Wimbledon Magic

For the second year running, the men’s singles final in tennis’s most prestigious tournament produced a match of heart-stopping intensity. But this year the script saw a slightly different ending. Instead of losing out to his opponent in a marathon fifth set, Roger Federer sealed a sixth Wimbledon and more importantly, 15 th grand slam title, breaking Pete Sampras’s record.

It has been a remarkable summer for Federer, who won the French Open for the first time just a month ago. The year didn’t begin quite so well for the Swiss great, with critics still talking about his loss to Rafael Nadal in last year’s Wimbledon and speculating that Federer’s reign at the pinnacle of professional tennis was over. Some killjoys will continue to undermine Federer’s victories at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, since he did not defeat Nadal on court in the former and the Spaniard was not around to defend his title at the latter. But considering that Federer’s 15 titles have come in the short span of six years, it is hard to argue that he isn’t the greatest player of his generation.

Is he the greatest ever? The sport has evolved so much since the days of Arthur Ashe and Rod Laver that comparing players from different eras is irrelevant. Contrary to appearances, tennis is not merely a test of human skills where technology plays no role. Technical advances, changes in rules and unknowables like the quality of opposition these great champions faced in their times renders this exercise meaningless. It is enough to look on with awe at Federer’s beautiful game and the way he never seems to be working too hard on court. He almost floats on the court and plays with effortless finesse and beauty. Not for him the ugly and brutal power rallies that unfortunately dominate the sport today. Still, on Sunday it was his mental fortitude that got him through, not his artistry.

Every great champion needs a worthy opponent, and on Sunday Andy Roddick played the part in Nadal’s absence. Nobody expected him to put up much of a fight against the Swiss, but he played, perhaps, the match of his life and gave Federer a real fright. But the Swiss champion is in a league of his own now. Even if he were to put his racket up right now, he would be assured of his place in the pantheon of sporting, not just tennis, greats.

CROSS OF GREATNESS

If Roger Federer looks back at 2008, he might want to treat himself to a wry smile. Last year, same time same place, he was at his exquisite best, mixing sublime passes with outrageous winners and even more daring crosses; yet he lost.

This year, he was nowhere near his top, often descending even into levels of ordinariness; yet he won the title to become, at least on the Grand Slam scale, the greatest tennis player.

For many, though, he was already the best ever: after all, he moves like a ballerina on the court; he hits the ball with such finesse that it almost feels like he is whispering sweet-nothings into the ear of a lover; he has power too but his angles are the envy of even geometry and trigonometry.

More mundanely, he has won 15 Slam titles, more than any
other player before; he has conquered virtually every surface that the game could think of; plus, he has also been Number One for 237 straight weeks.

The only irritant, however, is 2008. During that heart-breaking year, he lost his way at Roland Garros and, to an extent, his aura at Wimbledon; ironically, the first surface had always mocked while the second one all but worshipped him.

Both times, one man, indeed one machine, stood in his way: Rafael Nadal. The golden retriever humbled him on clay first and then out-nerved him on grass. Federer didn’t see it immediately but he (Nadal) had assumed the proportions of a mental block: he acknowledged it only after passing the French Open test this May.

This year, of course, an injured Nadal lost to Robin Soderling early in Paris, and missed the action in London; Federer promptly looked history in the eye and it blinked. But the mirror will keep asking him the same question every morning: could he have crossed these last two hurdles if Nadal had stood on the other side of the net. Probably not. Federer surely understands this. That is why his job is not yet over; he shall
carry the cross until he tames the tormentor. Yes, he did it recently, in Madrid and on a slow court too, just before the French Open; but the challenge is to follow it up in a Grand Slam.

True, he won’t be under pressure anymore. He has subdued the doubts in his mind, surely with some help from fate; he will play with a free will when they meet next. Hopefully, he would also be at his sublime best as that is the only way he can dismantle Nadal’s assiduously built game.

The signs, though, were ominous on Sunday. Federer didn’t call the shots in the Wimbledon final; in fact, his magic was fleeting and, quite often, his movement was ungainly too. There were glimpses of his genius but that was overshadowed by his anxiety.

But then, when you are on the threshold of greatness and the audience is as exalted as it was around the Centre Court, even the wind might develop cold feet. Yet, Federer held on: he won two tie-breakers but looked sheepish in the other two sets.

In the final set, typically, he dug into the last reserves in his soul. He clung on to his serve and waited for Roddick to falter; but the American, with a Yankee-style cap on his head, kept pace. After one hour and 35 minutes, and 30 games, Roddick capitulated.

Federer, the quiet stalker, roared like a lion. He had allowed himself the minor transgression twice earlier during the match: once in the second set, when he came back from 2-6 down to win the tie-breaker; again, just a few games earlier, when he was serving 15-40 and Roddick had a whiff of the Trophy.

He could afford to cry one more time, like he had done after losing the Australian Open in an epic final and also after winning the French Open rather easily. But he didn’t: he was in the mood to smile. After all, he had just become Number One again, if not the best tennis player ever.


FEDERER THE GREATEST, CONCEDES SAMPRAS

Pete Sampras hailed Roger Federer as the greatest player of all time on Sunday after the Swiss superstar surpassed his Grand Slam record with a sixth Wimbledon title.

“In my book, he’s the greatest of all time. He has his critics and people point to Rafael Nadal beating him, but for me he’s the greatest. He is a legend and an icon,” said Sampras.
“He is a great champion and a good guy. He’s very humble, which I like.” Sampras predicted that Federer, who is still only 27, can go on and set more Grand Slam records. “He can win 17, 18 majors at least. He’s only 27 and he can do it if he stays healthy.”

The American, who played his last Wimbledon in 2002, flew in overnight to see Federer launch an assault on his record of 14. “He is effortless when he plays. He serves big, has a great forehand and his backhand. I’m a fan of how he plays, what he’s about... he’s a class guy on and off the court. He’s fun to watch.”

HAIL KING FEDERER

The guy’s a legend and now he’s an Icon. His 15 majors, that’s a lot of majors, that’s a lot of work. He’s a credit to the game. The critics say (Rod) Laver, and (Rafael) Nadal beat him a few times in majors, but he’s won all the majors, he’s going to win a few more here, so in my book he is (the greatest).
Pete Sampras, 14 time Grand Slam champion

Winning the French Open in May, and in doing so collecting all four Grand Slam trophies, in my opinion, has made him the greatest player in history.
Boris Becker, three-time Wimbledon champion

It’s amazing what sort of shots he can come up with from impossible positions... It’s an unbelievable effort to have 15 Grand Slam titles.

Rod Laver.

For me Roger is the greatest player ever who played the tennis game. We are going to see so much more of Federer in the future, he is going to win more grand slam tournaments.
Bjorn Borg, 11-time Grand Slam winner

It’s a combination of how many Grand Slams have you won, how many tournaments have you won, how many years you were number one and he’s got all those combinations.
Martina Navratilova, nine-time Wimbledon champion

The guy is one of the greatest male athletes of all time.
Serena Williams, 11 time Grand Slam champion

The consistency in the big tournaments is ridiculous. No one will ever match that.
Andy Murray

Final Day

Roger Federer was playing for history. Andy Roddick was playing the match of his life.

On and on they dueled, Federer trying for a record-breaking 15th major championship, Roddick striving for his second, in a Wimbledon final that required more games than any Grand Slam title match in the considerable annals of a sport dating to the 1800s.

“Ten games all, final set,” intoned the chair umpire. Then, “Twelve games all, final set.” And, still later, “Fourteen games all, final set.”

They were each other’s equal for four full sets and nearly the entire 30-game fifth set. Until Federer, far more experienced in such matters, finally edged ahead, breaking Roddick’s serve for the only time in the 77th and last game to close out a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 victory Sunday.



The epic match—the fifth set alone lasted more than 1 1/2 hours—gave Federer his sixth Wimbledon title. Add that to five from the U.S. Open, three from the Australian Open and one from the French Open, and Federer’s Grand Slam total rises to 15, one more than Pete Sampras, who flew in from California on Sunday morning to be on hand.

“He’s a legend,” Sampras said. “Now he’s an icon.”

Indeed, Sampras already was among those labeling Federer the greatest tennis player ever, and there’s no doubt the 27-year-old from Switzerland keeps bolstering his case.



“It’s not really one of those goals you set as a little boy,” Federer told the Centre Court crowd during the trophy ceremony, “but, man, it’s been quite a career. And quite a month.”

Federer won the French Open four Sundays earlier to complete a career Grand Slam and tie Sampras with 14 major titles (Margaret Smith Court owns the women’s record of 24).

“Sorry, Pete,” Roddick said. “I tried to hold him off.”

He weathered Federer’s career-high 50 aces and his 107 total winners in the longest match and longest fifth set in major final history, topping marks set in 1927.

The tennis gods—as well as Sampras, Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, all in front-row seats—must have enjoyed every moment of the 4-hour, 16-minute tussle. Federer, who can make it all look so easy, was forced to work darned hard to eclipse Sampras’ mark, and Roddick was left heartbreakingly close to finally winning Wimbledon.



Roddick dropped to 0-3 in finals at the All England Club, also beaten by Federer in 2004 and 2005. After the match ended on a shanked forehand by the sixth-seeded American, the two men hugged at the net. A mere handshake wouldn’t do.

The winner donned a specially tailored white jacket with a gold “15” stitched on the back, while the loser—a word that hardly seems fair in this case—slumped in his chair, head bowed, until rising to acknowledge the spectators’ chorus of “Rodd-ick! Rodd-ick!”

“Sports, or tennis, is cruel sometimes. We know it,” Federer said. “I went through some five-setters in Grand Slam finals, too, and ended up losing. It’s hard.”

A year ago, on the same lawn, Federer’s five-year reign as Wimbledon champion ended in a 9-7 fifth set defeat against his nemesis, Rafael Nadal. Six weeks later, Federer relinquished to Nadal the No. 1 ranking after a record 237 consecutive weeks at the top.

But Nadal did not defend his Wimbledon title, citing sore knees, and Federer not only regained his championship at the All England Club—the Grand Slam he says means the most to him—but returns to No. 1 Monday.

“It’s staggering that I’ve been able to play so well for so many years now and stay injury-free,” Federer said. “I knew what it took to win the big ones. … It’s crazy that I’ve been able to win so many in such a short period of time.”



Sampras—whose 14th major title came in his last match, at age 31, at the 2002 U.S. Open—and his wife appeared in the Royal Box during the changeover after Sunday’s third game. Walking to the baseline directly below, Federer acknowledged Sampras with a nod of the head and a little wave.

“I thought, ‘I don’t want to be rude,’ you know?” Federer said.

He wept with joy after his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003. And he bawled in the locker room after his 40-match winning streak here ended against Nadal in 2008. This time, Federer kept it together, perhaps because he was too exhausted after a match chock-full of contradictions:

— Federer’s ace count was one shy of the Wimbledon record and, most remarkably, 23 more than Roddick, who is better-known for his knee-buckling serves.

— Roddick broke serve twice in the first four sets; Federer, considered a superior returner, couldn’t come through until the match’s concluding game.

— Federer won both tiebreakers; Roddick is the one who began the day 26-4 in those set-capping races to seven points.

Then there was the most counterintuitive piece of all: that Roddick would even stay close, much less be on the verge of victory, given that he came in 2-18 against Federer, including 0-7 at major tournaments.




Roddick made quite clear, quite quickly, that he is a new-and-improved version, delivering four passing winners by the time the match was 13 minutes old—three with his backhand, long his weaker side.

And he broke Federer to close the first set. It happened suddenly: Federer won 21 of the first 24 points on his serve, but Roddick took three out of four in a blink, earning the last point of that set with a backhand down the line that drew a wide forehand from Federer.

The crowd roared, sensing an upset. There were more rumblings when Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, went up 6-2 in the second-set tiebreaker. Here, then, were four chances to take a 2-0 lead in sets.

Roddick might have been forgiven for thinking, “Wow, I’m one point away from leading Roger Federer two sets to none in the Wimbledon final.” He certainly played as though burdened by looking ahead, letting all four set points slip from his grasp. Most discouraging was the last, when he wildly misplayed a backhand volley. It was part of a six-point, set-ending run for Federer.

How does someone recover from that? Somehow, Roddick did.

“At that point, like everything else, there’s two options: You lay down or you keep going,” he said. “The second option sounded better to me.”

Roddick lost the third set, too, but rallied to take the fourth, and then came the fifth. Wimbledon doesn’t use tiebreakers in fifth sets, and there were times it seemed Federer and Roddick would play into the night.

Federer faced a serious test at 8-8, though, when Roddick earned two break points with a backhand winner down the line. Federer saved the first with a 118 mph service winner, and the second with a volley winner. There was not another break point for either man until Roddick served while trailing 15-14.

At deuce, Roddick sailed a forehand long, giving Federer his seventh break point of the match. Until then, he was 0 for 6. But this was also a championship point, and Federer converted.

“Frustrating, at times, because I couldn’t break Andy ‘til the very, very end,” Federer said. “So satisfaction is maybe bigger this time around to come through, because I couldn’t control the match at all.”

As he enjoyed the first post-victory moments in the locker room—a more muted celebration than usual, owing to Roddick’s presence—members of the grounds crew entered and presented him with the Centre Court net. Another keepsake for Federer’s ever-more-crowded trophy room.

Weather: Sunny, high of 68 degrees.
Attendance: 30,867, an increase of 2,268 from the final Sunday in 2008. The total for the tournament was a record 511,043, an increase of 35,231 from last year, the previous high.



Below pic shows the tennis players with the most men's majors titles.

FEDERER’S FIFTEEN TITLES

2003 Wimbledon:

bt Mark Philippoussis (Aus) 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3); Federer, 21, wins first Grand Slam title to turn potential into silverware. His victory, five years after winning the junior title, also ended all doubts about his nerve on the big stage.

2004 Australian Open:

bt Marat Safin (Rus) 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-2; Federer, who had replaced Juan Carlos Ferrero as the new world number one by reaching the final, celebrated in style by beating Safin, who had been in fine form in Melbourne seeing off Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick.

2004 Wimbledon:

bt Andy Roddick (USA) 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4; Less than a month after a disappointing third round exit at the French Open, Federer bounces back. Roddick had been a set and a break ahead, but a rain delay helps the Swiss recover his composure.

2004 US Open:

bt Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0; Hewitt, the 2001 champion, came into the final on a 16-match winning streak but Federer was unstoppable, becoming the first man in history to win his first four Grand Slam finals, and the first since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three majors in a year.

2005 Wimbledon:

bt Andy Roddick (USA) 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-4; Federer joins Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg as the only players to win three Wimbledon titles in a row in the Open era. Roddick joked: "Maybe next time I'll just punch him or something."

2005 US Open:

bt Andre Agassi (USA) 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1; Federer wins sixth Grand Slam title and shatters 35-year-old Agassi's dreams of becoming the oldest winner of the title. Ken Rosewall, at 39, had been the previous oldest finalist against Jimmy Connors in 1974.

2006 Australian Open:

bt Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) 5-7, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2; Unseeded Baghdatis, 20, the world number 54 gives Federer a scare when he wins first set and goes a break up in the second. But Federer imposes his authority as a tiring Baghdatis needs treatment on his calf.

2006 Wimbledon:

bt Rafael Nadal (Esp) 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3; Just a month after losing to his new rival at the French Open, Federer puts an end to a fivematch losing streak against the Spaniard.He also becomes only the third man in the Open era after Bjorn Borg and Sampras to win four Wimbledons in a row.

2006 US Open:

bt Andy Roddick (USA) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1; Federer wins third successive title in New York and becomes first man in the Open era to win three successive Wimbledon and US Open titles in the same years.

2007 Australian Open:

bt Fernando Gonzalez (Chi) 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4; Federer wins 10th Grand Slam title and extends his winning run to 36 matches.Also first man to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set since Borg at the 1980 French Open.

2007 Wimbledon:

bt Rafael Nadal (Esp) 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-2; Federer emulates Borg by winning five straight Wimbledon titles but he was given a huge scare by Nadal in a classic final and a taste of what was to come 12 months later when the Spaniard takes his crown.

2007 US Open:

bt Novak Djokovic (Srb) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4; Federer wins fourth consecutive US Open despite trailing by a break in each. He becomes the first man to win Wimbledon and the US Open for four years in a row, and the first to win four straight US titles since Bill Tilden in 1923.

2008 US Open:

bt Andy Murray (GBr) 6-2, 7-5, 6-2; The Swiss wins 13th Grand Slam crown and fifth consecutive US Open title. He moves one Grand Slam title ahead of Roy Emerson and one behind the record 14 won by Pete Sampras. "I'm not going to stop at 13," says Federer.

2009 French Open:

bt Robin Soderling (Swe) 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4; Federer finally wins the French Open after losing the previous three finals and equals the record 14 Grand Slam wins of Sampras. Not even an intruder who confronted him in the second set and steady rain could derail his charge past Soderling into the history books.

2009 Wimbledon:

bt Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 for a historic victory.

Williams secure doubles




Serena Williams won a pair of Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon, just like her sister Venus did last year. Serena added the women’s doubles title to her take at this year’s tournament, teaming with big sister Venus to beat Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Saturday.

It’s their fourth Wimbledon title together, part of their haul of nine Grand Slam women’s doubles championships. “There’s nothing like winning a title with your sister,” said Serena, who has won 11 major singles titles. “It’s really a good feeling.”

A year ago, Venus beat Serena in the championship match to win her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and the pair then teamed up to win the doubles. “One out of two’s not bad,” Venus said. “I really wanted to win the singles, but they’re two separate events. If I won the singles and not the doubles, it’s still not the same.”

Against the Australians, the Williams sisters traded breaks in the first set, with Stosur and Stubbs taking a 2-1 lead off Serena’s opening service game. But the Americans eventually broke back to 4-4 when Stosur put a backhand volley into the net. In the tiebreaker, Venus put the sisters up a mini-break on the second point with a return of serve that Stubbs couldn’t get back over.

“The ball clipped the tape, and therefore it went a little bit higher than it should have and it hit my frame and didn’t quite get off the string,” Stubbs said. “It was really unlucky.”

ENTERTAINING POINT

The most entertaining point of the match came with Stubbs serving at 1-1 in the second set. Serena returned the serve, and Stubbs swung her racket behind her and hit the ball through her legs to get it back over.

“I do that because sometimes you have to do that,” said Stubbs, who added that she makes that kind of shot all the time. “That’s just experience and being an idiot on the court half the time.”

As the point continued, Stosur stood at the net and battered back volley after volley as both Venus and Serena grunted and groaned while sending groundstrokes back over the net. Stosur eventually won the point with a drop shot neither sister could get near, and the Australian took that game.

But the sisters broke Stubbs to go up 4-3 in that set and kept control. “I’m really excited to have doubles titles,” Serena said. “I rack ‘em up.”

Day 11

WHAT A SERENADE!

Serena Williams clinched her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam crown with a 7-6 (7), 6-2 victory over sister Venus, the defending champion, here on Saturday. The victory added to her 2002 and 2003 wins at the All England Club and shattered Venus’s hopes of a hat-trick of titles and sixth overall which would have taken her level with Billie Jean King.

Saturday’s final was the fourth all-Williams title match-up at Wimbledon and eighth in all Grand Slams with the win giving Serena the edge in head-tohead meetings at 11-10. Serve dominated the first set with 27-year-old Serena fighting off the only two break points in the eighth game and it was the younger of the two sisters who seized control of the tiebreak. Serena went to three set points by forcing Venus to scramble from side to side before putting away a powerful crosscourt forehand.

Venus saved the first set point but was powerless when a pinpoint lob from her sister left her stranded at the net. It was the first set Venus had dropped at Wimbledon since the third round in 2007, a run of 34 consecutive winning sets. Serena, who had saved match point in her marathon semifinal win over Elena Dementieva, carved out her first set point when Venus double-faulted to hand her a 4-2 lead and revenge for last year’s final defeat to her sister looked likely. Second seed Serena held to love, backedup by her 12th ace of the match, to lead 5-2. She then wasted three match points in the eighth game but clinched the title when Venus netted with a forehand.


EYEING HISTORY

Roger Federer will attempt to write a new chapter in tennis history on Sunday when he targets a record 15th Grand Slam title by beating Wimbledon comeback kid Andy Roddick. Five-time champion Federer is playing in a seventh straight Wimbledon final, and a record 20th Grand Slam title match, where victory will take him past Pete Sampras’ mark of 14 majors he equalled with his French Open win in June.

Roddick, desperate for a second major to add to his 2003 US Open title, has been here before, losing the 2004 and 2005 All-England Club finals to Federer. “I’m very proud of all the records I’ve achieved, because I never thought I would be that successful as a kid,” said Federer, who lost his five-year grip on the title to Rafael Nadal here last year.

“I would have been happy winning a couple tournaments and maybe collecting Wimbledon, achieving the dream scenario.” “It’s quite staggering. Having so many things going for me now again, it’s fantastic.”

The form book favours Federer, who has won a staggering 18 of his 20 match-ups with Roddick.

But having seen off Tommy Haas in straight sets to reach the final, Federer is aware of the danger posed by a rejuvenated Roddick, who ended Andy Murray’s bid to become Britain’s first men’s Wimbledon champion in 73 years.

The 26-year-old American’s four-set, semifinal win put him into a first Grand Slam final in three years and it was achieved with a clever mix of trademark big serves, fierce groundstrokes and a composed performance at the net. Federer is aware of Roddick’s gifts. “I’ve played him 20 times, so I’ve had plenty of time to study his game, to understand his game,” he said.

“He’s always played me also quite differently every single time I’ve played him. In the beginning of his career, I remember back in 2003, he was sometimes standing way back on the return.” “But then I played him one year and he chipped and charged a lot, and came to the net a lot. I’ve also played him when he’s serve and volleyed first and second serve almost.”

“I’ve had many different looks against Roddick. I enjoy how he leaves everything out on the court. I can only marvel at how incredible his serve is. I like playing against him, not only just because of the record.” Roddick believes his decision to hire veteran coach Larry Stefanki has paid dividends. “He’s certainly is well-studied. He kind of picks the right times to discuss stuff. It doesn’t feel monotonous. It’s not always the same time that he picks and chooses to talk about an upcoming match,” said the American.

Day 10

FED IN FINAL

Roger Federer reached a record 20th Grand Slam final and a seventh straight Wimbledon title match with a 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-3 win over German veteran Tommy Haas in the semi-finals on Friday.

F i v e - time Wimb l e d o n champion Federer, who is chasing a record 15th Grand Slam crown, watched by Grand Slam greats Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver, comfortably installed in the Royal Box, put on a magnificent show of serving against the German 31-year-old, not giving up a single break point.

"Tommy played great so I knew that there was a danger. I'm happy with my performance and it's unbelievable to be in another final," said Federer.

"I have had a lot of pressure over the years but I am looking forward to another great match and a chance to get into the history books."

Federer said he was looking ahead to the challenge of the final. "I have had great matches with Roddick. You can never underestimate him with that serve," he said. "Murray's at home. My record against him is not that good. He's shown over the last 18 months that he can be a Grand Slam contender." The opening set on Friday was dominated by serve, but the Swiss second seed was the strongest in the tiebreak.

He went to three set points when Haas unleashed a loose forehand with the world number two wrapping up the set when the German, stranded behind the baseline, pushed a backhand into the net. It was the dream start for the five-time champion after the nightmare beginning he suffered against the same opponent at the French Open last month when he had to recover from losing the first two sets in the fourth round.

Former world number two Haas, playing in his first Wimbledon semifinal, had to save a set point, which was also the first break point of the match, at 4-5 in the second set.

But the Swiss broke through in the 12th game for a two-sets lead when another Haas forehand went long.

Haas cracked for the last time in the eighth game of the third set when he netted an easy approach having saved four break points.

Federer then wrapped up the semi-final in just over two hours on his first match point with a spectacular, athletic smash.

SISTER ACT: PART IV

Serena and Venus will meet for the fourth time at the Wimbledon final, a day that also coincides with the United States' Independence Day.

For the eighth time in 10 years, the Wimbledon women's trophy will be lifted by a Williams. The Williams sisters are back in the final again-- Venus for the eighth time and Serena for the fifth. And it's the fourth Williams vs Williams final at the All England Club and eighth in a Grand Slam title match.

Fittingly, the show will take place on the July 4, Independence Day in the United States. "The more we play, the better it gets," Serena said. "When we play our match on Saturday, it's for everything. This is what we dreamed of when we were growing up in Compton (California) 20-something years ago. This is what we worked for, and this is what we want."

If the semifinals are anything to go by, five-time winner and two-time defending champion Venus is clearly the one to beat. Two-time champion Serena had to save a match point and use all her fighting skills to overcome Elena Dementieva of Russia 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 in a tense match on Thursday that lasted two hours, 49 minutes-- longer than any Wimbledon women's semifinal in at least 40 years.

"It's definitely one of my more dramatic victories for sure," said Serena, who hit a backhand volley winner off the netcord to erase match point in the 10th game of the final set.

The Centre Court spectators barely had time to pop out for a refreshment and settle back into their seats by the time Venus completed a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Dinara Safina in 51 minutes-- the most lopsided women's semifinal since 1969. "The hardest part is next to come-- to play Serena Williams," Venus said.

Venus won Wimbledon in 2000 and '01 before Serena beat her older sister in the 2002 and '03 finals. Venus won again in 2005 and 2007 and beat Serena in last year's final. Serena holds a 5-2 lead in all-Williams championship matches at Grand Slams. Overall, the sisters are 10-10. "That's intense, huh?" Venus said. "I guess this will be a tipping point match. My hope is that there will be many more to come."

Venus is bidding to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row. Venus was cheering for Serena to win on Thursday, but will now do all she can to stop her sister and win her eighth major title.

BIG SISTER

"I'm happy for her to be in the final, but I have to face her and defeat her," Venus said. "I don't necessarily want her to lose, but for sure I want me to win. I don't want to see myself disappointed. I need to get my titles, too. I'm still the big sister, but I'm still going to play great tennis." Serena considers herself the underdog. "I feel like going into this final I have nothing to lose," she said. "I feel she's playing the best tennis at the tournament."

The sisters' mother, Oracene Price, said anything could happen. "Serena hates to lose," she said. "And Serena played so raggedy today that she might be on her game on Saturday. It's just whoever's mind is better on the day." Father Richard Williams said: "All I know is a Williams is going to win."

First, the sisters will set aside their rivalry to team up Friday in the women's doubles semifinals. They have already won three Wimbledon's doubles titles and are the defending champions. "I'll be telling her tomorrow, You can do it. You're the best. Your serve, let's hold," Serena said.

Day 9

Super Federer dismantled Ivo Karlovic; German Haas Ousts Djokovic In Quarterfinals; Crowd Favourite Murray Strolls Past Ferrero; Roddick outlasts Hewitt in five sets.

Semi final show down:

Roger Federer Vs Tommy Haas
Andy Murray Vs Andy Roddick


Five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer reached his 21st consecutive Grand Slam semifinal on Wednesday with a majestic 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) dismantling of giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic.

Federer, bidding for a sixth All England Club title and a record 15th major, will now tackle German veteran Tommy Haas, who stunned Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-3, for a place in Sunday’s final.

British third seed Andy Murray, meanwhile, saw off Spain’s former French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal. The 22-year-old, bidding to become Britain’s first home men’s champion since Fred Perry in 1936, faces two-time runner-up Andy Roddick for a place in the final.

“It’s difficult against Karlovic because there aren’t many baseline rallies on his serve or mine,” said Federer after his 1hr 42min Centre Court win. “To be in my 21st consecutive major semifinal shows how consistent I have been and injury free. I’m playing well at the moment but there are some big matches to come.”

Going into Wednesday’s clash, Karlovic hadn’t dropped serve in the tournament, had won 79 service games in four rounds and faced just four break points. But second seed Federer ended that streak in the fourth game when a sumptuous backhand return followed by a sublime forehand pass gave him the first break against the 6ft 10in (2.08m) Croatian to lead 3-1.

That quickly became 4-1 against a player he had already defeated eight times in nine matches. Federer wrapped up the opener after 23 minutes having conceded just three points in four service games.

By comparison, 30-year-old Karlovic, the 22nd seed, suffered a dramatic powercut. Having fired a huge 137 aces to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, he managed just three in the first set and won just 14 points on the Federer serve in the entire tie. Federer broke again for a crucial 6-5 lead in the second set before racing through the third set tie-break to claim his place in a seventh successive semifinal.

Murray became only the third British man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals in the Open era after racing past wildcard Ferrero in an hour and 41 minutes. “There were quite a lot of errors from both of us at the start,” said Murray who sent down 18 aces. “Once I had got that first set I started to settle down and I returned great in the end.”

Haas will be playing his first Wimbledon semifinal at the 11th attempt thanks to his win over Djokovic who he also defeated in the Halle grasscourt final. The German, a former world No. 2 who has been plagued by injuries, dug deep to save three set points in the second set tie-break and despite a third set recovery by the Serbian, Haas stayed on course to become the oldest champion since Arthur Ashe in 1975.

“I have no words to explain this,” said Haas who was two sets ahead against Federer in the French Open fourth round last month before the Swiss hit back.


America vs Russia

Wimbledon could be headed for another all-Williams final. Then again, it could be an all-Russian affair. The Williams sisters are one round away from another Grand Slam championship showdown, but they will first have to get past Russian opponents to set up their eighth meeting in a major final and fourth in the Wimbledon title match.

“I would love it to be a Williams final, and so would she,” five-time champion Venus said, referring to younger sister and two-time winner Serena. “That would be great.”

Third-seeded Venus, going for her third straight Wimbledon championship, will be up against No. 1 Dinara Safina in Thursday’s semifinals. Serena, seeded No. 2, will face No. 4 Elena Dementieva.

The Williams siblings go in as solid favourites. They have put on a clinic of power tennis so far, showing why they have been the dominant force at the All England Club for most of the decade.

“Do I feel invincible?” Venus said after blasting Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. “I’d like to say yes, but I really do work at it.” Only once in the past nine years has there been a Wimbledon women’s final that didn’t feature at least one of the Williams sisters. That was 2006 when Serena was absent injured.

They have faced each other in three Wimbledon finals, including last year. Serena won the first two, in 2002 and ‘03. They are 10-10 in career meetings and have played in seven Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning five.

The Williams sisters have sailed through the draw so far without dropping a set. Venus has lost only 20 games in five matches, Serena 25. “We have a great game,” Serena said after beating Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday.

“We have strong serves. We have pretty good returns. Just solid all-around court players. We both move pretty well. That’s a pretty solid game.”

Venus said the sisters thrive at Wimbledon not only because of their attacking, punishing styles. “I do have strategy,” she said. “Maybe it doesn’t look like it but I do. That’s my secret weapon, that it doesn’t look like I’m thinking, but I am.”

Venus has shown no let-up in her aggressive style despite wearing a bandage on her left leg. She has been reluctant to discuss whether she has a knee problem. “I’m doing well, thank you,” she said after Tuesday’s match.

One person who is convinced the sisters will meet for the title on Saturday is their father, Richard. “They are both playing super well,” he said. “They’re playing ‘The Williams Way.’ And when you’re playing ‘The Williams Way,’ it’s very difficult for anyone to touch you.”

Venus has a 2-1 career edge over Safina, though the Russian won their most recent meeting in three sets on clay at the Italian Open in May. “I know what she’s doing,” Safina said. “I know her weapons. I have my weapons. If I play my best, and she plays the best, it’s 50-50 who’s going to win the match.”

Safina, who has lost in three Grand Slam finals and never won a major, will have to keep her serve in the court if she has any chance of beating Venus. Safina served 15 double-faults — including three in a row in one game — before finishing off Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 in the quarters.

“Sometimes even I don’t know what I’m doing with my serve,” Safina said.

Serena is 5-3 against Dementieva. They met at Wimbledon in the fourth round in 2002, with Serena winning 6-2, 6-2.

Dementieva lost to Venus in last year’s Wimbledon semifinals. Now playing in her 43rd Grand Slam tournament, the 27-yearold Russian hasn’t dropped a set so far. “This time I’m going to play a different player and it’s going to be all new,” Dementieva said. “I just want to see how tough I can be out there against her, just looking for some good fight.”

Roddick edges Hewitt to return to Wimbledon semis

Because of the stakes: a return to Wimbledon’s semifinals. Because of the opponent: 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. And because of the circumstances: a five-set grind that began under a bright sun and concluded in shadows, 3 hours, 50 minutes later.

When it was over, having finally figured out a way to get past Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4, Roddick let out a sigh and raised a fist, then threw his racket down, sat in his changeover chair and covered his face with his hands.




Wimbledon 2009 Men's Quarterfinals

Roger Federer (2) def. Ivo Karlovic (22) 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7-3)
Andy Murray (3) def. Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2
Novak Djokovic (4) vs. Tommy Haas (24) 5-7, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 3-6
Andy Roddick (6) def. Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4

Day 8

Russians Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva enter the Wimbledon semi-finals where they will meet Americans Venus and Serena Williams respectively.

Defending champion Venus Williams closed in Tuesday on a sixth Wimbledon title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska whose quarter-final challenge melted in the searing heat. It will be the 29-year-old American’s eighth semi-final appearance in 10 years here and she next tackles Dinara Safina, the world number one and top seed, who will be playing in her first.

Venus, bidding to become the first woman to win a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles since Steffi Graf’s three-in-arow from 1991 to 1993, has now won 32 consecutive sets at the All England Club, a run stretching back to the third round in 2007. She shrugged off the 33-degree heat to breeze through the first set in 27 minutes, serving up two love games on her way to a 5-0 lead before the 11th seeded Radwanska got on the board. The Pole broke to love to lead 2-0 in the second set but that was as good as it got for the 20-year-old who had no answer to the American’s brutal hitting power. Venus ran away with the next six games to claim victory in 68 minutes.

Safina, still searching for a first Grand Slam title, had to come back from a set down for the second day in succession as the Russian saw off unseeded German teenager Sabine
Lisicki 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-1. Safina was hit with a code violation for racquet abuse when she double-faulted on setpoint in the first set tie-break, but she recovered her composure to make the last four. “I think I was Santa Claus today serving so many double faults,” said Safina, who served up 15 in all. “It’s not going to be easy playing against Venus. She likes playing on grass and I have nothing to lose.”

Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, like Safina still without a Grand Slam title, reached her second successive Wimbledon semi-final with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win over London-based Italian Francesca Schiavone. Dementieva, who has not dropped a set so far, will tackle two-time champion Serena Williams, the second seed.

On Monday, the first match played entirely under Wimbledon’s new retractable roof produced a five-set marathon that finished later than any previous Centre Court encounter in history. They might as well have called it Wimbledon’s first "night session."

What’s more, it ended with a British winner celebrating in front of a raucous home crowd. Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka battled for nearly four hours on Monday under the translucent roof and stadium floodlights before the third-seeded Scot closed out a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 victory with a forehand winner at 10:39 p.m. Murray sank to his knees and bowed his head on the grass. He then stood up and smacked a ball that hit the roof above.

Murray, who will face Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarters, could now enjoy an advantage over other players who haven’t experienced the indoor conditions yet.

The men’s quarterfinals are set for Wednesday.
The other matchups are five-time champion Roger Federer against 6-foot-10 (2.08-meter) Croat Ivo Karlovic;
2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt vs. two-time finalist Andy Roddick; and No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. Tommy Haas.

Djokovic and Murray are relative youngsters at 22 compared to the other quarterfinalists:
Roddick (26), Federer (27), Hewitt (28), Ferrero (29), Karlovic (30) and Haas (31).
Roddick and Hewitt have met 11 times, including at the French Open, U.S. Open and Australian Open, but never at Wimbledon. Hewitt holds the overall edge of 6-5, but Roddick has won the last four, including a 7-6, 7-6 win in the third round at the Queen’s Club grass-court Wimbledon warmup.

Its looks over ranking that decide which women play on Wimbledon’s Centre Court!

Wimbledon tennis organizers have been accused of using looks rather than ranking to decide which women play on Centre Court.

According to Sky News, in the first week of the Championships, fans missed out on watching several top seeded players on the exclusive Centre Court.

Yesterday, the number two seed Serena Williams played her second round game on Court One, while fourth seed Elena Dementieva appeared on Court Two.

Centre Court was allocated to the 24th seed Maria Sharapova and the unseeded Gisela Dulko in what was widely regarded as a ‘battle of the babes’.

The Times said some eyebrows were raised last Thursday, when the ninth seed played on Centre Court, leaving the top seed Dinara Safina on Court Two.

“There was a little bit of surprise in putting the Wozniacki-Kirilenko match on Centre Court — two beautiful blonde girls. You could argue there it was more box office, than whether they were deserving of a place on Centre Court,” the paper said.

On Friday, Serena Williams played on Court Two, while Centre Court saw action from the attractive, but lower ranked eighth seed Victoria Azarenka and 28th seeded Sorana Cirstea.

Olympic Gold Medallist Tessa Sanderson, described the situation as “laughable”.

“I can’t believe they’re doing this. You can’t judge people by the way they look. Women have been getting a lot better at raising their profile in sport. This is the most pathetic thing I’ve heard,” she was quoted, as saying. All England Club spokesman Johnny Perkins said: “We don’t look at a player and say she is attractive or he is attractive, therefore they play on the big court. But if a player is deemed to be popular, for whatever reason, they are more likely to be on one of the bigger courts.” Popularity and looks are closely related. What say?

Wimbledon 2009 Women's Quarterfinals results:

Dinara Safina (1) def. Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1
Serena Williams (2) def. Victoria Azarenka (8) 6-2, 6-3
Venus Williams (3) def. Agnieszka Radwanska (11) 6-1, 6-2
Elena Dementieva (4) def. Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2

Pic of the day

Day 7

FEDERER CRUISES THROUGH

Federer made short work of Swede Robin Soderling to enter the last eight stage. The Swiss thrived in 35-degree temperatures to clinch an 11th win in 11 meetings against bigserving Swede Robin Soderling on Monday and reach the Wimbldon men’s singles quarterfinals.

In a repeat of the French Open final, where the great Swiss clinched a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title, Federer won 6-4, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) over the man who dramatically ended Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros reign.

Federer, chasing a sixth Wimbledon title, will be appearing in his 25th Grand Slam quarterfinal where he’ll face Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic, who has fired 102 aces in three rounds, or Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco.

“Today was really a serving contest, there weren’t many rallies so it’s hard to judge these kind of matches,” said Federer.

Soderling, who also lost in straight sets in the second round here in 2008 to Federer, paid heavily for a sloppy service game when he cracked to trail 4-5 courtesy of a netted forehand.

Federer clinched the opener when the Swede went long with a second service return.

The Swede dropped just three points on serve in the second set, but Federer was the more composed in the tie-breaker, refusing to give Soderling the pace on which he thrives.

Soderling finally carved out his first break points of the match in the ninth game of the third set, but Federer stood firm to lead 5-4.

The Swede 13th seed glanced a chance at 5-4 in the tie-breaker, but Federer went to 5-5 and then match point when his opponent served a third double fault.

The match was Federer’s when the Swede went wide with a dispirited drive. Germany’s rejuvenated Tommy Haas, the oldest man left in the draw at 31, reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-6 (8), 6-4, 6-4 win over Russian 29th seed Igor Andreev.

DJOKOVIC THROUGH

Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic beat Israel’s Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals. Djokovic faces Haas for a place in the semis. Djokovic was a semi-finalist in 2007 while Sela is the first Israeli in the last 16 here in 20 years.

A win for the world number 46 would make him the first Israeli man or woman to make a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open era.

WILLIAMS SISTERS WIN

Venus and Serena Williams hardly broke a sweat as they cruised into the quarterfinals. Defending champion Venus easily won the first set against former world number one Ana Ivanovic, who retired hurt in floods of tears.

Serena strolled through against Daniela Hantuchova, while Elena Dementieva also had a comfortable ride into the last eight against Elena Vesnina. Five-time champion Venus is bidding to become the first woman to win a hat-trick of Wimbledon singles’ titles since Steffi Graf claimed three in a row from 1991 to 1993.

The third seed cruised through the first set 6-1 in half an hour, after which Serbia’s Ivanovic had her left thigh strapped up.
The 2008 French Open champion won the first game of the second set, but the pain was too much and she had no choice but to pull out, leaving Court One in a stream of tears.

Younger sister Serena, the second seed, beat Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1 in 56 minutes on Court 2.

The two-time champion easily brushed aside the unseeded Slovak, who has been suffering with a cold and now tackles Belarusian Victoria Azarenka. Fourth-seeded Dementieva, a semifinalist last year, beat fellow Russian blonde Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 in 70 minutes.

Vesnina fended off a set point and took the sixth game but the Russian number two wrapped up the first set inside 29 minutes.

Vesnina, the world No 37, put up a better fight of it in the second set, holding Dementieva at 2-2 before losing serve. Dementieva, making her 11th Wimbledon appearance, now takes on either France’s Virginie Razzano or Italy’s Francesca Schiavone for a place in the semifinals.

Azarenka, the eighth seed, had a tougher time of it to beat 10th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova. Azarenka won the first set 7-6 (5) on a tie-breaker, after which Petrova called a medical time-out and was treated with ice on her legs. The Russian won the second set 6-2 but lost the final set 6-3.

Meanwhile, Polish 11th seed Radwanska, a quarterfinalist last year, also went through in straight sets, against American teenager Melanie Oudin. World number 124 Oudin, who had to qualify for the main draw, showed plenty of fight but the Wimbledon debutante was eventually overcome 6-4, 7-5.

The new retractable roof over Centre Court was closed on Monday after rain halted play during a fourth-round match with Amelie Mauresmo leading top-ranked Dinara Safina 6-4, 1-4.

BEING SUPERSTITIOUS

Andy Murray’s coaching team is leaving nothing to chance in his quest to become the first British player since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon. The Scot on Sunday revealed the superstitions of his coach that dictate the court on which he practices at the All-England Club. The world No 3 exuded such confidence during the first week that it is hard to imagine his coach, Miles Maclagan, seeing the need for lucky charms or favoured routines.

But Murray said the man he hired in 2007 to replace Brad Gilbert was “a bit weird”.

“My coach is very superstitious so I just go along with his stuff,” Murray said. “He always wants me to practice on a specific court, Court Three, before my first match. If I am playing at 2 pm, then he will make me practice in the same place I practiced the day before. He’s a bit weird like that.”

“There is quite a lot of psychology in tennis but you will rarely see it. John McEnroe has said that he used psychology as a sort of tactic. I wish there was more of it going on, as it makes it more interesting to watch,” said Murray.

WINNING WIMBLEDON

Murray could win this year’s Wimbledon because he has a woman’s touch, according to 1977 women’s champion Virginia Wade.

Wade says Murray has variety in his game as his mum Judy coached him as a kid.

The Sun quoted Wade as saying: “She was such a good coach, she added a few more touch shots to his game rather than just all big boomers.”

Wade, Britain’s last singles champion at the All-England Club, declared: “Andy has got better and better. The guy has got so many options to his game. His best asset is that he retrieves so well and his defensive game is so good. But he also has an aggressive game. He is a lot smarter than a lot of tennis players I see.”

American legend McEnroe said: “Andy’s learnt from his defeats really well over the last couple of years and just continued his good work against Viktor Troicki on Saturday to make the final 16. If you look back at his form in the last year or so, he beat Rafael Nadal in the semifinals at the US Open last September. And he’s taken the world No 3 spot from Novak Djokovic and made it his own. He’s not doing too bad,” he added.

Men's Fourth Round Wimbledon 2009 results:

Roger Federer (2) def. Robin Soderling (13) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5)
Andy Murray (3) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (19) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Novak Djokovic (4) def. Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-4, 6-1
Andy Roddick (6) def. Tomas Berdych (20) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3
Fernando Verdasco (7) vs. Ivo Karlovic (22) 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-7 (9-11)
Gilles Simon (8) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-7 (4-7), 3-6, 2-6
Radek Stepanek (23) vs. Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 2-6, 2-6
Tommy Haas (24) def. Igor Andreev (29) 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, 6-4


Women's Fourth Round Wimbledon 2009 results:

Dinara Safina (1) def. Amelie Mauresmo (17) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Serena Williams (2) def. Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1
Venus Williams (3) def. Ana Ivanovic (13) 6-1, 0-1 retired
Elena Dementieva (4) def. Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3
Victoria Azarenka (8) def. Nadia Petrova (10) 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-3
Caroline Wozniacki (9) vs. Sabine Lisicki 4-6, 4-6
Agnieszka Radwanska (11) def. Melanie Oudin 6-4, 7-5
Virginie Razzano (26) vs. Francesca Schiavone 2-6, 6-7 (1-7)

Day 6

Waiting for second week !!

There was a grizzled look to the men’s field, at least by tennis standards, after one week at Wimbledon.

On the women’s side, youth was being served—and whacking return winners.

Those reaching the gentlemen’s round of 16 included six players age 27 or older, among them Tommy Haas, 31, and Radek Stepanek and Ivo Karlovic, both 30. The message: When it comes to the brief lawn tennis season, experience pays.

“Grass definitely takes some getting used to,” said Andy Roddick, 26, who reached Week 2 for the fifth time in nine Wimbledons. “If you’ve played on it for years and years and years and years, I think the adjustment period will be probably a little bit quicker.”

While returning the 130 mph serves common in the men’s game requires a big adjustment on grass, novices sometimes thrive on the women’s side. Among those reaching the ladies’ fourth round were 17-year-old American Melanie Oudin in her Wimbledon debut, and 19-year-old Sabine Lisicki of Germany, who won a match on grass for the first time Tuesday.

“I just can’t believe I’m in the fourth round,” Lisicki said.

Two other teenagers made it—19-year-old Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and 18-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.

The youngest remaining player was also the most surprising. Oudin arrived in London with a ranking of 124 and an 0-2 record in Grand Slam matches, but she beat No. 29-seeded Sybille Bammer in the first round and No. 6 Jelena Jankovic in the third.

Oudin declined to grade her level of excitement.

“I’m going to answer that after the tournament’s over,” she said, “because it could get higher as the tournament goes on.”

Oudin’s so young her earliest Wimbledon memory is watching Venus and Serena Williams on TV. The sisters are still very much active—an all-Williams final Saturday is a distinct possibility.

Oudin’s win over former No. 1 Jankovic was the most surprising result of the first week. Another upset: The new retractable roof on Centre Court was unused during the first half of the fortnight, causing snickers in the locker room.

“The common joke has been that they haven’t had to use it yet,” Roddick said. “All this money, and the weather has been nice.”

There’s still a long way to go, with a parade of talent Monday, when all 16 fourth-round matches were scheduled.

“It’s a good ticket, I guess, if you’re a tennis fan,” Roddick said. “Even if you don’t get on Centre, your grounds pass will do just fine.”

The showcase matchup was five-time champion Roger Federer against Robin Soderling. Federer completed a career Grand Slam by beating Soderling in the French Open final three weeks ago.

On the women’s side, Russians made up a quarter of the final 16. On the men’s side, 13 countries remained represented, reflecting the global reach of the sport.

One unlikely survivor of the first week was Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain, who needed a wild-card invitation to get into the tournament. At 29, the former No. 1 has slipped to 70th in the rankings after a series of injuries.

Another surprise was No. 46-ranked Dudi Sela, the first Israeli man to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since his idol, Amos Mansdorf, did it 20 years ago.

On the women’s side, Oudin’s opponent was No. 11 Agnieszka Radwanska. Serena Williams was to face Daniela Hantuchova.

Day 5

ROGER ROCKS

Roger Federer set up a Wimbledon last 16 clash with Robin Soderling on Friday, the man he beat to win the French Open and who was once famously described by Rafael Nadal as the most disliked man in tennis. Federer, bidding for a record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title and a sixth Wimbledon crown, overcame a third set slump before seeing off Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in the third round. Soderling, the 13th seed, reached the last 16 for the first time with a 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4 win over Spain’s Nicolas Almagro.

HANTUCHOVA WINS

Japan’s Ai Sugiyama was knocked out by her doubles partner Daniela Hantuchova in a 6-4, 6-3 defeat in the third round. The Slovak world number 32 wrapped up victory over the veteran, a fellow former Wimbledon quarterfinalist, in one hour, 36 minutes on Court 18. Hantuchova faces Serena Williams, the American second seed and two-time Wimbledon champion, in the fourth round.

Serena Williams put her shock over the death of Michael Jackson and a snub from Wimbledon organisers to one side to power into the last 16 of the women’s singles.

The American, who admitted she had been left speechless by the news of Jackson’s death, continued her flawless procession towards a potential final meeting with sister Venus by setting up a last-16 clash with Daniela Hantuchova. Hantuchova, a former world number five who has shown signs of returning to her best form here, will certainly put up greater resistance than Italy’s Roberta Vinci.

A 6-3, 6-4 win ensured Williams has yet to drop a set this year and the evidence presented by her 200th Grand Slam match backed up her claim that she is in the mood to add to the two singles titles she won here in 2002 and 2003. Elena Dementieva made light work of qualifier and compatriot Regina Kulikova, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 win.

The fourth seed now plays either French Open semi-finalist Dominika Cibulkova or another Russian, Elena Vesnina, for a place in the quarterfinals. Vera Zvonareva saw her tournament ended by an ankle injury.

The Russian seventh seed withdrew shortly before the start of her scheduled third round meeting with Virginie Razzano of France, who now faces either compatriot Marion Bartoli, seeded 12th, or Italy’s Francesca Schiavone. Zvonareva, 24, reached the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open but she has struggled since suffering an injury to her right ankle in April which sidelined her for eight weeks and meant she missed the French Open.

MURRAY WINS

Andy Murray made light work of a tricky tea-time assignment on Thursday. He devoured Latvian Ernests Gulbis 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 to clear another hurdle towards becoming Britain’s first men’s singles champion in 73 years.

Wimbledon 2009 Day 5 results:

Men's Third Round
Andy Murray (3) def. Viktor Troicki (30) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
Andy Roddick (6) def. Jurgen Melzer (26) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3
Gilles Simon (8) def. Victor Hanescu (31) 6-2, 7-5, 6-2
Fernando Gonzalez (10) vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 4-6
Marin Cilic (11) vs. Tommy Haas (24) 5-7, 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 8-10
Nikolay Davydenko (12) vs. Tomas Berdych (20) 2-6, 3-6, 2-6
David Ferrer (16) vs. Radek Stepanek (23) 5-7, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6
Stanislas Wawrinka (19) def. Jesse Levine 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3
Igor Andreev (29) def. Andreas Seppi 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
Lleyton Hewitt def. Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3

Women's Third Round
Dinara Safina (1) def. Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-1
Venus Williams (3) def. Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-4
Svetlana Kuznetsova (5) vs. Sabine Lisicki 2-6, 5-7
Jelena Jankovic (6) vs. Melanie Oudin 7-6 (10-8), 5-7, 2-6
Caroline Wozniacki (9) def. Anabel Medina Garrigues (20) 6-2, 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska (11) def. Na Li (19) 6-4, 7-5
Ana Ivanovic (13) def. Samantha Stosur (18) 7-5, 6-2
Flavia Pennetta (15) vs. Amelie Mauresmo (17) 5-7, 3-6

Day 4

WIZARD OF OZ

Hewitt showed glimpses of his best form, ousting Potro to mark the biggest upset of the tournament.

Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt stunned Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the Wimbledon third round.

Hewitt, the 2004 champion, will face either Philipp Petzschner or Mischa Zverev, both of Germany, for a place in the last 16. The Australian 28-yearold, whose ranking has slipped to 56 following hip surgery, confidently ended the hopes of the 20-year-old Argentine who had been tipped as a strong outsider in the half of the draw missing defending champion Rafael Nadal.

His Centre Court win meant so much to him that he collapsed to his knees in celebration at the end. “I haven’t beaten a top five player for a long time,” said Hewitt.

“I was really up for it today. When you have played a final on Centre Court you should be able to handle the pressure but I knew that Juan Martin is a helluva player.” Hewitt carved out a crucial break to lead 4-2 against the big-hitting del Potro who had reached the semifinal at Roland Garros and the last eight at the Australian Open this year.

The giant del Potro, seven inches taller than the battling Australian, needed his right knee strapped at the changeover. He held serve until 5-5 in the second set before Hewitt grabbed the decisive break in the 11th game and a double fault in a messy service game at the start of the third set handed the Australian another break.

Hewitt squandered a chance to serve for the match in the 10th game when del Potro finally managed to convert a first break point after seven earlier ones had passed him by.

But the tenacious Aussie broke back immediately to lead 6-5 and claimed the match when del Potro went long with a service return.

Levine joins Roddick, Fish in 3rd round

This might just be a record: Boca Prep International School put three players in the third round at Wimbledon.

They’re the only three American men left in the Grand Slam tournament.

Qualifier Jesse Levine and No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick won Thursday, joining No. 28 Mardy Fish in the round of 32. All three attended the same small school in Boca Raton, Fla., where Levine still lives.

Levine’s run at the All England Club is by far the biggest surprise. Ranked 133rd, he had to win three qualifying matches just to get into the main draw. He upset former No. 1 Marat Safin in the first round, then beat lucky loser Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay 6-2, 6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 on Thursday.

It’s Levine’s first trip to the third round at a major championship, and he’s the last male qualifier still around.

SAFINA ADVANCES
Top seed Dinara Safina made the Wimbledon third round with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Paraguay’s Rossana De Los Rios.

The Russian will face either Elena Baltacha or Kirsten Flipkens for a place in the last 16.

Ana Ivanovic restored the reputation of Wimbledon’s glamour girls with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Italy’s Sara Errani in the second round.

VENUS WINS

Five-time champion Venus Williams and French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova eased into the Wimbledon last 32 Thursday, just hours after tour boss Larry Scott had praised the depth of the women’s game.

Third-seeded Williams took only an hour to see off Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-2 while Russian fifth seed Kuznetsova spent just four minutes longer in disposing of France’s Pauline Parmentier 6-1, 6-3. Williams goes on to face Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro while Kuznetsova, a three-time quarterfinalist here, meets promising German Sabine Lisicki.
“Everything was working for me. I’m on a great run here and I just want to keep it going,” said Williams, who played despite wearing a heavy strapping on her left knee.

Australian 18th seed Samantha Stosur, a semifinalist at the French Open this year, struggled past German qualifier Tatjana Malek 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 and will face either former world number one Ana Ivanovic or Sara Errani of Italy for a place in the last 16. WTA Tour chief Scott had earlier insisted that the women’s game is on the verge of hailing a new generation of players, hitting back at claims that there was a lack of genuine competition at the top level of the sport.

In the men’s event, Czech 20th seed Tomas Berdych, Jurgen Melzer, the 26th seed from Austria, and Romanian 31st seed Victor Hanescu all made the last 32.

PENG LOSES
China’s Peng Shuai was narrowly beaten by Polish number 11 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in a thrilling second round match. The Chinese number three lost 6-2, 6-7 (7/6), 9-7 in a threehour clash on Court 14 but showed plenty of guts and determination throughout.

Radwanska, a quarterfinalist last year at the All England Club, faces either Chinese 19th seed Li Na or Belarussian world number 82 Olga Govortsova in the third round.

Second Serve

NAVRATILOVA SUED BY FORMER ‘PARTNER’
The former lesbian lover of Martina Navratilova has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the tennis great.

Toni Layton, who claims Navratilova wed her and then cruelly dumped her eight years later, wants a share of the four luxury homes the Wimbledon champ bought during their time together.

The two tied the knot in an unofficial ceremony in New Hampshire, but then moved to Sarasota (Florida), where gay unions aren’t recognised, reports the New York Post.
Layton left her computer salesman hubby, Jeffrey Lambert, for the nine-time Wimbledon champ.

SERENA BUSY

After already having won the Wimbledon title twice, tennis icon Serena Williams is keeping herself busy this time doing something else - she is writing a script for television show.

“I have written three parts of it already and I just love writing. I call it ‘my treatment’ so hopefully it will be good,” The Daily Express quoted her as saying.

The script is expected to incorporate “the best bits of Desperate Housewives, Sex in the City and Family Guy all in one”.

And on being asked how she would begin writing a movie script about herself, if she ever did, she said: “I would open with me holding a championship, then I would rewind time.”

THE RETURN OF AGASSI
Andre Agassi is making a return to competition starting with the American-based World Team Tennis next month.

The 39-year-old Agassi will play two league matches for the Philadelphia Freedoms in July before moving on to additional tournaments this year. ``It’s been a few years since I’ve sort of been connected with the game in any direct kind of way, and that’s been a little unsettling for me,’’ he said. ``I took time away when I retired to try to figure out how I can best engage with the game and do it in a way that made the most sense, or where I could possibly have some more impact.”

“That has not been so easy, with all of my responsibilities, to sort of figure out.’’

Agassi won eight major singles championships and was one of only five men to complete a career Grand Slam when he retired after the 2006 U.S. Open, though Roger Federer has since become the sixth. Agassi has devoted himself to humanitarian causes for the past three years, opening a tuition-free charter school for children and a Boys & Girls Club that promotes athletics and education.

Day 3

DULKO WINS BATTLE OF THE BEAUTIES

Former champion Maria Sharapova had her lack of match practice exposed by unseeded Argentine Gisela Dulko who claimed a nailbiting 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Sharapova, ranked 60 after suffering with a shoulder injury but given a special seeding of 24 here, had battered Dulko for the loss of three games in two previous meetings.



But the Russian struggled to find an answer to the world number 45’s scurrying array of groundstrokes and changes of pace in the sunshine on Centre Court. Dulko, one of the few women on tour to have a Wimbledon singles victory over Martina Navratilova to her name, sealed the opening set in 35 minutes with a crunching forehand winner.

Sharapova’s frustration grew in the second as Dulko raced to a 3-0 lead but the Argentine suffered a temporary meltdown and her opponent raced back into contention with a run of seven straight games. The two exchanged breaks in the decider before Dulko stayed calm to seal victory on a nerve-wracking fifth match point and set up a third-round contest against Russian 10th seed Nadia Petrova.

Serena Williams powered into the third round with a quickfire demolition of Australia’s Jarmila Groth. The American won 6-2, 6-1.

DJOKOVIC ADVANCES
In the men’s singles, Novak Djokovic eased into the third round on Wednesday with a straight sets win over German qualifier Simon Gruel. The Serbian fourth seed won 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a meeting with American Mardy Fish for a place in the last 16.

ZHENG FALLS
China’s Zheng Jie was denied another memorable run at Wimbledon as the 2008 semifinalist was beaten 6-3, 7-5 by Slovakian glamour girl Daniela Hantuchova in the second round. Zheng, seeded 16th, came of age at the All-England Club last year when victories over top seed Ana Ivanovic and the highly-ranked Nicole Vaidisova and Agnes Szavay made her the first Chinese to reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal.

But early exits from the French Open and grasscourt tournaments at Birmingham and Eastbourne suggested Zheng was enduring her first dip for over a year.

Japan’s Ai Sugiyama made it to the third round at Wimbledon with a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Spanish qualifier Arantxa Parra Santonja.

Veteran Sugiyama, who made the quarterfinals here in 2004, was pushed hard in the first set but was able to break her opponent’s serve in the second. The 33-year-old faces either Chinese number 16 seed Zheng Jie or Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in the third round.

SAFIN OUT
Marat Safin’s final match at Wimbledon took place on cozy Court 18 closer to the exit than to the court where trophies are handed out. Playing his final year on the tour, the mercurial Russian lost in the first round late on Tuesday to American Jesse Levine, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

In other late matches on Tuesday, No. 13 Ana Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion, saved two match points to beat Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 6-2, 8-6. Also advancing was this year’s winner at Roland Garros, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and top-ranked Dinara Safina. No. 3 Andy Murray began his bid to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936 by beating American Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4.

Russian top seed Safina, who has never got beyond the third round, reached the last 64 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Spain’s Lourdes Dominguez Lino. In the men’s doubles, fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles survived a scare from spirited qualifiers Somdev Devvarman and Kevin Anderson in a gruelling four-setter to enter the second round. The Indo-Bahamian pair came through 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 in a ervewracking battle in which the Indo-South African duo pushed the fourth seeds to limits before going down in three hours and 15 minutes.

Indian number one Sania Mirza tumbled out of Wimbledon in the second round, losing 6-4, 6-4 to Romanian number 28 seed Sorana Cirstea.

Mirza was able to break her rival’s serve but hit far more unforced errors than the French Open quarterfinalist. Cirstea faces either Belarussian number eight seed Victoria Azarenka or Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru in the third round.


Wimbledon Second Round Day 3 men's results

Roger Federer (2) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2, 6-2, 6-4
Novak Djokovic (4) def. Simon Greul 7-5, 6-1, 6-4
Fernando Verdasco (7) def. Kristof Vliegen 7-6(7-3),6-7(3-7),7-6 (7-4),6-4
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (9) def. Simone Bolelli walkover
Marin Cilic (11) def. Sam Querrey 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4
Robin Soderling (13) def. Marcel Granollers 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 7-5
Tommy Robredo (15) def. Stefan Koubek 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
Rainer Schuettler (18) vs. Dudi Sela 6-7 (3-7), 3-6, 2-6
Ivo Karlovic (22) def. Steve Darcis 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
Tommy Haas (24) def. Michael Llodra 4-3 retired
Philipp Kohlschreiber (27) def. Ivo Minar 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 8-6
Mardy Fish (28) def. Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
Igor Andreev (29) def. Vincent Spadea 6-3, 7-5, 6-2
Albert Montanes (32) def. Guillermo Canas 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Nicolas Almagro def. Karol Beck 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 3-6, 7-5
Andreas Seppi vs. Marc Gicquel 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 5-5 suspended
First Round
Daniel Gimeno-Traver def. Taylor Dent 7-5, 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4



Wimbledon Second Round Day 3 women results


Serena Williams (2) def. Jarmila Groth 6-2, 6-1
Elena Dementieva (4) def. Aravane Rezai 6-1, 6-3
Vera Zvonareva (7) def. Mathilde Johansson 6-1, 6-3
Victoria Azarenka (8) def. Ioana Raluca Olaru 6-0, 6-0
Nadia Petrova (10) def. Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-2
Marion Bartoli (12) def. Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-1
Dominika Cibulkova (14) def. Urszula Radwanska 6-2, 6-4
Jie Zheng (16) vs. Daniela Hantuchova 3-6, 5-7
Maria Sharapova (24) vs. Gisela Dulko 2-6, 6-3, 4-6
Virginie Razzano (26) def. Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-0
Alisa Kleybanova (27) vs. Regina Kulikova 6-0, 4-6, 1-6
Sorana Cirstea (28) def. Sania Mirza 6-4, 6-4
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (31) vs. Roberta Vinci 4-6, 6-7 (6-8)
Francesca Schiavone def. Michelle Larcher De Brito 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4)
Arantxa Parra Santonja vs. Ai Sugiyama 6-7 (5-7), 3-6
Elena Vesnina def. Vera Dushevina 6-3, 6-4



Pictures of the day

Princess Michael of Kent watch Maria Sharapova of Russia plays Gisela Dulko of Argentina in their second round singles match at Wimbledon, Wednesday, June 24, 2009.

France's Michael Llodra collides with a ball girl during play against Germany's Tommy Haas during their second round match in the 2009 Wimbledon tennis championships at the All England Club on June 24, 2009.

Day 2

Venus sinks new Swiss miss, Safina Moves On, but time catches Up With Date, Dokic...

Defending champion Venus Williams and world No.1 Dinara Safina moved into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday as time caught up with All England Club veterans Kimiko Date Krumm and Jelena Dokic. Williams, the five-time, 29-year-old champion, beat Switzerland's Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2 in a sunkissed Centre Court workout.

"It is the best place to be when you are a pro tennis player and I savour every blade of it," said Williams who now faces Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko.

"I've had that crown for several years and I want to make it mine again."

The American had her serve broken twice and had to spend an hour and 18 minutes on court against the 19-year-old, world 97. Russian top seed Safina, who has never got beyond the third round, reached the last 64 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Spain's Lourdes Dominguez Lino and next plays Paraguay's Rossana de los Rios.

Safina, the beaten finalist in Australia and at Roland Garros this year, shrugged off a knee injury on Court One.

"It's a problem I've had for two months. I was struggling in the second set, but hopefully treatment will help."

Date Krumm and Dokic's hopes of a fairytale melted in the Wimbledon heat.

Date Krumm, the 38-year-old Japanese who last played here in 1996, took the first set off Danish ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki but slipped to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 defeat.

The Japanese player reached the semifinals in 1996; when she made her debut in 1989, Wozniacki was still a year away from being born.

Date Krumm, 20 years older than the blonde Dane, needed extensive medical treatment on her injured thigh as the marathon tie took its toll.

Wozniacki, who came into Wimbledon having captured the Eastbourne grasscourt tournament, admitted that Date Krumm's flat-hitting style had caught her by surprise.

Dokic, who made her career breakthrough here in 1999 when she defeated defending champion Martina Hingis, before her professional and private life went into a downward spiral, also needed medical attention.

The 26-year-old Australian took the first set off German qualifier Tatjana Malek before losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Dokic complained of feeling dizzy at the end of the second set and had her blood pressure taken at courtside.

"There's been a lot of stuff happen," said Dokic who last played here in 2004, spending most of the intervening years escaping the iron hand of controversial father Damir.

Also progressing in the women's draw was Serbian sixth seed Jelena Jankovic who defeated Germany's Julia Göerges 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) and she will face the Czech Republic's Iveta Benesova.

In the men's first round, Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros, brushed aside France's Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

There wins also for 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, who defeated Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-1, 6-1, while two-time runner-up Andy Roddick saw off France's Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-3.

I like to tell a good story

It’s not just Roger Federer’s magical skills with the racquet that marks him out as a great champion. Rather, it is the way in which the handsome Swede conducts himself on and off the court that marks him out as a great human being.

Born to a Swiss-German father — Robert Federer and mother Lynette Federer of South African nationality — the 28-year old has been blessed to speak no less than six languages. Though he considers German as his main language, Roger is equally fluent in Swiss, French and English. And just as he likes to be in cruise control on the court, he is equally at home handling the media.
When Federer last won Wimbledon in 2007, he set the unofficial record for the most amount of time for the media. On most days, by the time he was through it was late into the night. Similarly, after he won the French Open early this month, he was more than patient with the media. And things look no different at the All England Club.

“I was well educated in this regard. I think it’s important to take that time. It’s part of tennis today and I guess, with the different languages, that’s something different too,” says Federer about his off-field assignments.

“I have always enjoyed it. It’s not the most fun part of the job, but I also have a good time. I like to tell a good story. Whether it’s for spectators who were in the stadium or those who couldn’t be there, at least they get something good to read about or hear about.”

Indeed, for someone who’s well versed with so many languages, the likes of Federer are always welcome for the media. “I speak a few different languages. Then you have the papers, the radio, the magazines and whatever. It ends up being a lot. But, honestly, after I’ve won a tournament, or a big match, there is something that needs information. I don’t mind giving time. Half an hour more, one hour more sometimes, it’s not the end of the world for me.”

And what happens when he loses? “Well, you lose, you leave. It’s pretty simple. You don’t want to hang around,” says Federer with a smile. Well, if only our cricketers were to take a leaf out of Federer’s book!




SECOND SERVE

My name is Williamsova!

At a post match conference, trust Serena Williams to talk at length about fashion and her school in Africa and she is always more than willing to speak her mind. However, for a change, she paid a lefthanded compliment to the several Russians in the draw. In fact, the American wondered whether even she came from Russia and whether her name ought to have been Williamsova. “I just know the standard — everyone is from Russia. Sometimes, I think, I’m from Russia, too. I feel like, you know, okay, all these new ‘ovas.’ I don’t know anyone. I don’t really recognize anyone. That’s just how it is. So, does Serena get the feeling that she too might have left Russia for America when she was seven years old? I think so, and I think my name must have been Williamsova! But you can’t really blame Serena for saying what she said because this years first-round draw had no less than 24 ‘ovas’ besides seven ‘evas’ including Elena Dementieva.

Federer’s secret




So much is being talked and written about Roger Federer winning the French Open and having a date with history at Wimbledon and, of course, fatherhood. Everyone knows that his charming wife is expecting the couple’s first baby. However, nobody knows when the baby is due to arrive. And Federer, for all his willingness to share information with the international media, remains tightlipped. The query was thrown up to the Swiss, who looked embarrassed. “Oh! Lets talk about something else,” he pleaded. ‘Roger, the world wants to know it,’ insisted the scribe. “I’m not telling you,” smiled Federer. ‘Is it happening during this fortnight?’ “I don’t know,” the Swiss said as everyone had a good laugh.

men's First round Day 2 Results

Andy Murray (3) def. Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4

Juan Martin Del Potro (5) def. Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2

Andy Roddick (6) def. Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3

Gilles Simon (8) def. Bobby Reynolds 6-4, 6-3, 6-3

Fernando Gonzalez (10) def. Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-5, 7-5, 6-3

Nikolay Davydenko (12) def. Daniel Evans 6-2, 6-3, 6-3

Marat Safin (14) vs. Jesse Levine 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 4-6

David Ferrer (16) def. Kevin Kim 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka (19) def. Eduardo Schwank 7-5, 6-4, 6-1

Tomas Berdych (20) def. Alex Bogdanovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

Radek Stepanek (23) def. Alejandro Falla 6-4, 6-4, 6-1

Tommy Haas (24) def. Alexander Peya 6-7 (5-7), 7-6, 6-3, 6-4

Dmitry Tursunov (25) vs. Mischa Zverev 4-6, 2-6, 0-3 retired

Jurgen Melzer (26) def. Wayne Odesnik 6-1, 6-4, 6-2

Viktor Troicki (30) def. Brian Dabul 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

Victor Hanescu (31) def. Ivan Navarro 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 12-10

Nicolas Kiefer (33) vs. Fabrice Santoro 4-6, 2-6, 2-6

Oscar Hernandez vs. Leonardo Mayer 0-6, 0-6, 3-6

Michael Llodra def. Joshua Goodall 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 3-6, 6-4

Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3

Fabio Fognini def. Denis Istomin 1-6, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 3-1 retired

Frederico Gil vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu 1-6, 6-2, 4-6, 2-6

Benjamin Becker def. Roko Karanusic 6-4, 6-4, 6-1

Christophe Rochus vs. Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 1-6, 9-11

Taylor Dent vs. Daniel Gimeno-Traver 5-7, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4

Potito Starace def. Jose Acasuso 7-6, 6-3 retired

Victor Crivoi def. Bjorn Phau 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 6-3

Nicolas Devilder def. Nicolas Lapentti 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5

Pablo Andujar vs. Martin Vassallo Arguello 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 2-6

Rajeev Ram vs. Philipp Petzschner 6-2, 1-6, 6-7 (3-7), 1-6

Thiago Alves def. Andrei Pavel 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 2-6, 6-1

Grigor Dimitrov vs. Igor Kunitsyn 6-3, 0-6, 0-4 retired

Riccardo Ghedin vs. Ernests Gulbis 2-6, 4-6, 4-6

Lleyton Hewitt def. Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-1, 6-1

Women's First round Day 2 Results


Dinara Safina (1) def. Lourdes Dominguez Lino 7-5, 6-3


Venus Williams (3) def. Stefanie Voegele 6-3, 6-2


Svetlana Kuznetsova (5) def. Akiko Morigami 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)


Jelena Jankovic (6) def. Julia Goerges 6-4, 7-6


Vera Zvonareva (7) def. Georgie Stoop 7-6, 4-6, 6-4


Caroline Wozniacki (9) def. Kimiko Date Krumm 5-7, 6-3, 6-1


Agnieszka Radwanska (11) def. Maria JoseSanchez Martinez 7-5, 6-1


Ana Ivanovic (13) def. Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 6-2, 8-6


Flavia Pennetta (15) def. Nuria Llagostera Vives 3-6, 6-1, 6-0


Amelie Mauresmo (17) def. Melinda Czink 6-1, 4-6, 6-2


Samantha Stosur (18) def. Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2


Na Li (19) def. Galina Voskoboeva 7-6 (7-5), 6-0


Anabel Medina Garrigues (20) def. Marta Domachowska 3-6, 6-3, 6-4


Vera Dushevina def. Alize Cornet (22) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4


Kaia Kanepi (25) vs. Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4, 3-6, 3-6


Sybille Bammer (29) vs. Melanie Oudin 6-4, 4-6, 2-6


Agnes Szavay (30) vs. Kirsten Flipkens 5-7, 4-6


Anna Chakvetadze (32) vs. Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 2-6


Olga Govortsova def. Tatiana Perebiynis 4-6, 6-3, 6-4


Patricia Mayr def. Anne Keothavong 7-5, 6-2


Anastasija Sevastova vs. Kateryna Bondarenko 3-6, 6-7 (5-7)


Alexa Glatch vs. Shuai Peng 4-6, 6-2, 4-6


Alberta Brianti vs. Tathiana Garbin 4-6, 3-6


Nicole Vaidisova vs. Rossana de los Rios 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6


Elena Baltacha def. Alona Bondarenko 3-6, 6-3, 6-4


Pauline Parmentier def. Akgul Amanmuradova 6-4, 1-6, 6-3


Petra Kvitova vs. Maria Kirilenko 4-6, 4-6


Vania King def. Mariya Koryttseva 6-4, 6-2


Katie O'Brien vs. Iveta Benesova 2-6, 7-5, 4-6


Sara Errani def. Stephanie Dubois 7-5, 6-2


Tatjana Malek def. Jelena Dokic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2


Kristina Kucova def. Aiko Nakamura 2-6, 6-3, 6-3


Ekaterina Makarova def. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-5, 2-6, 6-3


Monica Niculescu vs. Yaroslava Shvedova 1-6, 0-6