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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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