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Sir David Gray
23-06-2008, 08:36 PM
Day One

In the men's draw there were no problems for Roger Federer starting the defence of his title for the 5th consecutive year. He saw off Dominik Hrbaty 6-3 6-2 6-2. Hrbaty actually went into today's match with a 100% record against Federer having won both of their previous two meetings.

World number three Novak Djokovic was made to work a little bit harder for his win. He eventually progressed 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-0 against the German world number 91 Michael Berrer.

Former champion Lleyton Hewitt had a marathon match against Dutchman Robin Haase, the Aussie came through in 5 sets, 6-7 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-2.

5th seed David Ferrer had a slightly easier win against Sergiy Stakhovsky. He won the first two sets before the Ukrainian had to retire when he was 3-1 up in the third set.

Marcos Baghdatis won in 4 sets 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3.

Fernando Gonzalez beat Robby Ginepri in straight sets.

Number 32 seed Michael Llodra is out after having to retire injured against Mario Ancic although he was already a break and 2 sets down.

There were also wins today for Igor Andreev, Thomaz Bellucci, Olivier Rochus, Marc Gicquel, Thomas Johansson, Florent Serra, Feliciano Lopez, Albert Montanes, Victor Hanescu, Philipp Petzschner, Roko Karanusic, Marat Safin, Thomas Berdych, Stanislas Wawrinka, Bobby Reynolds, Andreas Seppi, Juan Martin Del Potro, Robin Soderling, Fernando Verdasco, Ilia Bozoljac, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Mischa Zverev and Simon Stadler who defeated 6ft 10in Croat Ivo Karlovic who had just won at Nottingham on Saturday.

Unfortunately we lost the only British man in action, Alex Bogdanovic, today. He lost to Italian Simone Bolelli 6-7 6-4 3-6 6-7.

However the shock of today and possibly the shock of the tournament came just a little while ago. Canadian Frank Dancevic, ranked 95 in the world, demolished former Wimbledon finalist and world number 7 David Nalbandian 6-4 6-2 6-4.

In the women's draw world number one Ana Ivanovic hammered Paraguayan Rossana De Los Rios 6-1 6-2.

Former champion Serena Williams also booked a place in round two beating Estonian Kaia Kanepi 7-5 6-3.

Number 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova came back from a set down and then from 3-1 down in the final set to beat Mathilde Johansson 6-7 7-5 6-3.

There were also wins for Nicole Vaidisova, Agnes Szavay and Anna Chakvetadze.

However seeds Virginie Razzano, Patty Schnyder, Dominika Cibulkova, Alize Cornet and Maria Kirilenko.

There was some joy for British number 4 Elena Baltacha who won 6-3 2-6 7-5. However the other British woman in action today, Melanie South went out to 28th seed Alona Bondarenko 6-3 6-7 6-4.

In action tomorrow are Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Richard Gasquet, Andy Roddick, Nikolay Davydenko, James Blake, Chris Eaton and Jamie Baker in the mens.

And in the womens Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Jelena Jankovic, Lindsay Davenport, Katie O'Brien and Anne Keothavong are all in action.

Hibbie_Cameron
23-06-2008, 09:32 PM
Seen a bit of Baltacha this afternoon. What she lacks in skill etc is more than made up for with her sheer determanation to win

Sir David Gray
24-06-2008, 09:03 PM
Seen a bit of Baltacha this afternoon. What she lacks in skill etc is more than made up for with her sheer determanation to win

She is an extremely gutsy young woman who deserves a bit of success. She has had unbelievable bad luck with injury. She's had severe problems with her back and a few years ago she had to battle liver damage.

I wish all the best for the rest of the tournament.

Sir David Gray
24-06-2008, 09:50 PM
Andy Murray was safely into the second round after a straight sets win over the veteran Fabrice Santoro 6-3 6-4 7-6. Murray will now face the Belgian Xavier Malisse who reached the semi finals in 2002.

Rafael Nadal also won in straight sets German Andreas Beck 6-4 6-4 7-6.

Former two time finalist Andy Roddick beat Argentinian Eduardo Schwank 7-5 6-4 7-6.

Number 8 seed Richard Gasquet knocked out American Mardy Fish 6-3 6-4 6-2.

Following David Nalbandian's shock defeat yesterday, another high profile exit was made today. World number four Nikolay Davydenko was beaten by Ben Becker in straight sets 6-4 6-4 6-4. And the 26th seed Ivan Ljubicic was knocked out in 5 sets by the Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-4 7-6 4-6 2-6 6-3.

There were mixed fortunes amongst the other Brits today. Jamie Baker was comfortably beaten by Italian Stefano Galvani 6-4 6-2 6-3. However world number 661 Chris Eaton defeated Boris Pashanski 6-3 7-6 6-4 and will now play Dmitry Tursunov in round two.

There were also wins for James Blake, Tommy Haas, Marin Cilic, Agustin Calleri, Jesse Levine, Radek Stepanek, Nicolas Almagro, Jarkko Nieminen, Gilles Simon, Nicolas Kiefer, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Martin Vassallo Arguello, Rainer Schuettler, Jeremy Chardy, Arnaud Clement, Mikhail Youzhny, Ernests Gulbis, Sebastien Grosjean, Janko Tipsarevic, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Tommy Robredo and Viktor Troicki.

In the women's draw Venus Williams overcame a tough opening set against Brit Naomi Cavaday to eventually seal a 7-6 6-1 victory.

Number 3 seed Maria Sharapova hammered Stephanie Foretz 6-1 6-4.

Number 2 seed Jelena Jankovic also won in straight sets beating Olga Savchuk 6-3 6-2.

Former champion Lindsay Davenport had to battle hard to beat Renata Voracova 6-3 5-7 6-3.

The other 2 British women in the draw had contrasting fortunes. Katie O'Brien was beaten in straight sets by the number 24th seed Shahar Peer. However British number one, Anne Keothavong progressed to round two by beating the American Vania King 4-6 6-2 6-3 and she will now face Venus Williams.

Francesca Schiavone, Vera Zvonareva, Timea Bacsinszky, Alla Kudryavtseva, Emilie Loit, Aleksandra Wozniak, Daniela Hantuchova, Marina Erakovic, Nadia Petrova, Tamarine Tanasugarn, Sorana Cirstea, Carla Suarez Navarro, Monica Niculescu, Gisela Dulko, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, Dinara Safina, Sania Mirza, Sybille Bammer, Ai Sugiyama, Flavia Pennetta, Alisa Kleybanova, Su-Wei Hsieh, Julia Goerges, Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, Mara Santangelo and Shuai Peng all went through to round two as well.

Ivan Drago
25-06-2008, 01:51 PM
Djorkos on his way out :grr:

JimBHibees
25-06-2008, 02:20 PM
Djorkos on his way out :grr:

Yep, Safin can beat anyone if he is in the mood.

Ivan Drago
25-06-2008, 03:29 PM
Yep, Safin can beat anyone if he is in the mood.


Uhu. Hopefully not Murray if he pulls of a miracle against Nadal :greengrin

Sir David Gray
26-06-2008, 10:17 PM
Wasn't on yesterday so I've not been able to comment on the past 2 days of play.

I thought I had seen the shock of the tournament when David Nalbandian went out in the 1st round...I was wrong.

Yesterday Marat Safin, currently down in 75th place in the world rankings, beat Novak Djokovic, the number three seed, in straight sets. Djokovic was completely overwhelmed from start to finish and Safin totally deserved his victory.

Another seed and another former world number one, Juan Carlos Ferrero, also went out yesterday after being forced to retire in the 3rd set against the German Mischa Zverev, although he was already 2 sets down.

A third seed went out in the shape of Chilean Fernando Gonzalez. He lost against Italian Simone Bolelli 7-6 7-6 3-6 7-6.

There was a routine victory for one seed though. Roger Federer comfortably saw off the Swede Robin Soderling 6-3 6-4 7-6.

There were also wins yesterday for David Ferrer, Marcos Baghdatis, Lleyton Hewitt, Tomas Berdych, Marc Gicquel, Fernando Verdasco, Stanislas Wawrinka, Mario Ancic, Andreas Seppi, Simon Stadler, Feliciano Lopez and Bobby Reynolds.

In the women's draw yesterday, another Brit fell at the second round stage. Elena Baltacha was comfortably beaten by Jie Zheng of China 6-2 7-5.

Top seed Ana Ivanovic was made to work for her victory. After losing the first set on a tiebreak to Natalie Dechy of France, Ivanovic then faced two match points and on one of those points, she hit a net cord and fortunately for her, the ball dropped over. She then went on to win the second set in a tiebreak. There is no tiebreak in the final set anymore and Ivanovic eventually came through 6-7 7-6 10-8 after 3 hours and 24 minutes.

Also through yesterday were Svetlana Kuznetsova, Anna Chakvetadze, Serena Williams, Anabel Medina Garrigues, Nicole Vaidisova, Agnieszka Radwanska, Agnes Szavay, Evgeniya Rodina, Marion Bartoli, Amelie Mauresmo, Bethanie Mattek, Antasia Palyuchenkova, Elena Dementieva, Casey Dellacqua and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova.

Today's play in the men's draw threw up one major shock with two time finalist Andy Roddick being knocked out by Serb Janko Tipsarevic who won 6-7 7-5 6-4 7-6.

A number of other seeds were knocked out today as well. It wasn't a good day for the USA with number 9 seed James Blake being beaten by German Rainer Schuettler in 5 sets, 6-3 6-7 4-6 6-4 6-4. Spaniard Tommy Robredo was also knocked out by a German, Tommy Haas beating him in straight sets. Finn Jarkko Nieminen who was the 24th seed was knocked out by Marin Cilic in 5 sets. And Andy Murray's French Open conqueror Nicolas Almagro is out after losing to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in 5 sets.

Number 2 seed Rafael Nadal was made to sweat by the young Latvian Ernests Gulbis. Rafa lost the first set but eventually came through 5-7 6-2 7-6 6-3 in what was described as a potential banana skin.

However British hopes continued for another day after Andy Murray comfortably beat 2002 semi finalist Xavier Malisse 6-4 6-2 6-2. Murray now faces Tommy Haas in round three.

Murray will have to do it all on his own for Britain though as world number 661 Chris Eaton is out. He was defeated by the Russian Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 6-2 6-4.

Also through to round three are Richard Gasquet, Mikhail Youzhny, Nicolas Kiefer, Jurgen Melzer, Arnaud Clement, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Radek Stepanek and Gilles Simon.

In the women's draw the biggest shock of the tournament so far is the exit of 2004 winner Maria Sharapova. She lost to her Russian compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva 6-2 6-4.

There were a number of seeds knocked out today, most notably Daniela Hantuchova. The number 10 seed lost 3-6 6-4 1-6 to Alisa Kleybanova.

Also out are Sania Mirza, Flavia Pennetta, Sybille Bammer and Vera Zvonareva. 1999 champion Lindsay Davenport picked up an injury in her 1st round match and was forced to pull out of the tournament. Her opponent Gisela Dulko received a bye into round three.

British interest in the women's draw is all over at the second round stage as Anne Keothavong lost to 4 times champion Venus Williams 7-5 6-2. Number 3 seed Jelena Jankovic is also through after hammering Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1 6-3.

Also through are Dinara Safina, Shahar Peer, Victoria Azarenka, Nadia Petrova, Marina Erakovic, Elena Dementieva and Caroline Wozniacki.

So at the 3rd round stage the nationalities that make up the men's draw are as follows;

France-5
Germany-5
Spain-5
Russia-3
Croatia-2
Czech Republic-2
Italy-2
Switzerland-2
Australia-1
Austria-1
Britain-1
Cyprus-1
Serbia-1
USA-1

And in the women's draw;

Russia-9
USA-3
China-2
Czech Republic-2
France-2
Serbia-2
Spain-2
Argentina-1
Australia-1
Belarus-1
Denmark-1
Hungary-1
Israel-1
Japan-1
New Zealand-1
Poland-1
Thailand-1

sleeping giant
28-06-2008, 11:46 AM
WTF is going on with the Wimbers highlights at night ?
As far as i can see , they are only on BBC HD.

I used to like watching it at night:boo hoo:
I ended up watching brief highlights of the Murry match on tinternet as Wimbledon website wanted money:grr:

CalgaryHibs
29-06-2008, 02:04 PM
Watching the highlights on tv and the tennis was on and they said Andy Murray is from Scotland, where aboots in Scotland is he from???

Hank Schrader
29-06-2008, 02:46 PM
Watching the highlights on tv and the tennis was on and they said Andy Murray is from Scotland, where aboots in Scotland is he from???

Dunblane

Sir David Gray
29-06-2008, 04:11 PM
3rd round action from Friday and yesterday saw the following;

Defending men's champion Roger Federer eased through to the last 16 after defeating Frenchman Marc Gicquel 6-3 6-3 6-1.

5th seed David Ferrer is out after losing to Mario Ancic, who is still the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon. The Croatian won 6-4 6-4 6-7 7-6.

Lleyton Hewitt will face Roger Federer after he beat Italian Simone Bolelli 6-1 6-3 7-6.

Former world number one Marat Safin is also safely into the last 16 after he beat Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 3-6 7-6 6-4.

Number 11 seed Tomas Berdych is out after losing to Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-4 6-4 6-0.

Marcos Baghdatis progressed after defeating unseeded German Simon Stadler 7-6 6-4 6-2.

Another German is also out, Mischa Zverev had to retire after the second set in his match with Stanislas Wawrinka, although the Swiss was already 2 sets up.

The last surviving American in the men's draw went out in the 3rd round. Bobby Reynolds lost 4-6 5-7 6-4 4-6 to Feliciano Lopez.

Yesterday Andy Murray continued his impressive form by beating Tommy Haas 6-4 6-7 6-3 6-2.

World number two Rafael Nadal was in amazing form in defeating the German Nicolas Kiefer, 7-6 6-2 6-3.

Richard Gasquet will face Andy Murray in the last 16 after he beat fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-3.

Serbian Janko Tipsarevic upset another seed, this time defeating Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 7-6 6-3.

Mikhail Youzhny booked his place in the last 16 after the Russian defeated the Czech Radek Stepanek 7-5 6-7 6-4 6-7 6-3.

There was some success for Germany in the third round after Rainer Schuettler beat Guillermo Garcia Lopez 6-2 6-3 6-4.

Marin Cilic shocked the 14th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 6-7 6-3 6-4 7-6.

Finally Arnaud Clement defeated Austrian Jurgen Melzer 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.

In the women's 3rd round draw;

Two times champion Serena Williams powered her way into the last 16 after hammering 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 6-1.

Shock of the women's tournament so far, top seed, newly crowned French Open Champion and world number one Ana Ivanovic is out. She was sent packing by the small Chinese player Jie Zheng after being hammered 6-1 6-4.

Number 4 seed Svetlana Kuznetsova had no such worries. She hammered Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2 6-4.

Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-2.

Anna Chakvetadze beat Evgeniya Rodina 6-4 6-3.

Last year's finalist Marion Bartoli suffered a surprise defeat to American Bethanie Mattek 6-4 6-1.

Hungarian Agnes Szavay went the distance in her match against Anabel Medina Garrigues, eventually winning 7-6 2-6 6-2.

18th seed Nicole Vaidisova beat Australian Casey Dellacqua 6-2 6-4.

2nd seed Jelena Jankovic overcame a knee injury and feisty 17 year old Caroline Wozniacki to progress 2-6 6-4 6-2.

4 times winner Venus Williams hammered Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1 7-5.

Elena Dementieva beat Gisela Dulko 7-6 7-5.


Nadia Petrova won 2 tie breaks to win her match against Victoria Azarenka.

French Open finalist Dinara Safina lost out to Israeli Shahar Peer 5-7 7-6 6-8.

Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn beat New Zealander Marina Erakovic 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Maria Sharapova's conqueror Alla Kudryavtseva beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3 1-6 6-4.

And Alisa Kleybanova beat Japan's Ai Sugiyama 6-4 6-4.

All that means that the men's last 16 draw looks like this;

Roger Federer (Swi) v Lleyton Hewitt (Aus)
Fernando Verdasco (Spa) v Mario Ancic (Cro)
Marat Safin (Rus) v Stanislas Wawrinka (Swi)
Marcos Baghdatis (Cyp) v Feliciano Lopez (Spa)
Janko Tipsarevic (Ser) v Rainer Schuettler (Ger)
Marin Cilic (Cro) v Arnaud Clement (Fra)
Richard Gasquet (Fra) v Andy Murray (GBR)
Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) v Rafael Nadal (Spa)

And the women's last 16 draw;

Jie Zheng (Chn) v Agnes Szavay (Hun)
Nicole Vaidisova (Cze) v Anna Chakvetadze (Rus)
Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) v Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol)
Bethanie Mattek (USA) v Serena Williams (USA)
Elena Dementieva (Rus) v Shahar Peer (Isr)
Nadia Petrova (Rus) v Alla Kudryavtseva (Rus)
Venus Williams (USA) v Alisa Kleybanova (Rus)
Tamarine Tanasugarn (Tha) v Jelena Jankovic (Ser)

Ivan Drago
30-06-2008, 02:04 PM
How good is Ancic Verdasco the now! Come on Mario :cool2:

hibby19
30-06-2008, 02:51 PM
How good is Ancic Verdasco the now! Come on Mario :cool2:

Very good :agree:

I dont understand how the score can be 10-9 in games though :confused:

Fife-Hibee
30-06-2008, 03:03 PM
You must win the set by 2 games and they just keep winning their own service game. Need one of them to break the serve of the other :thumbsup:

hibby19
30-06-2008, 03:10 PM
You must win the set by 2 games and they just keep winning their own service game. Need one of them to break the serve of the other :thumbsup:

Then how come when that happens they normally play a tie break?

Peevemor
30-06-2008, 03:13 PM
Then how come when that happens they normally play a tie break?

Not if it's the final set.

hibby19
30-06-2008, 04:42 PM
Not if it's the final set.

ok cheers

the_ginger_hibee
30-06-2008, 05:07 PM
Is there some sort of backlash against Murray ??

Lots of 'C'mon Richard' shouts.

Is it cause his name aint Tim nice but dim ? Or just because he's actually half decent :greengrin

Ivan Drago
30-06-2008, 05:50 PM
Very good :agree:

I dont understand how the score can be 10-9 in games though :confused:


Because there is no tie break in the final set. They keep playing until a player wins by two games. :cool2:

Ivan Drago
30-06-2008, 05:51 PM
Is there some sort of backlash against Murray ??

Lots of 'C'mon Richard' shouts.

Is it cause his name aint Tim nice but dim ? Or just because he's actually half decent :greengrin


Jealous English twats. :agree:

Come on Murray - getting pumped here. :grr:

PC Stamp
30-06-2008, 06:09 PM
Jealous English twats. :agree:

Come on Murray - getting pumped here. :grr:

And just warned for swearing. That'll be the old failing coming back again. Can't keep a lid on it when things are going against him.

McEnroe is spot on when he says that Murray can't channel his anger in a positive manner. It starts to eat him up and he falls away.

Would love to see him turn this around but coming back from 2 sets down against an opponent who he's never beaten is a big ask.

Westie1875
30-06-2008, 07:17 PM
Just won the 3rd set, game on :cool2:

KinchHibee
30-06-2008, 07:28 PM
is it the winner of this match that plays nadal?

Westie1875
30-06-2008, 07:52 PM
is it the winner of this match that plays nadal?

Think so, 2 sets each at the moment, Murray a game up in the 3rd.

Hibby D
30-06-2008, 08:09 PM
This is some game :agree:

EDIT - "match" :greengrin

jonty
30-06-2008, 08:39 PM
And just warned for swearing. That'll be the old failing coming back again. Can't keep a lid on it when things are going against him.

McEnroe is spot on when he says that Murray can't channel his anger in a positive manner. It starts to eat him up and he falls away.

Would love to see him turn this around but coming back from 2 sets down against an opponent who he's never beaten is a big ask.

:cool2:
And he answered the call. Well done AM.

(can't see him beating Nadal though :duck:)

PC Stamp
30-06-2008, 08:57 PM
:cool2:
And he answered the call. Well done AM.

(can't see him beating Nadal though :duck:)

Absolutely. He was magnificent from the point Gasquet had 5-4 in the 3rd.

Have to say GIRUY to that moaning French erse BTW. He was in the press all over the weekend saying that he wouldn't mind being the villain and shutting the "home" support up yet as soon as Murray started getting the upper hand he was moaning about the crowd to the umpire.

The umpire rightly said that he couldn't do anything about the crowd making a noise between points!

You want to wind the punters up beforehand then be prepared to take back it when it goes against you.

You're right ... Nadal will be a tough nut, particularly after that 5 setter ... but ....

Ivan Drago
01-07-2008, 03:24 PM
Vaidisova - oh yes please :drool:

:greengrin

Sir David Gray
01-07-2008, 03:35 PM
Well what an absolutely stunning comeback by Andy Murray last night. I had to go out last night and left early in the third set and it did not look like the match had long left.

When I heard it was two sets all I was amazed and then when I heard he had managed to win it was just incredible.

I thought he was unlucky to lose the first set as it really could have gone either way and some of his shots to save several set points were just incredible. The second set started poorly for Murray and he seemed to lose his focus although he did start to come back into it a little bit by the end although it was too late to save the set.

It looked as if the third set was going to be close but I thought Gasquet would just do enough to see it through, even although my original pre-match prediction was for Murray to win it 5 sets.

I saw the highlights of the rest of the match last night and Murray's winning shot to win the third set tie-break is one of the best shots you will ever see on a tennis court. He had no right to win that point, Gasquet had played a great shot to force Murray so far out wide that he almost ended up in the crowd and how he got his racquet to it, never mind played a winning shot, I will never know.

He now has a simple match tomorrow against Rafael Nadal in the 1/4 finals :wink:. I hear the forecast down there tomorrow is not good so hopefully his match may be delayed and maybe even put back to Thursday to give him time to recover as there is no doubt that must have taken a lot out of him last night and he will have to play at his absolute best if he is to have any chance of beating Nadal.

Meanwhile in the rest of yesterday's play;

Roger Federer saw off the challenge of Lleyton Hewitt to win 7-6 6-2 6-4.
Marat Safin continued his excellent run by knocking out 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-1.
Rafael Nadal will face Andy Murray after the world number two beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3 6-1.
Rainer Schuettler continues to surprise everyone with his run to the 1/4 finals as he defeated Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 3-6 6-4 7-6.
Mario Ancic will now face defending champion Roger Federer after he beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco from 2 sets down. He won 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 13-11.
Arnaud Clement booked his place in the 1/4 finals after beating unseeded Croat Marin Cilic 6-3 7-5 6-2.
Feliciano Lopez shocked the 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis by winning 5-7 6-2 3-6 7-6 8-6.

In the women's last 16 draw;

4th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out by Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6 6-1 5-7.
Nicole Vaidisova beat the 8th seed Anna Chakvetadze 4-6 7-6 6-3.
There were no problems for 6th seed and former champion Serena Williams. She defeated fellow American Bethanie Mattek 6-3 6-3.
And 7th seed and defending champion Venus Williams also wasted little time in beating Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-3 6-4.
Unseeded Jie Zheng continued her impressive form by knocking out 15th seed Agnes Szavay 6-3 6-4.
In the all Russian affair, Nadia Petrova knocked out Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1 6-4.
5th seed Elena Dementieva is now the highest ranked female left at the 1/4 final stage after she beat Israeli Shahar Peer 6-2 6-1.
And 2nd seed Jelena Jankovic appeared to still be suffering the effects of her injury in the previous round as she was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.

So far today on Women's Quarter Finals day;

5th seed Elena Dementieva eventually saw off Nadia Petrova. Despite being a set and 5-1 up, Dementieva lost the second set on a tie break but eventually came through 6-3 in the third.

She will play Venus Williams in the semi finals after she beat Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4 6-3.

The other two 1/4 finals are still ongoing-Serena Williams has just taken the first set 6-4 against Agnieszka Radwanska. Meanwhile it is a set all between Jie Zheng and Nicole Vaidisova. It is currently 1-1 in the final set.

Ivan Drago
01-07-2008, 03:39 PM
Well what an absolutely stunning comeback by Andy Murray last night. I had to go out last night and left early in the third set and it did not look like the match had long left.

When I heard it was two sets all I was amazed and then when I heard he had managed to win it was just incredible.

I thought he was unlucky to lose the first set as it really could have gone either way and some of his shots to save several set points were just incredible. The second set started poorly for Murray and he seemed to lose his focus although he did start to come back into it a little bit by the end although it was too late to save the set.

It looked as if the third set was going to be close but I thought Gasquet would just do enough to see it through, even although my original pre-match prediction was for Murray to win it 5 sets.

I saw the highlights of the rest of the match last night and Murray's winning shot to win the third set tie-break is one of the best shots you will ever see on a tennis court. He had no right to win that point, Gasquet had played a great shot to force Murray so far out wide that he almost ended up in the crowd and how he got his racquet to it, never mind played a winning shot, I will never know.

He now has a simple match tomorrow against Rafael Nadal in the 1/4 finals :wink:. I hear the forecast down there tomorrow is not good so hopefully his match may be delayed and maybe even put back to Thursday to give him time to recover as there is no doubt that must have taken a lot out of him last night and he will have to play at his absolute best if he is to have any chance of beating Nadal.

Meanwhile in the rest of yesterday's play;

Roger Federer saw off the challenge of Lleyton Hewitt to win 7-6 6-2 6-4.
Marat Safin continued his excellent run by knocking out 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-1.
Rafael Nadal will face Andy Murray after the world number two beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3 6-1.
Rainer Schuettler continues to surprise everyone with his run to the 1/4 finals as he defeated Janko Tipsarevic 6-4 3-6 6-4 7-6.
Mario Ancic will now face defending champion Roger Federer after he beat Spaniard Fernando Verdasco from 2 sets down. He won 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 13-11.
Arnaud Clement booked his place in the 1/4 finals after beating unseeded Croat Marin Cilic 6-3 7-5 6-2.
Feliciano Lopez shocked the 10th seed Marcos Baghdatis by winning 5-7 6-2 3-6 7-6 8-6.

In the women's last 16 draw;

4th seed Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out by Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6 6-1 5-7.
Nicole Vaidisova beat the 8th seed Anna Chakvetadze 4-6 7-6 6-3.
There were no problems for 6th seed and former champion Serena Williams. She defeated fellow American Bethanie Mattek 6-3 6-3.
And 7th seed and defending champion Venus Williams also wasted little time in beating Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-3 6-4.
Unseeded Jie Zheng continued her impressive form by knocking out 15th seed Agnes Szavay 6-3 6-4.
In the all Russian affair, Nadia Petrova knocked out Alla Kudryavtseva 6-1 6-4.
5th seed Elena Dementieva is now the highest ranked female left at the 1/4 final stage after she beat Israeli Shahar Peer 6-2 6-1.
And 2nd seed Jelena Jankovic appeared to still be suffering the effects of her injury in the previous round as she was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn.

So far today on Women's Quarter Finals day;

5th seed Elena Dementieva eventually saw off Nadia Petrova. Despite being a set and 5-1 up, Dementieva lost the second set on a tie break but eventually came through 6-3 in the third.

She will play Venus Williams in the semi finals after she beat Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4 6-3.

The other two 1/4 finals are still ongoing-Serena Williams has just taken the first set 6-4 against Agnieszka Radwanska. Meanwhile it is a set all between Jie Zheng and Nicole Vaidisova. It is currently 1-1 in the final set.


Williams pissing all over the Pole and Vaidisova :bitchy: but :drool: but :duck:

Sir David Gray
01-07-2008, 04:58 PM
Serena Williams hammered Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-0 and Jie Zheng beat Nicole Vaidisova 6-2 5-7 6-1.

That means the women's semi final line up for Thursday is;

Elena Dementieva v Venus Williams
Serena Williams v Jie Zheng

Also a wee mention to Jamie Murray who is through to the quarter finals of the mixed doubles with his new partner American, Liezel Huber after they beat Julian Knowle and Yung Jan Chan 6-4 6-3.

Maybe a Murray double this year!

How sick would that make the English! :greengrin

SpursLivi
01-07-2008, 05:09 PM
Serena Williams hammered Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 6-0 and Jie Zheng beat Nicole Vaidisova 6-2 5-7 6-1.

That means the women's semi final line up for Thursday is;

Elena Dementieva v Venus Williams
Serena Williams v Jie Zheng

Also a wee mention to Jamie Murray who is through to the quarter finals of the mixed doubles with his new partner American, Liezel Huber after they beat Julian Knowle and Yung Jan Chan 6-4 6-3.

Maybe a Murray double this year!

How sick would that make the English! :greengrin

Not that sick, considering the crowd (predominantly English) helped Murray to win that match...

Sir David Gray
01-07-2008, 05:50 PM
Not that sick, considering the crowd (predominantly English) helped Murray to win that match...

They maybe came round at the end but it was through gritted teeth at the start and it was the same in his previous matches as well. The reception Murray has got for some of his superb play is nothing compared to what Henman used to get.

You only have to listen to some of the comments of the people that the press have spoken to over the last week or so to know that Murray is, by and large, not liked in England.

And then when Chris Eaton came through his first round match, the hysteria that surrounded him was unbelievable it almost sounded as if they were desperate for him to emulate Murray so that they had someone else to cheer on.

Murray gets a lot of criticism from many people and some of it is justified but no-one will change my mind that the main reason Murray isn't wholly accepted down there is because of what he said two years ago about the English football team. It just beggars belief that people can still hold a grudge so long after a comment was made that was clearly intended as being tongue-in-cheek.

Ed De Gramo
01-07-2008, 08:57 PM
Bit gutted to see Jelena Jankovic go out yesterday :boo hoo:

She's got a valid point...why did she get punted to the court closest to the carpark????

The male tennis players get all the priority which is all wrong....:agree:

Sir David Gray
01-07-2008, 10:23 PM
Bit gutted to see Jelena Jankovic go out yesterday :boo hoo:

She's got a valid point...why did she get punted to the court closest to the carpark????

The male tennis players get all the priority which is all wrong....:agree:

I was disappointed to see her go out as well as I really like her as a person, I think she has a nice character.

She does have a point about where she was scheduled to play. She was the number two seed and therefore I believe that she should be on either Centre Court or Court Number One for all her matches. After all, Rafael Nadal (men's second seed) would never be on any court other than the 2 main ones.

In saying that, once you know that you are on whichever court, you just have to get on with it and get the job done like the Williams sisters did. They weren't happy at being placed on court two but got the job done and are now in the semi finals.

I could also see her point about being disappointed that a request to play later on in the day, to try and rest her injury, was denied. However I heard one of the commentators say that they try and put the women's last 16 matches on as early as possible because they play their 1/4 finals the next again day, whereas the men have a day to recover, which is understandable.

Sir David Gray
02-07-2008, 08:50 PM
There may only be a year between them in terms of age but tonight it genuinely was a case of man against boy.

Simply a case of "too good" this evening. From the first point to the last, Rafael Nadal was in a different class to Andy Murray.

Some of the shots that he was making were sensational and made Murray look like a novice, which of course he isn't. Murray was nowhere near his best but he wasn't allowed to be by a man who was quite simply brilliant.

Everyone knew Murray was the underdog and was expected to lose but the margin of Nadal's win was amazing. He dominated almost every rally and competed for every single point.

Whilst I don't believe there was a great deal that Murray could have done differently tonight, the one area of his game that he could have improved upon was his serve. He had a first serve percentage of just 49% which is far too low against someone of Nadal's ability and the points won on his second serve was just 39%.

Murray must now go away and regroup. He has to take the positives out of this year's Wimbledon campaign and there are many to take from it. He has reached the Quarter Finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career and he has shown unbelievable resolve to come from 2 sets and a break down to beat a top 10 player. That's not bad for starters.

However, on top of the positives Murray must look to guys like Nadal & Federer and see how he can adapt certain aspects of his game so that he can be as good as them. He undoubtedly has the potential to reach the very top and he now has the physique and the stamina sorted out. But there are several things technically and tactically that need to be ironed out before he can really put in a challenge to those two.

Most players are 23-25 before they start to peak so Nadal really is a freak from that perspective and Murray shouldn't be discouraged by how the guy is playing, he is simply a one off.

He has to get himself ready now for the US Open at the end of August and be ready to put in another challenge.

Just put tonight down as a learning experience and come back a better player.

There is no disgrace in being hammered by Rafael Nadal, it even happened to the great Roger Federer just a few weeks ago so there's no shame in it.

Meanwhile in the rest of today's play;

Roger Federer saw off the challenge of Mario Ancic to see him safely into the semi finals. Ancic is the last man to beat Federer at Wimbledon but beat him 6-1 7-5 6-4.

Marat Safin continued his surprising run by seeing off 31st seed Feliciano Lopez despite losing the first set. The Russian will now play Federer in the semis after winning 3-6 7-5 7-6 6-3.

In the last quarter final, play will have to resume tomorrow between Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement as play was suspended at one set all. The winner of that match faces the daunting prospect of playing Rafael Nadal in the semis.

So Andy may be out but it's not all doom and gloom. Just another mention for older brother Jamie. He is now into the semi finals of the mixed doubles with his partner Liezel Huber after they beat 2nd seeds Daniel Nestor and Chia-Jung Chuang 6-4 7-5. They will now play either 9th seeds Andy Ram and Natalie Dechy or the unseeded pair of Bob Bryan and Samantha Stosur.

Betty Boop
04-07-2008, 01:02 PM
Federer 1 set up, 3 games all in the second, mon the Fed!

mixumatosis
04-07-2008, 02:02 PM
Very disappointed with Marat Safin. Playing a point with a snapped racqet to avoid a code violation, only to walk back to his seat after losing the point and smash his racqet on the seat, earning exactly the same code violation. If a jockey with a chance to finish in a place didn't ride to the end of the race he'd be fined. Safin was 40-15 down, not exactly un-recoverable. I understand the two situations aren't exactly comparable but if I'd forked out for tickets I'd be feeling cheated right now.

Sir David Gray
04-07-2008, 03:12 PM
Very disappointed with Marat Safin. Playing a point with a snapped racqet to avoid a code violation, only to walk back to his seat after losing the point and smash his racqet on the seat, earning exactly the same code violation. If a jockey with a chance to finish in a place didn't ride to the end of the race he'd be fined. Safin was 40-15 down, not exactly un-recoverable. I understand the two situations aren't exactly comparable but if I'd forked out for tickets I'd be feeling cheated right now.

Marat Safin was actually quite tame this afternoon in comparison to how he used to behave.

I'm actually surprised it took him until the 3rd set to finally lose his cool. To be honest, I can probably sympathise with people when they play Federer, he must just completely demoralise them.

Here we have a guy that hasn't had a good year, in fact he hasn't had a good couple of years and he comes into Wimbledon ranked 75th in the world. He knocks the number three seed out in the 2nd round and then gets all the way to the semi finals where he then meets Roger Federer and gets absolutely annihilated.

Not defending his behaviour but I can understand his frustration as Federer was almost faultless this afternoon.

mixumatosis
04-07-2008, 03:34 PM
I totally agree with what you say about Federer being demoralising to play against, he was awesome today. But if you compare Safins attitude (from the start, not just in the final set) with Schuettlers in the semi going on right now the 2 are like chalk and cheese.

I take on board also what you're saying about Safin having once been at the top of the tree so it must be difficult to accept, but throwing a tantrum isn't the answer. Re-doubling your efforts and trying to get back to where you once were resulted in Agassi coming back from the challenger circuit to win Wimbledon. Safin has been known to moan about "only" getting an allowance of £12 from the LTA to pay for his lunch during his stay at Wimbledon so it comes as no surprise, I was just pointing out the inconsistency. Davydenko gets investigated and will be suspected for the rest of his career due to a match he supposedly didn't try 100% in. Safin gives up and nothing is said.

Sir David Gray
04-07-2008, 07:55 PM
I totally agree with what you say about Federer being demoralising to play against, he was awesome today. But if you compare Safins attitude (from the start, not just in the final set) with Schuettlers in the semi going on right now the 2 are like chalk and cheese.

I take on board also what you're saying about Safin having once been at the top of the tree so it must be difficult to accept, but throwing a tantrum isn't the answer. Re-doubling your efforts and trying to get back to where you once were resulted in Agassi coming back from the challenger circuit to win Wimbledon. Safin has been known to moan about "only" getting an allowance of £12 from the LTA to pay for his lunch during his stay at Wimbledon so it comes as no surprise, I was just pointing out the inconsistency. Davydenko gets investigated and will be suspected for the rest of his career due to a match he supposedly didn't try 100% in. Safin gives up and nothing is said.

I think where Safin and Schuettler differ is their own expectations on themselves.

Schuettler went into his match against Rafa Nadal today saying that he would give it his best shot but at the same time, all but saying that he had no chance of winning the match.

For Schuettler, this was his final. He considered retiring a little while ago and had only won 4 matches all year before he came into Wimbledon.

Safin on the other hand, although he has gone drastically down the rankings, he is still a former number one two times grand slam champion, he also hammered the guy that is widely tipped to break into the Federer/Nadal duopoly earlier in the tournament.

Whilst I don't think for one moment that Marat Safin went into today's match expecting to win, I think he would have expected to have done better than he did, hence the frustration.

I totally agree that he would be better acting like Agassi to try and see if he can get back in amongst the big boys again. Sadly, I don't think that's in Safin's nature.

mixumatosis
05-07-2008, 01:07 AM
I think where Safin and Schuettler differ is their own expectations on themselves.

Schuettler went into his match against Rafa Nadal today saying that he would give it his best shot but at the same time, all but saying that he had no chance of winning the match.

For Schuettler, this was his final. He considered retiring a little while ago and had only won 4 matches all year before he came into Wimbledon.

Safin on the other hand, although he has gone drastically down the rankings, he is still a former number one two times grand slam champion, he also hammered the guy that is widely tipped to break into the Federer/Nadal duopoly earlier in the tournament.

Whilst I don't think for one moment that Marat Safin went into today's match expecting to win, I think he would have expected to have done better than he did, hence the frustration.

I totally agree that he would be better acting like Agassi to try and see if he can get back in amongst the big boys again. Sadly, I don't think that's in Safin's nature.

I don't think it's in his nature either and that was really what I was getting at. I understand why Safin may give up on a match, but I think it's a very very poor attitude for a professional to have. I'm upset by anyone who has talent in whatever field but who doesn't have the fortitude to make the most of it, I think it's a terrible waste. God knows, we've seen enough folk who fit that bill parading themselves at ER over the years !