A Round Up
What with the Isner/Mahut match, the rest of the opening stages of the tournament have been rather eclipsed. But there have been some scares, some winners and some losers.
Something that is actually more unbelievable than a 70-68 scoreline is the story that two former champions had sets taken off them in their opening matches. Tennis fans watched stunned as Roger Federer had two sets whipped off him by a plucky Falla. It seemed down to Federer’s superior experience and frame of mind that he was able to get the match back at all, with Falla winning the first two sets 5-7 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7-1) 6-0. As the scoreline suggested, Falla began to ran out of steam towards the end, but he was brutal and unforgiving as he outplayed Roger on what is arguably his court. Sunny Centre Court was buoyed by the eventual return to winning ways by the Swiss; we like shockers but something that shocking would have simply been too much. Federer didn’t exactly have an easy way into the third round either, with Serbian qualified Ilija Bozoljac really engaging the crowd as he played. The eventual scoreline went Federer’s way: 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
Rafael Nadal has also had a scare, losing two sets against Robin Haase, ranked 151st in the world. Rafa eventually won the game 5-7 6-2 3-6 6-0 6-3, but there were some rocky moments out there for the Spaniard before he finally kicked his game into gear. Nadal needing five sets to beat somebody in a match that isn’t the semis/finals? I’m not sure t more »
Written by:Wimbledon excitement mounting….
Who needs the World Cup, vuvuzelas and incomprehensible off-side rules? For the tennis fans of the world, there’s a special marking on the calendar: it’s the Wimbledon season once again. Strawberries and cream, cardigans, the all-white uniforms for the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club’s biggest two weeks of the year. All of these things get tennis fans and fans of the summer (and cardigans) tingling with excitement. As a biased Brit myself, I have to say I have a glow of pride and exhilaration at the idea of Wimbledon beginning again. Of course it’s helped by the fact it is wedged so close to the end of the French Open. It must be an exhausting schedule for the players, but a bonus for the fans.
So what has been happening whilst we’ve been coming down from a French Open high? Queens conjured a raft of surprises and unexpected defeats, starting with Andy Roddick’s exit to Israeli Dudi Sela. With Roddick being considered a King amongst Kings at this event, the upset was a truly shocking one, at 6-4 7-6 (10-8). Roddick will be disappointed going into Wimbledon with a poor warm up at Queens, particularly at a tournament he dominated at for so many years.
Another Andy went awol at the AEGON Championships: Andy Murray was defeated by American Mardy Fish 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-2). This was a blow for the top British player; Wimbledon is the one tournament where even Murray doubters have to admit he is dangerous, and yet he is going into it with more »
Written by:Men’s Final
The two finalists walking out on Philippe Chatrier today were two very different men. Robin Soderling had never won a Grand Slam, but he had been in this situation before only last year against the world no. 1 at the time, Roger Federer. The same Roger Federer he had beaten only two rounds ago to get him into the final this year. Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, had been in this situation before. As a five time French Open champion, and having played in too may Grand Slam finals to count, Nadal was at a distinct advantage experience-wise. But that is not to say that the nerves wouldn’t have been fluttering for Nadal too. This was his first time back at the French Open final after a year away, and more importantly the reason he left so early in the tournament was the very man who was standing in the way of regaining a trophy that was most definitely ‘his’. Would Soderling capitalise on his last year’s defeat over Rafa and make himself ‘the one’ (besides from Roger) who is able to beat Rafael Nadal?
The weather didn’t give us the storm that was predicted, with the grey overcast conditions that were supposed to be in Soderling’s favour gaving way to bright sunshine; exactly what the Spaniard would have wanted. When things got going, the word ‘powerful’ was starting to become an understatement with regards to Nadal’s game. Shots, angles and spin that seemed to be a physical possibility were all part of Rafa’s he more »
Written by:Women’s Final
Francesca Schiavone took the women’s semi-final 6-4 7-6 (7-2), becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title, as as well as the second-oldest woman to claim a first major title. At 29, she comes second to 30 year old Ann Jones, who won Wimbledon in 1969. Not many had predicted her to win against Sam Stosur, who with a fantastic run of form throughout the tournament looked set to take the title. She is a powerfulplayer, who had beaten Henin, Williams and Jankovic on her way to the final. It appears that Schiavone was the last person to listen to the doubters.
Stosur admits that she was just outplayed in this final match up, with Schiavone playing the tennis of her life to gain her first Grand Slam title. Stosur and Schiavone had met before and Stosur believed that maybe Schiavone would change things up from her usual aggressive play to try to win the match this time around. However, the Italian came out onto the court in no mood to play around and her attacking game was too much for Stosur to answer. At first, things seemed even with both players taking their games to love. But it was soon into the first set that Stosur’s game began to crack, allowing Schiavone a break at a crucial moment. With a steady nerve, Schiavone closed out the set.
For a while it looked like the tables had turned, with Schiavone facing break points in the second set and making some unenforced errors. But now we can look back in hindsight, we can see it was simply a blip on what was a more »
Written by:Men’s Semi Final
The men’s semi finals were another strange batch of matches. Mostly because although Rafa was there, Roger Federer wasn’t. Although many may have predicted a good tournament for both Nadal and Soderling – the two eventual finalists – the other semi-finalist competitors in the form of Tomas Berdych and Jurgen Melzer were definitely a surprise.
First up on the Philippe Chatrier court was Berdych and Soderling. Although Berdych had shown such form and ability all the way through the tournament, he was playing a man who in two consecutive years had upset both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer; hardly a sloppy run of form for any player. Robin Soderling certainly wanted to capitalise on his Federer win, and his ultimate win against the Czech indicates that this man definitely isn’t a one-match wonder. Still, Berdych wasn’t about to let Soderling trip into the finals easily. The first men’s semi-final in the baking heat of Paris was a five setter, lasting three hours 27 minutes. The similarity between the two players was obvious from the word go, with powerful serves and groundstrokes alike. Soderling took the first break 4-2 due to a few nervous unforced efforts from Berdych, and Soderling calmly took the first set.
The second set was a complete change in play; Soderling’s nerves began to get jittery and he double faulted at the worse possible moment. There were errors on both sides but Berdych hit 27 winners and 27 winners gets you far in a match. The rest of the match was ver more »
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