QUARTERS - WEDNESDAY

RAIN ROOF

The wait is over. Rain finally arrived in south west London on Monday and Wimbledon got to show off its multi-million pound Centre Court roof in all its glory.

Never before has the sight of drizzle raised so many cheers as spectators stood up in anticipation when Amelie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina had to run for cover and groundsmen sprinted on to the arena to pull the covers on court for the first time during the two-week championships.

Once that formality was completed, 15,000 pairs of eyes glanced skywards with the sense of wonder that normally overcomes a visitor to the Sistine Chapel.

This may not have been a Michelangelo masterpiece on show but fans nevertheless clicked away with their cameras as the 1,000-tonne concertina structure over Centre Court started unfurling at eight inches a second.

About eight minutes later -- at precisely 16.47 pm local time (1547 GMT) -- the most famous tennis court in the world had become an indoor arena for the first time during competition time in its 87-year existence, complete with a translucent roof and bright floodlights.

The moment when the north and south sections of the roof locked together to block out the grey sky a spontaneous round of applause burst out.

REUTERS

QUARTERS - MONDAY

ACE KING KARLOVIC

Ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France could find no solution to the problem of Ivo Karlovic's massive serve as the Croatian ran out a 7-6 6-7 7-5 7-6 victory in their third-round clash at Wimbledon on Friday.

Tsonga failed to create a single break point against the 2.08m player from Zagreb, who blasted 46 aces and has this week spectacularly broken a run of four successive first-round exits at the All England Club.

After sharing the first two sets with tiebreaks, Karlovic carved out the match's only break in the 12th game of the third set to give him the initiative and he clinched the fourth set breaker 7-5 with his final ace after two hours and 44 minutes.

He will play seventh seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain for a place in the quarter-finals.

TENNIS SCHEDULE

TOP HALF

BOTTOM HALF

HEWITT PAST DELPO

Lleyton Hewitt returned to his old stomping ground at Wimbledon's Centre Court on Thursday to score the biggest upset in the men's draw so far with a 6-3 7-5 7-5 win over fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro.

Australian Hewitt, ranked 56 in the world after a series of injuries but champion here in 2002, never allowed the Argentine an inch of breathing space with superb ground coverage and made the most of his opponent's discomfort at the net.

OMG - TSN2

OMG - TSN

DANCEVIC IN EASTBOURNE FINAL

Second seed Dmitry Tursunov will play Canadian qualifier Frank Dancevic in the final of the inaugural men's Eastbourne International after winning through in difficult, windy conditions on Friday.

Russian Tursunov, the world number 27, had a straightforward 6-2 6-2 victory over eighth-seeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez while Dancevic beat French fourth seed Fabrice Santoro 6-4 6-4.

The two finalists met two years ago in Dancevic's only previous ATP Tour final in Indianapolis where the Russian won.

Dancevic, ranked 126 in the world, surpassed his own expectations by surviving qualifying after falling and twisting his leg during a match.

After treatment, he went on to beat top seed Igor Andreev of Russia in the first round of the main draw of the grasscourt event.

NADAL'S DRAW TOUGH

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will face a tough draw at Wimbledon if his aching knees allow him to play, with a likely second-round matchup against former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray possibly waiting in the semifinals.

Five-time champion Roger Federer was placed in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic on Friday, and could face the Serb in the semifinals as he bids for a record 15th career Grand Slam title.

FOURTH QUARTER

 

THIRD QUARTER

SECOND QUARTER

TOP QUARTER

NADAL'S KNEES

Rafael Nadal looked hampered by his injured knees during a 6-4, 6-3 loss to Lleyton Hewitt in an exhibition Thursday. He will decide Friday if he can defend his Wimbledon title. Nadal played without tape on his knees but frequently appeared a step slow on the grass court at Hurlingham Club. This was Nadal's first match since his loss to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open.

DANCEVIC BEATS 1ST SEED ANDREEV AT QUEENS

Qualifier Frank Dancevic beat top-seeded Igor Andreev in straight sets Tuesday during first-round play of the Aegon International tennis tournament in England.

Andreev only won 12 points when returning Dancevic's serve. In the second set, Dancevic won 14 of his 15 first-serve points to finish Andreev off in the first round.

WIMBLEDON ON TSN

HAAS BEATS DJOKOVIC IN HALLE

Tommy Haas won his first title in more than two years when he beat world number four Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-7 6-1 in the Halle tournament final on Sunday.

Haas, a former world number two who had not won a title since Memphis in 2007 after being plagued by a shoulder injury, was the more consistent in a baseline encounter that lasted two hours 12 minutes.

"It is such a great feeling to hold a trophy again," said Haas, who has now won titles on all surfaces. "It makes all the setbacks go away.

 

REUTERS