Tennis Chatter

Men

Day five came and went and with it so did the championship hopes of F. Gonzalez and I. Ljubicic. Both were upset in the third round to unseated players. In addition J. Blake lost 6-3, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6 to an absolutely on-fire C. Ferrero. Ferrero hit 33 winners, 8 aces, and 17 unforced errors. He also volleyed well, winning 19 of 23 points at the net. He’ll face J. Tipsarevic next (the Serbian who upset Gonzalez) and with a win, he could play Federer in quarterfinals. On the subject of Federer, the match between Safin and him was a little bit of a disappointment. Federer won 6-1, 6-4, 7-6. Safin was his usual self in the first two sets, playing inconsistently and putting up very little fight. However, in the third set he elevated his play, pushing it to a tiebreak. During the last several games of the third set and the tiebreak, Federer served better than he has in months, holding off Safin’s comeback. He ended with 12 aces and served 65% first serves, an improvement over his first two matches. Federer’s next round oppenent, Haas, defeated Tursunov 1-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-4. Haas has played extremely well so far this tournament, hitting 41 winners, to only 20 unforced errors today. He could give Federer problems during backhand rallies, as Haas has one of the best one-handed backhands on the tour. Of course, so does Federer.

On the subject of great backhands, Gasquet used his to dismantle E. Roger-vasselin today, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. He hit an amazing ratio of 41 winners, to only 12 unforced errors! Of course his next round oppenent, J. Tsonga, did even better with 46 winners and 13 unforced errors in his win over F. Lopez. The two Frenchman will play for a quarterfinal berth (probably to be played against Roddick). I feel Gasquet should probably win this match, and if he is returning well, he could beat Roddick in quarters. Roddick obviously has an edge in serving (12 aces today), but Gasquet has a much more explosive ground game.

Complete Results

Women

Very few sunrises on the women’s side of things. Serena Williams has improved her form since her first round match, defeating M. Sequera 6-1, 6-0. Serena had 6 aces, 27 winners, and 11 unforced errors. If she wins fourth round, she would face (probably) Henin in quarters. Henin won their last encounter, at the French Open, however grass should aid Serena’s powerful game.

M. Hingis and A. Chakvetadze were the first two top ten seated players to lose. Hingis lost to American Laura Granville 6-2, 6-4. Granville has a great opportunity to make quarterfinals if she can beat 31st seated M. Krajicek. Krajicek has proven herself to be a little inconsistent (33 unforced errors, 9 double faults today), yet she is still very explosive (12 aces, 43 winners today).

Complete Results

Misc

As for other American hopefuls, the Bryan Brothers (Bob and Mike Bryan) won their first round doubles match 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 over G. Garcia-Lopez and F. Verdasco. The Bryan brothers will be playing a World Team Tennis match in my hometown this summer, so I’ll try to make it out there to take some pictures and give a recap.

Wimbledon was listed as number 9 of the top 101 things a sports fan must witness before they die.

Safin believes no one has the ability to beat Federer at Wimbledon saying:

“I don’t see anybody who can hurt him because everybody knows how to play against him but they don’t have enough weapons to beat him, unfortunately”

Results:

Men

There is still yet to be a big upset in the men’s draw. Henman lost in another thrilling 5 setter to F. Lopez. Lopez was up two sets to none, until Henman put things into gear and won two. In the fifth set however, Lopez took care of business and ended up winning 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 2-6, 6-1. Davydenko beat Guccione 3-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2, to make it to the third round (a career best at Wimbledon). However, if he doesn’t lose to Frenchman G. Monfils this round, expect him to go down to Nalbanian or Baghdatis in the fourth round.

Women

No big upsets in the second round as Henin, Mauresmo, the Williams sisters, Hingis, Sharapova, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and Dementieva all won. Additionally, Henin and Jankovic, already advanced to the third round, by winning today.

Today:

The first major (seated) upset occurred while I am typing this, with F. Gonzalez (5th seed) going down a minute ago 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-8 to J. Tipsarevic. Gonzalez hit more aces, winners, and less unforced errors, but still only won 148 points, to Tipsarevic’s 161. Gonzalez won a paltry 48% of points off of his second serve. This upset opens up the draw for whoever wins in the Blake vs. Ferrero match (currently 6-3, 3-6, 1-1). In addition it is one less seated player Federer would have to play (even though he has owned Gonzalez head to head).

Finally:

The match to watch today is Federer vs. Safin. Serena Williams vs. M. Sequera just started on center court and when they’re done, Safin and Federer will go on. Safin is one of the only players that can match-up with Federer talent wise. He is 2-7 against Federer including a win in the 2005 Australian Open semifinals. However, although Safin’s groundstrokes and serve are huge, and he has good volleys, he doesn’t like or move well on grass. Despite this, if he is “on” and not mentally out of it, he could make this a great match. Federer understands this, saying:

“I expect a tough match. I played him on grass in Halle last year and I had a difficult three-setter against him.

“He’s a player who can cause an upset against anybody on any day. I hope he’s not going to have one of those crazy-good days against me.

“But I think I can pretty much control how things are being played on grass.”

Of their match-up Safin said:

“It’s a huge challenge”

“If I want to have a chance to beat him, I have to put up my best game, go for it.

“I have nothing to lose. I need to play my tennis, stay focused and take my chances - because there are going to be chances.”

Mens

Matches today at the All England Club were delayed due to rain. Henman and Lopez were pulled off their court tied at one all in the first set. Likewise, Federer, Haas, Ljubicic, and Ferrero all had matches delayed until tomorrow. Of those players, only Federer had reached the third set, leading J. Del Porto 6-2, 7-5, 2-0. To this point Federer served a medicore 57% first serve percentage, however that really doesn’t matter when he is winning 64% of his second serves like he is.

Despite the rain, several matches were completed, including an erratic Roddick defeating Udomchoke 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. Roddick increased his net play this match, approaching the net 36 times (and converting 24 of those times). F. Gonzalez once again, ran into trouble early, losing the first set before he defeated A. Falla 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6. He hit 40 unforced errors to only 37 winners. Gonzalez also continued to serve and volley well winning 65% of his 71 net approaches. Gasquet throughly handled Mahut (who has been extremely hot lately), winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Gasquet’s serve remained a question mark as he only served 58% first serves in. Despite this, he was brutal when he got it in winning 93% of his first serves. He hit an impressive mark of only 15 unforced errors, to 41 winners! Finally he was unstoppable at the net winning 19 out of 21 net approaches. Gasquet’s form has been great so far at Wimbledon. This tournament could be his chance to breakout, with Roddick appearing vunerable. Even if Gasquet doesn’t have what it takes to beat Roddick, it certainly wouldn’t be a bad showing “just” making it to quarterfinals. Gasquet has stated that he likes playing at the All England Club saying:

“I really like to play at Wimbledon. There is a lot of history here - it’s my favourite Grand Slam. ”

“I like to play on the grass courts. It is a good surface for my game; it’s fast, I can serve well and I can use my backhand.”

He also feels less pressured here, than in his home country, at the Roland Garros:

“I have less pressure here than in Paris,” said Gasquet.

“A lot of people are waiting for me to do well, and I try to do my best because I want to do good for the people who like me in France.

“But it’s much better for me to play at Wimbledon with less stress. I prefer it here because in France it is very difficult for me.

“I can understand how the British players feel here. Tim Henman has a lot of experience dealing with the pressure but it will be hard for Andy Murray in the next few years because it is never easy to play with this crowd.”

Apart from a large upset, Andy Roddick and Richard Gasquet are on a course to meet each other in quarterfinals

Womens

In the women’s draw, Serena Williams, J. Henin, M. Hingis, and J. Jankovic all won their matches with little trouble. Serena showed no signs of being troubled by her thigh injury beating A. Molik 7-6, 6-3.

A few important stats from the women’s matches:

13 of 18 - J. Henin’s net approaches in her 6-0, 6-4 victory over V. Dushevina
121 MPH - S. William’s fastest serve
4 - Number of unforced errors J. Jankovic hit in her 6-1, 6-1 victory over Gajdosova
3-20 - M. Bartoli’s unforced error-winner ratio in her 7-5, 6-2 win over O. Govortsova
10 - number of aces S. Williams hit
74% - J. Henin’s first serve percentage

So the first two days of Wimbledon are past us and what have we seen so far? No major upsets with Henin, Sharapova, Federer, Roddick, Mauresmo, Jankovic, Nadal, Djokovic, etc all breezing through their matches. Both the Williams sisters encountered trouble early in their first round matches, but prevailed. Reports are out that Serena was been hindered by an injury in her first round match. Of course this “injury” wasn’t mentioned a few days ago when Serena said she would breeze through the competition if she was at the top of her game, which she implied she was. Hmm…perhaps we’ll hear more of this injury if she suffers an early upset.

One upset (albeit not a ranked player) was Nottingham champion Ivo Karlovic losing to F. Santoro. This opens up the draw a little for Djokovic (one less big server he’ll have to face) and Hewitt (Karlovic has dominated Hewitt in recent years).

Henman and Coria finished their thrilling match that was suspended yesterday at 3-6, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 5-5 and it didn’t disappoint. Both players held strong for 13 more games, until Henman won the fifth set 13-11. The match showcased some classic grass court tennis, with 178 net approaches between the two players. With this win, the road to quarters is rather open for Henman. He faces Lopez next round (always a touch oppenent on grass) and could face Gasquet or Mahut fourth round. Henman has a game that matches up well against all, but the shotmaking Gasquet, however Gasquet’s play has been extremely inconsistent and he is unproven in Grand Slams. Although I would never recommend betting on Henman, since he is past is prime and had to play a tough (and tiring) first round match, he has a chance. I wish somehow he could dig deep and make it to the final to defeat his oppenent in a thrilling five setter. The sound from the crowd on center court as Henman finally comes through for Britain would be unforgettable. Of course it is a million to one chance.

For complete results you can view the Wimbledon draws here:
Men
Women

So far today nothing too big has happened. Both Federer and Roddick won easily, while Gonzalez took care of business after losing the first set to Ginepri.

Federer defeats Gabashvili 6-3,6-2, 6-4
This match probably did a lot to silence Federer’s critics who were stating he wouldn’t be ready for Wimbledon and there was something psychologically wrong with him. He served a decent 62% first serves and only allowed one (unsuccessful) break chance for Gabashvili. He hit only 13 unforced errors, while he hit 33 winners and 9 aces.

Roddick defeats Gimelstob 6-1, 7-5, 7-6
Roddick took care of business this match, serving well and playing consistent. He served 74% first serves and had just one double fault. He also kept his unforced errors down with only 11, while he hit 36 winners and 16 aces. Roddick didn’t approach the net as much as I expected, with only 16 approaches, but he was 75% on converting his net chances.

Haas defeats Fleishman 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Haas looked good in his match, easily dispatching Fleishman. He didn’t allow a single break point, while winning 92% of his first serves. He hit 31 winners, while only 9 unforced errors. To top it off, he played well at the net, converting 18 out of 24 chances.

Gonzalez defeats Ginepri 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2,
Gonzalez had a little trouble at the beginning of this match, but ended up taking control in the third and fourth sets. He hit 22 unforced errors and 48 winners. The best sign that I saw from Gonzalez was his 27 of 34 (79%) net conversions.

Complete Men’s results

Right now I am watching an absolute gem of a match between Henman and Moya. Its most exciting match I’ve seen today with Moya and Henman trading sets (Moya taking the first and third and Henman taking the second and fourth.) Neither players are what they used to be, but the match is still extremely entertaining. Henman is one of the few remaining serve and volley players, while Moya has been coming to the net and finding success. It looked like the match was over after the third set, but Henman came back, and has gotten the crowd back into it. As I type this, Moya breaks Henman in the fifth, showing how much of a roller coaster this match has been. The best part is that this is on ESPN 2, giving Americans exposure to some exciting tennis. The winner comparison so far is Moya:39 and Henman:39. The atmosphere is absolutely great, with the British crowd cheering Henman on after every point. This is tennis! I’ll update as the fifth set progresses.

Henman just won his service game after being down 15-40. He resort to some big serving and some crafty chip and charging to pull it even to deuce and eventually win it. He’s still down and break, and Moya has looked good this set on serve, but hopefully the crowd can will Henman onto a break!

MOYA DOUBLE FAULTS AND HENMAN BREAKS! The crowd is absolutely going crazy between points. The score is 4-4 with Henman serving.

And Henman wins a tough service game on an ace! He was down 30-40, but once again fought his way back, through two deuces. Its Moya’s turn to serve and the momentum is in Henman’s favor, but that can change easily.

Match point for Henman after two great passes!

Oh, and he then misses two more passes Adv Moya. Double fault! Deuce.

Amazing point for Henman! Returned an overhead, and then hit a great pass. Second match point. Henman nets the return, deuce.

Great return by Henman, third Match point. Service winner by Moya, followed by an ace. Adv Moya.

Double fault! Deuce number five! Late call on long groundstroke by Moya. Fourth match point, after a challenge by Moya.

Good drop shot by Moya, Moya goes on to take the game. 5-5, Henman’s serve.

And the match gets postponed (due to light)! Wow, talk about anti-climatic. Henman failed to convert four match points, and its been postponed until tomorrow. What a match so far. C

Wimbledon Draw

Section 1:
This is Federer’s section of the draw and it looks pretty thin. If Safin has shown up with his head in the game, there could be an interesting match-up in round 3, between him and Federer. In my mind, this could be Federer’s biggest threat until finals. Safin has a big serve, huge backhand and good forehand, and great volleys. His weakness is his mental game and his movement on grass. However, if he’s on, he poses a much greater threat to Federer than Haas, who could be Federer’s fourth round oppenent.

The other half of this section is even weaker. The only two players who have consistently been a threat on grass are Gonzalez and Blake. Both of them have big forehands and average backhands. Both of them prefer hardcourts, however are adapt on grass. Expect for Gonzalez to make it to quarterfinals with his newly developed slice and huge forehand.

My pick to make it to semifinals is Federer (shocker).

Section 2
This is Andy Roddick’s section of the draw. He should have pretty smooth sailing, until fourth round when he could face Ljubicic. Ljubicic has felt comfortable on grass recently, winning the Ordina Open. However if Roddick’s serve is on I doubt Ljubicic will be able to win.

The other half of the section is much more interesting. Gasquet, Clement, Mahut, Moya, Henman, and Lopez are all residing in this half. Clement and Mahut play first round, in a rematch of the Queen’s semifinal match they played a week ago. The winner could then play Gasquet in the second round. Moya and Henman play first round, a match of two players past their primes. Henman’s been short on success lately, while Moya is more of a clay courter. I look for Mahut to make it out of this side of section two, unless Gasquet finally puts things together.

My pick to make it to semifinals is Roddick.

Section 3
This section of the draw, I feel, is the most wide open. The highest ranked player is Djokovic and he’s had good success on grass. However, he has to fear his third round match-up against Karlovic. If he makes it through the big serving Karlovic (a big if), he should face either serve and volley specialist Miryni, or the former Wimbledon champion Hewitt in the fourth round.

In the other half of the draw, there are three players that stick out to me as having a chance to make it to quarterfinals: Johansson, Nalbanian, or Baghdatis. Johansson has been there before, while Nalbanian is a former runner-up. My pick is Baghadatis though, with his youth and recent success on grass.

My pick to make it to semifinals is either Karlovic or Djokovic.

Section 4
Some people have said this is an easy draw for Nadal. I don’t agree. I mean, he missed out on Karlovic, but he has no easy ride. His first round opponent, Fish, is certainly no pushover. From there, things only get tougher. Third round he could either face Soderling or Grosjean, both of which have a chance to beat him on grass. In the fourth round he could face Cilic or Youzhny (probably Youzhny). Youzhny beat Nadal earlier this year at Dubai.

In the other half of this section I see Bjorkman and Berdych as the players with the best chances to make it to quarterfinals. Bjorkman was a quarter-finalist last year, while Berdych has been hot on grass lately, winning the Gary Weber Open. Of the two, I see Berdych as posing more of a threat to Nadal if he makes it to quarterfinals.

My pick to make it to semifinals is Berdych (although Nadal certainly is the player to prove me wrong).

The last thing to note is that Murray join Ancic by deciding to sit out this Wimbledon. He wasn’t able to recover from injury in time to be fit.

International Women’s Open Final

J. Henin defeats A. Mauresmo 7-5, 6-7, 7-6

This match was a real nail-biter, with Henin and Mauresmo trading breaks back and forth. Mauresmo broke early to gain a 3-1 lead in the first set, but Henin was too tough, breaking back twice. In the second set it was Henin with an early break, and Mauresmo who had to fight her way back. Henin broke in the third set and was up 5-4 on serve, but once again, Mauresmo broke back forcing a tie breaker. Henin won the tie breaker and took her fifth title of the year. Henin and Mauresmo are in different halves of the Wimbledon draw, creating an opportunity for another exciting final between the two players.

Ordina Open Women’s Final

A. Chakvetadze defeats J. Jankovic 7-6, 3-6, 6-3

Interesting match here, the first set was interrupted four times by rain. To add to that, Chakvetadze got out to a 5-0 lead, only to allow Jankovic back into it, forcing a tie break. Chakvetadze held on to win the first set, and was able to pull out the third set against a less than 100% Jankovic. Several reports I read, indicated Jankovic was having thigh problems. Hopefully she’ll be fit by first round of Wimbledon. This was Chakvetadze’s second title of the year.

Ordina Open Men’s Final

I. Ljubicic defeats P. Wessels 7-6, 4-6, 7-6

Nottingham Final

I. Karlovic defeats A. Clement 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Of the match and his current form Karlovic said:

“To tell the truth I didn’t really expect to win. I came here to play a few matches, I was the last player in the draw.”

“I was injured last year for six months and I did not really have very good preparations for this year but so far it is my best year.”

“In the first set I was a little bit nervous. I missed a few easy volleys but after that I was more relaxed and concentrated more and that was the only difference.”

“I felt I was playing well the whole match and the whole week and somebody has to win.”

Wimbledon draws came out today and they can provide a great preview of what match-ups to expect. I’ll post an updated preview sometime this weekend, but for the time being here’s an update of some grass tournaments around the world.

Nottingham

Well, right after I got done talking about how I hoped Gasquet would win, he lost in quarterfinals. To his credit though, the match was made tricky by the fact that it was moved inside due to rain (off of grass), destroying any momentum either player may have had up to that point in the match. After the match Gasquet voiced his complaints over the court switch sayin:

It was really bad for me as I wanted to play on a grass court. t’s too different. I’m used to playing on centre court with a crowd and now we play on an indoor court — it’s not the same and there are no spectators. It was difficult but it was the same situation for both of us and Arnaud played better than me.

Clement, who he lost to, went on to make it to the final today. The semifinals results are as follows:

A. Clement defeats J. Bjorkman 6-2, 6-4

Clement has been hot lately showing that he is extremely comfortable on grass. Instead of Gasquet, he and Mathieu might might be the best chance for France at Wimbledon.

I. Karlovic defeats D. Tursunov 7-5, 6-4

International Women’s Open Semifinal Results

J. Henin defeats M. Bartoli 6-1, 6-3

A. Mauresmo defeats N. Petrova 6-4, Retired

As I said in my last post, this is an interesting match-up. It’s a rematch of last year’s Wimbledon final where Mauresmo topped Henin. Look for Henin to serve a volley a lot, and Mauresmo to avoid Henin’s powerful backhand.

I’ve had some server problems today, which is why this post is a little short and posted a little late. Tomorrow I’ll update with all the finals results and cover the draws for Wimbledon.

Here are some results for grass court warmup tournaments around the world:

Nottingham quarterfinal matchings and (some) results:

R. Gasquet vs. A. Clement
This is the first real test for Gasquet as he tries to defend his title. Clement has been playing well lately and made it to semifinals of Queens, opposed to Gasquet who was upset in the first round.

J. Bjorkman vs. P. Mathieu

I. Karlovic defeats J. Del Porto 7-6, 7-5
No suprise here, as Karlovic is almost impossible to break on grass.

G. Garcia-Lopez vs. D. Tursunov

There hasn’t really been any big surprises at Nottingham, all the major seeds and contenders advanced to quarterfinals. It surprises me a bit that Bjorkman has done as well lately as he has on grass (good showing at Queens, semifinal last year at Wimbledon). He doesn’t have the prototypical “grass” court game. I hope Gasquet holds it together and wins his third title, as he is a very exciting player to watch when he is “on.”

The Ordina Open (men)

The Ordina draw and results can be found here:
Results

The Ordina Open usually hosts weaker competition than Nottingham. I think that I. Ljubicic will make it to the finals and win, while B. Becker could be his runner-up. Of course T. Robredo could stand in Becker’s way in the semifinal, but Robredo’s game isn’t the best on grass, and I feel like Becker has a chance.

International Women’s Open Semifinal matchings

J. Henin vs. M Bartoli
Henin has looked good on grass this tournament, winning her first two matches with relative ease. She’s looking to complete a career slam and winning a title this week could aid her confidence going into Wimbledon. She faces Bartoli who upset fourth seed E. Dementieva in the third round.

A. Mauresmo vs. N. Petrova

These match-ups present an interesting scenario if both Mauresmo and Henin win. It would be a rematch of last year’s final and a potential preview of this years, as both players have to be considered favorites. In their current form Henin would have to be considered the favorite, however Mauresmo is best on grass, while grass is the only surface Henin hasn’t won a slam on.

Ordina Open Quarterfinal Matchups (women):

J. Jankovic vs. A. Bondarenko

D. Hantuchova vs. A. Ivanovic

Other news:

Blake warns Murray about fitness

Ancic pulls out of Wimbledon-This is pretty big news as Ancic was a semifinalist last year at Wimbledon and has a strong grass court game.

A good read about interesting Wimbledon moments and facts

Wimbledon released all the seedings today. They are as follows:

Men’s Singles

1. Roger FEDERER (SUI)
2. Rafael NADAL (ESP)
3. Andy RODDICK (USA)
4. Novak DJOKOVIC (SRB)
5. Fernando GONZALEZ (CHI)
6. Nikolay DAVYDENKO (RUS)
7. Tomas BERDYCH (CZE)
8. Andy MURRAY (GBR)
9. James BLAKE (USA)
10. Marcos BAGHDATIS (CYP)
11. Tommy ROBREDO (ESP)
12. Richard GASQUET (FRA)
13. Tommy HAAS (GER)
14. Mikhail YOUZHNY (RUS)
15. Ivan LJUBICIC (CRO)
16. Lleyton HEWITT (AUS)
17. David FERRER (ESP)
18. Mario ANCIC (CRO)
19. Jarkko NIEMINEN (FIN)
20. Jonas BJORKMAN (SWE)
21. Juan Carlos FERRERO (ESP)
22. Dmitry TURSUNOV (RUS)
23. Guillermo CANAS (ARG)
24. David NALBANDIAN (ARG)
25. Juan Ignacio CHELA (ARG)
26. Carlos MOYA (ESP)
27. Marat SAFIN (RUS)
28. Philipp KOHLSCHREIBER (GER)
29. Robin SODERLING (SWE)
30. Agustin CALLERI (ARG)
31. Filippo VOLANDRI (ITA)
32. Juan MONACO (ARG)

Ladies’ Singles

1. Justine HENIN (BEL)
2. Maria SHARAPOVA (RUS)
3. Jelena JANKOVIC (SRB)
4. Amelie MAURESMO (FRA)
5. Svetlana KUZNETSOVA (RUS)
6. Ana IVANOVIC (SRB)
7. Serena WILLIAMS (USA)
8. Anna CHAKVETADZE (RUS)
9. Martina HINGIS (SUI)
10. Daniela HANTUCHOVA (SVK)
11. Nadia PETROVA (RUS)
12. Elena DEMENTIEVA (RUS)
13. Dinara SAFINA (RUS)
14. Nicole VAIDISOVA (CZE)
15. Patty SCHNYDER (SUI)
16. Shahar PEER (ISR)
17. Tatiana GOLOVIN (FRA)
18. Na LI (CHN)
19. Marion BARTOLI (FRA)
20. Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO)
21. Sybille BAMMER (AUT)
22. Tathiana GARBIN (ITA)
23. Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP)
24. Venus WILLIAMS (USA)
25. Alona BONDARENKO (UKR)
26. Lucie SAFAROVA (CZE)
27. Ai SUGIYAMA (JPN)
28. Samantha STOSUR (AUS)
29. Mara SANTANGELO (ITA)
30. Francesca SCHIAVONE (ITA)
31. Olga POUTCHKOVA (RUS)
32. Michaella KRAJICEK (NED)

Men’s Doubles

1. Bob BRYAN (USA) & Mike BRYAN (USA)
2. Jonas BJORKMAN (SWE) & Max MIRNYI (BLR)
3. Mark KNOWLES (BAH) & Daniel NESTOR (CAN)
4. Fabrice SANTORO (FRA) & Nenad ZIMONJIC (SRB)
5. Martin DAMM (CZE) & Leander PAES (IND)
6. Paul HANLEY (AUS) & Kevin ULLYETT (ZIM)
7. Jonathan ERLICH (ISR) & Andy RAM (ISR)
8. Simon ASPELIN (SWE) & Julian KNOWLE (AUT)
9. Lukas DLOUHY (CZE) & Pavel VIZNER (CZE)
10. Arnaud CLEMENT (FRA) & Michael LLODRA (FRA)
11. Mahesh BHUPATHI (IND) & Radek STEPANEK (CZE)
12. Ashley FISHER (AUS) & Tripp PHILLIPS (USA)
13. Jaroslav LEVINSKY (CZE) & David SKOCH (CZE)
14. Jeff COETZEE (RSA) & Rogier WASSEN (NED)
15. Martin GARCIA (ARG) & Sebastian PRIETO (ARG)
16. Mariusz FYRSTENBERG (POL) & Lukasz KUBOT (POL)

Ladies’ Doubles

1. Lisa RAYMOND (USA) & Samantha STOSUR (AUS)
2. Cara BLACK (ZIM) & Liezel HUBER (RSA)
3. Yung-Jan CHAN (TPE) & Chia-Jung CHUANG (TPE)
4. Katarina SREBOTNIK (SLO) & Ai SUGIYAMA (JPN)
5. Kveta PESCHKE (CZE) & Rennae STUBBS (AUS)
6. Alicia MOLIK (AUS) & Mara SANTANGELO (ITA)
7. Janette HUSAROVA (SVK) & Meghann SHAUGHNESSY (USA)
8. Anabel MEDINA GARRIGUES (ESP) & Virginia RUANO PASCUAL (ESP)
9. Tathiana GARBIN (ITA) & Paola SUAREZ (ARG)
10. Elena LIKHOVTSEVA (RUS) & Tiantian SUN (CHN)
11. Maria Elena CAMERIN (ITA) & Gisela DULKO (ARG)
12. Maria KIRILENKO (RUS) & Elena VESNINA (RUS)
13. Dinara SAFINA (RUS) & Roberta VINCI (ITA)
14. Vera DUSHEVINA (RUS) & Tatiana PEREBIYNIS (UKR)
15. Vania KING (USA) & Jelena KOSTANIC TOSIC (CRO)
16. Sania MIRZA (IND) & Shahar PEER (ISR)

Wimbledon is unique because it is the only Grand Slam that seeds not only on world rankings, but also on a surface based system. This means that players are readjusted based on their success on grass over the past two years.For example, Andy Murray and Berdych were seeded higher than their ranking, while Davenyko was seeded lower.

I thought I’d update you guys with an e-mail I got today. Its about a contest that sounds interesting that I thought some people might want to look into. Here’s the e-mail:

Hi Tim,

I recently came across your blog, Tennis Chatter, and I thought that you and your readers would like to know about the “Boldest Play” contest hosted by tennis great Jim Courier and Wolf Blass Wines. Whether it is a wicked serve or powerful backhand - tennis lovers of all skill levels have the chance to get out on the court with a camera to submit their most awe-inspiring tennis move to be judged by four-time Grand Slam winner Jim Courier. One winner will receive the ultimate tennis vacation: a trip for two and accommodations to the final US Open Series match in New Haven, CT and a prize package valued at $500.

Participants can enter by uploading a video or photo of their boldest move on the court at www.tennis.com/wolfblass .
Do you think your readers would be interested in this and if so, would you be willing to link to our site? Please let me know if you need any additional information or have any questions.

Thanks!
Luke

Gasquet wins at Nottingham

Richard Gasquet rebounded from his disappointing first round exit at Halle last week by winning his first match at the Nottingham Open over Vince Spadea 6-3 6-4. The frenchman is a two time defending champ at Nottingham. If Gasquet gets a little bit of momentum this week, he could be force to be reckoned with at Wimbledon due to his shot-making talent.

Other results from Nottingham:

J del Potro (ARG) d [Q] J Baker (GBR) 64 62
T Gabashvili (RUS) d [Q] J Goodall (GBR) 75 63
I Karlovic (CRO) d [7] S Wawrinka (SUI) 63 76(3)
[8] A Clement (FRA) d T Johansson (SWE) 75 62
A Delic (USA) d [Q] J Gimelstob (USA) 64 64
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) d [WC] A Bogdanovic (GBR) 64 76(13)
[WC] T Henman (GBR) d M Russell (USA) 61 76(5) - This was Henman’s first win since February
H Lee (KOR) d M Mirnyi (BLR) 64 46 64

In other news:

Coria sues vitamin company

And here are some good reads:

Best Wimbledon Moments
Best Wimbledon Matches

Finally, here are updated ATP rankings

1 Roger Federer
2 Rafael Nadal
3 Andy Roddick (moved up two spots after title at Queens)
4 Nikolay Davydenko
5 Novak Djokovic
6 Fernando Gonzalez
7 Tommy Robredo
8 Andy Murray (moved up despite being injured)
9 James Blake
10 Tommy Haas
11 Tomas Berdych (moved up two spots after title at Halle)
12 Richard Gasquet
13 Ivan Ljubicic
14 Mikhail Youzhny
15 David Ferrer

Here are some Monday morning updates in the world of tennis:

The Artois Championships

Roddick defeats Mahut 4-6, 7-6, 7-6

Roddick showed great mental toughness in this match going from a set down and facing a match point in the second set to win. He served 24 aces, while Mahut hit 21. Mahut volleyed great all match and showed he truly can be considered a dark horse at Wimbledon this year.

Gerry Weber Open

Berdych defeats Baghdatis 7-5, 6-4

Berdych only lost two points on his first serve, winning 35 out of 37. In addition he held Baghdatis off on all three of his break point chances.

Of playing on grass, Baghdatis said:

It’s just that my game suits to grass and I needed time to play on grass. It’s like clay. In my whole career I did not play a lot of matches on clay, especially at this level. So I had problems and slowly, slowly I’m finding a way with more experience to find out how to play on all the surfaces in all the tournaments. It’s more like experience, feeling the game on the surface.

DFS Class

Jankovic defeates Sharapova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5

Great result for Jankovic, beating Sharapova on her best surface. Despite her loss, Sharapova feels confident heading to the lawns at the All England Club stating:

Grass definitely suits my game. With the power and the big first serve I feel I can get a good start on the point

Other News:

Former French Open champion Gaudio pulls out of Wimbledon

The Artois Championships semifinal results:

Roddick defeats Tursunov 6-4 7-5

Mahut defeates Clément 6-3 7-6

Gerry Weber Open Results

Semifinals:

Berdych defeats Nieminen 7-6, 6-4

Baghdatis defeats Kohlschreiber 7-6, 6-4

Recap:

This was a great tournament for all four semifinalists. They all have games that pose a threat to anyone on grass and are in good form. Davydenko lost in the second round, showing he is still not a contender on grass. Gasquet was upset in the first round to a Pakistani qualifier. He has two grass titles and a flashy game, but still is a wild-card, capable of losing to anybody on an off-day. Both Blake and Youzhny made it to the third round, displaying big ground games and adept volleying that could carry them far at the All England Club.

As I was reading through political news today, I came upon this blog article: Washington Post notices Ron Paul. If you’re not familiar with with this developing story, I’ll summarize it pretty simply. Internet blogs and networks haven’t been happy with the coverage mainstream media outlets have been providing this presidential election. They claim that outlets such as MSNBC and CNN only offer coverage on clearly recognizable candidates such as Obama, Clinton, Giuliani, and McCain and ignore smaller candidates such as Paul (despite his massive popularity on the internet). You might be asking yourself what this has to do with tennis. The television schedule for Wimbledon recently came out and and looks something like this:

Wimbledon TV Schedule [ESPN2-NBC]

All times EST All live unless stated
24 June 2.30PM Wimbledon Preview Show [ESPN2]
25 June 7AM-5PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
26 June 2AM-4AM Wimbledon Day 1 Highlights [ESPN2]
26 June 7AM-5PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
27 June 1AM-4AM Wimbledon Day 2 Highlights [ESPN2]
27 June 7AM-5PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
27 June 7PM-10PM Wimbledon Day 3 Highlights [ESPN2]
28 June 7AM-5PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
28 June 9PM-12AM Wimbledon Day 4 Highlights [ESPN2]
29 June 7AM-5PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
29 June 7.30PM-10PM Wimbledon Day 5 Highlights [ESPN2]
30 June 8AM-12PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
30 June 3PM-7PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [ESPN2]
30 June 8PM-10PM Wimbledon Day 6 Highlights [ESPN2]
01 July 12PM-3PM Wimbledon Early Rounds [NBC]
01 July 5PM-8PM Wimbledon Day 7 Highlights [ESPN2]
02 July 7AM-10AM Wimbledon Last 16 [ESPN2]
02 July 12PM-3PM Wimbledon Last 16 [NBC]
02 July 1PM-6PM Wimbledon Last 16 [ESPN2]
02 July 7.30PM-10PM Wimbledon Day 8 Highlights [ESPN2]
03 July 7AM-10AM Wimbledon Last 16 [ESPN2]
03 July 10AM-1PM Wimbledon Last 16 [NBC]
03 July 1PM-5PM Wimbledon Women’s Quarterfinals [ESPN2]
03 July 7.30PM-9.30PM Wimbledon Day 8 Highlights [ESPN2]
04 July 7AM-10AM Wimbledon Men’s Quarterfinals [ESPN2]
04 July 10AM-1PM Wimbledon Men’s Quarterfinals [NBC]
04 July 1PM-5PM Wimbledon Men’s Quarterfinals [ESPN2]
04 July 7PM-10PM Wimbledon Day 9 Highlights [ESPN2]
05 July 7AM-12PM Wimbledon Women’s Semifinals [ESPN2]
05 July 10AM-1PM Wimbledon Women’s Semifinals [NBC]
05 July 10PM-12AM Wimbledon Day 10 Highlights [ESPN2]
06 July 7AM-12PM Wimbledon Men’s Semifinals [ESPN2]
06 July 12PM-5PM Wimbledon Men’s Semifinals [NBC]
07 July 12.30AM-3AM Wimbledon Day 11 Highlights [ESPN2]
07 July 9AM-2PM Wimbledon Women’s Final [NBC]
07 July 2PM-3PM Sportscenter at Wimbledon [ESPN2]
08 July 9AM-3PM Wimbledon Men’s Finals [NBC]
08 July 3PM-4PM Sportscenter at Wimbledon [ESPN]

If you have cable, it seems like you will have access to significant coverage. However, this isn’t usually what happens. Although ESPN2 and NBC have scheduled in hours of television time, the majority of it will be matches of Roddick, the Williams sisters, Federer, Sharapova, and Nadal. If you look at MSNBC’s website, their “analyst�?, Bud Collins has written six articles on the front page, all about those players. It’s simply ridiculous that in a sport with as many talented players as tennis, MSNBC doesn’t have time to cover more than five or six of them. And its not even like they are the best players, Venus certainly isn’t doing too hot lately. Where is the article about Djokovic’s semifinal appearance at the Roland Garros and his fast rise in the rankings? He is one of the young stars in tennis, yet the best the mainstream public gets to read is how there were “positive�? signs in Roddick’s loss. Sure, he is American, as is NBC; but it isn’t doing the sport of tennis any favors when the performance of great, young players get ignored.

Tennis has always been about the immense variety of players and styles exist. Some of the most exciting matches don’t appear on center court between Roddick and Federer (in fact those matches are generally boring); but between a qualifier and some low ranked player you’ve never heard of. The public misses out on all of these because, whenever they turn on their television, all they get to see is Venus Williams grunting up a fury, as she loses in straight sets, in an early round, with a record number of unforced errors. To top that off, we then get to see the replays all day long, hearing about how much of an upset it was. The final straw is when you go online and get to read how there is still hope for her.

Simply put, tennis has the same problem as politics. Only the mainstream players are covered (Roddick, Sharapova); while some of the lesser known players, who add variety to the sport (Baghdatis, Ancic) are ignored until they make it to the semifinals or finals. Until NBC and ESPN2 take notes from the Washington Post and provide real coverage, I would suggest you purchase a subscription to Wimbledon Live. They provide streaming coverage of all matches, not just American players, or well known players with massive endorsement contracts (Sharapova).