W.9- The Day the Earth Stood Still

Was a page in Wimbledon history finally turned today? If so, it was one great chapter.

Following his quarterfinal loss today to Czech Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer mentioned that he's been battling some back and leg injuries lately, but how much they contributed to his first lost before the finals at SW19 since 2002 is debatable. After all, the natural progression of time is unrelenting, and it brings even the greatest of tennis champions down to earth eventually if they choose to not walk away long before their skills begin to even slightly fray.

The last two years, Federer's grass game and Centre Court dominance have been challenged. In "The Greatest Match Ever Played" against Rafael Nadal in the 2008 final, he lost. Last year, he barely survived the longest men's final ever against Andy Roddick. Before this year's Wimbledon, he lost in Halle. Then he had to come back from a two-set deficit in the 1st Round at the All-England Club. You could sort of see his 6-4/3-6/6-1/6-4 loss today coming... even if you haven't seen Federer play in years. The day was going to come when even Wimbledon wasn't always going to be a safe haven for him, and that day appears to have finally arrived.

His earliest loss at Wimbledon since 2002 ends his string of seven consecutive appearances in the Gentlemen's Championship final, and next week he will fall outside the Top 2 in the rankings for the first time since November 2003. That one week at #1 that he needs to match Pete Sampras' all-time career mark of 286 is looking more and more distant away every minute, and it could be that it will forever remain tantalizingly close, the only major record that Federer fails to equal or succeed in his Hall of Fame career.

Thus, a month from his 29th birthday, Federer now likely "officially" enters the "end phase" of his incredible tennis lifetime, during which he'll remain a legendary figure, though only rarely flash anything resembling the dominance that he used to sport so casually and consistently. Of course, that doesn't mean that he won't add to his record sixteen career slam singles titles. He probably will. Will he be able to push the current number of sixteen to a point where he becomes the first man to win twenty? A couple of years ago, it seemed likely. Now? It would be a shock, considering only a handful of men have ever won a slam after turning 30. After twenty-three consecutive slam semifinal appearances, he's now lost in back-to-back quarterfinals. Still impressive, but the results should be expected to continue to come up shorter and shorter as Federer's game remains where it is or lessens, while the pack of new young stars catch and pass him on the ATP tour.

Nothing lasts forever, but Federer was so great he almost tricked us into believing that he might beat the odds. But even King Roger isn't immune to reality.

The Federer Era at Wimbledon was great. But it's over. Even if we get another glimpse of his greatness in London or elsewhere down the line, in the back of our minds we'll be whispering to ourselves that it might be last time we ever truly see him in that form. Which wouldn't be SO bad. I mean, that would at least ensure that we'll sit up and take full notice, making sure we appreciate the moment. Who knows, maybe Federer can even pull a Connors-esque slam run out of his tennis bag WAY down the line. Think of it... a 39-year old Federer in the Wimbledon semifinals in 2021! Wow, now THAT would be something.

Either way, one gets the sense that even while he can no longer automatically be expected to challenge for EVERY slam title EVERY season, Federer's probably still got a few surprises in store for us before he bids adieu.



=DAY 9 NOTES=
...it wasn't a good day to be a #1 seed at Wimbledon, even if your name wasn't Federer.

First off, the biggest upset of the day -- and maybe the entire grand slam season -- came in Women's Doubles, as the top-seeded Williams Sisters shockingly fell in their QF match against Elena Vesnina & Vera Zvonareva, who won 3-6/6-3/6-4. Venus & Serena had a 32-1 career SW19 record as a team, came into the match with a 32-set winning streak at the All-England Club, and hadn't lost at all since Roland Garros last year. Maybe Venus can get the contact number of someone who can find her a good price on one of those time machines she was talking about yesterday? I know a certain Swiss Mister who might be willing to go half-sies on the purchase.

So, first it was #1's Federer and Williams/Williams. But that wasn't the end of the upsets. #1 Boys seed Jason Kubler (AUS) lost to Brit Oliver Golding in the QF, too. Then #1-seeded Mixed Doubles team Sam Stosur (disappointing on the grassyet again) and Nenad Zimonjic were taken out by Belgians Kim Clijsters and Xavier Malisse in the Round of 16.

Oh, and with #1 Men's Doubles team Nestor/Zimonjic already out of the tournament, #2-seeded Bob & Mike Bryan were the surviving favorites there. No longer, as they lost today to #7 Wesley Moodie/Dick Norman in the QF (the South African/Belgian duo is now the highest-seeded team remaining in the draw).

...the Andy Murray/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga match seemed to turn on one point today. Or maybe I should say, one swing that wasn't taken. Serving up a set in the 2nd set tie-break, Tsonga was just two points from taking a two sets to none lead. On his first service point, he hestitated in following his serve to the net, then belatedly decided to do so. Murray's return floated down the middle of the court, and Tsonga could have taken it out of the air and put away an expected winner that would have given him two set points. Instead, he let it go. It landed just inside the baseline. Murray got the next point, too, then served out the tie-break to knot the match about ninety seconds after Tsonga's non-shot. The Scot then took over the match as Tsonga faded down the stretch.

Thus, Murray stands just one win over Rafael Nadal in the SF away from possibly bringing Queen Elizabeth back to Centre Court for a chance to be present when Murray attempts to become the first British man to win a grand slam since 1932.

...with Berdych advancing to the men's semifinals (his second consecutive slam semi), he joins fellow Czech Kvitova in the final four. It's the first time since 1986 that a Czech man and woman have both reached the Wimbledon semis in the same year. That year, Ivan Lendl and Hana Mandlikova reached the semifinals, and were joined by Czech-born Martina Navratilova.

...in juniors, #1-seed conqueror Grace Min lost to Yulia Putintseva, who's joined in the final eight by a fellow Hordette, #2-seed Irina Khromacheva. Meanwhile, surprise RG Girls finalist Ons Jabeur, the #12 seed this time around, is still alive at SW19, as well. She took out #5-seed Monica Puig today. #10 Sachie Ishizu of Japan, who's been very active on the ITF challenger circuit in recent months (winning three, compared to two for the other final seven girls combined), also reached the quarterfinals.

Maybe this Czech resurgence will be good news for a Pliskova sister, too. Kristyna defeated Brit Eleanor Dean 6-0/6-2 today to reach the Girls QF. She'll next face Sloane Stephens, who defeated #3-seeded Timea Babos.

Of course, Dean aside, a case could be made that the Brits are still shining as brightly as the Czechs at this Wimbledon (and after the women went 0-6 in the 1st Round, too). In addition to Murray, Golding knocked off the Boys #1 seed today. And in the Girls singles, either Laura Robson (def. An-Sophie Mestach) or fellow junior wild card Tara Moore will reach the semis, as they play each other in the quarters.

...and, finally, yesterday I questioned whether or not ESPN2 would have even shown any of the best of the women's quarterfinals, Petra Kvitova over Kaia Kanepi, had the network been on the air when it was taking place live. I think the answer probably could have been read in between the lines of the discussion during today's opening segment. After Kvitova saved five match points and dug her way out of a 4-0 3rd set hole, the best and most dramatic match of the women's tournament so far was described one way, and only one way, when Darren Cahill noted in passing that Kvitova had "struggled to get through her match." Technically, I suppose that's a true statement. But, then again, you could describe the Isner/Mahut marathon "correctly" by saying that the American "struggled to get through his match" against the Frenchman, though it would hardly be a complete and/or fully accurate description of what took place. At least Cahill said SOMETHING, though. Not even a single highlight was shown of the match during the segment.

On a brighter note, Cahill's piece about the disappearance of serve-and-volley tennis at Wimbledon in the men's game was an eye-opener. Best stat: during Federer's 2001 win over Pete Sampras, 254 points were serve-and-volley ones. Last year, in the longest men's final ever played in this event between Federer and Roddick, on only eleven points were serve-and-volley tactics employed.

Yep, things change. Just ask Roger.



*CZECHS IN THE WIMBLEDON SF*
1972 Jan Kodes
1973 Jan Kodes
1976 Martina Navratilova
1978 Martina Navratiova
1979 Martina Navratilova
1980 Martina Navratilova
1981 Hana Mandlikova, Martina Navratilova
1983 Ivan Lendl
1984 Ivan Lendl, Hana Mandlikova
1986 Ivan Lendl, Hana Mandlikova
1987 Ivan Lendl
1988 Ivan Lendl, Miloslav Mecir
1989 Ivan Lendl
1990 Ivan Lendl
1993 Jana Novotna
1995 Jana Novotna
1997 Jana Novotna
1998 Jana Novotna
2010 Tomas Berdych, Petra Kvitova
[Czech-born American citizen, after 9/81]
1982 Martina Navratilova
1983 Martina Navratilova
1984 Martina Navratilova
1985 Martina Navratilova
1986 Martina Navratilova
1987 Martina Navratilova
1988 Martina Navratilova
1989 Martina Navratilova
1990 Martina Navratilova
1992 Martina Navratilova
1993 Martina Navratilova
1994 Martina Navratilova
[born in then-Czechoslovakia, now Slovak Republic]
1997 Martina Hingis
1998 Martina Hingis

*ATP - 2010 SLAM SF*
2...RAFAEL NADAL, ESP (1-0)
2...ANDY MURRAY, GBR (1-0)
2...TOMAS BERDYCH, CZE (0-1)
1...Roger Federer, SUI (1-0)
1...Robin Soderling, SWE (1-0)
1...NOVAK DJOKOVIC, SRB (0-0)
1...Marin Cilic, CRO (0-1)
1...Jurgen Melzer, AUT (0-1)
1...Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, FRA (0-1)



*WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. Petra Kvitova/CZE
#21 Vera Zvonareva/RUS vs. Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL

*MEN'S SINGLES SF*
#12 Tomas Berdych/CZE vs .#3 Novak Djokovic/SRB
#4 Andy Murray/GBR vs. #2 Rafael Nadal/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#12 Vesnina/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS) vs.
#4 Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) or Goerges/Szavay (GER/HUN)
King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ) vs. #7 Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) or #2 Huber/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)

*MEN'S DOUBLES SF*
#14 Benneteau/Llodra (FRA/FRA) vs. #16 Lindstedt/Tecau (SWE/ROU)
Melzer/Petzschner (AUT/GER) vs. #7 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL)

*MIXED DOUBLES QF*
Clijsters/Malisse (BEL/BEL) vs. #10 Stubbs/Melo (AUS/BRA)
Shvedova/Knowle (KAZ/AUT) vs. #11 Raymond/Moodie (USA/RSA)
#9 Benesova/Dlouhy (CZE/CZE) vs. Dushevina/Tursunov (RUS/RUS)
#12 Chan/Hanley (TPE/AUS) vs. #2 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND)

*GIRLS SINGLES QF*
#15 Yulia Putintseva/RUS vs. #12 Ons Jabeur/TUN
Sloane Stephens/USA vs. #9 Kristyna Pliskova/CZE
#8/WC Laura Robson/GBR vs. (WC) Tara Moore/GBR
#10 Sachie Ishizu/JPN vs. #2 Irina Khromacheva/RUS

*BOYS SINGLES QF*
Oliver Golding/GBR vs. #9 Renzo Olivo/ARG
(Q) Benjamin Mitchell/AUS vs. #6 Damir Dzumhur/BIH
#7 Denis Kudla/USA vs. Facundo Arguello/ARG
#8 James Duckworth/AUS vs. #13 Marton Fucsovics/HUN




TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Kaia Kanepi/EST
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #1 Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Junri Namigata/JPN def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-2/4-6/14-12
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #24 Daniela Hantuchova/SVK def. Vania King/USA 6-7/7-6/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): QF - Petra Kvitova/CZE def. (Q)Kaia Kanepi/EST 4-6/7-6/8-6
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST WINNER: Chan Yung-Jan/TPE (def. Patty Schnyder/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Francesca Schiavone (1st Rd. - lost to Vera Dushevina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Romanians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Kaia Kanepi/EST (to QF)
IT GIRL: Petra Kvitova/CZE
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
COMEBACK PLAYER: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
CRASH & BURN: Francesca Schiavone/ITA & Samantha Stosur/AUS (RG finalists, both lost in 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Petra Kvitova/CZE (down 5 MP, and 0-4 in 3rd, to Kaia Kanepi/EST in QF; won 8-6)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson/GBR (last of six to lose in 1st Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx




All for Day 9. More tomorrow.

Read more...

W.8- The Fruits of Their Frustrations

Frustration can make success so much more sweet. That being the case, the All-England Club was a virtual box of chocolates on Day 8.

In 2009, Vera Zvonareva reached the Australian Open semifinals and climbed into the Top 5. Come the spring, she was looking like a slam contender. But a nasty ankle injury in Charleston has set her back for more than a year. Tsvetana Pironkova has shown an ability in her career to be able to pull a nice upset here and there, but her ranking has hovered around #100 for a few seasons as she's rarely been able to string more than a couple of wins together. A year ago, Petra Kvitova was placed in the position of needing to win one match while playing for her country to send the Czech Republic into its first Fed Cup final since the existence of Czechoslovakia in 1988. She barely showed up that day, and Team U.S.A. ended the Czechs' FC dreams. And then there's Serena. Well, she hasn't had TOO much frustration during her career... but it doesn't take much to set her laser-like focus on a big title. Usually all it takes is losing out on the chance to lift a title that she felt like she could win. What happened to her in Paris was enough to provide Williams with the fuel to get to London without ever having to stop at a gas station.

All of that frustation led to the snacking on the fruits of success in the Wimbledon quarterfinals:

Tsvetana Pironkova def. Venus Williams 6-2/6-3
...Venus did not play a good match today. Nothing really was working. But Pironkova bears a great deal of the responsibility for that. Her gameplan was designed to thwart Williams' rhythm by offering up little of the pace of shot off of which Venus' game thrives. Making Williams hit more shots in a point has always been a time-honored tactic, and with Pironkova's shots placing the American in awkward positions it became a brilliant manuever. TZ's consistenty-employed slice forehand was a thing of beauty, and Williams never really figured out how to deal with it. Throw in Pironkova's well-timed moments of aggression when she'd thwack a hard shot that, while rarely a winner, served to put her in control of that particular point, and you had a performance that the Bulgarian should be proud of... maybe even more so than her 1st Round upset of Williams at the Australian Open in 2006 when she was just a teenager. Venus failed to convert two break points at 2-2 in the 1st set, and never really got back into the match. After Williams had led 40/15, Pironkova broke for 4-2. The big point was the Bulgarian's get of a Venus overhead, which Williams got back with a volley, only to see Pironkova's own volley clang off Venus' racket to claim the point. The Bulgarian had just one unforced error in the 1st set. For the match, she had just six versus Williams' twenty-nine. Both had three aces. The scoreline was Venus' worst ever at Wimbledon, while the player that Pam Shriver said yesterday only had one match in her entire career that was worth anything now can say that she has TWO.

Vera Zvonareva def. Kim Clijsters 3-6/6-4/6-2
...ESPN2 commentators said that after the score of the Venus/Pironkova match was shown on the scoreboard during this match, a murmur went through the crowd. And Clijsters noticably tightened up. And, thus, the "old" Kim made her return appearance, and it's not the first time we've seen her since Barbie won the U.S. Open last September, either. She had one final chance to turn things around, as Zvonareva, serving up a break at 4-1, fell behind 15/30. But the Russian held, closing out the game with an ace for 5-2. You just know you're in a bad way when YOU unravel, while Zvonareva, the most combustible player on the WTA tour, is a steady presence on the court. No matter what storyline for Day 8 might sound better if this match were to be portrayed as "a champion vs. a nobody," that surely wasn't the case here. VZ didn't just drop in from Neptune. Clijsters was the favorite, but Zvonareva has had untapped potential for so long it's sometimes easy to forget how good she can be. She seemed to have finally corralled both her head, emotions and game into a potent force in the early months of '09, only to have that Charleston injury blow it all apart. If she's finally healthy again now and for the foreseeable future, maybe this late-blooming Hordette can still carve out her own niche in the Russian tennis landscape. Thing is, now she's going to have to face the aspect that so often has felled a few of her countrywomen at this stage -- expectation. She'll be expected to win in the SF against Pironkova, perhaps opening the door for all sorts of bad things and broken equipment if the Bulgarian starts to frustrate her like she did Venus. Hopefully, she'll hold it together and the semifinal that ESPN2 thinks that nobody wants to see might be the one everyone remembers when its over.

Petra Kvitova def. Kaia Kanepi 4-6/7-6/8-6
...the underrated match-up of the day. I wonder if ESPN2 would have even showed any of if it'd taken place during its coverage block, but luckily NBC was on the air. Did I just say that? (Seriously, though, the peacock network have put together pretty good coverage in Paris and London this year.) My best memory of Kvitova is of her barely showing up in a Fed Cup match against Alexa Glatch last season when the CZE/USA tie was on the line (winning just three games), but there was no evidence of that player here. Kvitova is only 20, so she's young enough to have learned from that '09 frustration and be better equipped to avoid it now. As it turned out, it was Kanepi who'll live to regret what happened on Day 8. The Estonian had two match points in the 2nd set tie-break, but Kvitova won it 10-8. In the 3rd, Kanepi was up two breaks at 4-0 and had yet to have her serve broken in the match. Guess what happened. Yep, Kvitova finally got a break for 4-1, and it changed everything. Kanepi served for the match at 5-3, but was broken again. After a pair of non-consecutive Kvitova double-faults gave Kanepi match points at 6-5, the Czech stayed alive by saving both (the first after her 2nd serve had skidded off the net cord and landed just inside the service box, barely staying her SW19 tennis execution), the last with a good lefty serve that carried the Estonian off the court. In the next game, after a Rafa-esque defensive point that saw Kvitova cover nearly every corner of the court before putting away a half volley for a winner to get a break point, she broke yet again to go up 7-6. The Czech held at love to win the deciding set 8-6, having saved five match points in all to become the first Czech woman in the Wimbledon SF since Jana Novotna won the title in 1998. That sound you hear is coming from the Wimbledon bone yard -- the zombies are hailing the ascension of their latest queen to her throne. Musty fists of salute to Petra!

Serena Williams def. Li Na 7-5/6-3
...Serena wasn't immune to the Frustration Scenario that permeated Day 8, either. She might be the defending champion at this tournament but, remember, she actually had a real chance to claim a true Grand Slam in 2010. Well, at least she did until she lost to Sam Stosur in Paris after holding a match point in the QF. It's never good to bet against Serena when she was so recently denied something she wanted, namely her first RG title since 2002. Williams edged past Li 7-6/7-6 in the Australian Open SF en route to winning THAT title in January, and this one was nip-and-tuck for a while, as well. Williams failed to convert two break points at 2-2 in the opening set, but came back from love/40 at 5-5 on Li's serve in Game #6. She got the break, and eventually won eight of the final eleven games of the match.

So, just like everyone expected: Serena reaches the semis, along with the world's #21, #62 and #82. Who knew that Roland Garros was going to be the SANE slam?



=DAY 8 NOTES=
...one's tempted to say that, with twelve-time slam champ Serena in the Wimbledon semifinals with three other women who've never reached a slam singles final, that Williams' lucky #13 trophy could be on the way. But that's for Pam Shriver to do, I suppose.

Or maybe NOT do.

After she discounted Pironkova's chances so soon after denigrating Yanina Wickmayer at the U.S. Open last year, only to see both become first-time slam semifinalists soon afterward, I think come the Open this year players are going to be lining up asking Pam to discount their chances. Hmmm, maybe she could make up with James Blake by saying that he should go ahead and retire and get it over with?

...with two unseeded players in Kvitova and Pironkova reaching the semifinals, this is the second slam this season (Henin & Zheng in Oz) that has seen mutliple unseeded women reach the final four. The last time that happened was 1971.

...Day 8 was a virtual awards-a-palooza launch pad, as nearly every Wimbledon honor was claimed. Pironkova grabbed "Ms. Opportunity," Kvitova caused the bone yard to quake at the crowning of the latest "Zombie Queen" (wearing an "It Girl" tiara, to boot), and Zvonareva seized the "Comeback Player" award. Ah, an embarrassment of riches.

The "Junior Breakout" and "Doubles Star" appointees remain.

...with no men's singles matches to air, ESPN2 showed some of the Legends Doubles action featuring the Spice Women team of Martina Hingis & Anna Kournikova. For a few moments, it was almost hard to recognize Hingis from afar with her hair longer than I remember it ever being during her two previous careers. She looked incredibly fit, and more than ready for her upcoming WTT stint... and maybe eventual return to the WTA tour (at least in doubles) after that. She's still only 29, the same age as Serena, and younger than either Francesca Schiavone or Venus.

...well, the hammer came down on a Pliskova sister today, as #4-seeded Karolina was upset by Uzbeki girl Nigina Abduraimova in the 2nd Round of junior play, 6-2/4-6/6-3. Also, Sloane Stephens took out #16-seeded Daria Gavrilova, Laura Robson defeated Krista Hardebeck, Czech Denisa Allertova advanced past #6 Nastja Kolar, and #11 An-Sophie Mestach defeated Ana Bogdan. Meanwhile, British wild card Eleanor Dean defeated Hordette Ksenia Kirillova to reach the 3rd Round.

...if for no other reason, it's nice that Clijsters is gone from this tournament just because it means we won't have to hear Pam Shriver go on and on yet again about "a mom winning a grand slam." She was trying to push that storyline YET AGAIN this morning. It wasn't that big of a deal in New York, and it wouldn't have been here if the Belgian had done at Wimbledon what was last done by Evonne Goolagong in 1980, either. If that wasn't the most overblown sports story of '09, I don't know what was. Winning a slam after a handful of tournaments back was impressive, but many female athletes before KC have had children and come back to play their chosen sports at a high level (in track, to name one sport, it's common, as it is in basketball). The only reason that it hadn't happened in tennis for so long was because most top players, which Clijsters was when she retired, used to wait until after they'd left the game somewhere around age 30 before having kids, while Clijsters did it at a young age. Does anyone really believe that someone like Steffi Graf couldn't have come back after having a child to win a slam if she'd walked away from the sport at the same age that Clijsters did? It's just a "novelty stat."

...the story of Jennifer Capriati being rushed to the hospital due to an accidental overdose of prescribed medication is sure to dredge up a whole lot of long ago troubles in her life that are better left in the past, especially since there seems to be nothing here that would indicate anything untoward. But when it comes to recapping her tennis career, I'd expect USA Today to be capable of recounting how her career unfortunately ended not long after her three slam-winning comeback in 2000-01. Again, I ask too much. The mention in the print edition of the newspaper today concluded with the line, "She (Capriati) failed to gain any momentum from that (three-slam winning) run and soon faded from the game again." Hmmm, I guess the shoulder injury she incurred, not to mention the multiple surgeries she underwent in an attempt to find a way to be physically able to return to the sport was just a figment of my imagination.

...and, finally, I've never quite understood who died and made Jimmy Roberts the king of commentary on NBC. A few years ago, after he'd been installed in the role similarly played for ages by veteran announcer Jack Whitaker on ABC's sports broadcasts, I remarked that Roberts seemed a paper-thin addition with hardly the history, reputation or ability to be considered a "sage" of sports who deserved the role of wrapping up a day's events in a nice little, thought-provoking ball. To fill that role, a commentator has to have some dramatic weight, either in delivery or in their association with great televised events though the years. The Keebler Elf-voiced Roberts (I couldn't name any big event he's ever been associated with in his broadcasting career) has neither attribute. After a few years of seeing him forced upon NBC Sports audiences (during grand slams, as well as horse racing Triple Crown events), my opinion hasn't changed. And when today, while attempting to highlight the legitimate unpredictability of Day 8's results, he tried to cast the Clijsters/Zvonareva match as an "apparent mismatch" it led me to scold myself for even taking the time to listen to him in the first place. Clijsters was the favorite, but not in any overwhelming sense whatsoever. She's never reached a Wimbledon final, after all Plus, Zvonareva was in the Top 5 a little over a year ago, and a slam semifinalist at the Australian Open last season. Because the Russian isn't as well known as Clijsters than it MUST have been a mismatch, right? I mean, otherwise, Roberts would have had to abandon his mini-commentary theme and think of a more appropriate one. The words of a sports "sage" is supposed to be something approaching, nod-your-head-in-agreement gospel. Roberts always make me only cringe, and curl my lip in that "Elvis way."

Click.

It's time for NBC to change the channel on this experiment, just as I did today on Roberts this afternoon. Either have Bob Costas assume this role, or drop it altogether and just use some automaton studio host who'll perform the task of reading off scores, giving updates and throwing audiences back to live action. Self-important as he may be sometimes (but usually only when he's droning on about the "religion of baseball"), he's the only person at NBC Sports with anything resembling the authority and history to deliver such commentary.

A good idea excecuted poorly is simply a bad idea.




=MIDDLE-ROUND AWARDS - 3rd-QF Rounds=
TOP PLAYER: Serena Williams/USA
...does anyone think Serena will be felled by an upset-minded no-time slam winner at this point in this tournament? After Paris, I guess anything is possible. But still.
RISER: Kaia Kanepi/EST
...as great a run as she had, it'll be hard to get over the way she lost to Kvitova. (RU: Jarmila Groth/AUS)
SURPRISE: Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
...finally, consistency has entered the Pironkova Equation. The result: she's the first Bulgarian slam semifinalist since Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere in 1993. (RU: Grace Min/USA)
VETERAN: Kim Clijsters/BEL
...she'll always have Justine, I guess. Unfortunately for her, ever since she won the U.S. Open last fall she's looked far more like KC 1.0 than 2.0 against everyone BUT Henin. (RU: Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs, USA/AUS)
FRESH FACE: Petra Kvitova/CZE
...Czechs -- from Navratilova to Mandlikova to Novotna -- used to always come to the forefront in London. (RU: Eleanor Dean/GBR & Nigina Abduraimova/UZB)
COMEBACK: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
...many innocent rackets gave their natural lives for this development. (RU: Maria Sharapova/RUS)
DOWN: Venus Williams/USA & Kim Clijsters/BEL
...so much for that potential SF match-up. (RU: Caroline Wozniacki/DEN & Elina Svitolina/UKR)

*WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, A PLISKOVA SISTER?*
Girls 1st Rd. - Grace Min def. #1 Elina Svitolina 2-6/7-5/6-3
...the Roland Garros junior champ lists grass as her favorite playing surface. Imagine her confusion now.
*A TIE-BREAK TO REMEMBER*
4th Round - #1 Serena Williams def. #16 Maria Sharapova 7-6(9)/6-4
...the tie-break was the first ever between these two. After a rollercoaster ride that included three set points for both Serena and Sharapova, began and ended with a Williams ace, and wrapped up with an 11-9 final tally, one hopes it won't be their last.
*ONE OF THOSE DAYS...again*
QF - Tsvetana Pironkova def. #2 Venus Williams 6-2/6-3
...Venus has always been susceptible to "bad days." Pironkova has been privileged enough to be on the other side of the net on two of those occasions in slams over the years... though in this match it was the Bulgarian's gameplan that led Williams down the dark alley.
*"RETURN OF THE JEDI" WAS THE LEAST COMPELLING INSTALLMENT OF THE ORIGINAL "STAR WARS" TRILOGY, TOO*
4th Round - #8 Kim Clijsters def. #17 Justine Henin 2-6/6-2/6-3
..."2.0, Part III" didn't reach the dramatic highs of the Brisbane and Miami chapters, but at this point the characters have drawn you in enough that you're willing to let slide one of these "minor storylines."
*NEVER COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH... or your Estonians in the semifinals, either*
QF - Petra Kvitova def. (Q) Kaia Kanepi 4-6/7-6/8-6
...it's debatable what Kanepi will remember most about her Wimbledon qualifier-to-quarterfinalist run: the seven straight wins, or the five blown match points and lost 4-0 lead in the 3rd set.

THE "LiSlam"??: It's still on. Li Na lost to Serena in the quarterfinals, so if Williams goes on to win the Ladies' title the Chinese vet will have completed that non-calendar "unGrand Slam" by losing to a fourth straight eventual champ at a slam.

Ms.OPPORTUNITY: Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
IT GIRL: Petra Kvitova/CZE
COMEBACK PLAYER: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Petra Kvitova/CZE
CRASH & BURNER (3r-QF): Venus Williams/USA
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Kaia Kanepi/EST

"I'm obviously not pleased with the result. But I have to move on. What else can I do? Unless I have a time machine. Which I don't." - Venus Williams, after losing to Pironkova

*WIMBLEDON "Ms.OPPORTUNITY" WINNERS*
2004 Maria Sharapova, RUS
2005 Venus Williams, USA
2006 Severine Bremond, FRA
2007 Marion Bartoli, FRA
2008 Zheng Jie, CHN
2009 Elena Dementieva, RUS
2010 Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL

*WIMBLEDON "IT GIRL" WINNERS*
2006 Li Na, CHN
2007 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2008 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
2009 Sabine Lisicki, GER
2010 Petra Kvitova, CZE

*WIMBLEDON "COMEBACK PLAYER" WINNERS*
2007 Venus Williams, USA
2008 Tamarine Tanasugarn, THA
2009 Ana Ivanovic, SRB
2010 Vera Zvonareva, RUS

*WIMBLEDON "ZOMBIE QUEEN" WINNERS*
2007 Venus Williams, USA - 2 pts. from loss vs. Kudryavtseva (1st), Morigami served for match (3rd)
2008 Nicole Vaidisova, CZE - 1 pt. from down 6-3/0-6/0-4 vs. Stosur (2nd)
2009 Dinara Safina, RUS - down set & a break, and 3-0 in 3rd set vs. Mauresmo (4th)
2010 Petra Kvitova, CZE - saved 5 MP, was down 0-4 in 3rd set vs. Kanepi (QF

*MULTIPLE UNSEEDED WOMEN'S SF AT SLAM - OPEN ERA*
[3]
1976 Roland Garros - R.Tomanova, F.Mihai, V.Ruzici
1978 Australian Open - C.O'Neil, D.Evers, C.Mathison
[2]
1971 Roland Garros - H.Gourlay, M.Schaar
1971 Australian Open - L.Hunt, W.Shaw
1975 Australian Open - N.Chmyreva, S.Barker
1983 Roland Garros - J.Durie, M.Jauvosec
1994 Wimbledon - G.Fernandez, L.McNeil
1999 Wimbledon - M.Lucic, A.Stevenson (Q)
2009 U.S. Open - K.Clijsters (WC), Y.Wickmayer
2010 Australian Open - J.Henin (WC), J.Zheng
2010 Wimbledon - P.Kvitova, T.Pironkova

*2010 WTA SF - BY NATION*
15 - Russia (2 slam)
11 - United States (2 slam)
10 - Italy (1 slam)
9 - Belgium (1 slam)
8 - Spain
6 - China (2 slam)
6 - Czech Republic (1 slam)
6 - Romania

*CAREER SLAM SF - WIMBLEDON FINAL 4*
19...Serena Williams (15-3)
2...Vera Zvonareva (0-1)
1...Petra Kvitova (0-0)
1...Tsvetana Pironkova (0-0)

*LOWEST-RANKED SLAM FINALISTS*
No Ranking - Evonne Goolagong, 1977 Australian Open (W)
No Ranking - Kim Clijsters, 2009 U.S. Open (W)
No Ranking - Justine Henin, 2010 Australian Open
#111 - Chris O'Neil, 1978 Australian Open (W)
#81 - Serena Williams, 2007 Australian Open (W)
#78 - Betsy Nagelson, 1978 Australian Open
#68 - Barbara Jordan, 1977 Australian Open (W)
#66 - Venus Williams, 1997 U.S. Open
--
NOTE: #62 Petra Kvitova and #82 Tsvetana Pironkova in '10 Wimbledon SF



*WOMEN'S SINGLES SF*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. Petra Kvitova/CZE
#21 Vera Zvonareva/RUS vs. Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL

*MEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Roger Federer/SUI vs. #12 Tomas Berdych/CZE
#3 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. Lu Yen-Hsun/TPE
#10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/FRA vs. #4 Andy Murray/GBR
#6 Robin Soderling/SWE vs. #2 Rafael Nadal/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 S.Williams/V.Wililams (USA/USA) vs. #12 Vesnina/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS)
#4 Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) vs. Goerges/Szavay (GER/HUN)
#6 Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) vs. King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ)
#7 Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) vs. #2 Huber/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)

*MEN'S DOUBLES QF*
Chela/Schwank (ARG/ARG) def. #14 Benneteau/Llodra (FRA/FRA)
#16 Lindstedt/Tecau (SWE/ROU) vs. #11 Granollers/Robredo (ESP/ESP)
Melzer/Petzschner (AUT/GER) vs. Bopanna/Qureshi (IND/PAK)
#7 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL) vs. #2 B.Bryan/M.Bryan (USA/USA)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Stosur/Zimonjic (AUS/SRB) vs. Clijsters/Malisse (BEL/BEL)
#6 Mattek-Sands/Nestor (USA/CAN) def. #10 Stubbs/Melo (AUS/BRA)
Shvedova/Knowle (KAZ/AUT) def. Hsieh/Soares (TPE/BRA)
#11 Raymond/Moodie (USA/RSA) def. #7 Kleybanova/Mirnyi (RUS/BLR)
#8 Yan/Fyrstenberg (CHN/POL) vs. #9 Benesova/Dlouhy (CZE/CZE)
Smith/Marray (GBR/GBR) vs. Dushevina/Tursunov (RUS/RUS)
#5 Srebotnik/Knowles (SLO/BIH) vs. #12 Chan/Hanley (TPE/AUS)
Rosolska/Zelenay (POL/SVK) vs. #2 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND)




TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Kaia Kanepi/EST
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #1 Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Junri Namigata/JPN def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-2/4-6/14-12
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #24 Daniela Hantuchova/SVK def. Vania King/USA 6-7/7-6/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): QF - Petra Kvitova/CZE def. (Q)Kaia Kanepi/EST 4-6/7-6/8-6
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST WINNER: Chan Yung-Jan/TPE (def. Patty Schnyder/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Francesca Schiavone (1st Rd. - lost to Vera Dushevina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Romanians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Kaia Kanepi/EST (to QF)
IT GIRL: Petra Kvitova/CZE
MS. OPPORTUNITY: Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL
COMEBACK PLAYER: Vera Zvonareva/RUS
CRASH & BURN: Francesca Schiavone/ITA & Samantha Stosur/AUS (RG finalists, both lost in 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: Petra Kvitova/CZE (down 5 MP, and 0-4 in 3rd, to Kaia Kanepi/EST in QF; won 8-6)
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson/GBR (last of six to lose in 1st Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx




All for Day 8. More tomorrow.

Read more...

W.7- Some Nice Moments, But Nothing to Text Your Cousin About

Sixteen women came to play at the All-England Club on Day 7, but only eight left with their hopes and aspirations intact.

A little trip along the round-about:

Serena def. Sharapova 7-6(9)/6-4
...the 1st set of this was fit for a Wimbledon time capsule. Harking back to their last grass meeting in the Ladies' final in '04, Serena had her hands full with the Russian. Hitting serves into her power zone, rather than into her body, Williams saw Sharapova stay with her throughout the set even while her first serve percentage lagged behind Serena's throughout. They went to a tie-break, and it was a doozy. Serena opened with an ace, then Sharapova matched her with one of her own. The Russian passed up an overhead smash to hit a high swinging volley, only to see Williams pick it up off the bounce and pass her to take a 3-1 lead. A crosscourt Sharapova off-the-tape forehand winner gave her a 5-3 lead on her fourth straight point. She had a set point at 6-4, but hit a forehand error, then a deep Serena shot to the corner forced another error on set point #2. It knotted things at 6-6. On HER first set point, Serena dumped one forehand return into the net, then did it again to give Sharapova a third set point. Williams pounded an unreturnable serve for 8-8, then another to get HER her second set point. A good second serve from Sharapova led to Serena's backhand return failing to get over the net. At 9-9, a Sharapova double-fault finally gave Williams her first set point on her own serve. Naturally, she smashed an ace to take the tie-break 11-9. Classic stuff. In the 2nd, Williams grabbed an early break for 2-1 and rode it out all the way to the end to win 7-6/6-4. Not exactly what Sharapova was hoping for, but it was good enough to send her into the hard court season with a great deal of hope that she truly IS on her way back. For Serena, it was great match work that'll prepare her for greater things to come. But, first, she'll have to avoid falling victim to Li Na, just as she did in their close (7-6/7-6) Australian Open SF in January.

Li def. A-Rad 6-3/6-2
...an impressively easy win for Li against an underrated grass court player. Of course, now she's got the chance to stake a claim to that non-calendar "unGrand Slam" if she loses to Serena.

Kvitova def. C-Woz 6-2/6-0
...the Czech, as she has against others in this tournament, simply overpowered the Dane, who exits as a flummoxed and frustrated player for a second consecutive slam (after losing to Schiavone in Paris). Still, this is a very un-Wozniackian scoreline. One wonders if she might be feeling the pressure brought on by the whispers (and more) about whether her mostly non-aggressive game is worthy of her high ranking.

Kanepi def. Zakopalova 6-2/6-4
...Kanepi has the chance to become the first qualifier to reach the Wimbledon SF since 1999 (Alexandra Stevenson). Either she or Kvitova will become the third unseeded player since 2000 to do it.

Barbie def. Henin 2-6/6-2/6-3
...after seeing Clijsters grab early leads in 2010's two previous all-Waffle affairs in Brisbane and Miami, it was Henin who had the hot hand in the opening set this time. She broke Clijsters in the first game (KC had led 40/15, then double-faulted at deuce), and maintained her momentum throughout the set. She won it 6-2, but a fall in the middle of the court in the late-going of that set led to several visits from trainers, and it's possible that an injury to her right elbow played a part in Henin sporting a less aggressive game the rest of the match. Or not. With Henin's in-match drifts this season, one can never be sure that any physical ailment caused her to go away from her gameplan, or that it was simply a case of her losing concentration. Either way, Clijsters won a long opening service game in the 2nd set, then took control of the rallies thereafter. Maybe at some point this year, one or both of these two will play a competitive, FULL match against each other. As it is, you'd have to combine their three 2.0 matches to experience that satisfaction. Clijsters is now 3-0 against Henin this season, as Henin has yet to find a way to take total advantage of her countrywoman's vulnerabilities as she did in the past. KC has been inconsistent, but shown far more mettle down the stretch than she did in the pair's 1.0 meetings. All three matches have gone three sets, and she's now taken over the lead in their career head-to-head 13-12. This was only the sixth time in the twenty-five contests that the winner of the 1st set lost the match.

Zvonareva def. JJ 6-1/3-0
...maybe the tide is turning for Zvonareva. After suffering so much injury-related difficulty over the last year or so, she was on the other side of the net when Wozniacki injured her ankle in Charleston. Today, Jankovic fell and apparently injured her back. Mid-way through the 2nd set, JJ retired. Now, if a Russian is to be in the SF of the twenty-third of the last twenty-six slams, the only one it could be is Zvonareva. Afterward, Pam Shriver said that she didn't think Jankovic would ever get back "close to #1" in her career. Hmmm, I guess her current #3 ranking and standing as the highest-ranked woman in the world not related to Oracene Price doesn't count as "close." Oh, well. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, I suppose.

Pironkova def. Bartoli 6-4/6-4
...everyone will automatically advance Venus past Pironkova, although the Bulgarian has beaten Williams before in a slam -- in the 1st Round of the Australian Open in 2006. Shriver certainly has, noting late in the day on ESPN2 how that match was essentially the only thing she's ever done in her career worth talking about. Hmmm, again, I guess that win over Dementieva a few months ago doesn't count. Pam had better watch it, and hope Venus doesn't have an "off" day, or we'll be talking about "Wick-mayer II" tomorrow.

Venus def. Groth 6-4/7-6(5)
...after Venus showed up late for the start of the match (she didn't know the procedure for Court 2, and apparently was waiting for a steward to escort her... but one never showed up). As it turned out, she had a tough day against the hard-hitting Groth. But Venus played all the big points better than her Aussie opponent. Williams didn't see her first break point chance in the match until Groth served at 5-4 in the 1st set -- but she converted it to take the lead. Groth broke Venus in the first game of the 2nd, and served for the set at 5-4 and 6-5. Williams broke her both times, and won the tie-break 7-5.

Hmmm, eight matches... and only one three-setter. That Serena/Sharapova tie-break was great, but I'm not sure it was "classic" enough to take up the slack left by the rest of these matches.



=DAY 7 NOTES=
...after The Core Four all played on the same day in Paris, they did so in a slam again today. With Clijsters in action, as well, it was The Core Four+One. When I wondered during Roland Garros about whether they'd all been in action on the same day before, I forgot about Wimbledon holding all Round of 16 matches on the same day. Even then, though, assuming weather delays didn't stretch out the schedule to a second day, this was only the third time (2003 & '07) that Serena, Venus, Henin & Sharapova all played in the same SW19 4th Round. And it was only the second time (2003) that Clijsters joined them, not to mention the first time that four of the five played each other.

...in men's play, unseeded Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan became the first Asian man to reach a slam QF in fifteen years with his 4-6/7-6/7-6/6-7/9-7 upset of #4 Andy Roddick in 4:36, the second-longest match of the fortnight (after... well, you know). I like Roddick these days, especially after his reaction to the Dubai Debacle with Peer last year. But I can't help but love to see ESPN2/NBC squirm in their collective seats and get all itchy when the last American man loses.

Needless to say, I think this result lends some credence to my notion from last year that Roddick's loss to Federer in the Men's final was more a case of failing in his last best chance to ever claim a second career slam title rather than the beginning of a new era in which he's a true contender in the year's four biggest events. Of course, since it was mostly American television commentators who tried to prop up the latter belief, there was probably little reality behind it in the first place.

...in Doubles, while Liezel Huber and her partner Bethanie Mattek-Sands reached the QF (def. Hsieh/Kudryavtseva), Cara Black and her partner Daniela Hantuchova did not. They lost to Lisa Raymond & Rennae Stubbs. Inside, did Huber say, "See, I told you she couldn't play?"

Also, Sam Stosur disappointed on the grass yet again, losing with Nadia Petrova to Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova. Hey, King finally outlasted Hantuchova in something at this Wimbledon, though.

...in the juniors, the Pliskova sisters opened up their 2010 Wimbledon Girls play and didn't immediately fall on their racket-sized swords in the 1st Round this time. Karolina defeated Chanelle Van Nguyen in straight sets, while Kristyna did the same against Andrea Gamiz.

An award nomination up... oops, in honor of ESPN2, let's say, A award nomination update:

*MS. OPPORTUNITY*
Kim Clijsters, BEL
Kaia Kanepi, EST (leading contender...)
Petra Kvitova, CZE (...unless Kvitova beats her)
Li Na, CHN (she won it for Oz)
Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL

*COMEBACK PLAYER*
Kim Clijsters, BEL
Lisa Raymond/Rennae Stubbs, USA/AUS (Doubles, or individually in Mixed)
Vera Zvonareva, RUS

...Clijsters hadn't played Wimbledon since 2006, or beaten Henin in a slam since 2002. With her ankle and volcanic temper tantrums, Zvonareva could have easily drifted into the WTA wallpaper like so many of her Russian countrywomen have in '10. Instead, she's the Last Russian Standing at SW19, and is still alive in the Doubles, too. Of course, with Clijsters having already won a 2.0 slam title, and possibly putting Zvonareva out next in their QF meeting, Raymond/Stubbs winning a third straight grass court title this quarter (or at least reaching the final, since they'd probably face Venus & Serena) would be a nice fall-back choice.

*IT GIRL*
Eleanor Dean, GBR (jr)
Petra Kvitova, CZE
Grace Min, USA (jr)

...a pair of juniors with early-round upsets to their credit, and a 20-year old Czech in her first slam QF. If Kvitova reaches the semis, she's a lock here (while the other two would go "back into the deck" for the "Junior Star" award).

...ITF UPDATE: American Jamie Hampton, after appearing in her fifth circuit final of 2010, gets the "ITF Player of the Week" for her winning effort in the $50K challenger in Boston. She defeated Madison Brengle in the final for her second title of the season.

In other challenger news, 15-year old American Madison Keys won her first career pro title in the $10K in Cleveland (hmmm, is SHE lobbying LeBron James, too?). In just her fourth career event (third ITF, along with her '09 Ponte Vedra Beach tour debut), Keys followed up her win in the SF against Gabriela Paz with a victory in the final over Finland's Piia Suomalainen. Meanwhile, Lenka Weinerova (SVK) defeated Jacqueline Cako (USA) in the $25K Kristinehamn event in Sweden.

...and, finally, after a week of talking up the "marquee" match-up that would be one of the "moments of the tournament" when Clijsters faced off with Henin in the Round of 16, when the match actually took place, ESPN2 aired the entire Venus Williams/Jarmila Groth match (with just a few seconds of Clijsters/Henin look-ins), then stuck with the "greatly anticipated, things that dreams are made of, text your cousin because he's GOT to see this to believe it" match between... Roger Federer and Jurgen Melzer. Is this what it's come to? ESPN uses ESPN3.com coverage as its all-purpose "get out of jail free" excuse to explain all the lame-assed tennis programming decisions that it makes? And if NBC was allowed to corrupt ESPN2's coverage yet again by embargoing or limiting coverage it's a whole other side of wrong, considering the net got the Serena/Sharapova match live a few hours later and didn't even show highlights of Clijsters/Henin. I don't believe that was the case, though, since ESPN2 did eventually go to Clijsters/Henin... at 3-3 in the 3rd set. Of course, then they went away again and missed Clijsters' break for 5-3.

Should people really have to be connected to three different technologies in order to watch a tennis tournament in real time, especially when the same network broadcasts every second of every World Cup soccer match live to the 1/307th of the American population that gives a crap about seeing any of them?




*UNSEEDED WOMEN'S SEMIFINALISTS AT WIMBLEDON*
[Open era]
1969 Rosie Casals, USA
1970 Francoise Durr, FRA
1971 Judy Dalton, AUS
1983 Yvonne Vermaak, RSA
1989 Catarina Lindqvist, SWE
1994 Gigi Fernandez, USA & Lori McNeil, USA
1996 Meredith McGrath, USA
1997 Anna Kournikova, RUS
1998 Natasha Zvereva, BLR
1999 Mirjana Lucic, CRO & Alexandra Stevenson, USA (Q)
2000 Jelena Dokic, AUS
2008 Zheng Jie, CHN (WC)
2010 Kaia Kanepi (Q), EST or Petra Kvitova, CZE (meet in QF) *
--
ALSO: unseeded Pironkova/BUL vs. #2 V.Williams in QF

*2010 SLAM QF*
3 - SERENA WILLIAMS, USA
2 - Nadia Petrova, RUS
2 - LI NA. CHN
2 - VENUS WILLIAMS, USA
1 - fifteen players

*CAREER SLAM QF*
32 - VENUS WILLIAMS
31 - SERENA WILLIAMS
19 - Justine Henin
16 - KIM CLIJSTERS
13 - Maria Sharapova
12 - Elena Dementieva
11 - Svetlana Kuznetsova
9 - Nadia Petrova
[other 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinalists]
4 - Li Na
3 - Vera Zvonareva
2 - Kaia Kanepi
1 - Petra Kvitova
1 - Tsvetana Pironkova

*WIMBLEDON FINAL 8's - BY NATION*
[women/men]
2 - Czech Republic [Berdych/Kvitova]
2 - United States [S.Williams/V.Williams]
1 - Belgium [Clijsters]
1 - Bulgaria [Pironkova]
1 - China [Li]
1 - Estonia [Kanepi]
1 - France [Tsonga]
1 - Great Britain [Murray]
1 - Russia [Zvonareva]
1 - Serbia [Djokovic]
1 - Spain [Nadal]
1 - Sweden [Soderling]
1 - Switzerland [Federer]
1 - Taiwan [Lu]

*WOMEN'S OVERALL WON/LOST - BY NATION*
[through 4th Round]
22-14...Russia (Zvonareva remains)
11-6...United States (Serena & Venus remain)
10-3...Belgium (Clijsters remains)
10-8...Czech Republic (Kvitova remains)
7-8...Italy
6-5...Australia
5-1...China (Li remains)
5-5...Romania
4-0...Bulgaria (Pironkova remains)
4-0...Estonia (Kanepi remains)
4-3...Serbia
3-1...Poland
3-5...France
3-6...Germany
2-1...Denmark
2-2...Croatia
2-2...Spain
2-2...Taiwan
2-3...Hungary
2-3...Japan
2-3...Ukraine
2-4...Slovak Republic
1-1...Israel
1-1...Kazakhstan
1-2...Canada
1-3...Belarus
0-1...Argentina
0-1...Colombia
0-1...Greece
0-1...India
0-1...Latvia
0-1...Netherlands
0-1...Paraguay
0-1...Portugal
0-1...Slovenia
0-1...South Africa
0-1...Sweden
0-1...Uzbekistan
0-2...Austria
0-2...Thailand
0-3...Switzerland
0-6...Great Britain
--
ALSO: 1-France walkover Croatia

*SERENA vs. SHARAPOVA... with notes*
=2004=
Miami 4th Rd. - Serena 6-4/6-3
Wimbledon Final - Sharapova 6-1/6-4 (Birth of the Supernova)
WTA Championship Final - Sharapova 4-6/6-2/6-4 (SW up 4-0 3rd, with leg injury)
=2005=
2005 Australian Open SF - Serena 2-6/7-5/8-6 (Sharapova 3 MP)
=2007=
Australian Open Final - Serena 6-2/6-2 ("The Destruction Heard 'round the World")
Miami 4th Rd. - Serena 6-1/6-1
=2008=
Charleston QF - Serena 7-5/4-6/6-1 (Sharapova SP in 1st)
=2010=
Wimbledon 4th Round - Serena 7-6/6-4 (Sharapova 3 SP in 1st)

*HENIN vs. CLIJSTERS... with notes*
=1998=
$25K Ramat Hasharon QF - Henin 6-1/7-6
=1999=
$25K Reims Final - Henin 6-4/6-4
=2001=
Indian Wells 3rd Rd - Clijsters 1-6/6-4/6-3
Roland Garros SF - Clijsters 2-6/7-5/6-3 (JH led 6-2/5-2)
's-Hertogenbosch Final - Henin 6-4/3-6/6-3
=2002=
Sydney QF - Clijsters 7-6/6-2
Australian Open QF - Clijsters 6-2/6-3
Rome SF - Henin 7-5/6-2
WTA Championships QF - Clijsters 6-2/6-1
=2003=
Sydney SF - Clijsters 6-2/6-3
Antwerp SF - Clijsters 6-2/7-6
Berlin Final - Henin-Hardenne 6-4/4-6/7-5 (KC 3 MP, led 5-4 in 3rd)
Roland Garros Final - Henin-Hardenne 6-0/6-4
's-Hertogenbosch Final - Clijsters 6-7/3-0 ret. (KC 3 SP in 1st; JHH injured hand)
San Diego Final - Henin-Hardenne 3-6/6-2/6-3 (KC playing for #1 ranking)
U.S. Open Final - Henin-Hardenne 7-5/6-1 (KC 2 SP in 1st)
Filderstadt Final - Clijsters 5-7/6-4/6-2 (KC keeps #1 ranking)
=2004=
Australian Open Final - Henin-Hardenne 6-3/4-6/6-3 (JHH led 4-2 in 2nd)
=2005=
Toronto Final - Clijsters 7-5/6-1
=2006=
Roland Garros SF - Henin-Hardenne 6-3/6-2
Eastbourne SF - Henin-Hardenne 6-3/5-7/6-1
Wimbledon SF - Henin-Hardenne 6-4/7-6 (KC served 6-5 in 2nd)
=2010=
Brisbane Final - Clijsters 6-3/4-6/7-6 (KC led 6-3/4-1; JH up 3-0 in 3rd, had 2 MP; KC on 4th MP)
Miami SF - Clijsters 6-2/6-7/7-6 (KC led 6-3/3-0; KC on 4th MP)
Wimbledon 4th Rd - Clijsters 2-6/6-2/6-3 (JH injured elbow in fall)

*A FEW RELEVANT HENIN vs. CLIJSTERS STATS*
Overall: Clijsters 13-12 (KC 3-0 since comebacks)
3-set Matches: Clijsters 6-5 (KC 3-0 since comebacks)
2-set Matches: tied 7-7
In Grand Slams: Henin 5-3
At Wimbledon: tied 1-1
On Grass Courts: Henin 3-2
Outdoors: Henin 11-10 (KC 3-0 since comebacks)
Winner of 1st Set Match Record: 19-6 (KC 2-0/JH 0-1 since comebacks)



*WOMEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. #9 Li Na/CHN
Petra Kvitova/CZE vs. (Q) Kaia Kanepi/EST
#8 Kim Clijsters/BEL vs. #21 Vera Zvonareva/RUS
Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL vs. #2 Venus Williams/USA

*MEN'S SINGLES QF*
#1 Roger Federer/SUI vs. #12 Tomas Berdych/CZE
#3 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. Lu Yen-Hsun/TPE
#10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/FRA vs. #4 Andy Murray/GBR
#6 Robin Soderling/SWE vs. #2 Rafael Nadal/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#1 S.Williams/V.Wililams (USA/USA) vs. #12 Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova (CZE/CZE) or Vesnina/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS)
#4 Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) vs. Goerges/Szavay (GER/HUN)
#6 Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) vs. King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ)
#7 Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) vs. #2 Huber/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)

*MEN'S DOUBLES QF*
#14 Benneteau/Llodra (FRA/FRA) vs. Chela/Schwank (ARG/ARG)
#16 Lindstedt/Tecau (SWE/ROU) vs. #11 Granollers/Robredo (ESP/ESP)
Lu/Tipsarevic (TPE/SRB) or Melzer/Petzschner (AUT/GER) vs. Bopanna/Qureshi (IND/PAK)
#7 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL) vs. Ball/Guccione (AUS/AUS) or #2 B.Bryan/M.Bryan (USA/USA)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Stosur/Zimonjic (AUS/SRB) vs. Clijsters/Malisse (BEL/BEL)
#10 Stubbs/Melo (AUS/BRA) vs. #6 Mattek-Sands/Nestor (USA/CAN)
Shvedova/Knowle (KAZ/AUT) vs. Hsieh/Soares (TPE/BRA)
#11 Raymond/Moodie (USA/RSA) vs. #7 Kleybanova/Mirnyi (RUS/BLR)
#8 Yan/Fyrstenberg (CHN/POL) vs. #9 Benesova/Dlouhy (CZE/CZE)
Smith/Marray (GBR/GBR) vs. Dushevina/Tursunov (RUS/RUS)
#5 Srebotnik/Knowles (SLO/BIH) vs. Dulgheru/Marrero (ROU/ESP) or #12 Chan/Hanley (TPE/AUS)
Rosolska/Zelenay (POL/SVK) vs. #2 Black/Paes (ZIM/IND)




TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Kaia Kanepi/EST
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Junri Namigata/JPN def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-2/4-6/14-12
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #24 Daniela Hantuchova/SVK def. Vania King/USA 6-7/7-6/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST WINNER: Chan Yung-Jan/TPE (def. Patty Schnyder/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Francesca Schiavone (1st Rd. - lost to Vera Dushevina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Romanians
LAST QUALIFIER STANDING: Kaia Kanepi/EST (in QF)
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Francesca Schiavone/ITA & Samantha Stosur/AUS (RG finalists, both lost in 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xxx
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson/GBR (last of six to lose in 1st Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx




All for Day 7. More tomorrow.

Read more...

W.6- To Rest, Perchance to Dream

For the second straight day, all the women's 3rd Round matches were decided in straight sets. So... time to pull out the lists to fill the space:

*LADIES FINAL 16*
[by rank]
#1 Serena Williams, USA
#2 Venus Williams, USA
#3 Jelena Jankovic, SRB
#4 Caroline Wozniacki, DEN
#8 Kim Clijsters, BEL
#9 Agnieszka Radwanska, POL
#12 Li Na, CHN
#13 Marion Bartoli, ITA
#16 Justine Henin, BEL
#17 Maria Sharapova, RUS
#21 Vera Zvonareva, RUS
#62 Petra Kvitova, CZE
#66 Klara Zakopalova, CZE
#80 Kaia Kanepi, EST
#82 Tsvetana Pironkova, BUL
#92 Jarmila Groth, AUS
[by age]
19 Caroline Wozniacki
20 Petra Kvitova
21 Agnieszka Radwanska
22 Tsvetana Pironkova
23 Jarmila Groth
23 Maria Sharapova
25 Kaia Kanepi
25 Jelena Jankovic
25 Marion Bartoli
25 Vera Zvonareva
27 Kim Clijsters
28 Justine Henin
28 Li Na
28 Klara Zakopalova
28 Serena Williams
30 Venus Williams
[by slam 4th Round appearances]
38...Venus Williams (11 at Wimbledon)
35...Serena Williams (9)
27...Justine Henin (6)
21...Kim Clijsters (5)
18...Maria Sharapova (6)
14...Jelena Jankovic (4)
12...Vera Zvonareva (3)
9...Agnieszka Radwanska (4)
8...Li Na (2)
7...Caroline Wozniacki (2)
6...Marion Bartoli (2)
3...Petra Kvitova (1)
2...Jarmila Groth (1)
2...Kaia Kanepi (1)
1...Tsvetana Pironkova (1)
1...Klara Zakopalova (1)

And a few notes:

* - Serena (def. Dominika Cibulkova 6-0/7-5) wore her "strawberries & cream" outfit today: a white dress with red trim, with solid red Golovin-esque undergarments beneath.

* - Maria Sharapova defeated Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova 7-5/6-3, setting up yet another Bad-Draws-R-Her meeting in a slam on the heels of her loss to Justine Henin in Paris. The upcoming Serena vs. Sharapova match on Monday will be their first meeting since 2008 in Charleston, and the first on grass since Sharapova stunned Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final. Serena leads the series 5-2, and Sharapova hasn't defeated her since the 2004 WTA Championships (though she did have a match point in a loss in the '05 Australian Open SF). It'll be the earliest they've met in a tournament since their first match-up in the 4th Round of Miami in '04.

* - I'm not sure what happened with Victoria Azarenka today. ESPN2 didn't deign to show her until she was serving at 5-4 in the 1st set. She was broken, and Petra Kvitova held for a 6-5 lead. Then the network went to commercial and never came back to the match. Azarenka lost 7-5/6-0. So, maybe it was a flare-up of her lingering injury, or her temper once again got the best of her and led to that 2nd set collapse. Either way, once again, while Caroline Wozniacki (def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5/6-4) held up her end of the bargain when it came to setting up a big slam match between herself and her Belarusan friend, Azarenka failed to follow suit.

* - Wozniacki is now the only seeded player remaining in her section of the draw. Either C-Woz, Kvitova or her fellow Czech Klara Zakopalova, or Estonian "Last Qualifier Standing" Kaia Kanepi (def. Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1/6-2) will reach the SF.

* - 28-year old Zakopalova's win over Flavia Pennetta (6-2/6-3) puts her in her first career slam Round of 16. Not only that, but before winning three straight matches to get to this point, the veteran's career mark at Wimbledon was just 1-6.

* - The Final 16 averages 24.8 years of age.

* - Agnieszka Radwanska (def. Sara Errani 6-3/6-1) in 2005, and Wozniacki in 2006 are the only former Wimbledon Girls champs still alive in the main draw. Sharapova was the Girls Runner-Up in 2002.

* - And, of course, Li Na (def. Anastasia Rodionova 6-1/6-3) is still around and in the running to complete her non-calendar "unGrand Slam" by losing to the eventual champ at four consecutive slams.

And now we rest, while sixteen continue to dream.



=DAY 6 NOTES=
...it's just the match that keeps on giving.

Even while John Isner had no aces in his 2nd Round loss to Thiemo de Bakker, on the same day, he miraculously picked up one more in his 1st Round match. Further intensive study of "The Match on the Edge of Forever" uncovered that he actually tossed in 113 aces rather than the piddling number of 112 that he'd been credited with at the end of the eleven hour, five minute marathon.

...as if James Blake wasn't bad enough. Yesterday, Victor Hanescu abruptly forfeited his 3rd Round match with Daniel Brands after unsuccessfully arguing with the chair umpire about stopping the match due to darkness. After having blown four match points in the 3rd set, Hanescu saw the match go to a 5th set, where Brands led 3-0 when the #31-seeded Romanian walked away. Earlier, he'd gotten into it with some people in the stands who were heckling him, apparently spitting (at least) in their direction. WWRD? Not that.

Hanescu was fined $15,000.

...the junior action is underway, and #1-seeded Elina Svitoliva, the Roland Garros junior champ, has already been upset. Today, American Grace Min knocked her out, 2-6/7-5/6-3. This is the same Ukrainian girl who won a grass court tune-up last week, and whose bio says that her favorite surface is grass and that her goal is to "win all the slams."

British Wild Card Eleonor Dean upset #7 Gabriela Dabrowski 3-6/6-0/6-0. Some other results of note: Monica Puig defeated Christina Dinu, while Ons Jabeur defeated Caroline Garcia.

...in Mixed Doubles, Bethanie Mattek-Sands defeated the team of Lindsay Davenport & Bob Bryan 6-4/3-6/11-9 in the 2nd Round. #3 seeds Liezel Huber and Mahesh Bhupathi also lost (Cara Black is still alive with Leander Paes, though).

...apparently, ESPN2's control room English usage handbook has been misplaced. During the opening hour discussion of the Isner/Mahut match today, the on-screen graphic read "Isner/Mahut: A Historic Match." I think we know someone who didn't graduate with an English degree. Hey, what's a missing "n" just between friends? Of course, considering how often players' names are mispronounced on air, I guess that's a minor detail.

Still, it's hard to understand how Hannah Storm can recognize that Serbian Novak Djokovic's surname should be pronounced with an "ich" sound at the end, but just seconds earlier (on multiple occasions the other day) she didn't realize that fellow Serb (and similarly-named) Jelena Jankovic should be just as "ich-y" as QC's countryman.

...and I won't even go into asking why NBC left the air this afternoon with Andy Murray and Sam Querrey still playing... with neither ESPN2 nor Tennis Channel set to pick up coverage. Murray won, as expected, while Querrey had to claim a 9-7 5th set to advance. They'll next face each other.

...and, finally, it looks like one of the Pliskova sisters is raising expectations at a slam again. In the junior grass court prelude-to-Wimbledon event in Roehampton, newbie Czech Maiden Kristyna Pliskova defeated British wild card Tara Moore in the Girls final, 6-2/6-4. Earlier in the event, she got nice wins over the previously mentioned Min, Yulia Putintseva, Krista Hardebeck and Timea Babos. Moore, for her part, notched wins over Daria Gavrilova, Veronica Cepede Royg and, you guessed, Karolina Pliskova.

Kristyna is seeded #9 at Wimbledon, while Karolina is #4.




*SERENA vs. SHARAPOVA... with notes*
=2004=
Miami 4th Rd. - Serena 6-4/6-3
Wimbledon Final - Sharapova 6-1/6-4 (Birth of the Supernova)
WTA Championship Final - Sharapova 4-6/6-2/6-4 (SW up 4-0 3rd, with leg injury)
=2005=
2005 Australian Open SF - Serena 2-6/7-5/8-6 (Sharapova 3 MP)
=2007=
Australian Open Final - Serena 6-2/6-2 ("The Destruction Heard 'round the World")
Miami 4th Rd. - Serena 6-1/6-1
=2008=
Charleston QF - Serena 7-5/4-6/6-1 (Sharapova SP in 1st)
=2010=
Wimbledon 4th Round

*WIMBLEDON "LAST QUALIFER STANDIING"*
=2006=
Severine Bremond/FRA (QF)
=2007=
Olga Govortsova/BLR, Nika Ozegovic/CRO, Tatiana Perebiynis/UKR, Agnes Szavay/HUN, Hana Sromova/CZE (2nd Rd.)
=2008=
Maria Jose Martinez-Sanchez/ESP, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/RUS, Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova/CZE (3rd Rd.)
=2009=
Melanie Oudin/USA (4th Rd.)
=2010=
Kaia Kanepi/EST (to 4th Rd.)

*2010 SLAM FINAL 16's - BY NATION*
[women]
10...Russia
6...United States
5...Belgium
4...Australia
3...China
3...Denmark
3...Italy
2...Czech Republic
2...Serbia
1...Belarus
1...Bulgaria
1...Estonia
1...France
1...Israel
1...Kazakhstan
1...Poland
1...Slovak Republic
1...South Africa
1...Ukraine



*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Serena Williams/USA vs. #16 Maria Sharapova/RUS
#9 Li Na/CHN vs. #7 Agnieszka Radwanska/POL
#3 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN vs. Petra Kvitova/CZE
Klara Zakopalova/CZE vs. (Q) Kaia Kanepi/EST
#8 Kim Clijsters/BEL vs. #17 Justine Henin/BEL
#21 Vera Zvonareva/RUS vs. #4 Jelena Jankovic/SRB
Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL vs. #11 Marion Bartoli/FRA
Jarmila Groth/AUS vs. #2 Venus Williams/USA

*MEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Roger Federer/SUI vs. #16 Jurgen Melzer/AUT
#12 Tomas Berdych/CZE vs. Daniel Brands/GER
#3 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #15 Lleyton Hewitt/AUS
Lu Yen-Hsun/TPE vs. #5 Andy Roddick/USA
#32 Julien Benneteau/FRA vs. #10 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga/FRA
#18 Sam Querrey/USA vs. #4 Andy Murray/GBR
#6 Robin Soderling/SWE vs. #9 David Ferrer/ESP
Paul-Henri Mathieu/FRA vs. #2 Rafael Nadal/ESP

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 S.Williams/V.Wililams (USA/USA) def. Cibulkova/Pavlyuchenkova (SVK/RUS)
#12 Benesova/Zahlavova-Strycova (CZE/CZE) vs. Vesnina/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS)
#4 Dulko/Pennetta (ARG/ITA) vs. Jankovic/Scheepers (SRB/RSA)
Amanmuradova/Barrois (UZB/GER) vs. Goerges/Szavay (GER/HUN)
#6 Peschke/Srebotnik (CZE/SLO) def. Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA)
King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ) vs. #3 Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS)
#7 Raymond/Stubbs (USA/AUS) vs. #11 Black/Hantuchova (ZIM/SVK)
#16 Hsieh/Kudryavtseva (TPE/RUS) vs. #2 Huber/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA)

*MEN'S DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
(WC) Eaton/Inglot (GBR/GBR) vs. #14 Benneteau/Llodra (FRA/FRA)
Ratiwatana/Ratiwatana (THA/THA) vs. Chela/Schwank (ARG/ARG)
#4 Bhupathi/Mirnyi (IND/BLR) vs. #16 Lindstedt/Tecau (SWE/ROU)
#11 Granollers/Robredo (ESP/ESP) vs. #8 Knowle/A.Ram (AUT/ISR)
Lu/Tipsarevic (TPE/SRB) vs. Melzer/Petzschner (AUT/GER) or #10 Aspelin/Hanley (SWE/AUS)
Bopanna/Qureshi (IND/PAK) vs. Lacko/Stakhovsky (SVK/UKR)
#7 Moodie/Norman (RSA/BEL) vs. Damm/Polasek (CZE/SVK)
Ball/Guccione (AUS/AUS) vs. Fleming/Skupski (GBR/GBR) or #2 B.Bryan/M.Bryan (USA/USA)

*MIXED DOUBLES ROUND OF 16*
TBD vs. TBD
#10 Stubbs/Melo (AUS/BRA) vs. #6 Mattek-Sands/Nestor (USA/CAN)
Shvedova/Knowle (KAZ/AUT) vs. Hsieh/Soares (TPE/BRA)
#11 Raymond/Moodie (USA/RSA) vs. #7 Kleybanova/Mirnyi (RUS/BLR)
#8 Yan/Fyrstenberg (CHN/POL) vs. #9 Benesova/Dlouhy (CZE/CZE)
TBD vs. Dushevina/Tursunov (RUS/RUS)
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD




TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Kaia Kanepi/EST
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Junri Namigata/JPN def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-2/4-6/14-12
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #24 Daniela Hantuchova/SVK def. Vania King/USA 6-7/7-6/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST WINNER: Chan Yung-Jan/TPE (def. Patty Schnyder/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Francesca Schiavone (1st Rd. - lost to Vera Dushevina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Romanians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Kaia Kanepi/EST (in 4th Rd.)
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Francesca Schiavone/ITA & Samantha Stosur/AUS (RG finalists, both lost in 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xxx
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson/GBR (last of six to lose in 1st Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx




All for Day 6. After a day of rest on the middle Sunday, more on Monday.

Read more...

W.5- Waiting with Bated Belgian Big Bang Breath

The Belgian Big Bang awaits.

Come Monday evening, we'll know a little more about the 2.0 careers of Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Their 3rd Round wins on Day 5 have set Monday as the scheduled date when they'll meet in a grand slam (and at Wimbledon) for the first time since 2006. With their career head-to-head history currently knotted at 12-12, one could look at their upcoming Round of 16 match as something of a "tipping point." It'll be their earliest meeting in an event since playing a 3rd Round match in Indian Wells in 2001.

For her part, Henin is doing all she can to lower expectations. She said today that she feels less pressure to succeed at this Wimbledon since she isn't entering as the #1 seed or having just won Roland Garros. She's currently not even fully admitting that winning Wimbledon was the main reason she decided to return to the tour -- just "one of them" -- nor that claiming an elusive SW19 title is her goal for 2010, which she has taken to calling a year of "transition."

Well, that's easy to say in the Round of 16. But if she manages to continue to get closer to such a goal, it WILL become bigger and bigger in her head as she senses the opportunity at hand, and failing to get it THEN would indeed be quite a downer. Just ask Sam Stosur.

Meanwhile, Clijsters is looking for her first big slam performance since winning the U.S. Open nine months ago. She was nearly double-bageled on her way out of the Australian Open in January, and missed Roland Garros entirely with a foot injury. After looking great in Eastbourne early last week, she was ultimately bested on a multitude of big points by Victoria Azarenka. She's been in command of all her Wimbledon matches in her first non-exhibition action at the All-England Club in four years, defeating Maria Kirilenko 6-3/6-3 in the 4th Round, but what will her response be when she faces her first real test?

Henin is currently riding an eight-match grass winning streak after having won a tune-up title in the Netherlands. She's one of only two women who've reached the Round of 16 at all three slams this season (along with Venus Williams, who could be joined by Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki as three-timers on Day 6), and after continuing to have a few fade-out moments in her first two Wimbledon matches she managed to play her best match overall today against her best competition so far. Overcoming an early 3-1 2nd set deficit, Henin was able to maintain a high first serve percentage throughout the match and closed things out quite tidily because of it. In her last eight service points today, she hit four aces against Nadia Petrova and had two unreturned serves. She won 6-1/6-4, and heads into the BBB with a head of steam.

*A FEW RELEVANT HENIN vs. CLIJSTERS STATS*
Overall: tied 12-12 (KC 2-0 since comebacks)
3-set Matches: tied 5-5 (KC 2-0 since comebacks)
2-set Matches: tied 7-7
In Grand Slams: Henin 5-2
At Wimbledon: Henin 1-0
On Grass Courts: Henin 3-1
Outdoors: Henin 11-9 (KC 2-0 since comebacks)
Winner of 1st Set Match Record: 19-5 (KC 2-0 since comebacks)

Will Clijsters continue to assume her leading 2.0 role since the Belgians returned from retirement? In both Brisbane and Miami earlier this year, she grabbed an early lead but had a difficult time putting Henin away. In their first meeting, Henin even battled back to hold two match points. In both, Clijsters failed on her first three match point attempts, but converted two #4's to win each contest. Those two matches were "instant classics," but that was mostly the case because there was the belief that they were an intriguing prelude to something bigger and better to come later on down the line.

Well, that time has arrived.

How much has Henin progressed since then to think that she can finally get on top of Clijsters early and put herself in better position to win the match? Has Clijsters moved past her rather obvious regression of a few months ago? Coming into this Wimbledon, I was trending toward giving Clijsters a slight advantage were these two to meet in this tournament. But, after the way she played today, maybe Henin WILL rise to the occasion after so often drifting in and out of focus this season. Of course, LPT 2.0 has faked me out before. Just when you think she's standing on stable ground, her game has tended to wobble rather than soar. Plus, surely no one has ever felt safe being assured that Clijsters would show up in full force in a big match, especially one against her countrywoman.

But maybe Wimbledon 2010 will be different.

So many of the Henin/Clijsters matches in the past have been "highlighted" by one of the two losing big advantages, or Clijsters failing to rise to Henin's level of intensity when they met in a slam. What if they BOTH come out on Monday and play their best? Imagine the drama.

After what we've see so far at this Wimbledon, there's reason to believe we might not have to imagine anything.



=DAY 5 NOTES=
...once again, the women's draw failed to seize any sort of spotlight on Day 5. Just wait, though. The first week has belong to the men, the second will feature the women. The first true day in the sun looks like it'll arrive on Monday, when the BBB takes place, as well as possibly the Serena vs. Maria showdown. A potential Wozniacki/Azarenka meeting won't get as much attention, but it very well could produce the best match of the three.

All eight of the women's 3rd Round matches played today were decided in straight sets. As has quickly become the norm in this tournament, Venus Williams made quick work of a potentially troubling opponent. After handling Ekaterina Makarova with ease in the 2nd Round, she took down another Hordette today when she defeated Alisa Kleybanova 6-4/6-2.

Three players who are getting absolutely NO attention at this slam -- Jelena Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva and Marion Bartoli -- all advanced, and at least one will reach the QF as JJ and Zvonareva will face each other in the 4th Round. Also, Tsvetana Pironkova defeated Regina Kulikova to reach her first career slam Round of 16.

...POP QUIZ: Name an Australian woman who has posted two Round of 16 slam results in 2010.

Yeah, Sam Stosur is correct, but she's not the ONLY correct answer. Jarmila Groth, too, has managed to pull it off.. Her win today over Angelique Kerber puts her in her second consecutive slam 4th Round, following a run in Paris after being awarded a wild card into the main draw.

...Liezel Huber and Cara Black both won their doubles matches on Day 5. With different partners, of course. Huber is teaming up with Bethanie Mattek-Sands at this Wimbledon, while Black is partnering Daniela Hantuchova.

...and, finally, proving that no good deed goes unpunished, John Isner returned to the All-England Club to play his 2nd Round match today against Thiemo de Bakker. Sporting shoulder and neck injuries, plus a nasty blister on his foot, he followed up his longest-ever eleven-hour-plus match and record-breaking 112-ace performance in Round 1 with a straight sets loss (the shortest men's match so far at this Wimbledon) and his first career ace-less match. It goes without saying, though, that we sort of saw this one coming. It tarnishes nothing.




*HENIN vs. CLIJSTERS... with notes*
=1998=
$25K Ramat Hasharon QF - Henin 6-1/7-6
=1999=
$25K Reims Final - Henin 6-4/6-4
=2001=
Indian Wells 3rd Rd - Clijsters 1-6/6-4/6-3
Roland Garros SF - Clijsters 2-6/7-5/6-3 (JH led 6-2/5-2)
's-Hertogenbosch Final - Henin 6-4/3-6/6-3
=2002=
Sydney QF - Clijsters 7-6/6-2
Australian Open QF - Clijsters 6-2/6-3
Rome SF - Henin 7-5/6-2
WTA Championships QF - Clijsters 6-2/6-1
=2003=
Sydney SF - Clijsters 6-2/6-3
Antwerp SF - Clijsters 6-2/7-6
Berlin Final - Henin-Hardenne 6-4/4-6/7-5 (KC 3 MP, led 5-4 in 3rd)
Roland Garros Final - Henin-Hardenne 6-0/6-4
's-Hertogenbosch Final - Clijsters 6-7/3-0 ret. (KC 3 SP in 1st; JHH injured hand)
San Diego Final - Henin-Hardenne 3-6/6-2/6-3 (KC playing for #1 ranking)
U.S. Open Final - Henin-Hardenne 7-5/6-1 (KC 2 SP in 1st)
Filderstadt Final - Clijsters 5-7/6-4/6-2 (KC keeps #1 ranking)
=2004=
Australian Open Final - Henin-Hardenne 6-3/4-6/6-3 (JHH led 4-2 in 2nd)
=2005=
Toronto Final - Clijsters 7-5/6-1
=2006=
Roland Garros SF - Henin-Hardenne 6-3/6-2
Eastbourne SF - Henin-Hardenne 6-3/5-7/6-1
Wimbledon SF - Henin-Hardenne 6-4/7-6 (KC served 6-5 in 2nd)
=2010=
Brisbane Final - Clijsters 6-3/4-6/7-6 (KC led 6-3/4-1; JH up 3-0 in 3rd, had 2 MP; KC on 4th MP)
Miami SF - Clijsters 6-2/6-7/7-6 (KC led 6-3/3-0; KC on 4th MP)



*WOMEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
#8 Kim Clijsters/BEL vs. #17 Justine Henin/BEL
#21 Vera Zvonareva/RUS vs. #4 Jelena Jankovic/SRB
Tsvetana Pironkova/BUL vs. #11 Marion Bartoli/FRA
Jarmila Groth/AUS vs. #2 Venus Williams/USA

*MEN'S SINGLES ROUND OF 16*
#1 Roger Federer/SUI vs. #16 Jurgen Melzer/AUT
#12 Tomas Berdych/CZE vs. Daniel Brands/GER
#3 Novak Djokovic/SRB vs. #15 Lleyton Hewitt/AUS
Lu Yen-Hsun/TPE vs. #5 Andy Roddick/USA
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD
TBD vs. TBD




TOP QUALIFIER: #1q Kaia Kanepi/EST
TOP EARLY ROUND (1r-2r): #2 Venus Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE ROUND (SF-F): xxx
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q1: Junri Namigata/JPN def. Karolina Pliskova/CZE 6-2/4-6/14-12
TOP EARLY RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #24 Daniela Hantuchova/SVK def. Vania King/USA 6-7/7-6/6-3
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): xxx
TOP LATE RD. MATCH (SF-F): xxx
=============================
FIRST WINNER: Chan Yung-Jan/TPE (def. Patty Schnyder/SUI)
FIRST SEED OUT: #5 Francesca Schiavone (1st Rd. - lost to Vera Dushevina/RUS)
UPSET QUEENS: Czechs
REVELATION LADIES: Romanians
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: [Greta Arn/HUN & Kaia Kanepi/EST are in 3rd Rd.]
IT GIRL: xxx
MS. OPPORTUNITY: xxx
COMEBACK PLAYER: xxx
CRASH & BURN: Francesca Schiavone/ITA & Samantha Stosur/AUS (RG finalists, both lost in 1st Rd.)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: xxx
LAST BRIT STANDING: Heather Watson/GBR (last of six to lose in 1st Rd.)
DOUBLES STAR xxx
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: xxx




All for Day 5. More tomorrow.

Read more...