Serena Has Two Left Feet.

Serena Williams cut her right foot on a piece of glass last week coming out of a restaurant. The injury will require surgery, apparently, and she’ll miss Istanbul, Toronto and Cincinnati in the lead-up to the US Open.

Not pictured: emotional distress.

Hope all goes well and she’s fully healthy for the US Open. Something tells me she will be.

Putting On The Ritz

In honour of Rafa actually being able to attend the Champions’ Ball properly this time ….

C Note has more.

Wimbledon Day 12: “Hey, Billie, I Got You!”

Serena Williams d. Vera Zvonareva, 63 62

On Saturday, Serena Williams picked up her fourth Wimbledon title and her thirteenth Grand Slam over all, overtaking Billie Jean King in the all-time standings. And she did it without dropping a set and without facing a break in the final. That’s about as dominant a performance as you will ever, ever see. Gobsmacking stuff.

OK, so it wasn’t the most interesting final to watch, but if you consider Serena’s performance over the seven matches throughout the fortnight as the spectacle, then you know you’ve seen something.

It’s hard not to feel sorry for Vera, as there was basically nothing she could do; she could have played a good 15% better, and there still would have been nothing she could have done. Her run to the final was exceptional and she did her best on the day, although she must have hoped for so much more from it, but the way she handled herself after such a painful experience – the dignity and the depth of emotion she showed – was both impressive and endearing. And if she can kick on from this tournament and play with something approaching the same level of conviction, we could be looking at a whole different Vera Zvonareva in the latter phase of her career. Could be very interesting.

And she’s still got the hottest coach since Hugo Le Coq. So there’s always that.

Serena, though. I don’t want to belabor this angle, but it was the first Wimbledon title she’s won where she didn’t face Venus in the final (which I tend to feel always makes her the underdog, at least in her own mind), and to produce that kind of performance as the overwhelming favourite is quite something. Presumably I’m very late to the party on this (I prefer it that way, you don’t have to stay as long), but I find I’m having to readjust my thinking on Serena. For the first time, I’m truly placing her in the context of history, and not in a vaguely patronising breaking boundaries sense; in the sense of having a legitimate claim to being considered one of the greatest players of all time. Things look a lot different with those interpretive lenses on, and I’m curious to see whether, as I partly believe, Serena’s biggest accomplishments might be yet to come.

There was just such a, well, serenity about her in this tournament. Even when she barely drops a set on the way to other titles, there’s always a turmoil, a struggle that fuels her performances. While she was tested – that first set against Sharapova springs immediately to mind – I never felt like she was battling herself. She seemed, I don’t know, centred. Even in the BBC interviews I saw her give, she was totally at ease with herself and what she was trying to achieve, never more so than when she was laughing at herself. Perhaps I’m completely off-base, but I honestly feel right now like Serena could win three Slams a year for the next three years, because she’s found her groove. I don’t know, what do you think?

Anyway, she nabbed a Wimbledon this weekend, and that’ll do to be going on with.

Thirteen, baby.

Wimbledon Day 12: Ladies’ Final Preview

Did I mention these two ladies are in the final? They are.

Best of luck with that, Vera.

Wimbledon Day 8: The Unusual Suspects

Feast your eyes on this semifinal lineup.

Then probably rub them a bit. OK, we expected Serena, despite the fact that Li Na Na Li (still can’t do it) has played her close and in fact beaten her in the past. But Serena has looked fearsome in these championships, with impenetrable serving (she served at an average of 111 mph today), and Na Li couldn’t really do too much about it. 75, 63, job done.

Curtsey still needs work though.

But what about her opponent, little Petra Kvitova? Well, not that little; she’s six foot. But she is quite young; 20. And you know how I know that? Because I am looking her up on the WTA website. It’s not that I didn’t know who she was – she’s had big wins in the past – I just never thought it would be that important. After all, when has a left-handed Czech ever done anything noteworthy?

Trailblazer.

And really, who thought that Vera Zvonareva would beat Kim Clijsters? Especially when Kim took the first set 63 and appeared perfectly comfortable, moving Zvonareva beautifully from side to side and finishing points off with a beautiful touch at net. She appeared totally relaxed; maybe a little too relaxed, as Vera really took it to her in the second and third sets and Kim had no response. Vera paid tribute to her own newfound maturity and emotional serenity on the court in her presser, which was perhaps fortunate, because probably nobody else was going to do it.

Fear her.

And now we come to the most surprising result of the day, Tsvetana Pironkova’s straightforward demolition of Venus Williams, 62 63. Except … was it? I watched it while it was happening, and then just to be sure I watched it again after work, and I still don’t know how it happened. I do think Pironkova played an excellent match and brought a high degree of guile to the court; knowing she couldn’t compete with Venus on raw pace and power, she concentrated on confounding Venus with no-pace balls and scrupulously accurate placement, working the five-time champion into a frustrated lather which resulted in enforced errors time and again. Most importantly, she brought a high degree of self-belief to the court, and not the manufactured sort which melts away under pressure; having beaten Venus once before, as she said to the BBC, “I actually thought I could win.” A praiseworthy attitude.

But Venus definitely contributed to beating herself. For one thing, she consistently failed to attack Pironkova’s serve, particularly her frankly nothing second serve. She simply made too many wild errors. And her choice of tactics was baffling, especially with regards to her stubborn insistence on serving and hitting to Pironkova’s backhand, which stung her time and again. I understand that a part of Venus’ ethos is a focus on her own game and a belief that the result rests largely if not exclusively on how well she executes that game. But when a relatively simple adjustment in tactics could have swung the match in her favour … Well, I suppose even five-time champions have their off-days.

Pictured: an off-day.

That sounds ungracious towards Pironkova, and I don’t necessarily mean it that way. It might just be my own annoyance that a player who I’ve never really thought of as a potentially big talent confounded my expectations so thoroughly. She did play a great match, she really did, and pulled off the upset of the tournament so far – which is a neat trick when Yen-Hsun Lu beat Andy Roddick in five sets. And she was sweet afterwards. So good on you, Tsvetana.

Nickname suggestions gratefully accepted.

Wimbledon Day 7: Marquee Matches

Serena Williams d. Maria Sharapova, 76(9) 64

You just knew Maria was going to turn it on for this match, and my god, did she. The first set was ridiculously good tennis – if you didn’t see it, get it – and had it not been for Serena’s phenomenal serving (and a couple of errors by Sharapova at very crucial moments in the hotly-contested tiebreak) it could and would have gone the other way. The second set perhaps inevitably didn’t live up to the standard as Serena got the bit firmly between her teeth, but it was still a great display of first-strike tennis and a very impressive victory for the defending champion.

At some point, though, Maria is going to have to start winning these close ones if she’s going to get back to where she was. After watching her today, I feel more confident than I have done at any point that that will happen. She gave another great presser, too:

Q. The last three tournaments you played very close to very good players in all matches. Do you feel like you’re close to getting over the line? What’s it going to take for you to tip the scales in your favor?

MARIA SHARAPOVA: I mean, I was very happy that I was put in the situations and I got myself in the situation in order to win the match. I certainly could have done a little bit of better job in executing.

You know, I can sit here and whine about that. But the fact that I gave myself a chance and I went out there and I’m feeling, you know, just really happy to be playing out there the way I want to play and the way that makes me happy playing, uhm, it’s a joy to be out there again.

She really means it too. Kudos – and kudos to Serena for another stunning performance. Is there anyone in the game who plays better as the favourite than Serena, who handles that pressure better? Serious question.

Kim Clijsters d. Justine Henin, 26 62 63

Who called it? Oh that’s right. Me. It didn’t play out quite as I thought it would; Justine made a great start and Kim was, by her own admission, nowhere to be found. Justine took a bad fall and received treatment for the elbow injury she incurred, and Kim took total charge of the second set. Then we all sat forward in our seats for the third set.

I honestly thought coming into this match that Justine simply wanted to win here too much, and that it would lead her to over-press – fatal, given the tactical alterations she’s made to her game which sit uneasily whatever she says – and that was very much the way it played out. She simply pushed too hard in a way that looked too uncomfortable, pressing forward down the middle of the court and either missing or leaving herself open rather than working the angles in the way she used to do. And so the grand Wimbledon campaign ends at the hands of someone whose comeback seems to have been a lot more fun than hers so far. C’est la vie.

Wimbledon Manic Monday Preview: Ladies

And now for the distaff side.

Serena Williams v Maria Sharapova

H2H: 5-1

Strawberries-and-cream vs. upturned rose (apparently), one of these women has looked in devastatingly awesome form so far, and the other is Maria Sharapova. Admittedly Maria has won all her matches in straight sets, but the only one I’ve watched (against junior nemesis Barbora Zahlalova Strycova), she looked clumsy, sluggish and tentative. I’ve no doubt that she will get it up against Serena, but I still think this match might turn out to be a bit of a damp squib. Prediction: Serena in straights.

Winner to meet …

Na Li v Agnieszka Radwanska

 

H2H: 1-2

It’s been a quiet Wimbledon for both these ladies so far and I haven’t seen either of them play (although we all owe Na Li a vote of thanks for getting rid of Anastasia ‘toys so far out of the pram they have been adopted by other kind homes’ Rodionova). I’m going with Agnieszka, because her game works beautifully on grass and she’s a two-time quarterfinalist in SW19. Prediction: Radwanska in three.

Caroline Wozniacki v Petra Kvitova

H2H: 2-0

Kvitova has had one of the most eye-catching results at this tournament so far, coming back from a break down in the first to not just defeat but bagel Victoria Azarenka (oh, Vika). That will have given her a lot of confidence, but you can’t really bet against slow-and-steady Caroline, can you? Sadly. Prediction: Wozniacki in straights.

Winner to meet …

Klara Zakopalova v Kaia Kanepi

H2H: 0-1

There are some players that I just get irrationally annoyed when I see them win. These are two of them; Zakopalova because she’s got a sour expression on her face even when she’s winning, and Kanepi because you can never tell from tournament to tournament which one of her is going to turn up (and when it’s Good Kaia, she generally announces her presence by beating one or more of my favourites). However, both of them are on excellent mini-runs. Zakopalova has beaten Meusberger, Rezai and Pennetta; Kanepi, Sam Stosur, Edina Gallovits and Alexandra Dulgheru. On the basis that the former is a shade more impressive and I don’t really care, I’m going with Zakopalova. Prediction: Zakopalova in three. She won’t smile.

Kim Clijsters v Justine Henin

H2H: 12-12 (3-1 on grass)

The other match to look forward to, particularly if you’re one of those who bemoans the last few years in the WTA. Kim has cruised so far and looks in some ways ripe for an upset, while Justine has played as well as anyone in the tournament in her defeat of Nadia Petrova. Still, I think that Justine wants this too much and that, coupled with the changes she’s made to her game this year which still don’t seem to sit right, will cost her. Prediction: Kim in three.

Winner to meet …

Vera Zvonareva v Jelena Jankovic

H2H: 5-6

Vera has been quietly coming through in the bottom of the draw, largely unheeded with solid wins over unspectacular opponents until the third round when she demolished Yanina Wickmayer. The buzz is that she finally feels that she’s got her form back. JJ, meanwhile, after her win over Laura Robson, dropped a set to Aleksandra Wozniak and called the trainer after bagelling Alona Bondarenko. Not to mention that this court will be played on court 12, which JJ will need a helicopter or at least a team of Sherpas to find. Prediction: Zvonareva in two.

Tsvetana Pironkova v Marion Bartoli

H2H: 0-3

Every Slam I reckon there has to be one round-of-sixteen match-up which makes you go, “… how did this happen?”. This is mine. Er, Pironkova beat Dushevina who beat Schiavone, and Bartoli is a former finalist, so …. I don’t even know. Prediction: Bartoli in straights.

Winner to meet …

Jarmila Groth v Venus Williams

H2H: 0-0

It’s been a very nice tournament for the adorable Jarmila. Shame it’s over. Prediction: Venus in straights.

So that’s what I think. What do you reckon ..?

Wimbledon Results, Day 4: Day 5 OOP

Gentlemen

Singles – Second Round
[2] R Nadal (ESP) d R Haase (NED) 57 62 36 60 63
[4] A Murray (GBR) d J Nieminen (FIN) 63 64 62
[6] R Soderling (SWE) d M Granollers (ESP) 75 61 64
[9] D Ferrer (ESP) d F Serra (FRA) 64 75 67(6) 63
[10] J Tsonga (FRA) d A Dolgopolov (UKR) 64 64 67(5) 57 10-8
[18] S Querrey (USA) d I Dodig (CRO) 62 57 63 76(10)
[25] T Bellucci (BRA) d M Fischer (AUT) 67(11) 76(4) 76(1) 62
[26] G Simon (FRA) d I Marchenko (UKR) W/O (right shoulder)
[32] J Benneteau (FRA) d A Beck (GER) 36 62 46 76(5) 63
[33] P Petzschner (GER) d L Kubot (POL) 64 36 46 63 62
J Chardy (FRA) d L Lacko (SVK) 63 76(4) 46 67(5) 86
X Malisse (BEL) d J Reister (GER) 67(7) 64 61 64
T Kamke (GER) d A Seppi (ITA) 36 62 63 64
F Fognini (ITA) d M Russell (USA) 36 57 75 76(6) 63

Singles – First Round
[23] J Isner (USA) d N Mahut (FRA) 64 36 67(7) 76(3) 70-68

Doubles – First Round
[1] D Nestor (CAN) / N Zimonjic (SRB) d J Marray (GBR) / J Murray (GBR) 63 67(2) 76(6) 67(2) 15-13
[2] B Bryan (USA) / M Bryan (USA) d M Chiudinelli (SUI) / B Reynolds (USA) 61 64 64
[4] M Bhupathi (IND) / M Mirnyi (BLR) d M Gonzalez (ARG) / S Prieto (ARG) 75 61 75
[7] W Moodie (RSA) / D Norman (BEL) d J Coetzee (RSA) / K Vliegen (BEL) 76(3) 64 46 62
[8] J Knowle (AUT) / A Ram (ISR) d E Butorac (USA) / R Ram (USA) 67(3) 64 64 62
[9] F Cermak (CZE) / M Mertinak (SVK) d B Becker (GER) / S Lipsky (USA) 46 76(5) 76(4) 61
[10] S Aspelin (SWE) / P Hanley (AUS) d G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) / A Montanes (ESP) 26 63 63 61
[12] J Isner (USA) / S Querrey (USA) vs M Przysiezny (POL) / D Sela (ISR) – postponed
P Marx (GER) / I Zelenay (SVK) d [13] M Fish(USA) / M Knowles (BAH) 67(5) 76(7) 64 67(3) 63
[14] J Benneteau (FRA) / M Llodra (FRA) d K Beck(SVK) / D Tursunov (RUS) 61 62 76(6)
[15] M Melo (BRA) / B Soares (BRA) d S Greul (GER) / P Luczak (AUS) 76(4) 63 75
L Lacko (SVK) / S Stakhovsky (UKR) d A Falla (COL) / S Giraldo (COL) 46 62 75 64
A Dolgopolov (UKR) / D Istomin (UZB) d M Lopez (ESP) / D Marrero (ESP) 64 63 63
C Ball (AUS) / C Guccione (AUS) d S Huss (AUS) / A Sa (BRA) 64 62 64
A Golubev (KAZ) / A Seppi (ITA) d J Hajek (CZE) / R Schuettler (GER) 64 57 75 76(6)
Y Lu (TPE) / J Tipsarevic (SRB) d J Cerretani (USA) / J Chardy (FRA) 64 64 76(2)
C Kas (GER) / V Troicki (SRB) vs T De Bakker (NED) / R Haase (NED) – postponed
A Clement (FRA) / N Mahut (FRA) vs C Fleming (GBR) / K Skupski (GBR) – to finish 67(4)
R Hutchins (GBR) / J Kerr (AUS) d A Bogdanovic (GBR) / A Slabinsky (GBR) 61 76(2) 64

Ladies

Singles – Second Round
(1) Serena Williams (USA) d. Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) 60 61
(3) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) d. Chang Kai-Chen (TPE) 64 63
(7) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) d. Alberta Brianti (ITA) 62 60
(9) Li Na (CHN) d. (Q) Kurumi Nara (JPN) 62 64
(10) Flavia Pennetta (ITA) d. (Q) Monica Niculescu (ROU) 61 61
(14) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) d. Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 61 64
(16) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. Ioana Raluca Olaru (ROU) 61 64
Klara Zakopalova (CZE) d. (18) Aravane Rezai (FRA) 57 63 63
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) d. (19) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) 64 26 64
Petra Kvitova (CZE) d. (23) Zheng Jie (CHN) 64 26 62
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) d. (24) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK) 16 62 64
(29) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) d. Roberta Vinci (ITA) 62 76(1)
(31) Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU) d. (Q) Romina Oprandi (ITA) 62 60
(32) Sara Errani (ITA) d. Arantxa Parra Santonja (ESP) 62 62
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) d. Ayumi Morita (JPN) 67(4) 76(2) 75
(Q) Kaia Kanepi (EST) d. Edina Gallovits (ROU) 64 75

Doubles – First Round
(3) Petrova/Stosur (RUS/AUS) d. Oudin/Zalameda (USA/USA) 76(5) 60
(5) Huber/Mattek-Sands (USA/USA) d. Borwell/Kops-Jones (GBR/USA) 67(1) 63 75
Amanmuradova/Barrois (UZB/GER) d. (9) Chan/Zheng (TPE/CHN) 63 26 64
(10) Kirilenko/Radwanska (RUS/POL) d. Arvidsson/Kerber (SWE/GER) 64 75
(14) Niculescu/Peer (ROU/ISR) d. Bondarenko/Bondarenko (UKR/UKR) 62 62
(16) Hsieh/Kudryavtseva (TPE/RUS) d. Krajicek/Schnyder (NED/SUI) 63 62
Hlavackova/Hradecka (CZE/CZE) d. (WC) Broady/O’Brien (GBR/GBR) 62 63
Vesnina/Zvonareva (RUS/RUS) d. (Q) Koryttseva/Kustova (UKR/BLR) 75 64
Baltacha/Savchuk (GBR/UKR) d. Kulikova/Sevastova (RUS/LAT) 63 63
Jankovic/Scheepers (SRB/RSA) d. Medina Garrigues/Senoglu (ESP/TUR) 64 62
Safarova/Wozniak (CZE/CAN) d. (LL) Marosi/Woerle (HUN/GER) 46 64 63
(Q) Kanepi/Zhang (EST/CHN) d. (WC) Peers/Robson (AUS/GBR) 62 64

Suspended due to darkness
(11) Black/Hantuchova (ZIM/SVK) vs. Kondratieva/Uhlirova (RUS/CZE) 62 26

OOP

Centre Court 13:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Justine Henin (BEL)[17] v. Nadia Petrova (RUS)[12]
2. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Gael Monfils (FRA)[21] v. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)[15]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Roger Federer (SUI)[1] v. Arnaud Clement (FRA)

No. 1 Court 13:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[3] v. Albert Montanes (ESP)[28]
2. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Alisa Kleybanova (RUS)[26] v. Venus Williams (USA)[2]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)[29] v. Andy Roddick (USA)[5]

Court 2 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Kim Clijsters (BEL)[8] v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[27]
2. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Alona Bondarenko (UKR)[28] v. Jelena Jankovic (SRB)[4]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Feliciano Lopez (ESP)[22] v. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)[16]
4. Ladies’ Doubles
Serena Williams (USA)[1] v. Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
Venus Williams (USA)[1] Tathiana Garbin (ITA)

Court 5 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles – 2nd Round
Thiemo De Bakker (NED) v. John Isner (USA)[23]
2. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) v. Regina Kulikova (RUS)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Florian Mayer (GER) v. Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE)
4. Ladies’ Doubles
Lucie Safarova (CZE) v. Liezel Huber (USA)[5]
Aleksandra Wozniak (CAN) Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA)[5]

Court 6 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Marcel Granollers (ESP)[11] v. Ross Hutchins (GBR)
Tommy Robredo (ESP)[11] Jordan Kerr (AUS)
2. Ladies’ Doubles
Dominika Cibulkova (SVK) v. Alicja Rosolska (POL)[15]
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Zi Yan (CHN)[15]
3. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)[4] v. Jamie Delgado (GBR)
Max Mirnyi (BLR)[4] Joshua Goodall (GBR)
4. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Jean-Julien Rojer (AHO) v. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) Vera Dushevina (RUS)

Court 7 13:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Doubles
Maria Kondratieva (RUS) v. Cara Black (ZIM)[11]
Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)[11]
2. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round To Finish 2-6 6-2
Wesley Moodie (RSA)[7] v. Andrey Golubev (KAZ)
Dick Norman (BEL)[7] Andreas Seppi (ITA)
3. Ladies’ Doubles
Sara Errani (ITA) v. Maria Kirilenko (RUS)[10]
Roberta Vinci (ITA) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)[10]
4. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Dick Norman (BEL) v. Jonathan Marray (GBR)
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL) Anna Smith (GBR)

Court 8 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Jesse Levine (USA) v. Robert Lindstedt (SWE)[16]
Ryan Sweeting (USA) Horia Tecau (ROU)[16]
2. Ladies’ Doubles
Julia Goerges (GER) v. Kai-Chen Chang (TPE)
Agnes Szavay (HUN) Ayumi Morita (JPN)
3. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 1st Round
Christopher Kas (GER) v. Thiemo De Bakker (NED)
Viktor Troicki (SRB) Robin Haase (NED)
4. Ladies’ Doubles
Kveta Peschke (CZE)[6] v. Virginia Ruano Pascual (ESP)
Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)[6] Meghann Shaughnessy (USA)

Court 10 13:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) v. Julien Benneteau (FRA)[14]
Travis Rettenmaier (USA) Michael Llodra (FRA)[14]
2. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) v. Leonardo Mayer (ARG)
Eduardo Schwank (ARG) Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
3. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Santiago Gonzalez (MEX) v. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Klaudia Jans (POL) Ipek Senoglu (TUR)

Court 12 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Greta Arn (HUN) v. Marion Bartoli (FRA)[11]
2. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Yanina Wickmayer (BEL)[15] v. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)[21]
3. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Tomas Berdych (CZE)[12] v. Denis Istomin (UZB)
4. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) v. Bob Bryan (USA)
Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) Lindsay Davenport (USA)
5. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Julian Knowle (AUT) v. Philipp Marx (GER)
Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) Andrea Petkovic (GER)
To Finish 3-6 6-3

Court 14 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Martin Damm (CZE) v. Frantisek Cermak (CZE)[9]
Filip Polasek (SVK) Michal Mertinak (SVK)[9]
2. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Lukas Lacko (SVK) v. Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)[3]
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) Leander Paes (IND)[3]
3. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Xavier Malisse (BEL) v. Filip Polasek (SVK)
Kim Clijsters (BEL) Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)
4. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Bruno Soares (BRA) v. Philipp Petzschner (GER)
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)

Court 16 12:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Doubles
Iveta Benesova (CZE)[12] v. Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)
Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)[12] Lucie Hradecka (CZE)
2. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Philipp Marx (GER) v. Rohan Bopanna (IND)
Igor Zelenay (SVK) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)
3. Ladies’ Doubles
Gisela Dulko (ARG)[4] v. Elena Baltacha (GBR)
Flavia Pennetta (ITA)[4] Olga Savchuk (UKR)
4. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Rohan Bopanna (IND) v. Eric Butorac (USA)
Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) Olga Govortsova (BLR)

Court 17 13:00 Start Time
1. Ladies’ Doubles
Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)[16] v. Kaia Kanepi (EST)
Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)[16] Shuai Zhang (CHN)
2. Ladies’ Doubles
Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB) v. Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)
Kristina Barrois (GER) Klara Zakopalova (CZE)
3. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Tommy Robredo (ESP) v. Horia Tecau (ROU)
Marie-Eve Pelletier (CAN) Monica Niculescu (ROU)
4. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Martin Damm (CZE) v. Dusan Vemic (SRB)
Vladimira Uhlirova (CZE) Flavia Pennetta (ITA)

Court 18 12:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Singles – 2nd Round
Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)[13] v. Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA)
2. Ladies’ Singles – 3rd Round
Angelique Kerber (GER) v. Jarmila Groth (AUS)
3. Gentlemen’s Singles – 3rd Round
Victor Hanescu (ROU)[31] v. Daniel Brands (GER)
4. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 1st Round
Colin Fleming (FRA) v. Arnaud Clement (GBR)
Kenneth Skupski (FRA) Nicolas Mahut (GBR)
To Finish 7-6(4)

Court 19 13:00 Start Time
1. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 2nd Round
Marc Lopez (ESP) v. Julian Knowle (AUT)[8]
David Marrero (ESP) Andy Ram (ISR)[8]
2. Gentlemen’s Doubles – 1st Round
John Isner (USA)[12] v. Michal Przysiezny (POL)
Sam Querrey (USA)[12] Dudi Sela (ISR)
3. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Ross Hutchins (GBR) v. David Marrero (ESP)
Anne Keothavong (GBR) Alexandra Dulgheru (ROU)

TBA Start Time
Not Before:17:00

1. Ladies’ Doubles
Lisa Raymond (USA)[7] v. Jocelyn Rae (GBR)
Rennae Stubbs (AUS)[7] Heather Watson (GBR)
Not Before:17:00

2. Mixed Doubles – 1st Round
Andre Sa (BRA) v. Jamie Murray (GBR)
Vera Zvonareva (RUS) Laura Robson (GBR)

Wimbledon Day 4: Royally Right

A nation quaked, but it all turned out surprisingly well; Andy Murray bowed. Quite decently. One hand on the stomach, one on the back. All very respectable and with a definite air of having been practiced in front of the mirror.

You can find the bow here for post-game analysis. If you’re British. Sorry, everyone else.

He also won the match, by the way. There’s been some excited muttering about him not having played so well since Melbourne, and that’s probably true, but let’s face it, that’s really not that difficult. Anyway, it can’t have been easy out there today, despite Mandy’s claims he felt no particular additional pressure.

Bless you, you little liar.

You have to love the way that Wimbledon, in a year when for once most people’s attention will not be on Murray’s performance, still finds a way to pile on the pressure, as Mandy was duly sent up to have a private chatette with HRM immediately after the match.

How lucky is the AELTC that Mandy was playing someone as nice and polite as Jarkko, by the way? I mean, imagine if say, Daniel Koellerer was Mandy’s second-round opponent. He probably would have nutted her one. Or propositioned her.

HRM left before watching Wozniacki, for reasons which just boggle the mind, but she did have a full tour earlier on and meet a little receiving line of players past and present.

And then she was gone, and Wimbledon metaphorically heaved a sigh of relief, got out the beers and undid the top button of its trousers. Which is not something that is often said. Anyway, it was lovely to see her there. I just hope she doesn’t leave it so long this time.

See you soon, Liz II.

Wimbledon: It Begins

Gentlemen

Draw here.

Projected QFs: Federer-Davydenko, Djokovic-Roddick, Murray-Verdasco, Nadal-Soderling

Ladies

Draw here.

Projected QFs: Serena-Radwanska, Wozniacki-Stosur, Jankovic-Clijsters, Venus-Schiavone

I have to leave in about 8 hours to camp for tickets, so no posting from me at least until Wednesday (sorry, sorry, sorry, I know I suck). I’ll be drunkenly tweeting from @newballsplease along with @crystaleyesd, my camping buddy. Wave if you see me on TV!

We’ll see you there.

In the meantime, can I recommend (i.e. plead) that you participate in the Battle of the Boards bracket challenge, courtesy of the amazing Steve from britishtennis.net? Just fill in the draw according to who you think will win each round, select ‘NB – NewBallsPlease’ from the teams dropdown, then sit back and watch the carnage visited by this blog on all other would-be challengers. Because that will how it will be.

Back Wednesday I promise (I know, nothing but sweet, sweet words that turn to bitter orange wax in your ears). And if anybody out there is going to be at Wimbledon on Monday or Tuesday, or camping tomorrow, drop me a line on ybounden@hotmail.co.uk, and come and say hi. Or just look for the girls with the pink tent and the total lack of any sort of suitable camping equipment drinking Pinot Grigio frizzante and talking loudly about Mario Ancic …