Thursday again saw heavy rain cut sohrt play at Wimbledon, however the mens 4th round and ladies quarter finals where finally completed.
Anna Ivanovic came back from a set and a break down to beat world number 10 Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic 4-6 6-2 7-5. The Serbian could not compete with the excelelnt play from her younger opponent in the first set and when the Czech went up a break in the 2nd set the match looked all over. However the Serbian broke serve 3 times in the second set to level up. At 5-3 and 15-40 on Ivanovic's serve in the 3rd set again it looked like Vaidisova had the match won, only to lose the next 4 games in succession to hand the Serb her first Wimbledon semi-final.
Ivanovic will play Venus Williams in the semi as the Americans power was too strong for Russian number 5 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova. Williams won easily in straight sets in difficult conditions on centre court as the wind caused havoc. Everyone is predicting a Williams v Henin final however both Ivanovic and Bartoli will be no pushovers and may cause a suprise, especially under no pressure.
In the mens 4th round Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated Lleyton Hewitt in 4 tight sets. The Aussie was leading 5-4 and serving for the 4th set when his opponent fought back to force a tie-break which he won 7-5. Djokovic goes on to play Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the quarters after the number 10 seed defeated 6th seeded Nickolay Davydenko in straight sets 7-6 7-6 6-3.
Roger Federer back after having 6 days off is 5-5 40-40 with Juan Carlos Fererro of Spain when rain stopped play. Federer had been 5-2 up in the match but looked a bit rusty from his lack of recent play.
Good news for the brits as both teams left in the mixed doubles draw won their matches today. Jamie Murray partnering Serbian Jankovic won in 3 sets while the all british pairing of Alex Bogdanovic and Melanie South defeated 13th seeds Wassen and Yang, a day after they had produced an excellent match in defeating top seeded Lisa Raymond and Bob Bryan of the USA. Murray/Jankovic go into the 3rd round while Bogdanovic/South are through to the quarters.
Thursday 5 July 2007
Wednesday 4 July 2007
French success on the grass!
2 French players braved the wind and rain at SW19 to record victories on Wednesday. marion bartoli the 18th seed dropped the first set against Michaela Krajectk of the Netherlands before rallying to take the next 2 sets 6-3 6-2. Bartoli used her double handed shots to overpower her 18 year old opponent and now goes into her first major semi-final where she will meet the winner of S. Williams and Justine Henin. Venus Williams thrashed Maria Sharapova 6-3 6-1 as the Russian number 2 seed found it difficult to cope with the windy conditions. Thats means the number 2,3 and fourth seeds are all out of the ladies competition.
in the mens draw Richard Gasquet the number 14 seed beat his French compatriot Tsonga (wildcard) in straight sets. Tsonga has been somewhat of a revelation over the grass court season and defeated Tim Henmans conqueror Feliciano Lopez in the 3rd round, but couldnt cope with the powerful serve of Gasquet. Although the younger of the two, Gasquet has more experience of big matches and this showed on centre court today.
in the mens draw Richard Gasquet the number 14 seed beat his French compatriot Tsonga (wildcard) in straight sets. Tsonga has been somewhat of a revelation over the grass court season and defeated Tim Henmans conqueror Feliciano Lopez in the 3rd round, but couldnt cope with the powerful serve of Gasquet. Although the younger of the two, Gasquet has more experience of big matches and this showed on centre court today.
Nadal wins after 5 days!!!
Rafael Nadal finally made it into the mens 4th round at Wimbledon as the rain held off for just 3 hours on Wednesday. Nadal faced a break point on his own serve at 5-5 but managed to fight off Soderling before breaking the Swede in the next game to record a marathon win. Another match which was stretched over 5 days was won by up and coming Serbian Novak Djokovic. the Serb resuming 1 set all against german Nicolas Kiefer, broke his opponoent 2 times in the 3rd set before wrapping up the match in a 4th set tie-break. Kiefer who was out for the whole of last year with an injury should be satisfied with his performance here and hopefully will be back into the worlds top 20 sooner rather than later!
In the ladies 4th round Venus Williams powered to the first set 6-1 before rain halted play. In the quarters Marion Bartoli who knocked out Jankovic on Tuesday is a set down against her 18 year old opponent Michaela Krajcek on court number 2. As i Speak the covers are coming off again so hopefully more news soon.
In the ladies 4th round Venus Williams powered to the first set 6-1 before rain halted play. In the quarters Marion Bartoli who knocked out Jankovic on Tuesday is a set down against her 18 year old opponent Michaela Krajcek on court number 2. As i Speak the covers are coming off again so hopefully more news soon.
Tuesday 3 July 2007
Quick Update
Thunder and lightning again hampered play on day 8 of Wimbledon 2007. However a few matches survived. Two of the womens top seeds crashed out. firstly defending champion and 4th seed Amelie Mauresmo couldnt fight enough to comeback against Nicole Vaidisova. After winning the second set to level the match mauresmo couldnt cope with her younger opponents power and lost the match 7-6 4-6 6-1 on centre court. The 14th seed will now go on to play against Ana ivanovic after the french open finalist defeated Nadia Petrova in a rain interupted match. On number one court Jelena Jankovic looked to be cruising past Marion Bartoli after winning the first set 6-3. However the French number 2 started to make her powerful groundstrokes count and after squandering 2 breaks of serve in the second set eventually won it 7-5. Rain then fell and the crucial game came in the 7th of the 3rd set. Bartoli broke Jankovic to love and eventhough Jankovic had 3 break points in the very next game, her 22 year old opponent won the set and match 3-6 7-5 6-3 to set up a quarter-final with Wimbledon suprise package Michaela Krajeck. The final womens fourth round match had to be moved to court number 3 due to the rain delays but in the end only 3 points were played as the heavens opened with Venus Williams serving 30-15 against Maria Sharapova.
In the mens match only 3 matches were completed. Hewitt defeated Canas in 4 sets, 4th seed Davydenko defeated Monfil in 3 straight sets and Juan Carlos Ferrero the 20th seed reached his first Wimbledon quarter final in 7 attempts when he defeated Tipsarevic also in straight sets. Rafael Nadal v Robin Soderling will go into a 5th day with the score now 4-4 before lightning stopped play again. Soderling managed to break back against Nadal after the Spaniard was leading 2-0 over night!
Wednesday and thursday look slightly better weather wise and players maybe forced to play 2 matches in one day to catch up on lost time especially as players like Nadal and Soderling are still playing 3rd round matches!!!
In the mens match only 3 matches were completed. Hewitt defeated Canas in 4 sets, 4th seed Davydenko defeated Monfil in 3 straight sets and Juan Carlos Ferrero the 20th seed reached his first Wimbledon quarter final in 7 attempts when he defeated Tipsarevic also in straight sets. Rafael Nadal v Robin Soderling will go into a 5th day with the score now 4-4 before lightning stopped play again. Soderling managed to break back against Nadal after the Spaniard was leading 2-0 over night!
Wednesday and thursday look slightly better weather wise and players maybe forced to play 2 matches in one day to catch up on lost time especially as players like Nadal and Soderling are still playing 3rd round matches!!!
Rain Again!
Rain ruined the start of week 2 of the Championship Monday. After deciding not to play on the middle Sunday of Wimbledon organisers faced a headache as heavy showers continued to interupt play. Tuesday should see the womens quarter finals taking place and the fourth round of the men, however some ladies have yet to start there 4th round matches and men still on there 3rd round!.
Rafael nadal lost a 2 sets lead to promising Swede Robin Soderling but managed to get a break in the 5th set before the heavens opened. he looked to be cruising to victory and even thought he had won the match only for 'hawkeye' to rule his winnig shot OUT! After a rain delay Soderling cam e back to quickly rap up the 3rd set 7-6 on a tie break and then broke Nadals serve to love and force the 5th set. The inconsistency of Soderling again showed in the final set as his shots where either just wide or thumped into the net. The score stands at 6-4 6-4 6-7 4-6 2-0 (30-30) to Nadal. Play commenses on Tuesday morning after a ladies 4th round match.
In the ladies Serena Williams actually thanked the rain after her victory in 3 sets against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. The American suffered from severe cramp at the end of the 2nd set and had to be treated during a game in the middle of the court. Barely able to walk for the next few games Williams looked in trouble before the heavens again opened! An hour or so later the ladies were back on court and Williams lost the 2nd set on the tie break. Hantuchova looked to be bewildered by the whole event and didnt know what to do as Williams power started to prevail, although her movement looked a bit restrictive! She eventually won the 3rd set 6-2 to set up a quarter final match against Henin, in which the Belgian still attempting her first Wimbledon victory must be favourite.
Also scheduled for Tuesday are matches between Vaidisova v Mauresmo, Petrova v Ivanovic, V. Williams v Sharapova and Jankovic v Bartoli, all of which sohlud be tight affairs and a great spectacle to watch., if the rain holds!!!!! In the mens draw as already mentioned we have Nadal v Soderling to a finish, Davydenko will look to wrap up his match quickly against Gael Monfils of France (6-4 7-5 3-0) and Hewitt is one set all against Guillermo Canas. The most intriging match-up could be Kiefer v Djokovic. Kiefer a former semi-finalist and coming back from injury is a set down against his younger Serbian superstar and the 2nd set is currently on serve and again heading towards a tie-break. If Kiefer manages to win the 2nd set then the match could be a real classic as both the mens tennis games are suited to the fast grass service.
Lets hope the rain stays away or at least doesnt hold up play to much otherwise the backlog of matches will continue on..........
Rafael nadal lost a 2 sets lead to promising Swede Robin Soderling but managed to get a break in the 5th set before the heavens opened. he looked to be cruising to victory and even thought he had won the match only for 'hawkeye' to rule his winnig shot OUT! After a rain delay Soderling cam e back to quickly rap up the 3rd set 7-6 on a tie break and then broke Nadals serve to love and force the 5th set. The inconsistency of Soderling again showed in the final set as his shots where either just wide or thumped into the net. The score stands at 6-4 6-4 6-7 4-6 2-0 (30-30) to Nadal. Play commenses on Tuesday morning after a ladies 4th round match.
In the ladies Serena Williams actually thanked the rain after her victory in 3 sets against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. The American suffered from severe cramp at the end of the 2nd set and had to be treated during a game in the middle of the court. Barely able to walk for the next few games Williams looked in trouble before the heavens again opened! An hour or so later the ladies were back on court and Williams lost the 2nd set on the tie break. Hantuchova looked to be bewildered by the whole event and didnt know what to do as Williams power started to prevail, although her movement looked a bit restrictive! She eventually won the 3rd set 6-2 to set up a quarter final match against Henin, in which the Belgian still attempting her first Wimbledon victory must be favourite.
Also scheduled for Tuesday are matches between Vaidisova v Mauresmo, Petrova v Ivanovic, V. Williams v Sharapova and Jankovic v Bartoli, all of which sohlud be tight affairs and a great spectacle to watch., if the rain holds!!!!! In the mens draw as already mentioned we have Nadal v Soderling to a finish, Davydenko will look to wrap up his match quickly against Gael Monfils of France (6-4 7-5 3-0) and Hewitt is one set all against Guillermo Canas. The most intriging match-up could be Kiefer v Djokovic. Kiefer a former semi-finalist and coming back from injury is a set down against his younger Serbian superstar and the 2nd set is currently on serve and again heading towards a tie-break. If Kiefer manages to win the 2nd set then the match could be a real classic as both the mens tennis games are suited to the fast grass service.
Lets hope the rain stays away or at least doesnt hold up play to much otherwise the backlog of matches will continue on..........
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