Tennis Chatter

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