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QUARTERS - WEDNESDAY

QUARTERS - WEDNESDAY

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

THOMAS JOHANSSON RETIRES

Thomas Johansson, who counts the 2002 Australian Open among his tournament titles, announced his retirement Friday from competitive tennis.

Johansson, 34, has been hampered by injuries, including a foot injury that required surgery last fall. He's played in just two ATP-level matches this year when he competed for Sweden against Israel in a Davis Cup series.

"Looking back at my life as a tennis professional, I'm very pleased with all that I have achieved on the tennis court," Johansson said in a statement. "As a junior I dreamed of getting the chance to play on the big tennis stages around the world. This dream came true for me many times, not least when I won the Australian Open Grand Slam title in Melbourne."

Johansson, who entered the tournament as the No. 16 seed, defeated Marat Safin in four sets for the 2002 Australian Open title. Later that year he reached his career best of a No. 7 world ranking.

He won nine ATP titles and more than $7 million over a 15-year career. Johansson had a match record of 356-293. He also won a silver medal at the 2008 Olympics, teaming with Simon Aspelin in the doubles competition.

UPI

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NADAL MAY MISS WIMBLEDON

World number one Rafael Nadal could miss Wimbledon because of a knee injury, Spanish sports newspaper 'Marca' reported on Saturday.

Toni Nadal, the reigning Wimbledon champion's uncle and coach, said the 23-year-old had a damaged right knee and was doubtful for the Grand Slam which starts on June 22, the paper said.

"We have taken him out of the Queen's tournament (June 8-14) and will do everything possible to get him there, but this is subject to medical tests," Toni Nadal said.

"There is something wrong with his knee but right now we are uncertain what the problem is," he added.

Alarm bells rang among the player's entourage in April's Miami tournament when the four-times French Open winner Nadal complained of a severe pain in his right knee.

He reported the same problem after Swede Robin Soderling knocked him out of the French Open at Roland Garros this week.

"Rafa's body has simply said: enough!" the paper said.

The latest injury scare is not connected with the persistent tendonitis suffered by the player.

Nadal is currently resting at his home town of Manacor on the island of Mallorca and will undergo detailed medical tests from Monday.

JIMMY JUMP

The spectator who confronted Roger Federer during Sunday's French Open final insisted he had only wanted to express his support for the Swiss star in his bid for Grand Slam glory.

The incident, which happened with Federer leading 6-1, 2-1 against Sweden's Robin Soderling, stunned the players, officials and capacity crowd on the Philippe Chatrier centre court.

As Federer prepared to serve, the spectator, a regular interloper at sports events both at home in Spain and abroad and known by the self-styled nickname Jimmy Jump, clambered over the courtside wall and rushed up to him.

Dressed in the Swiss colours of red and white and brandishing a flag of his football team — European champions Barcelona — he tried but failed to place a red hat on Federer's head.

Security guards ran at the spectator who darted off to the other side of the court before he was brought down and carried off forcefully.

As he was being taken away he was heard saying that he had wanted to pay homage to Federer and make a gesture against dethroned Spanish champion Rafael Nadal, who is known to be a fan of Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid.

He was taken into custody and faces up to 12 months in prison or possibly more if the French Tennis Federation decides to take legal action against him.

Federer, who went on to win the match 6-1, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, said that it had not been the first time such an incident had happened to him during a match recalling similar intrusions at Wimbledon and Montreal.

"I didn't know what had happened until I heard the crowd react," he said. "So that gave me a fright seeing him so close right away.

"Normally they look at you and say 'sorry I have to do this', but this guy looked at me and I was not sure what he wanted. He seemed to want to give me something.

"Maybe I should have sat down and taken a minute to reflect on what had happened. It was a touch scary."

CAREER GRAND SLAMS

A factbox on the six men to win all four
grand slam titles after Roger Federer won his first French Open
on Sunday to add his name to the list.

Fred Perry (Britain)

* Completed the clean sweep in 1935 at the French Open, his
fifth title, and went on to win eight in all.

Don Budge (U.S.)

* Perry's great rival of the 1930s, Budge took just three
years to emulate the Briton's multi-surface achievement, also at
the French Open.

Rod Laver (Australia)

* One of the true greats of the sport, he won the grand slam
(all four titles in one year) in 1962 and 1969.

Roy Emerson (Australia)

* Like Budge, Emerson did not wait long to emulate his rival
by clinching the 1964 Wimbledon title.

Andre Agassi (U.S.)

* Over thirty years passed before Agassi, in 1999, became
the fifth man to win all four.

Roger Federer (Switzerland)

* Federer could have joined the list as early as 2006, when
having won the other three grand slam titles he first appeared
in a French Open final. Also finished runner-up at Roland Garros
in 2007 and 2008.

NO DOUBT

 

 If there was any lingering doubt about whether Roger Federer was the greatest player to pick up a tennis racket, he provided the answer at 1509 GMT on Sunday.

The stylish Swiss showed his versatility by getting his hands on the Musketeers' Cup at the French Open to complete his collection of grand slam titles. Job done, Federer started to rake in the records and the accolades.

He was the proud owner of a record-equalling 14th major trophy, drawing level with Pete Sampras, and he joined Don Budge, Fred Perry, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Andre Agassi as the only men to win all four slams.

Only American Agassi had succeeded on three different surfaces since until the 1970s, all the slams barring the French Open were played on grass.

To put Federer's feat into context, one has to marvel at the size of the obstacle he had just cleared.

Since 2005, four-times Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal had assumed the role of being Federer's personal tormentor, beating the Swiss four times in Paris, including the last three finals.

Each time the Swiss arrived hoping to complete a career slam and each time the Spaniard sucked the life-blood out of him, particularly in last year's final when Federer won a measly four games.

Two soul-destroying five-set final losses to Nadal at last year's Wimbledon and the Australian Open in January turned Federer into a sobbing wreck.

But just when it seemed that Federer would join the likes of Sampras and John McEnroe by never conquering Roland Garros, a golden opportunity dropped into his lap when the freak from Mallorca was knocked out by Robin Soderling.

After the most nerve-jangling journey of his career, Federer climbed the summit and the view looked good from the top.

 

REUTERS

NERVOUS SAFINA

 

In the final, Safina double faulted 7 times - almost once per game.

The last point of the match - Safina served a double.

SAFINA'S SERVE

"She's been working hard on her serve."

"Much improved."

"More power."

"More consistent."

Blah, blah,blah.

But still basically flawed!

 

The pic shows Safina's eyes looking down the court at impact of her serve.

This usually indicates use of the ab's to generate racket head speed due to faulty throwing motion.

This technique can work - as long as the ball sits exactly in the right position for impact.

If anything disturbs that toss, look out!

If there's wind, if the player is nervous, a slew of double faults will be served.

Her match against Cirstea had both wind and nerves [Safina a nervous player?????] and 8 double faults from Safina.

 

Edberg had the same flaw in his serve, but he was not the nervous type.

However, if it was windy ---- he lost!!!

WITHER RODGER

 

Croatian tennis player Mario Ancic will miss Wimbledon and the Davis Cup against the United States because he has still not regained fitness after suffering mononucleosis two years ago, Croatian media reported Thursday. Ancic, ranked No. 38 and a former Wimbledon semifinalist, had already pulled out of the French Open at Roland Garros.

"Don't ask me when I'll return, because I don't even know the answer myself," Ancic said.

MATCHES START AT 7AM EST

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