilova's '90 triumph. She ended up with seven Wimbledon titles in her career, two less than Navratilova. After the '90 Wimbledon, Graf would go on to win 13 more slam titles in her career, the last at Roland Garros in '99.

The first African-American women's grand slam champion since Althea Gibson turned out to be Serena Williams at the U.S. Open in 1999, soon followed by sister Venus Williams at Wimbledon in 2000.

Garrison finished 1990 ranked #10, but her career never again reached the heights it did at Wimbledon that year (she also won the Mixed Doubles title with Rick Leach). She won four WTA singles titles after Wimbledon '90, the last coming in Birmingham in '95. She played Navratilova five more times in her career, losing each time and finishing with a career mark of 1-33 against Martina. Garrison went on to become the U.S. Fed Cup team captain.

The disappointing Sabatini would finally win her first and only grand slam title at the U.S. Open in the summer of 1990, defeating Graf in the final.

Less than a year before her '90 Wimbledon triumph, Navratilova's former Czechoslovakian homeland had undergone great change during the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989. After having played in the country for the first time in more than a decade in Fed Cup action in 1986, she didn't return again until 2006 in a tournament in which she played doubles with Barbora Strycova. Earlier this year, Navratilova regained the Czech citizenship she forfeited when she defected in 1975 (and became a U.S. citizen in 1981).

Navratilova finished the 1990 season ranked #3, and remained a Top 5 player until '93 and a Top 10er in '94. She reached the Wimbledon QF in '91, the SF in '92-'93, and one more final in '94 (losing to Conchita Martinez). She retired from singles that season, but continued to play doubles from 1995-96 before retiring and not playing at all between 1997-99. She returned to the tour in doubles in 2000 (and even played some singles in 2002, '04-'05, becoming the oldest woman to win a WTA singles match, and played in the Wimbledon main draw in '04 at age 47). She claimed twelve doubles titles from 2002-06, including her King-tying 20th Wimbledon title in '03 when she won Mixed Doubles with Leander Paes.

Navratilova retired for good after winning the '06 U.S. Open Mixed Doubles with Bob Bryan at age 49, less than two months before her 50th birthday. Needless to say, she's the oldest grand slam title winner ever.

The '90 Wimbledon was Navratilova's final slam singles title, bringing her career total to 18, equal to career-long rival Chris Evert, behind Margaret Court-Smith's 24 and Graf's 22 (11 of which were won after Seles' stabbing).

The next few years will determine how long Navratilova's historic Wimbledon singles mark will hold up. Graf was never able to match her nine titles there, coming up two short. The one-in-a-generation threat continues. As Steffi followed Martina, Venus has followed Graf. If Navratilova had salted away #10 in '94, it would be difficult to fathom she would ever be caught. But Williams has an outside shot, as she's currently at four titles (and counting).

Navratilova's mark has lasted eighteen years, and is probably safe from being matched for at least another five-to-seven years even in the most optimistic career outlook for Venus at Wimbledon. That would make Martina's mark a quarter-century old. If Williams fails to catch her, it could be stretched to a half-century or longer before Wimbledon's greatest champions from the next two-to-three tennis generations take their shots. But with the improving depth of the women's game, and the absence of much grass court expertise on tour, the chance that one post-Venus player will be able to rack up Wimbledon titles as Navratilova did becomes tougher and tougher all the time. Of course, there could always be that ONE truly special player who can do it... but they're few and far between.

It could be that Martina's Wimbledon record will NEVER be broken. What better tribute could there be to the greatest women's tennis player (and maybe greatest female athlete) who ever lived?

All for now.



LATER THIS WEEK: 1990 Wimbledon (Edberg vs. Becker)
NEXT UP: 1991 U.S. Open - Connors' Magical Trip to New York
PREVIOUS TIME CAPSULES: 1987 Roland Garros (Graf)

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W.6- Here We Go Again?

In the 1st set of today's 3rd Round match between Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Wozniacki, you couldn't help but get one of those "Here We Go Again" vibes.

At first, it was because of the presence of Wozniacki, yet another tall, blond teenager with a nice backhand and a healthy dose of cleverness looking to hang an upset on a top seed after the Dane claimed the set by a 6-2 score.

The "Here We Go Again" vibe turned out to be true... but for a completely different reason.

Oh, Jelena?


GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

Through two rounds, Jankovic had quietly moved through the Wimbledon draw without all the drama that's dogged so many other high seeds over this first week. Until today, that is. You see, in the middle of losing that 1st set to Wozniacki, Jankovic chased a ball behind the baseline and slightly slipped, twisting and hyperextending her knee while on a dead run. She winced in pain, limped a bit... then continued to play, as is her wont.

She didn't call for a trainer, and instead finished the 1st set. Then the 2nd, too, which she won. Still hurting, she finally got some medical assistance and instruction... quite a bit late, but better ridiculously late than never, I guess. Her leg was wrapped, and she went back out. Wozniacki's dicey forehand eventually turned the match in the Serb's favor, but not until the bothersome wrap led Jankovic to have it removed when she said she could no longer feel her knee during play. Against expert medical advice, the trainer removed it, and Jankovic trudged forward, risking injury all over again.

Ah, Jelena. You're so... YOU. Here we go again.

In the end, Jankovic prevailed at least partially intact by a 2-6/6-4/6-2 score. What comes next in anyone's guess, but it's hard to see the living-on-the-edge Serb choosing to drop out of this event even if the doctors tell her she should for the sake of her body.

Remember the Hopman Cup? Never assume anything when it comes to Jankovic, especially when she's got the chance to rise to #1 in the rankings by reaching the SF... with both Ivanovic and Djokovic watching from the sidelines.

There's an opportunity to attempt to seize and, come hell or high water, Jankovic is likely to give it a go... even if she risks pulling a Tiger Woods one-and-out redux in the process. So, cue the what's-she-doing, is-she-taking-too-big-a-risk, can-her-body-hold-up melodrama all over again for her 4th Round match against Tamarine Tanasugarn. Of course, if the medical tests come back with bad results, she COULD ultimately pull out of the event.

Yeah, right. Like that'll happen.

You gotta give her a hand. She's an entertaining and completely unique presence on the WTA tour... but she makes you want to scream sometimes. That's probably a good thing... until it isn't. If Jankovic plays with fire enough times, she's bound to eventually get seriously burned.

Hopefully, this won't turn out to be the time.



=DAY 6 NOTES=
Dinara Safina's seemingly endless '08 grand slam lives nearly sustained her once again on Day Six, but it wasn't meant to be. Against Shahar Peer, Safina's poor play let the 1st set slip away. But the old Dinara magic from Paris resurfaced again in the 2nd as Peer twice served for the match, and held two match points, only to see the Russian push things to a tie-break and claim the set.

In a match that featured sixteen total breaks of serve, Safina battled cramps in her thighs throughout the 3rd, but still found herself up 5-3. But having used up all her medical time outs, the tired Russian Cat eventually went down in flames, barely able to serve and frustrated as all get out about the whole thing. She double-faulted on match point (her 12th DF of the match), ending a 3:25 match (the third match this Wimbledon to rank amongst the four all-time longest SW19 women's matches) on a sour note and preventing both members of the Safin family from reaching the 4th Round.

But credit the willful Peer, too. The Corporal has seen her ranking drop this season and needed a result like this. Facing Elena Dementieva in the Round of 16, she's got a good shot at her third career slam QF and maybe even her first SF (the winner takes on the Petrova/Kudryavtseva survivor). Plus, losing this match would have only brought back bad memories of that blown QF match against Serena Williams at last year's Australian Open which, like this one, ended with an 8-6 score in the final set.

Later in the day, Safina and Peer faced off again in doubles in a match that wasn't finished and will be resumed on Monday, after tomorrow's off day (here's where I mention that the regular Daily Backspin will be replaced on Sunday by another edition of Backspin Time Capsule, featuring the 1990 Wimbledon).

...the big, big slam breakthroughs of Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka will have to continue to wait. Both put up game efforts today (Azarenka lost in two tie-breaks to Nadia Petrova, the first of which was a 13-11 affair), but it's on to the U.S. Open. Well, with a stop in Beijing a bit before the trip to New York.

...so, have we finally made it through the Williams Danger Zone, or it is just about to arrive? Both Venus and Serena are notoriously slow starters at slams. Even while they haven't been 100% sharp 100% of the time through the first three rounds, neither has dropped a set -- something the other top players can't boast. Today, Venus bounced qualifier Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez 6-1/7-5, ending things with an emphatic 127 mph ace on match point (in the stands, Serena was literally seen to yawn after the match was over). Both face unseeded, but potentially dangerous, players in the 4th Round (Serena vs. Mattek, Venus vs. Kleybanova), with the likes of Kuznetsova or A-Rad awaiting Serena and Jankovic or Tanasugarn next up for Venus if they both reach the QF.

We haven't really had one of those sweat-it-out moments with the sisters at this slam. Yet. If it doesn't come soon, it might not come at all.

(I'm sure NBC is hoping that's the case.)

Watching Martinez-Sanchez play against Venus, one senses there's some untold story there. At 25, she's been playing the best tennis of her career over the last month, and from all angles appears to have a game that should have produced something far earlier than this. She's got good height (5-9), a nice lefty serve and good volleys. Seven years ago in '01, her results show her to have been a player on the rise in the Top 100... only to see her have difficultly even making it through qualifying in tour events from 2002-03. From 2002-04 she didn't win an ITF event, and didn't play at all for the remainder of the '04 season after February. Her WTA bio makes no mention of serious injuries, and doesn't give any personal reasons for the drop-off. By 2005, she was playing on the ITF tour exclusively.

She won eight ITF titles from 2005-07 (giving her 12 total, with the four she won in 1999-00) as she slowly made her way back to the big tour. She was 26-13 this season coming into Wimbledon, where she won three qualifying matches, reached the 3rd Round and forced Venus to sweat just a tad in the 2nd set today. She's currently ranked #101 and should enter the Top 100 once again after this tournament is completed. Maybe this is the start of a nice end to a late-bloomer's career, but it's still a bit perplexing why it took MJMS this long to reach this level.

...sure, there have been a lot of upsets on the women's side, but the carnage on the men's side of the draw assures that at least one unseeded player will reach the semifinals. Someone from the Tipsarevic/Schuettler, Cilic/Clement quarter will pass through and have a shot to (potentially) be the last road block left to prevent Roger Federer from playing in a sixth straight final. Cilic is a Croatian, so his countrymen have a fairly rich history at Wimbledon (and I'm not just talking about Goran Ivanisevic, either)... but a rematch of the Federer/Tipsarevic Melbourne thriller would be quite interesting.

...THE BOGDAN WATCH II: err, well, maybe not. The BW lasted all the way until the Girls final in Paris, but it lasted all of one day at SW19. Both the Romanian Bogdans were put out to pasture in the 1st Round on Day Six. #7 Ana by Brit Naomi Brody, then #4 Elena (the RG runner-up) by Mini-Pastry Kristina Mladenovic. Oh, well.

...Tamarine Tanasugarn's three-set win over a hard-hitting Marina Erakovic gave the Thai native her tenth consecutive win in tour qualifying & main draw action. This is the 31-year old's seventh Round of 16 result in twelve career Wimbledon appearances, and it comes a year after her 1st Round loss to Peer.

...and, finally, what with NBC's embargo of the Venus Williams match for it's afternoon coverage (which the airing of prevented the live Peer/Safina drama from being shown, by the way), ESPN apparently was precluded from even mentioning the fact that the match with Martinez-Sanchez was going on... and maybe even the elder sister's name at all. One would think it'd be difficult to make it through four hours of morning coverage without mentioning the defending champion and the fact that she was on court at that very moment... but ESPN managed to do it. Kudos! Umm, I guess.




*2008 "LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING"*
AO - Marta Domachowska/POL & Hsieh Su-Wei/TPE (4th Rd.)
RG - Carla Suarez-Navarro/ESP (QF)
WI - Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/ESP, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS & Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova (3rd Rd.)

*LONGEST WIMBLEDON WOMEN'S MATCHES*
[Open Era]
3:45 - Rubin d. Hy-Boulais (1995 2nd Rd.)
3:40 - Goerges d. Srebotnik (2008 1st Rd.)
3:25 - Peer d. Safina (2008 3rd Rd.)
3:24 - Ivanovic d. Dechy (2008 2nd Rd.)

*LONG 2008 WINNING STREAKS*
[WTA Q/MD + FC]
18...Maria Sharapova, January-March
17...Serena Williams, March-May
12...Dinara Safina, May-June
10...TAMARINE TANASUGARN, June-current

*2008 FINAL 16*
[WOMEN - NATION]
6...Russia
3...United States
1...China
1...Czech Republic
1...Hungary
1...Israel
1...Poland
1...Serbia
1...Thailand
[BY AGE]
31...Tanasugarn
28...V.Williams
26...Dementieva - Petrova - S.Williams
24...Zheng
23...Jankovic - Kuznetsova - Mattek
21...Chakvetadze - Peer
20...Kudryavtseva
19...A.Radwanska - Szavay - Vaidisova
18...Kleybanova
[BY RANKING]
#2 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
#4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS
#5 Elena Dementieva, RUS
#6 Serena Williams, USA
#7 Venus Williams, USA
#8 Anna Chakvetadze, RUS
#11 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
#15 Agnes Szavay, HUN
#18 Nadia Petrova, RUS
#22 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE
#26 Shahar Peer, ISR
#42 Alisa Kleybanova, RUS
#60 Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
#69 Bethanie Mattek, USA
#133 Zheng Jie, CHN
#154 Alla Kudryavtseva, RUS
[MEN - NATION]
3...Spain (Nadal/Lopez/Verdasco)
2...Croatia (Ancic/Cilic)
2...France (Clement/Gasquet)
2...Russia (Safin/Youzhny)
2...Switzerland (Federer/Wawrinka)
1...Australia (Hewitt)
1...Cyprus (Baghdatis)
1...Germany (Schuettler)
1...Great Britain (Murray)
1...Serbia (Tipsarevic)

2008 SLAM ROUND OF 16's - WOMEN BY NATION
[48 = AO + RG + Wimb]
15...Russia
5...Serbia
5...United States
4...Czech Republic
4...Poland
1...Australia
1...Belarus
1...Belgium
1...China
1...Denmark
1...Estonia
1...Hungary
1...Israel
1...Italy
1...Slovakia
1...Slovenia
1...Spain
1...Switzerland
1..Taiwan
1..Thailand




TOP QUALIFIERS: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP & Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd.- Ivanovic d. Dechy 6-7/7-6/10-8 (down 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK (1st Rd.-lost to Zheng)
UPSET QUEENS: The Russians
REVELATION LADIES: The Russians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/ESP, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS & Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova/CZE (all to 3rd Rd.)
IT GIRL: xxx
MISS OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS (lost 2nd Rd. to Kudryavtseva)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xxx
LAST BRITS STANDING: Anne Keothavong & Elena Baltacha, GBR (both to 2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STARS xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx



All for Day 6. More tomorrow.

Read more...

W.5- AnaIvo, You Only Live Twice

Ana Ivanovic may have needed the help of James Bond to get through her 3rd Round match against China's Zheng Jie on Day Five. Surely Marion Bartoli didn't need his assistance anymore after today.

But Agent 007 never showed up... not Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton nor Pierce Brosnan. Not Daniel Craig, either. Not even Mr. Pam Shriver, George Lazenby -- and he probably wasn't TOO far away.


AP PHOTO/Alastair Grant

Two days ago on Court 1, #1-seeded Roland Garros champ Ivanovic survived an assault by Nathalie Dechy to play another day. One would have thought she'd play quite loose for the remainder of this tournament, but she was anything but against Zheng in her Court 1 return engagement. She appeared tight, and when her shots weren't working she forgot all she's learned over the past year about not crumbling on a big stage and finding a way to rediscover her game in the nick of time.

Of course, Zheng didn't help matters. She didn't play into AnaIvo's hands. Perhaps taking a cue from the Chinese proverb that says, "With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes satin/With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown," slow and steady was her way, and nearly error-free tennis was her game. Zheng didn't push or strain trying to make something spectacular happen, and thus didn't get nervous (ala Sam Stosur the other day) and give away a match that was her's to win.

That Ivanovic had no idea how to take it from her was a bonus -- and it pretty much sealed the fate of both players.

In the 1st set, an Ivanovic double-fault gave Zheng a 3-1 advantage that she never relinquished. A backhand error gave Zheng a break for 5-1. In the 6-1 set, the Serb converted none of her five break chances, while Zheng made good on two of her four. This was a match where the #1 player in the world simply could not seize the opportunities provided to her.

In the 2nd, Zheng broke for an early 2-1 lead, then the pair exchanged breaks over the next two games. Ivanovic held a break point for 3-3, but failed to grab what was to be her last chance to change her fortune. To add insult to the psychological injury of her 1-for-7 break point chance record for the match, the Ivanovic groundstroke error that gave Zheng a 4-2 lead hit at the same point on the net where another of her shots had dribbled over to provide her with a stay of execution on Day Three against Dechy. Ivanovic's final error came when she framed a deep Zheng serve on match point to give the 24-year old Cookie at 6-1/6-4 victory.

Ivanovic came to Wimbledon as the #1 player in the world, and as the top-seeded player at a slam for the first time in her career. She was likely hoping to slide by early and sneak into the latter stages of the tournament while everyone talked about the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova. But then The Net Cord happened, and she realized that she probably shouldn't even still have a breathing tennis life at this Wimbledon. As her experience grows, maybe she'll learn to take her "luck" and run with it (see Venus at this tournament last year). But, in 2008, she instead seems to have stared directly into the eyes of her SW19 mortality... and blinked.

In this upset-filled Wimbledon, that was all it took.

Meanwhile, maybe Zheng will now get her fair due. For years, the all-time Chinese leader (3) in career WTA singles titles, has been undervalued as a singles player. She may have entered this Wimbledon ranked #133 and needing a wild card to get into the draw, but she was a Top 50 player at the end of 2005 and '06 before injuries struck her down. She didn't play singles after Roland Garros last season after suffering an ankle injury, and ended the year ranked #163.

Li Na might be the most talented Chinese player, while Peng Shuai could be termed the flashiest. But Zheng has always been the most consistent, even while she never garnered the attention the other two sometimes did. All that ended on Day Five.

Forget Russia. For one day, "From China with Love" was the working title at the All-England Club.



=DAY 5 NOTES=
Maybe AnaIvo stood up Borguese?

...the first day in which rain interrupted play finally came on Day Five, but it was hardly an issue. Watch, in the final year before the retractable roof comes to Centre Court, rain won't even be an issue.

Which would be all right with just about everyone, I'd suspect.

...for a while today, Amelie Mauresmo resembled the player who won Wimbledon two years ago. But it only lasted a set. Once Serena Williams edged by Mauresmo in a 1st set tie-break, the '06 champion was lucky to even win another game in the 7-6/6-1 loss. Down 0-5 in the 2nd, she was more reminiscent of the player who has traveled a rather rocky, discouraging road throughout the course of this and last season. Between her and Lindsay Davenport, it might be a real battle to determine which one is going to be able to be anything near presentable for any extended period of time the rest of '08. And now there's word that Mary Pierce -- who hasn't played a match in eighteen months -- is going to play singles for France in the Olympics. The three of them won seven grand slam singles titles from 1995-2006, but neither is likely to around for too much longer.

...Bethanie Mattek's no-nonsense approach continues to work wonders. She advanced to the Round of 16 today with a win over '07 semifinalist Marion Bartoli 6-4/6-1. Mattek had 35 winners, and just 11 unforced errors.

...while Mattek makes it two (it'd be three with Venus) American women in the 4th Round, Bobby Reynolds' (You know him, right? Exactly.) loss today means that zero American men have reached the second week... at Wimbledon! Paris is one thing, London is another. This is a true embarrassment for American men's tennis.

...one #1 singles seed might have fallen today, but the other didn't. Roger Federer continued his under-the-radar (is that even possible for a five-time defending champ?) movement through the draw with a 6-3/6-3/6-1 win over Marc Gicquel. Meanwhile, the #2-seeded women's doubles team of Katarina Srebotnik & Ai Sugiyama were upset by Raquel Kops-Jones & Abigail Spears 2-6/6-3/11-9.

...Mario Ancic made his way past David Ferrer into the Round of 16. After kissing the grass following his successful big stage return from multiple battles with injuries and illness, he's one match away from possibly facing Federer in the QF. Ancic was the last person to defeat Federer on grass, in the 1st Round of Wimbledon in 2002, 62 straight Swiss Mister grass court victories ago. Federer's time flying under the radar may be about to end.

...sibling rivalry wears pretty well on Marat Safin.

...and, finally, Nicole Vaidisova actually deigned today's match against Casey Dellacqua worthy enough to show up for, so she advanced to the 4th Round. With AnaIvo's loss, she's one of the four young players with a golden opportunity to reach the semifinals. One semifinalist will come from the Vaidisova/Chakvetadze, Szavay/Zheng quarter. So some player who's recently gone through some tough times will finally get healthy very soon. If it's Zheng, it'll be a career highlight. But if it's one of the other three, this result could have huge repercussions as far as gaining some momentum for the second half of the season.




*2007's FINAL 16 at WIMBLEDON... still alive in 2008*
[4th Round - 6 of 16]
Jelena Jankovic (to play 3rd Rd.)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (in 4th Rd.)
Nadia Petrova (to play 3rd Rd.)
Nicole Vaidisova (in 4th Rd.)
Serena Williams (in 4th Rd.)
Venus Williams (to play 3rd Rd.)
(ABSENT: Bartoli, Granville, Hantuchova, Henin, Ivanovic, Krajicek, Mauresmo, Paszek, Schnyder, Sharapova)
[QF - 4 of 8]
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Nicole Vaidisova
Serena Williams
Venus Williams
(ABSENT: Bartoli, Henin, Ivanovic, Krajicek)
[SF - 1 of 4]
Venus Williams
(ABSENT: Bartoli, Henin, Ivanovic)
[Final - 1 of 2]
Venus Williams
(ABSENT: Bartoli)




TOP QUALIFIERS: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP & Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd.- Ivanovic d. Dechy 6-7/7-6/10-8 (down 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK (1st Rd.-lost to Zheng)
UPSET QUEENS: The Russians
REVELATION LADIES: The Russians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MISS OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS (lost 2nd Rd. to Kudryavtseva)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xxx
LAST BRITS STANDING: Anne Keothavong & Elena Baltacha, GBR (both to 2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STARS xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx



All for Day 5. More tomorrow.

Read more...

W.4- "Alla & Maria: A Tale of Unfinished Business"

What hath Marat Safin wrought?

Ever since the Russian knocked off #3 Men's seed Novak Djokovic on Day Three, seeds have been dropping like flies around one of those bug zapper things. Today, a grand total of twelve seeded men and women were sent packing... none of them bigger, nor defeated so thoroughly, as Maria Sharapova was by fellow Hordette Alla Kudryavtseva in just eighty-seven short minutes.


AP PHOTO/Anja Niedringhaus

When the Supernova is "on" in a slam (as she was in Melbourne in January), she's difficult to beat. When she's not (see Paris, and now London... and New York City in '07, for that matter), things can get mighty ugly.

Hey, Maria and Williams sisters have something in common they can talk about in the locker-room. Err, or not.

Anyway, today's loss was no odd puzzle to piece together ala the Ana "Touched by Borguese... but in a good way" Ivanovic match from yesterday, or even the one with Nicole "What's That Fuzzy Yellow Ball You've Got There?" Vaidisova. It was pretty clear cut. Sharapova was off from the start, as the same difficulties that made her serve so inconsistent in Paris were still in evidence. Meanwhile, Kudryavtseva was "on" like a house on fire... plus, she had something stuck in her craw from a year ago.

You see, in the 1st Round at Wimbledon in 2007, then 19-year old Kudryavtseva led Venus Williams 6-2/3-1 and came within two points of putting the eventual SW19 champion out of the tournament before it'd barely even begun. With nothing to lose, the latest Russian with the initials "A.K." left loose her groundstrokes against Sharapova -- and just about everything went in. The world #154 (and #22 Russian) easily took the 1st set 6-2, then sat back and waited to see if she'd find a way to do what she couldn't last year.

When Kudryavtseva double-faulted three times in the first game of the 2nd set things didn't exactly look promising, but Sharapova wasn't turning around her fortunes anytime soon, either. Up 2-1 she double-faulted (one of 8 DF's in the match) on break point. Two games later, Kudryavtseva broke again to go up 4-2.

Sharapova didn't go away, though. She broke back to close within 4-3, then got a replay turn-of-luck on what appeared to be a converted Kudryavtseva break point one game later. She asked for the replay out of seeming desperation on a Sharapova shot that looked to the naked eye as if it'd done anything but clip the baseline... but the Hawkeye replay said it did, and Sharapova went on to knot the score at 4-4 with a game-winning ace moments later.

Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, though, Sharapova found herself at deuce. One year later at Wimbledon, Kudryavtseva once again was just two points from eliminating a contender for the title. Would she be able to change her fortune? Yes, and Sharapova provided a nice helping hand.

She double-faulted to give Kudryavtseva a match point, then missed on her 1st serve. Unable to gain an early advantage with a 2nd serve, Sharapova fell prey to Kudryavtseva's better Day Four game -- and a crosscourt forehand to the corner bounced out of reach of Sharapova's racket to allow Kudryavtseva to wrestle away the biggest win of her career from the player many had possibly winning her second Wimbledon title nine days from now.

6-2/6-4. Short and sweet.

So I guess this means that Kudryavteva will go on to win this year's Wimbledon, considering every other women who has defeated Sharapova at SW19 since she won the title in '04 has gone on to do just that.

Yeah, probably not bloody likely.

Well, at least maybe Maria will offer a knowing smile and a hello to Alla the next time they walk past each other in the locker-room now. Err, or maybe not.



=DAY 4 NOTES=
Sharapova's loss was the worst of her career, as far as Kudryavtseva's ranking is concerned. It was her earliest slam exit since the 2003 U.S. Open when she was defeated in the 2nd Round by Emilie Loit. Sharapova was only 16 years old at the time.

Take away Sharapova's Melbourne brilliance from January and her recent slam results would look pretty dismal for a player with her credentials. 2nd Round here. 4th Round in Paris. 3rd Round at last year's U.S. Open, and 4th Round at Wimbledon. Hmmm, all of this has come after her destruction at the hands of Serena Williams in the '07 Australian Open final. Coincidence? Maybe. A crisis of confidence when things start to go wrong in a big match? Possibly. The loss of anything resembling an "aura" can have long-term effects. on both the Player and the Opponent. But, then again, so can a sometimes-bum shoulder and an off-and-on-again serve.

After losing just twice in her first twenty-nine matches in 2008, Sharapova has now lost twice in her last six. Not only that, but she's making stars of all the other young Russians. First it was Evgeniya Rodina and Dinara Safina (I know, she was a "star" already, but she didn't twinkle like she does now) in Paris, and now it's Kudryavtseva. All three ended up outlasting her at this Wimbledon.

...one player who DID escape being upset today was Venus Williams, though again she was pushed in the 1st set by a British player, Anne Keothavong. In the 1st Round, Venus had to win a tie-break against Naomi Cavaday, while today she won a 7-5 opener that included one service game that was a double-digit deucer that Williams presented on a silver platter to Keothavong, who simply refused to hit a good enough shot to win the game despite having a handful of break points. All of this is fine, though, as far as Williams in concerned. This is her typical Wimbledon slow start. Thankfully for her, she's playing these matches on Centre Court. If she was taking on a game British player on one of the more distraction-filled outer courts, as she did against Kudryavtseva in the 1st Round a year ago, she might not have escaped so cleanly. One wonders whether she might have been tripped up if she'd had to right her game against a crowd favorite from a set down. But that's the benefit of being a four-time and defending champ -- she doesn't have to play in the hinterlands.

...other than the Williams sisters, the only remaining American singles players are Bethanie Mattek and Bobby Reynolds. Lindsay Davenport pulled out of the tournament today with her injured knee, a move that will probably preserve her ability to actually compete at the Olympics and U.S. Open in August. Mattek, by the way, has now won 22 of her last 26 matches... and might be a doubles threat once again with Sania Mirza. Then there was Andy Roddick and James Blake, who were run out of a slam on a rail within hours of each other. Again. At this point, the disappointment is no longer a surprise.

...some quick Singles notes:

1) Was that the "old" Vera Zvonareva we saw a few times against the "old" Tamarine Tanasugarn? The racket-throwing, foot-stomping, self-admonishing Czarinette was supposed to have been left in the past. Hopefully, the hard courts will lock her away up in Zvonareva's attic once again.

2) C-Woz wiped out A-Woz 6-1/6-1 in the match during which you know every worldwide commentator made some sort of joke about the similarities of Wozniacki and Wozniak's names and how no one should hold it against him/her if they screwed up a few times in player identification.

3) Marina Erakovic's recent surge as she battled for and won an Olympic berth on the New Zealand team continued as she reached the 3rd Round. She's gone 14-2 in her last sixteen matches, most of them on grass.

4) Roddick conqueror Janko Tipsarevic shouldn't be a stranger -- he's the same Serb who pushed Roger Federer to a 10-8 5th set in Melbourne in January. Well, at least one of the Serbian men put up rather than being forced to shut up... for a few months, at least.

...Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, after erasing four match points against Sania Mirza today, became the third women's qualifier to reach the Final 32 (she'll face Venus next). The two Q-Queens joining her in the 3rd Round are Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova. The only remaining wild card is Zheng Jie. On the men's side, only German Simon Stadler remains from the qualifiers.

...and, finally, with the loss by Djokovic yesterday, one men's semifinalist will come from this group:

Marcos Baghdatis, Feliciano Lopez, Bobby Reynolds, Marat Safin, Andreas Seppi, Simon Stadler, Stanislas Wawrinka and Mischa Zverev

Not bad, as long as Baghdatis and Safin are around. But how about the semifinalist that'll come from THIS group thanks to Roddick's loss:

Marin Cilic, Arnaud Clement, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Jurgen Melzer, Rainer Schuettler, Janko Tipsarevic and Dmitry Tursunov

Of course, there are just as many past grand slam finalists in this group as in the other, but you'd probably win a few bets trying to get someone to remember when Clement and Schuettler reached slam finals.




=EARLY ROUND AWARDS - 1st/2nd Rds.=
TOP PLAYER: Serena Williams/USA
...pretty much all of the other top players have been stretched, or ousted. (RU: Jelena Jankovic/SRB... quietly)
RISERS: Dinara Safina/RUS & Casey Dellacqua/AUS
...if it happens at more than one slam it's no longer a fluke, it's a pattern. (ALSO: Agnieszka Radwanska/POL & Bethanie Mattek/USA)
SURPRISE: Alla Kudryavtseva/RUS
...she obviously had unfinished SW19 business -- and she could face Venus again... umm, if they both reach the SF. (ALSO: Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/ESP & Anabel Medina-Garrigues/ESP)
VETERANS: Venus Williams/USA & Nadia Petrova/RUS
...Venus is warming up, and Nadia is still here, which is all that matters in her case at this point. (ALSO: Ai Sugiyama/JPN))
FRESH FACES Evgeniya Rodina/RUS & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS
...the latest wave has ALREADY arrived. (ALSO: Marina Erakovic/NZL & Alisa Kleybanova/RUS)
DOWN: Maria Sharapova/RUS
...as goes the serve, so goes the Supernova. (ALSO: Lindsay Davenport's aching body/USA)
COMEBACK: Tamarine Tanasugarn/THA
...age means nothing on grass, at least in Tammy's case. (ALSO: Amelie Mauresmo/FRA... but Serena will be the real test)

MOST DRAMATIC/STRANGEST/POSSIBLY HISTORIC MATCH: 2nd Rd. - Ivanovic def. Dechy 6-7/7-6/10-8
...The Kiss of Life. The Net Cord. The Hat and The Gust (of wind). With every AnaIvo win, this one could becomes more and more historic. If she wins the tournament, some joker will probably produce a photo with what appears to be a ghostly image blowing that ball over onto Dechy's side of the net.

FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK (lost to Zheng Jie)
UPSET QUEENS: The Russians showed no mercy, even to their own kind (ask the two Maria's).
REVELATION LADIES: The Spaniards put up a fight, with two reaching the 3rd Round. As did the combined entry of Australia/New Zealand, as the Pacific neighbors can argue about the merits of survivors Casey Dellacqua and Marina Erakovic. But the Russians placed nine in the Final 32 (no other nation has more than three) -- and some of them are named Rodina, Pavlyuchenkova, Kleybanova and Kudryavtseva, but not Sharapova, Zvonareva or Kirilenko.
ZOMBIE QUEEN: It's hard to imagine anything can top Ana Ivanovic's deathbed resurrection, but the way things have been going the last few days, who knows?
CRASH & BURNER: Maria Sharapova's loss in NYC last year to A-Rad gave berth to this award last season... who'd have thought she'd become the first two-time winner so soon?
FASHION NEWSMAKERS: Serena's semi-trench coat, Maria's white tuxedo look... and Bethanie Mattek's newsworthy tennis (and Federer's cardigan, of course).
MARATHON WOMEN: Ana Ivanovic vs. Nathalie Dechy went 3:24, but Julia Goerges vs. Katarina Srebotnik (16-14 for the German in the 3rd) went 3:40 a round earlier. They're the second and third-longest women's matches in Wimbledon history.
LEAST DESERVING 3RD ROUND SURVIVOR?: Nicole Vaidisova

And, finally...

*IS A DINARA IMPERSONATION THE MOST SINCERE FORM OF FLATTERY?*
...after Dinara Safina survived multiple match points in two matches en route to the Roland Garros final, have the rest of the women decided to try to pull off the same feat? Quite a few are already half-way there. Amongst those in the running: Ana Ivanovic (2 MP vs. Dechy), Anna Chakvetadze (3 MP vs. Dubois), Anabel Medina-Garrigues (2 MP vs. Schiavone) and Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez (4 MP vs. Mirza).

Borguese is working overtime at this grand slam.




*WORST LOSSES IN SHARAPOVA'S CAREER
#154 ALLA KUDRYAVTSEVA [2008 WIMBLEDON]
#117 Martina Hingis [2006 Tokyo]
#113 Klara Koukalova (Zakopalova) [2003 Australian]
#111 Samantha Reeves [2003 Ind.Wells]
#103 Shinobu Asagoe [2003 Birmingham]

*WIMBLEDON "UPSET QUEENS"*
2004 - The British
2005 - The Americans
2006 - The British
2007 - The Austrians
2008 - The Russians

SLAM "CRASH & BURNS"*
2007 US - Maria Sharapova, RUS (3rd Rd.)
2008 AO - Svetlana Kuznetsova, RUS (3rd Rd.)
2008 RG - Serena Williams, USA (3rd Rd.)
2008 WI - Maria Sharapova, RUS (2nd Rd.)

*LAST HOME NATION PLAYERS STANDING*
2008 AO - Casey Dellacqua, AUS (4th Rd.)
2008 RG - Alize Cornet & Emilie Loit, FRA (3rd Rd.)
2008 WI - Anne Keothavong & Elena Baltacha, GBR (2nd Rd.)

*SLAM "REVELATION LADIES"*
=2006=
AO - Italians
RG - French
WI - Serbians
US - Russians
=2007=
AO - Belarusans
RG - Italians
WI - French
US - Ukrainians
=2008=
AO - Poles
RG - Czechs
WI - Russians

*FINAL 32 BY NATION*
9...Russia -#
3...United States (Mattek, Williams, Williams)
2...China (Peng, Zheng)
2...Czech Republic (Vaidisova, Z.-Strycova)
2...France (Bartoli, Mauresmo)
2...Serbia (Ivanovic, Jankovic)
2...Spain (MJMS, AMG)
1...Argentina (Dulko)
1...Australia (Dellacqua)
1...Belarus (Azarenka)
1...Denmark (Wozniacki)
1...Hungary (Szavay)
1...Israel (Peer)
1...Japan (Sugiyama)
1...New Zealand (Erakovic)
1...Poland (A.Radwanska)
1...Thailand (Tanasugarn)
--
#- RUSSIANS: Chakvetadze, Dementieva, Kleybanova, Kudryavtseva, Kuznetsova, Pavlyuchenkova, Petrova, Rodina, Safina




TOP QUALIFIERS: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP & Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 2nd Rd.- Ivanovic d. Dechy 6-7/7-6/10-8 (down 2 MP)
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Dominika Cibulkova/SVK (1st Rd.-lost to Zheng)
UPSET QUEENS: The Russians
REVELATION LADIES: The Russians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MISS OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Maria Sharapova/RUS (lost 2nd Rd. to Kudryavtseva)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Ana Ivanovic/SRB (2 MP down vs. Dechy in 2nd Rd.)
LAST BRITS STANDING: Anne Keothavong & Elena Baltacha, GBR (both to 2nd Rd.)
DOUBLES STARS xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx



All for Day 4. More tomorrow.

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W.3- The Kiss of Life

It was almost a VERY bad day for Serbian tennis... but not quite.



After setting himself up for a big fall with the public outing of his opinion that Roger Federer might be ripe for upsetting at this year's Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic found himself on the receiving end of a thrashing by two-time grand slam champion and former #1 Marat Safin on Day Three. Safin hasn't reached a slam QF since winning the 2005 Australian Open, and hadn't put together back-to-back wins this season before today. But with his trademark sad-sackiness and Russian grumbles safely tucked away for at least one twenty-four hour period, he once again reminded everyone of the scary talent that exists within in... sometimes, way way down deep inside.

This was supposed to be a "put up or shut up" Wimbledon for Djokovic. As it turned out, he left by double-faulting on Safin's fourth match point.

One would think that the 2nd Round upset of the #3 men's seed on Centre Court by the most wonderful, horrible enigma in tennis would be the biggest story of the day, but it wasn't. Instead, Day Three's wildest drama -- also involving a Serb -- was taking place literally around the corner on the grounds of the All-England Club as Ana Ivanovic danced on the head of a pin on Court 1... and somehow managed to survive, with a little help.

In her first slam as the #1 seed, AnaIvo has some quiet pressure on her at this event, even as most of the talk has centered around the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova as potential champions. Faced with a very game veteran 2nd Round opponent today in 29-year old Nathalie Dechy, the Roland Garros champ had to scrape and claw her way to a victory.

Serving at 5-3 in the 1st set, Ivanovic was broken, then continued her sudden slump into a tie-break where she immediately fell behind 4-0. She soon found herself a set down, and the prospect of a dual Serbian shocker was wafting over the grounds. With Dechy serving with great accuracy, Ivanovic's back was against the wall as she served at 4-5 to stay in the match. Four points into the game, Dechy had two match points fall into her lap. She couldn't convert the first, but looked to be about to get the go-ahead to celebrate when Ivanovic approached the ball for a mid-court forehand.

And then it happened.

Ivanovic's shot headed right for the top of the net. The thud of the Slazenger whacking against the tape was apparent, and the collective Serbian tennis heart began to fall... then the ball hit the net cord just right, and dribbled over the net, landing a few inches onto Dechy's side of the court. Even Ivanovic couldn't believe her "luck," burying her face in her pulled-down visor as she calmed her heartbeat and realized she wasn't out of the tournament, after all. AnaIvo ended up holding serve for 5-5, and went on to win a 2nd set tie-break.

In the 3rd set, Ivanovic again danced with the devil in the pale moonlight. She served up 4-2, and appeared to be cruising to victory, then was broken. She served at 5-3, and was broken again. At 5-5, 15/15 Dechy hit a volley winner... only to have the point replayed because the windy conditions that persisted throughout the match had begun to blow Dechy's hat off her head as she was hitting the ball. The ball was already out of AnaIvo's reach by the time the hat had hit the ground, but by rule the point was awarded to no one.

Something, or someone, just didn't want Dechy to win this match today.

Ivanovic won the erased point when a bad bounce off the baseline sent a shot off Dechy's racket frame, and she held for 6-5. Dechy saved two match points in the next game, and even served an ace to knot the score at 6-6. But it didn't matter. The tennis Gods had already made their decision... Ivanovic went on to win 6-7/7-6/10-8.

After her escape, Ivanovic kissed the net... which may have just changed the course of this tournament.



=DAY 3 NOTES=
I sense the work of the tennis God Borguese at work in that match. He enjoys drama at Wimbledon, and much was produced with just a net cord and a little wind on Day Three. I'd suggest AnaIvo might want to save an evening for a night on the town with him... I hear he enjoys a nice steak dinner.

,,,the Ivanovic/Dechy match lasted 3:24. That makes it third-longest women's match ever played at Wimbledon (after the 1995 2nd Round contest between Chanda Rubin and Patricia Hy-Boulais, which went 3:45, and the 3:40 Julia Goerges/Katarina Srebotnik 1st Rounder from earler this week).

...the odds finally caught up with #20-seed Francesca Schiavone on her third straight day of tennis. After struggling to get by Tamira Paszek over two days in the 1st Round (10-8 in the 3rd set), she found herself in another slip-slider with Anabel Medina-Garrigues. The Italian served for the match at 5-4 in the 2nd set, then again at 5-4 in the 3rd (she held two match points). But AMG, in a rare moment of grand slam triumph, never gave up and came back to win 3-6/7-5/9-7.

...if only Nicole Vaidisova could say the same thing. The Czech managed to advance past Samantha Stosur in their 2nd Round match, but she really didn't deserve the honor. After taking the 1st set, she essentially decided to semi-tank the 2nd set and very nearly the match. With Vaidisova either distracted, disinterested or thinking about where she was going to go out for dinner tonight, she lost nine straight games. If you've seen any of her interviews in various tennis magazines, you've probably read about her voracious appetite for books, and possibly even taken in a few of her "book reports" about one of her recently completed tomes. Well, just as Jim Courier oddly did a few times near the end of his career, I almost half-expected Vaidisova to pull a copy of her latest bookstore find from her tennis bag and mow through a chapter or two during the changeovers -- that's about how much she seemed to be into the task at hand. In the 3rd, Stosur had a point for 4-0 and was about to see the semi-tank become a full one (even at the current level of gas prices!). But that's when Stosur offered Vaidisova a lifeline.

With the Czech ready to concede, it was the Aussie who cracked. Nerves. Forehand errors. Double-faults. A combination of all three. No matter how you look at it, Stosur is going to hate herself in the morning. With her hands firmly on the life preserver Stosur provided, Vaidisova began popping winners from the sorts of angles she's capable of winning points from when her head is in the game. After losing nine straight games, she won six in a row herself. She ended up winning 6-3/0-6/6-3 in a Houdini act unworthy of a master. The British announcer on ESPN Interactive's coverage said, "Don't ask me how Nicole Vaidisova won that match, because I don't know."

Precisely. She faces Casey Dellacqua next, so maybe her "luck" will run out. After that display, she really doesn't deserve to reach the Round of 16.

...Amelie Mauresmo is still alive and kickin', too. Not too wildly, I'd hope, what with her quad injury and all. She advanced in three sets over veteran Virginia Ruano-Pascual in a rare matchup of two players with one-handed backhands, yet another thing lost when Justine Henin retired. There IS one young rising player who uses the shot, though -- 19-year old Carla Suarez-Navarro, who's made a huge leap in '08 and faces Jelena Jankovic in the 2nd Round... on Court 2. You know, the graveyard must be getting mighty hungry right about now. I'm just sayin'.

...two of the three qualifiers that won 1st Round matches advanced to the 3rd Round today -- Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Li Na 6-2/6-4 and appears to be pretty close to "getting" how to win on the WTA tour at just age 16, and Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova, who made it past Alona Bondarenko when the Ukrainian retired in the 2nd set with an injured knee. The other surviving qualifier, Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez, plays tomorrow.

...not only did Alona Bondarenko lose, but her sister Kateryna was pretty much run over by Svetlana Kuznetsova on Centre Court today, 6-2/6-3, too. Urszula Radwanska lost to Serena by a close 6-4/6-4 score, while sister Agnieszka knocked out fellow Pole Marta Domachowska 6-1/6-3. With Venus left to play in the 2nd Round, the combined Sisters Act is now 8-3.

...make way for yet another wave of Hordettes. Not only did Pavlyuchenkova advance to the 3rd Round, but so did Evgeniya Rodina with a win over countrywoman Elena Vesnina.

...there were a few interesting doubles results on Day Three. Castano/Kanepi defeated Peng/Sun 2-6/6-4/9-7 (thankfully for them, Beijing won't be played on a grass court), Benesova/Husarova knocked off Erakovic/Krajicek 6-0/6-2 (hmmm, I wonder if Michaella was still upset about yesterday?) and Amanmuradova/Kustova upset #4-seeded Chan/Chuang 4-6/7-6/6-4.

...after his absence from Paris for the Roland Garros final, I wonder if Dinara was watching Marat's big match today?

...I've received word from the Goddess Evertienne that She'd like to offer early congratulations to Her namesake, Chris Evert, for her announced wedding this coming weekend to former golf star Greg Norman.

...and, finally, I got a chance to catch a bit of Bethanie Mattek's match against Vera Dushevina today on ESPN's extra court coverage on Dish Network. I must say, I was a bit disappointed. Oh, she won the match to officially become the "other American" in the 3rd Round, but it was the way she was dressed that was striking. Her outfit was, wonders never cease, quite staid... even, gulp, boring. Even with the rather short skirt was was wearing. Maybe they don't make all-white leopard print outfits? She could have at least worn a belt of something to jazz things up, right? I mean, she needs to do something worthy of talking abou- ... oh, wait. I AM talking about her anyway, aren't I? I guess winning is newsworthy, too, huh? Good for her.




*SLAM "ZOMBIE QUEENS"*
2007 Wi - Venus Williams, USA
2008 AO - Jelena Jankovic, SRB
2008 RG - Dinara Safina, RUS
2008 Wimbledon Nominees - (so far) - Anna Chakvetadze, RUS & Ana Ivanovic, SRB




TOP QUALIFIERS: Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez/ESP & Eva Hrdinova/CZE
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): xxx
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST SEED OUT: #30 Dominika Cibulkova (1st Rd.-lost to Zheng)
UPSET QUEENS: xxx
REVELATION LADIES: xxx
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: xxx
IT GIRL: xxx
MISS OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: xxx
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Ana Ivanovic/SRB (2 MP down vs. Dechy in 2nd Rd.)
LAST BRIT STANDING: xxx
DOUBLES STARS xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx



All for Day 3. More tomorrow.

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