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7.2.2009
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What an amazing day for the William Sisters. You kind of just take it for granted that it's inevitable when they are on opposite sides of the draw that they are gonna end up in the finals. But still they got to win 12 matches combined to make this happen. I was expecting Serena Williams to have a straight forward easy victory over Dementieva- How I would be wrong. In the defining match of the women's championships Serena wins 8-6 in the third saving a match point, and without question the best ball-striking of the tournament so far. I was shocked at how well Dementieva was playing, she pushed Serena to the limit. But as usual Serena came up with the goods. Venus vs world #1 Dinara Safina had the task of following that battle on center court, and Venus played one of the best matches I've ever seen from her, only 1 unforced error in 2 sets and she took Safina to the woodshed. Not sure a world number 1 has ever taken such a beating on center court. I know it is not Safina's fault for being ranked 1, but when the Williams sisters play at the level they are capable of there is a massive gap between Safina and the Williams sisters. Amazingly this will be the 8th WImbledon final for Venus and she will be going for her sixth title. And this will be the 4th time the sisters have played here in the final, with Serena looking for a different outcome then the 2008 result.
The mens semi's is set for tomorrow. First up 10-0 this year on grass Tommy Haas is having a major resurgence taking on the legendary Fed, who is having a bit of a resurgence of his own. Haas is going to have to throw the kitchen sink at Fed, and if he wants to have any real shot at winning he is gonna have to mix it up and play unpredictable, throwing in a few serve and volleys but not going to it every time. Albeit Fed in straight sets. Now the match Andy vs. Andy that everyone thought might happen after Rafa pulled out of the event. Hopefully Andy Roddick, after his four hour battle with Rusty Hewitt will still have a lot left in the tank because he is gonna need to play his absolute best if he wants to win. Andy Murray will take a lot of confidence in his 6-2 record against Roddick. One very interesting twist potentially for tomorrow, the amazing heat wave that we have experienced for the last two weeks is supposed to change tomorrow. It is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow and a 60 percent chance of rain, which means the match could be played indoors. Andy Murray said he wasn't that crazy about the conditions monday night as he said that made the courts very slow. Murray prefers faster courts because it suits his counterpunching style, and slower conditions will help Roddick out because he can still serve you off the court and it gives him a better look at return games. I hope for TV's sake that its an epic 5 set match.
Two things are for sure, Williams is gonna win the womens final and Andy is gonna win the second semifinal tomorrow.
6.30.2009
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Absolutely an amazing evening as we finally got to see the roof closed and we got to play a night match. The great Scott Andy prevailed in 5 sets over Stan the Man as the conditions with the roof closed seemed to play incredibly slow. The sounds of the ball in the indoor environment echoed like I have never heard before. The ambiance of the night match reminded me of one of the "Brave Tim" nail-biters that we are so used to seeing.
Ladies day was pretty straight forward as 1 2 3 4 got through to the semifinals. 3 Blow outs, the one interesting match of the day, Dinara Safina took out Boom Boom Lisicki with 0 aces and 15 double faults. That is amazing perseverance to put up those kind of numbers and still win. Both Venus and Dementieva have dropped only 19 games en route to the semifinals, but from what I have seen there is no way of stopping a Williams vs. Williams on July 4.
Quarterfinal match-ups maybe the best mens day in all of the majors. I definitely see an Andy Andy semi on the top half. Djoker Haas is a 50/50, but since the Djoker has been flying under the radar the whole tournament I will go with him in 4. Now to my favorite subject about the tournament Dr. Ivo minus the provocative post match celebration. 137 aces and 11 double faults is truly amazing, but I liked what Fed said in his post match interview with C-Fowler, how he looks forward to the unique challenge of playing Ivo. Dr. Ivo has never won a 5 setter = Fed in 5.
Now to my last subject- player to watch- young American Devin Britton. Fesh off winning the NCAA's at Ole Miss he is a throwback 6'4 serve and volleyer. He is through to the third round with a real chance to win the juniors. Great Britton definitely has top 20 potential, and he seems to be on a collision course with the best young Aussie in years Bernard Tomic, who plays a lot like Murray. One of my favorite things of the second week is to watch the juniors, to see what the future of tennis looks like.
6.28.2009
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Reflections of the first week
I've always thought it was unusual that we don't play on the middle Sunday, it's obviously the only major that we have a day off in the middle of the tournament. But as Im getting older, i'm starting to soften on this idea of a day of rest. This year, since we haven't had one rain delay a day off is much more welcome. I got to see the roof closed last night after the Murray match, it was truly amazing. The lighting was tremendous, it got me thinking that will they ever at some point in the future think about playing a night session?
After the day off rest, there is no better day in tennis then Manic Monday- all 32 players take to the courts. First week MVP's have to go out to Melanie Oudin, the qualifier from Georgia making it to the second week and a remarkable win over Double J, it has to be the biggest result for a young American female in years. On the men's side Rusty Hewitt has played brilliantly in winning all 9 sets played and he has put himself in an excellent position to make a deep run in a major for the first time in 4 years. Key match-ups for Monday: Roddick Berdych- gonna be some big serving as Berdych snapped an 0-8 lifetime against Davydenko, but I think Roddick is gonna pull it out in 5. Dr. Ivo- who has not been broken in seven matches on grass this year will upset Verdasco in 4 sets and move on to his first slam quarterfinal. One of the main reasons why I think Dr. Ivo is playing a lot better right now, is because he is going for way more on his second serve then I have ever seen before. Melanie Oudin has a real chance against Aggie Radwanska, who, in the last match that she won served a few of the weakest second serves I have ever seen, coming in at a blistering 53 mph. The last key match, Dinara Safina, making her first appearance here in the second week, is playing the veteran Mauresmo, talk about a former champ flying under the radar, I almost forgot she was in the tournament. I think Mauresmo will turn back the clock and come up with the first major shock of the tournament.
I'm sure not many of you guys have heard of Chico, Ca. There is a $15,000 future going on there where 3 really talented 17 year olds made the semifinal led by American Ryan Harrison, Serbian Filip Krajinovic and Georgian (not the state, the country) Nico Basilashvili. All 3 of these youngsters have huge potential, and try to keep an eye on their progress over the next couple of years.
6.27.2009
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The amazing thing about a two week event is that everybody knows about the top players, but its the unlikely stories that sometimes remind you why you love tennis. 5'7 Dudi Sela from Israel had never won a match at Wimbledon, but now finds himself in the 4th round after beating T-Rob. He now will take on the Djoker, who played his best match yet against Fish. Two other good stories, both American, and both small as well, Jesse "the Lil Scrapper" Levine and Melanie Oudin. Both have won 5 matches to get to the third round, 3 in the qualies and 2 in the main draw. Melanie has a tough ask today in play Double J, but you never know with the way Double J has been playing. And Jesse plays the physical Stan "the man" Wawrinka. I have a small hunch that the scrapper dream will live on. I wouldn't bet the house on it but I think he has a real shot. Serena WIlliams continued her easy assault on the first week and it seems like each day the sisters play they want to one up each other. Popcorn match of the day on the ladies side, Sam Stosur and Ana Ivanovic. Everything indicates that Stosur should win, considering her excellent form coming into the event and a taylor made game for grass, but I just somehow see Ana prevailing. What an end of the day match between Marin Cilic and Tommy Haas! It was an absolute privilege to call it from behind the booth. They were out there 4 hours battling until 9:30 yesterday night. There was so much drama and several ebbs and fl ows with both men saving 2 match points before play was suspended at 6 all in the fifth. As a player, you don't have the full Wimbledon experience until you have to sleep on a match that has been suspended. They key is to come out guns blazing the next day because if you're not ready to go one slight lapse and the match is over. I think that the veteran Tommy Haas, who looked to be on the canvas when Cilic got up an early break in the fifth and then served for it at 5-4, will find a way to win and use this as springboard for a deep run into the second week.
6.26.2009
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What a surprising result as Maria "Shaza" as they like to call her over here, had a 2-0 record against Dulko losing only three games but players are coming onto the court with a different attitude against Maria. Dulko completely outplayed Maria for a set and a half before Maria turned the second set around. I was thinking that Maria would blow through the 3rd set like when she was at the top of her game, but that is not the case at the moment. Inexplicably Maria made a lot of unforced errors and really struggled with her movement, which led to a 6-4 in the third upset which almost no one predicted. Today, another major shock and the first real big upset on the men's side, as Lleyton "Rusty" Hewitt straight sets the big Argie Juan Martin Del Potro, it was the first time that Lleyton had beaten a top 10 player at a major since the Aussie Open in '05. I think we are headed for a Roddick Hewitt showdown in the quarters at the top of the draw. Both Williams sisters are looking really good so far, maybe too good. Sometimes we are used to seeing Venus and Serena struggling early before getting into second week form, but right I think they are already in 2nd week form. A match that Im looking forward to tomorrow is the Djoker vs. Mardy Fish. Djoker is 2-0 against the Fisherman, but you get a feeling that if Mardy is ever going to get a win against Novak it is going to be on the grass which suits his game very well. Mardy will be looking to make the second week here for the first time. One upset I see for sure happening, Dr. Ivo, who hadn't won a round at Wimbledon since 2004, I see taking out the talented Frenchman Jo-Willy Tsonga in 4 sets. I always seem to say it, but no one wants to play Dr. Ivo. And last, the weatherman finally says we could have some rain for Friday or Saturday, so we could see the roof closed and I am anxious to see what the court plays like indoors.
6.24.2009
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What an unbelievable showing yesterday by 29 year old journeyman Robbie Kendrick. I gave him zero chance to win a set against Murray, but Kendrick acquitted himself extremeley well in a very tight 4 set match that featured incredible shot making by both players. Robbie must have dove about 10 times during the match, and a couple of them resulted in immaculate shots. It was easily the most entertaining match so far. Murray will be happy to advance, and now faces the streaky Latvian Ernest Gulbis in the second round. Jesse the Little Scrapper Levine comes up with the win of his life, taking out Safin in his last Wimbledon, and now has a great opportunity to advance to the third round as he takes on qualifier Pablo Cuevas. Andy Roddick also won in a four set match as he beat the talented Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. But other then Roddick and Levine it was a miserable day for the American men. Del Po looked exceptionally good and he sets up an explosive secound round encounter with past champion Lleyton Hewitt.
Venus Williams had a walk in the park, as usual, and has now won an amazing 25 sets in a row at Wimby, she is really in her element in the comfy confines of center court. Ana Ivanovic survives 2 match points to come off the deck and beat Lucy Hradecka, maybe this is the kind of match that can give the struggling Ivanovic some confidence. The two must-see matches of today both feature Americans, as Mardy Fish takes on the dangerous Janko Tipsarevic, the man who took out Andy Roddick here last year. The other match is between Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic, there should be some big serving in that matchup, but I think the Croat will advance in 4 tough sets. I had to do a double take at the schedule when I saw the that the match would be played on center court, but it should be fun nonetheless and I will be calling the match later today.
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