Wednesday 29th June 2011 - Men's Quarter Final Day

Men’s Quarter Final day lived up to everyone’s expectations. First up on Centre Court was Roger Federer against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the five-time champion had performed well so far in the championships but so too had the Frenchman. Federer started the match well breezing through the first two sets. The World No. 3 had never lost from two sets adrift in a Grand Slam before so Tsonga faced a tough challenge. The Frenchman started to create more winners and he secured that vital break which gave him the third set. Things were looking up for Tsonga and when he managed to break Federer in the fourth set it was starting to like an upset could be on the cards. In the fifth set Tsonga continued to pile on the pressure and after breaking Federer again Tsonga held his nerve to pull off a massive upset. After the match Tsonga was overwhelmed with excitement. He told the BBC: “I was just perfect today. I served just unbelievably.”

Tsonga’s opponent in the semi-final was going to be the winner of the match between No.2 seed Novak Djokovic and Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic. Djokovic made a superb start, getting an early break but Tomic was still hitting the ball well. The Serb took the first set but the Australian struck back in the second as Djokovic lost his aggressive play. He started making errors and Tomic secured a break on and went to win the set and level the match. The prospect of a shock was on the cards as Djokovic’s errors began to mount up but Novak had a moment of brilliance in game six and broke the youngster. Djokovic steamed ahead and booked his place in the semi-final alongside Tsonga.

In the other half of the draw Andy Murray faced Feliciano Lopez. The Spaniard felt the early pressure but eventually succumbed to Murray, losing a break. The Brit was reading Lopez’s serve well and he cruised through, winning the first set. Murray continued to play well and everything was going to plan as he served out and secured the second set. Lopez wasted any chances he did have of threatening Murray and the World No.4 made it through to the Wimbledon semi-finals. Murray was happy with his performance and is looking forward to his next match. He said: “I'm playing well - you get pushed more and more as the rounds go on, and I'll have to up my game.” Murray’s next opponent was to be either World No.1 Rafael Nadal or Mardy Fish.

Nadal eased through the first sets but Fish put up a spirited challenge in the third set. The American was rewarded for his efforts with a break of serve and secured the set. Nadal powered back and was imperious, finally securing the match in just under three hours. Talking after the game the Spaniard talked about his injury which flared up in his fourth round match against Del Potro. He told the BBC: “It is not fine but this is Wimbledon, it's an emergency. It's my last big tournament for a month-and-a-half so I'm not worried. We've done tests and they didn't show anything important. I have pain in the foot, I cannot run in perfect condition, but the anaesthetic means I can't feel pain for five hours."

British duo Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins couldn’t quite manage a comeback against Christopher Kas and Alexander Peya as they dropped out of the men's doubles quarter-finals. They were the first home team to reach the last eight since 1993 and battled back before eventually losing 6-4 6-4 6-7 2-6 6-4.

Liam Broady saw off top seed Jiri Vesely in the boys' third round. The 15th seed booked his place in the quarter finals with a straight sets victory.

Tomorrow is ladies semi-final day. Fifth seed Maria Sharapova takes on wildcard Sabine Lisicki who has knocked out some big names on her way to the semi-final. In the other match the highest ranked player left in the tournament Victoria Azarenka takes on eighth seed Petra Kvitova for a place in the final.

Tuesday 28th June 2011 - Thunder, rain and plenty of action

The hot steamy weather was never going to last and rain interrupted proceedings again but in no way ruined today’s action.
The first game on Centre Court saw wildcard Sabine Lisicki take on ninth seed Marion Bartoli. The game started late as the roof had to be rolled out but once play got underway it was an epic. Lisicki started brightly and got that much needed break which sent her on to secure the first set. A loud clap of thunder caused the players to jump which amused the Centre Court crowd halfway through the match. The second set was a much closer and former finalist Bartoli edged the tie-break to force the game into a third set. Bartoli started to look tired and her hard fought fourth round match against Serena Williams seemed to have taken its toll. Lisicki powered through the set and held her nerve and served out the match at the second time of asking. The wildcard will now face Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals.

Sharapova is now the favourite for the title after she easily made it through her quarter final clash against Dominika Cibulkova. The Russian fifth seed attacked from the start and notched up 23 winners to clinch the match 6-1 6-1. Her Slovakian failed to threaten Sharapova and now Maria will face Lisicki in what should be a fascinating encounter.

In the other half of the draw eighth seed Petra Kvitova faced Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova. The match was delayed due to rain which affected play on Court Number One. Kvitova started superbly and stormed to the first set 6-3. Pironkova upped her game and the second set was far more competitive, ending up in a tie-break in which the Bulgarian won. In the final set Kvitova dominated and wrapped the match up in superb fashion.

Her opponent will be Victoria Azarenka who easily beat Tamira Paszek in their match. The pair started off on Court No.1 after the Kvitova match but after just one game rain hit again. The officials decided that the game had to be completed today and moved it to Centre Court under the roof. When it did get underway fourth seed Victoria Azarenka definitely was the player on top as she stormed to a 6-3 win in the first set. The second set was even more destructive as Azarenka booked her place in the semi-final.

There was too some good news for the British camp as men’s double pair of Colin Fleming and Russ Hutchins won in straight sets to progress to the quarter finals. Unfortunately the same couldn’t be said for Elena Baltacha and Ken Skupski who bowed out in their mixed doubles match.

Tomorrow is men’s quarter final day as the top four men take to court. Will Rafael Nadal’s foot hold out? Can Andy Murray make it to the semi-final? Will Australian qualifier Bernard Tomic continue is dream run? We’ll find out tomorrow.

Monday 27th June 2011 - Royal encounter on a scorcher of a day

Forget the rain, today was a scorcher and some familiar faces visited Centre Court. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge came to cheer on Andy Murray in his match against Richard Gasquet. Murray started slowly and neither player managed to take the advantage in the first set, so it went down to a tie break. The Scot improved and snatched an early lead. Murray’s confidence grew and he started to take control of the match. A few errors by Gasquet gifted Murray some breaks, which he converted, sending him on his way to a 7-6 6-3 6-3 victory. Next up for Murray is his mum’s favourite Feliciano Lopez, who beat Lukasz Kubot in five sets. The Brit knows he needs to up his game as he progresses. He told the BBC: “I need to improve – the best players are still in the tournament, so I need to get better.”

The Centre Court crowd were treated to an epic match this evening as Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro battled it out. The match had everything, there were injuries, to both players, drama, and Del Potro had clearly been watching Djokovic’s racquet smashing antics and must have wanted a piece of the action. The first set went to a tie-break, which was a clash in itself with the Spaniard eventually pulling through. Del Potro fought back and got the much needed break, which helped him on his way to the second set. As the match went into the third and fourth sets Nadal started to take control as Del Potro began to look tired. Nadal eventually wrapped up proceedings with a 7-6 3-6 7-6 6-4 win but both players deserved their standing ovations after that match. The World No.1 will now play Mardy Fish, who defeated sixth seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets.

Roger Federer beat Mikhail Youzhny in four sets. The five time champion lost the first set tie-break but this spurred him on as he fought back to win 6-7 6-3 6-3 6-3. Federer now goes on to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who eased by seventh seed David Ferrer in straight sets.

Novak Djokovic looked a different player when he stepped out to face Michael Llodra. There was no racquet smashing today as the Serb only produced 6 unforced errors in the entire match. Djokovic will now play the 18 year old Australian Bernard Tomic. The qualifier pulled off another win on his dream Wimbledon run, as he defeated Xavier Malisse.

The top four men made it to the Quarter Finals but the Williams sisters didn’t have quite so much luck. Serena lost out to Marion Bartoli in straight sets. The American had battled hard to get to the fourth round but she couldn’t get past the ninth seed. Bartoli will now face Sabine Lisicki who beat Petra Cetkovska 7-6 6-1. Venus was outdone in similar fashion. Her opponent Tsvetana Pironkova had won only 4 games this year before Wimbledon but she seems to be at home at SW19. Pironkova eased through 6-2 6-3 and will now face Petra Kvitova who eased past her opponent Yanina Wickmayer.

Caroline Wozniacki started her match against Dominika Cibulkova superbly with a 6-1 first set but then the 24th seed started to really play. She fought hard and went on to win the match 1-6 7-6 7-5 in another shock result. The Slovakian will now face Maria Sharapova who eased past Shuai Peng in straight sets. The only top four female left in the competition Victoria Azarenka progressed after she beat Nadia Petrova in an easy win. Her opponent in the quarter finals will be Tamira Paszek who came through in 3 sets against Ksenia Pervak.

The junior’s tournament kicked off today and there was plenty of good news for the GB boys. Kyle Edmund, Evan Hoyt, George Morgan, Liam Broady and fourth seed Oliver Golding all made it through their first round matches.

Tomorrow is ladies quarter finals day and with only a few top seeds left in the competition it’s a close one to call.

Source image - flickr

Saturday 25th June 2011 – A beautiful day for tennis

The rain stayed away from Wimbledon today and allowed some spectacular tennis to take place. There was a match of epic proportions on Centre Court as Novak Djokovic showed his first sign of weakness has he struggled against Marcus Baghdatis. The Serbian did power through to win 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 but it was not at all easy.

The No.2 seed started well getting a break to win the first set but then the Cypriot gained the backing of large sections of the crowd. He improved his game and won the set, which caused Djokovic to smash up his racquet in anger. This venting of frustration helped Djokovic and he eventually struggled through to set up at fourth round tie against 19th seed Michael Llodra.
Roger Federer had a far more comfortable win over David Nalbandian. Federer won through 6-4 6-2 6-4 but Nalbandian did show glimpses of his ability. The Argentine had to have treatment several times on a problematic thigh which hampered any chance of him proving a serious threat. Federer now faces Mikhail Youzhny in the last 16.

There was a shock departure for fifth seed Robin Soderling who was beaten by the 18 year old Australian Bernard Tomic. Soderling suffered from dizziness and complained of feeling sick which clearly hampered his performance as Tomic won through in straight sets. Next up for the youngster is Xavier Malisse who beat 11th seed Jurgen Melzer.

Juan Martin Del Potro will be Rafael Nadal’s opponent in the fourth round after both players won their games which were interrupted by the rain yesterday. Also through is Tomas Berdych who will face 10th seed Mardy Fish and David Ferrer who will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

In the women’s draw Serena Williams beat Maria Kirilenko in what was a much easier game for the American. Williams seems to be definitely improving as the tournament progresses and will now face 9th seed and Eastbourne champion Marion Bartoli.

There was a shock departure for Francesca Schiavone as she was beaten by unseeded Tamira Paszek. The match which continued over from yesterday went to 11-9 in the final set and was an entertaining match for the crowd.

Also through to the fourth round is Maria Sharapova, Caroline Wozniacki and Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki, who had already beaten 3rd seed Li Na in the second round, managed another win over Misaki Doi and will now face Petra Cetkovska.

In the doubles matches there wasn’t much look for the British. Delgado and Marray lost out in the second round and the women’s pairs of Rae and Watson along with Keothavong and Robson also lost their matches. In the mixed doubles there was more luck with four of the five British pairs making it through.

Tomorrow the players have the luxury of a day off but on Monday we have the delights of the fourth round to look forward to.

Image source - flickr

Friday 24th June 2011 - Murray makes it through but unlucky Robson misses out

With outdoor matches being abandoned at 7pm due to rain all eyes were on Andy Murray on Centre. Murray started brightly and took the first set 6-4 but his opponent Ivan Ljubicic wasn’t going let the Scot have it all his own way. The Croatian won the second set and it seemed as though we’d been in for a long haul match. Something special happened though and Murray stormed through 6-1 in the third.

The fourth set was tight; Murray broke Ljubicic but as the Scot was serving for the match the Croatian broke back. The set ended up in a tie break, Murray took the advantage and sealed the win with a thumping cross court strike. The World No.4 will now face Richard Gasquet in the fourth round.
Another Brit to put on a great performance was Laura Robson. Even though she lost in two sets to fifth seed Maria Sharapova the standard of tennis she produced was outstanding. In the first set she broke the Russian in her first service game to go 3-0 up but Sharapova broke back and forced a tie-break. Again the tie break was close but Sharapova stepped it up a gear and won the set. The second set was too a tight affair but Sharapova had that extra power and speed to make it through to the third round.

Another Brit who departed was Elena Baltacha. She started her match against 20th seed Shuai Peng well winning 6-4 in the first set but the Chinese player started making shots she’d been missing and eventually won the match.

There was a shock departure in the mens draw earlier in the day for Andy Roddick who went out to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. Both players served well and the first two sets went to tie-breaks in which Lopez edged. In the third set Andy Roddick did not look comfortable and once he gave away a break it was all over. After the game Roddick praised the Spaniard’s effort, he told the BBC: "He came out and served as well as a person can. He played an outstanding match." Lopez will now go on to play the winner of the Gael Monfils vs. Lukasz Kubot match, which was one set all before it was suspended because of the weather.

Yesterday’s rain had affected some of the mens second round matches which were completed today. Qualifier Bernard Tomic made it to the third round along with seventh seed David Ferrer and No. 11 Jurgen Melzer. Nadal took a one set lead before the rain as did Del Potro, both games should be completed tomorrow.

Back to the women’s draw and Venus Williams eased into the fourth round with a 6-0 6-2 win over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. There was a shock result for 32nd Tsvetana Pironkova who beat No.2 Vera Zvonareva in straight sets. Other women to make it to the fourth round include seeded players Victoria Azarenka, Andrea Petkovic and Yanina Wickmayer. Caroline Wozniacki won her second round match easily and will play again tomorrow.

The doubles matches had been heavily disrupted due to the rain yesterday but there was some good news on the British front. Jamie Murray and Sergiy Stakhovsky lost out in the second round tie but male pairs of Jamie Delgado and Jonathan Marray and Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins made it through in their first round ties.

Tomorrow is a busy day, the rain delayed matches will recommence and we have the delights of Federer, Djokovic and Serena Williams to look forward to.

Thursday 23rd June 2011 - More rain but fabulous tennis on Centre Court

Rain showers hit SW19 again today but there was still plenty of action. There were two epic matches on Centre Court under the roof, the first being between fifth seed Robin Soderling and former champion Lleyton Hewitt. The first set was a close affair but Hewitt edged the tie break to take an early lead. This boosted his confidence and he went on to take a comfortable two set lead.

Soderling wasn’t up for giving it away and started creating winning shots he’d previously been missing; stunning Hewitt and it went to a fifth and final set. Soderling continue to conquer the big points and went on to win the match. Next up for the Swede will be either Russia's Igor Andreev or Australian Bernard Tomic.

The second entertaining game came from French Open Champion Na Li and German Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki has had a drop in ranking due to injuries, but back in 2009 she was as high as 22 but she showed Li that she still has a lot of talent. Li stormed to a 6-3 win in the first set but the German turned it on in the second and pushed the game into a final set. It was neck and neck until Li squeezed out a break but when it mattered Lisicki broke back. Li started producing unforced errors and the German came back to win an outstanding match of tennis.

The final game on Centre Court saw Adrian Mannarino take on Roger Federer. Federer must have wanted an early night because he swept through the match in under 90 minutes. The five time Wimbledon Champion will now face David Nalbandian, who reached the final in 2002.
Earlier in the day Novak Djokovic didn’t need to get beyond third gear in his match against South African Kevin Anderson. The No.2 seed comfortably won 6-3 6-4 6-2 to progress to the next stage.

Just before darkness fell at Wimbledon Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won his match against Grigor Dimitrov and celebrated by hurdling the net and bear-hugging his opponent. Tsonga had been a set down but came back in emphatic fashion.

Other men to progress include Karol Beck who defeated 26th seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in four sets and Juan Martin Del Potro whose came was stopped late on last night. Seeded players Marcus Baghdatis and Michael LLodra also made it through to the third round.

Serena Williams struggled in the first set of her second round match against Romanian Simona Halep. After her emotional return to Wimbledon in the first round Williams found strength from somewhere to come back and win 3-6 6-2 6-1. She will now face Maria Kirilenko.
Francesca Schiavone, Ana Ivanovic, Yanina Wickmayer and Misaki Doi also made it through to the third round.

GB duo Melanie South and Sarah Borwell were knocked out of their first round doubles match as were the British pairs of Daniel Cox and James Ward and Chris Eaton and Joshua Goodall. It was more positive for Jamie Murray and Sergiy Stakhovsky who won their first round match.

Other notable doubles results included the departure of the men’s fourth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi who fell to Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah of Columbia.

Due to the rain today Laura Robson and Maria Sharapova’s match is first on Court No.1 tomorrow. Andy Murray is back in action as well, this time on Centre Court, so rain or not we should see the Scot.

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 - Wet weather delays play but there's plenty to talk about

The rain started pouring today at SW19 before play could begin outside time so all eyes turned to Centre Court. The roof came on, and Venus Williams took to the court along with veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm. The 40 year old Japanese player started the first set well and managed to win the tie-break to secure an early lead. The five time Wimbledon Champion wasn’t going to give up easily and broke back in the second to win the set 6-3. The final deciding set was tight all the way to 6-6 but Williams’s found something extra and went through to win 8-6 in the final set of what was a tremendous game of tennis.

Play on the outside courts began at 15.30 today after the showers delayed proceedings. Tomas Berdych outplayed his opponent Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the first match on Court No.1. The Czech sixth seed won convincingly 6-1 6-4 6-2. Next up was Britain’s last man standing Andy Murray, and even he myself admitted his performance was lacking in areas. He told the BBC: “I served well but rest of my game needs work.” The conditions weren’t brilliant for Murray either but still he came through in straight sets. He will next play Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky or Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia in the third round.

World No.1 Rafael Nadal showed his prowess again as he breezed past the American Ryan Sweeting. Sweeting won his first ATP title this year but Nadal was too strong and will now go on to play Gilles Muller from Luxembourg whose opponent Milos Raonic had to retire early in the first set of their second round tie.

Other players to make it through in the men’s draw included 10th seed Mardy Fish, Giles Simon, Gael Monfils, Richard Gasquet and Simone Bolelli who all won in three straight sets. Bolelli defeated 14th seed Stanilas Wawrinka to book his place in the third round.

Turning to the women’s matches and British hopeful Heather Watson fell at the first hurdle in her maiden game of the tournament. The youngster started the game magnificently with a 6-2 win in the first set but an elbow injury in the second set gave her opponent Mathilde Johansson an advantage and the Frenchwoman went on to win the game 2-6 6-4 6-4. Anne Keothavong also departed after she was outclassed by eight seed Petra Kvitova in the second round. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though as Laura Robson won her first round game against Angelique Kerber. She now faces former Wimbledon Champion Maria Sharapova tomorrow.

Other females to make it through to the third round include second seed Vera Zvonareva, Victoria Azarenka and Andrea Petkovic.

The women’s doubles kicked off today with top seeds King and Shvedova getting an easy ride into the next round after their opponents retired. Elsewhere Brit’s Broady and Webley-Smith lost out to Voracova and Voskoboeva.

Tomorrow see’s Robin Soderling take on former champion Lleyton Hewitt in what should be an interesting game on Centre Court. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are also back in action and there’s Brit Laura Robson’s big game against Maria Sharapova.