Tennis Chatter

Last night I made it out to a World Team Tennis match between the Kansas City Explorers and the Springfield Lasers. Both teams were 6-0 (the only undefeated WTT teams). I marked this match on my calendar in-particular, because the number one doubles team in the world, Bob and Mike Bryan, were playing for the Kansas City Explorers. They have five men’s doubles grand slam titles together as a team and recently appeared in the Wimbledon men’s doubles final. In WTT tennis matches there are five sets, each set being played as a different event (men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles). The Lasers were the home team and therefore decided the order of match-play. They decided to take a probable loss early, and play men’s doubles first (hoping for a come-from behind victory).

The men’s doubles match was the Bryan Brothers against Martin Verkerk and Glenn Weiner. If the name Martin Verkerk sounds familiar, it is. Verkerk was the 2003 French Open runner-up. I didn’t realize that a former grand slam finalist was playing for the Lasers until they announced each players’ accomplishments before the match. The men’s doubles set began with Verkerk holding his serve relatively easily. He’s 6-5 and can really bring heat. It looked like Verkerk and Weiner could hold with the brothers until a few games in, when it became obvious that it was impossible to break Mike and Bob. The brothers are 6-3 and 6-4 and pack big serves, and excellent net play. The score was tied 1-1, and it was Weiner’s turn to serve. He won his game, but looked unsteady at times-lacking the ability to win free points off his serve, and looking more vulnerable to being overpowered on the ground than Verkerk. The set progressed along holds, until it was Weiner’s turn to serve again. He showed himself to be the weak link, allowing himself to be broken. The brother’s held their serve relatively easily, and won the set 5-3.

Bryan Brothers

The next event was men’s singles. M. Verkerk played Dusan Vemic. Verkerk started off hot, showing why he made such a fantastic run at the French Open. He broke Vemic and held his serve to bring the score to 2-0 in his favor. During Vemic’s second service game, Verkeck once again jumped out to a lead going up 15-40 (I believe). At this point the explorers substituted Bob Bryan for Vemic. Although the Bryans are known for doubles, Bob is very good at singles too, winning a national championship for Stanford in 1998. I believe Bryan won a point to bring the score to 30-40, but then Verkerk took control. Bryan made his way to the net, hitting an approach shot to Verkerk’s left. Verkerk replied with a running backhand right down-the-line for a pass. He held his serve to make the score 4-0. Bryan held his serve next, making the score 4-1. The Explorers then substituted Mike Bryan in for Bob, hoping the fresh legs would be able to break Verkerk. However, this turned out to be futile, because, once again, Verkerk held serve. The final score of the set was 5-1 Since WTT matches are scored by overall game count, not just who won the most sets, this was a big boost for the Lasers. Verkerk looked good all set long, showing a big serve, solid net play, and an excellent one-handed backhand. It’s no wonder the Lasers are undefeated with his guy playing for them.

Martin Verkerk

The third set was mixed doubles. Mike Bryan and Jarmila Gajdosova of the Explorers faced off against Verkerk (again) and Andreea Vanc of the Lasers. This was a bad match-up for the Lasers, because they were facing Mike Bryan (great doubles player) and Gajdosova (has a very powerful serve and ground strokes). On the other hand, Vanc’s serve looked rather weak and it showed. She was broken easily, and the Lasers went down 5-2 in this set. Having a big serve is important for females in mixed doubles, because the men will be able to tee-off on a weak one.

Gajdosova played Tamarine Tanasugarn of the Lasers in women’s singles. Tanasugarn impressed me greatly as she is only 5-5 and was able to deal with Gajdosova’s power. Tanasugarn broke Gajdosova early, and was able to run her around, hitting winners and playing great defense. Eventually Gajdosova started playing rather inconsistent, hitting unforced errors on important points. The Lasers won this set 5-3.

The final set was female doubles. This set pitted Tanasugarn and Vanc of the Lasers against Gajdosova and Corina Morariu of the Explorers. Once again the Lasers appeared to be more consistent and Vanc’s serve was not as much of a weakness as it was in mixed doubles. The Lasers eventually won this set and the match.

Overall the match showed why WTT tennis is such a unique experience. There were substitutions, on-court coaching, lots of cheering, and constant arguments with the chair umpire. At one point one of the Bryan Brothers jokingly grabbed their bag and stood up to leave, eliciting a laugh from the fans. Neither teams showed much negativity, apart from Gajdosova, who broke her racket after her inconsistent play and took a ball from a ball girl, only to hit it at the wall behind her in frustration. Once again I would recommend WTT for anyone looking to see some fun, engaging tennis. You might even have the opportunity to watch some pros play, depending on which match you watch. Look to my post here to see where teams are located and which pros are playing.

Here are the links to some photos I took:

Bryan Brothers:
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Martin Verkerk
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The big headlines of the day are Gasquet besting Roddick in five sets, and Henin falling to M. Bartoli. Roddick jumped out to a two set lead and got up a break in the third, but then Gasquet got rolling. Gasquet won the third and fourth sets in tiebreaks and ended up winning the fifth set 8-6. The final score was 4-6, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 8-6. Gasquet hit 29 unforced errors to 93 winners! He plays Federer tomorrow, and Federer should have a big advantage in terms of rest. The results on the other side of the men’s bracket were:

N. Djokovic over M. Baghdatis 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 3-6, 7-5.

Nadal over T. Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.

I addition Henin fell to Bartoli 6-1, 5-7, 1-6. Bartoli will face Venus Williams in finals.

Venus Williams rolled through quarterfinals today, beating S. Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-4. She played well at the net, winning 11 out of 12 chances. However, she looked a little vulnerable off her second serve (winning 43% of her points off of it) and tightened up a little in the second set, allowing herself to be broken. She held on for the win however, and will face French Open finalist A. Ivanovic in semifinals. Ivanovic defeated N. Vaidisova in quarterfinals, hitting 21 unforced errors to Vaidisova’s 39. I expect Venus to win and advance to finals, with J. Henin defeating M. Bartoli on the other-side of the bracket.

Men’s quarterfinal brackets are complete, after finishing all remaining fourth round matches today. Berdych took care of J. Bjorkman 6-4, 6-0, 6-7, 6-0. He hit 48 winners, to 35 unforced errors. In addition, he hit 15 aces. Nadal won another tough five-setter, this time against M. Youzhny 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Youzhny had Nadal in the first two sets, until Nadal settled down and hit 57 winners, to only 18 unforced errors. I expect Berdych to beat Nadal in quarterfinals with his powerful ground strokes and big serving.

Djokovic won a great match against Hewitt, 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. This win shows how clutch Djokovic can be, fighting off many set points for Hewitt, and winning three tiebreakers. Despite this, he needs to cut down on his 49 unforced errors. His oppenent in semifinals will be Bagdatis. Bagdatis defeated Davydenko 7-6, 7-6, 6-3. I expect Djokovic to win this match-up.

It’s important to note that this side of the draw is extremely young. Berdych, Nadal, Djokovic, and Bagdatis are all extremely young. If you add Gasquet (on the other side of the draw), you see a very bright future for tennis (American tennis on the other hand…not so much).

Federer’s match against Ferrero was delayed at 5-5 in the first set due to rain. I think Federer wins this match in three sets.

Roddick and Gasquet’s match didn’t get on court due to rain. Roddick is the conventional pick (he is consistently good on grass). But I give Gasquet a great chance.

J. Henin defeated a hobbled Serena Williams (calf injury) to advance to Wimbledon semifinals today. She won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Henin was up two breaks in the third set, but hit two double faults to allow Serena to take one back. However, Henin held on to win the third set. Henin played pretty good at the net, converting 15 out of 22 chances. However, she was a little shaky on serve, double faulting seven times and only serving 50% off her first serve. She will face M. Bartoli in semifinals after the Frenchwomen beat M. Krajicek in quarterfinals 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Bartoli played consistently, hitting only 10 unforced errors, to Krajicek’s 31.

Venus Williams advanced to quarterfinals with a win over second seed M. Sharapova. Venus won in convincing fashion, 6-1, 6-3. She dominated every aspect of the match, winning 77 points, to Maria’s 51. Sharapova looked vulnerable off of her second serve, only winning the point 39% of the time. Venus will play S. Kuznetsova in quarterfinals.

On the men’s side of the draw Andy Roddick advanced to quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 win over P. Mathieu. Roddick’s serve was on, serving 73% first serves, with 19 aces. He also limited himself to 13 unforced errors with 29 winners. He will need to that kind of performance in quarterfinals, as he will face his biggest test yet, Richard Gasquet. In his fourth round match, Gasquet defeated fellow Frenchman, J. Tsonga, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. He showed great consistency, with only 11 unforced errors to 23 winners. Gasquet continued his solid net play, winning 20 of 26 approaches. This is his first quarterfinal appearance in a Grand Slam, and I believe he has what it takes to beat Roddick. He actually is holding his serve better this tournament than Roddick is. He had a few hiccups this match, being broken twice in the first set, but if he comes out firingin quarters, he could pose a threat to Roddick.

N. Djokovic finished his match against N. Kiefer. In the end, Keifer’s 56 enforced errors did him in, losing 6-7, 7-6, 2-6, 6-7. Djokovic plays former champion L. Hewitt in the round of 16.

R. Nadal completed his marathon match with R. Soderling today. Nadal finished on top, winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 7-5. This match was rather icy, as Soderling annoyed Nadal, by imitating his messing-with-his-shorts routine he does in between points. In addition, Nadal was displeased when Soderling didn’t apologize for winning a net cord point (as is customary). As a result, the two didn’t linger at the handshake. Nadal has another big test next round against M. Youzhny. Nadal had words for the Wimbledon committee after his multi-day match saying:

“I don’t understand why we don’t play on Sunday when the weather was OK,”

“It was so much better than yesterday, Monday and today too. I don’t understand why they cancelled yesterday, when at 8.10pm the sunshine is here for one hour so we can play.

“I don’t understand why we are going to the courts to play for (only) 15 minutes, and they know because they have the (information).

“That’s very tough for the players. They don’t think very much about the players here, maybe.”

It was brought to my attention earlier today that my comments about Bud Collins may have been misinterpreted when I got this comment from Aaress (of Onthebaseline.com):

Thanks for the link Tim.

Although Collins did spend his time writing mostly about mainstream players for NBC, one does have to wonder if he wrote about them for MSNBC because that was what MSNBC wanted?

Hopefully with the changes, NBC will bring in someone with as magnetic a personality as Collins - and someone comparable to his tennis expertise.

Aaress brings up a good point that, although Bud Collins spent the majority of his time writing about and covering only well known tennis players, it may of not of been his choice. I’m sure NBC dictates what and who gets coverage (as it affects their ratings, etc). What we do know is that NBC fired an institution yesterday, that was recognized by tennis fans and non-tennis fans alike. I disagree with a lot of what Collins had to say at times, but recognized his knowledge of the history of the sport. In fact, when you look to his top five men’s players of all time (link), his list includes Bill Tilden from the 1920s. What other commentator would give you that historical insight? Perhaps Collin’s best days of commentating were behind him, but we should remember his dedication to the sport and the interesting view he could always provide (and his interesting fashion choices). Instead of him, NBC probably will hire some new commentator, who neither provides extensive in-depth coverage (that has been lacking), or Collin’s personality.

Today’s headlines in the tennis world are dominated by MORE rain at the All England Club, and NBC’s Bud Collin’s being let go after 35 years of tennis commentating. Wimbledon match scheduling is going to be tight this week with only a few matches being completed today. Henin advanced to quarterfinals today with her win over P. Schnyder 6-2, 6-2. This wasn’t a pretty match with both players hitting more unforced errors than winners. Henin will face Serena Williams in quarterfinals. Serena had a three set win over D. Hantuchova today, 6-2, 6-7, 6-2.

L. Granville’s Wimbledon run ended today when she lost to M. Krajicek 6-3, 6-4. Krajicek hit 41 winners to only 18 unforced errors. Venus Williams finished her rain suspended match today with a win over A. Morigami 6-2, 3-6, 7-5. She plays Sharapova in her fourth round match. I think Sharapova wins this, unless Venus is absolutely on-fire (which she hasn’t been so far this tournament).

On the men’s side of the draw, M. Baghdatis advanced easily over D. Nalbanian 6-2, 7-5, 6-0. Baghdatis has a great chance of making quarterfinals, as he will likely play Davydenko next round (he leads Monfils 6-3, 7-5, 6-0). Davydenko has historically been very weak on grass, despite his (career best) showing this year.

Things are shaping up in Nadal’s section of the draw. T. Berdych defeated H. Lee 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. He plays J. Bjorkman in his fourth round match. Bjorkman was a quarterfinalist last year, but I think Berdych takes this match. Berdych has been coming into form on grass lately, with his title at Halle. Finally, Nadal is in a tight one with R. Soderling, at 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 2-0. Nadal has the advantage in the fifth set, being up a break. The winner will play M. Youzhny.

It was announced today that Bud Collins has been fired after 35 years of tennis commentary for NBC. NBC stated that it was a “management decision to save money.” Collins doesn’t harbor an resentment, he was quoted saying:

“So I had 35 great years with them,�?

“I have no complaints about them, but I hope to stay in tennis. “I’m not retiring; too young to retire.�?

I’m kind of split on how I stand on this issue. There are a lot of articles on blogs around the net saying this is a travesty (Link 1, Link 2), but I don’t really agree. I thought Collins was an interesting personality, and sometimes had an interesting word on tennis, but overall his coverage wasn’t spectacular. He fits NBC’s strategy of appealing to Americans who know very little about tennis (as evidenced by them showing only mainstream tennis players), and for reason he is a loss. He was a well recognized commentator, who brought a lot of attention to tennis, in the 80s and 90s. However, everything he writes at MSNBC.com is about Venus, Serena, Roddick, Federer, Nadal, or Sharapova (as I wrote about here). It would be great if NBC was firing him to bring in some new analysts who would shed light on the entire field, but I’m sure they’re not. He probably just didn’t fit with their image, and for that reason they let him go. Overall, in my view, it’s an acceptable firing, for the wrong reason. NBC’s coverage does need to be overhauled, but this wasn’t it. They’ve been fazing Collin’s out for a while (he stopped doing in-match commentary a while ago), and now it’s complete. Just don’t expect any radical change with his departure. When you turn on your television, you’ll still see some Roddick match from several hours ago being replayed, even if there is a more exciting live match between Djokovic and Kiefer.

Sunday is traditionally a day off for Wimbledon play, and today is no different. Only three times in the past (last one was 2004) has weather forced matches to be played on the Sunday of week one. Yesterday all but two matches were suspended until Monday due to rain. It’s a little surprising with all the rain, that matches aren’t being played today. Instead, Wimbledon will start earlier (at 11:00) Monday to compensate.

Mauresmo and Sharapova were the only winners Saturday, Mauresmo over M. Santangelo 6-1, 6-2 and Sharapova over A. Sugiyama 6-3, 6-3. Sharapova has an interesting fourth round match-up against Venus Williams, if Venus holds on to win over A. Morigami. Venus was up 6-2, 1-4 when play was suspended. The rain delay probably helped her, because she was playing pretty bad in the second set.

Federer was guaranteed a quarterfinal berth when Haas pulled out of Wimbledon today. Haas cited a torn abdominal muscle as the reason for his withdrawal. I don’t really know how Federer’s draw could have gotten much easier. His first two rounds were against nobody special. Safin was the Safin of 2006 and 2007, and not the Safin of 2000 US Open or 2005 Australian Open, when he played Federer. Federer played his match last Friday, whereas players on the other side of the draw have to play their third round matches Monday. And, Federer gets another day off by not having to play a fourth round match. If he makes it to finals, his oppenent will have had to play five matches in seven days, while Federer will have had to play three matches in nine days.

Last week Safin was quoted saying he hated Wimbledon because of the prices (primarily of spaghetti) and the security. Link I’m not going to lie, but both complaints seem rather trivial. Security? Who needs that? Especially in London. Prices? It must be tough when you’ve won millions in your career. But, he’s not alone in his complaints of Wimbledon. His fellow countryman Davydenko stated today that Wimbledon is too boring. Davydenko even went as far to say that:

There’s hardly anything to do apart from tennis. You constantly find yourself yawning, there’s no entertainment here

Well…its really unfortunate that a tournament of Wimbledon’s class hasn’t established some form of entertainment for the competitors. Apparently hosting a tennis tournament isn’t enough, Wimbledon needs to set up some carnival to please the Russians (neither of which have been any good at Wimbledon).

More news:

Wimbledon tightens security in response to Friday’s attempted car bombings

Wimbledon is going to refund fans who missed action on Saturday due to rain delays

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

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