Wimbledon Finals Wrap

Any tennis fan should really feel sorry for Serena and Venus Williams.  They played an amazing final, and although it didn’t go three sets, I still think it lived up to expectations.  But unfortunately for them, one of the greatest matches, if not THE greatest, took place the following day.  Read more

Wimbledon Centre Court round-up

CLD Sport watched the men’s semi finals from Wimbledon centre court today. On the walk to the club we were handed various freebies, only for all these products to be confiscated by Wimbledon security as we approached the grounds. This was very embarrassing for the drinks and toiletries companies who clearly hadn’t bothered to check that their handouts complied with the security rules of the club.

The atmosphere within centre court was one of expectation – people knew that Sunday’s final was going to be a Federer/Nadal affair, and were almost expecting the men’s singles matches to be exhibitions. Somewhat unusual for the most famous tennis tournament in the word at its semi-final stage.

First up was Federer against Marat Safin. Whilst Federer had cruised to the semis without dropping a set, the unseeded Safin was made to work somewhat harder, coming up against the number 3 seed Djokovic (causing the upset of the tournament) in the second round, with three of his games going to four sets with five tie-breaks on the way to this match.

Federer was in total control of the first set, breaking Safin’s serve once to win 6-3. The second was a much closer affair with Federer winning the tie-break 7-3. Safin became increasingly frustrated by the sheer quality of Federer throughout the set but was in contention right through to the end. The crowd appeared to be cheering for Safin in the second set, if only so they could watch Federer win in four instead of three.

The third set was more one sided as a tired and distracted Safin was unable to find a way past Federer. Safin did a marvellous job of entertaining the crowd, with several screams and bouts of racquet abuse, even sitting down whilst challenging a line call. Federer, meanwhile, displayed flashes of his best play, but was simply not required to display it often enough by Safin. He must start as favourite on Sunday.

Nadal came onto centre court to rapturous applause, possibly a warmer reception than for Federer. His opponent was the unseeded Rainer Schuettler, who won his quarter-final against Arnaud Clement in the longest singles match in Wimbledon history. Nadal destroyed Schuettler in the first set to win 6-1. Schuettler broke Nadal in the second after the Spaniard appeared to begin cruising a little too slowly. At times he appeared more concerned about his recurring wedgie than his tiring opponent. Schuettler was cheered on – in German – by a few excited members of the crowd. The last match had clearly taken its toll on the German, however, and he eventually lost in straight sets.

It was amazing to see the two styles of Federer and Nadal back-to-back. Federer’s occasional net play was a bit patchy but his controlling and elegant approach contrasted with the more brutal, attacking style of Nadal. There’s no doubt that both players have found their extra gear in preparation for Sunday, and will rise to the occasion.

Finally, it didn’t rain all day. Not a drop.

Wimbledon Latest: Quarter Final Action at the All England Club

The Ladies Quarter final’s were completed today, and unfortunately for the spectators, there was not too much excitement.

Both Williams’ sisters had routine matches as I predicted, however my other two were off the mark. Jie Zheng went to three sets with Vaidisova, but disposed of the 18th seeded Czech easily in the third set. Perhaps the only match with some drama today was the last quarter final meeting between Russian compatriots Elena Dementieva & Nadia Petrova. Dementieva had a strong grip on the match before letting the second set slip away (losing a 5-1 lead), but Read more

Wimbledon Updates

As I begin this article, Andy Murray is serving up one break in the fifth set, after coming back from two set to love deficit against the seemingly unbeatable Richard Gasquet. Murray showed grit and fight that has made him a top 15 player in the world. He is clearly not as talented as Gasquet, but to this point, has showed more heart. The winner will move on to the quarter finals to play Nadal, who cruised against Youzhny today.

The rest of the Men’s quarters are set: Federer Read more

Wimbledon Thoughts: Djokovic Out, Federer Through

Well, it was a quiet third day of action at the All England Club. For example, Novak Djokovic went down in the second round today with barely a whimper!

After questioning last week how much longer Federer can stay at the top of Men’s tennis with the likes of himself and Nadal on his heels, Djokovic fell in straight sets to 75th ranked Marat Safin. Now, what makes this loss so interesting is that Djokovic has always claimed Read more

Murray Wins In Straight Sets

Andy Murray has beaten Fabrice Santoro of France 6-3 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in the first round at Wimbledon, but did not have an easy ride.

Santoro was a tricky customer, playing some fantastic shots throughout and giving Murray plenty to think about. Read more

Wimbledon Draw: Thoughts and Analysis

The Wimbledon Draws were released today, and I have a few thoughts I’d like to share heading into the grandest of the Grand Slams.

Marcos Bagdhatis was without a doubt the biggest beneficiary of Wimbledon using their own seedings (Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that does not follow current rankings to seed the tournament). As a result of his previous Grass Court Results - quarter finalist and semi finalist in the last two years at Wimbledon, the 25th ranked player in the world has been moved all the way up to 10th seed. Of course, David Nalbandian is in his part of the draw, Djokovic is in his quarter, and Federer is in his half, so the chances of Bagdhatis reaching his second Grand Slam final are next to nothing. Read more