TennisToday

Maria Sharapova Upset in 2nd Round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon - Women's Second Round

Larcher De Brito d 3 Maria Sharapova - 63 64

It was a very whacky Wednesday at Wimbledon. VERY.

And Maria fell victim to to the day joining a list of upsets & retirements.

And when the hell has one seen her slip on court that many times?

Post match: I don't think I've ever fallen three times in a match before

in my career so that was a little strange, but that's certainly not an excuse.

I think today I've seen a lot of players fall and take a few hits and

a few injuries. I think that's just part of the game, part of what we

have to deal with as tennis players.

Roger Federer Upset in 2nd Round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon - Men's Second Round

Sergiy Stakhovsky d 3 Roger Federer - 67(5) 76(5) 75 76(5)

Roger likes his records so maybe he wanted to take worst loss ever too.

Debatable of course but he is the GOAT and GOAT on grass.

Not to mention 7-times champ including last year.

So yea, I think this eclipses both of Rafa's losses the last two years.

Sergiy post match: You're playing the guy and then you're playing his legend,

which is following him because he won it seven times. He's holding all

possible career records here, I think, winning matches and everything.

You're playing two of them. When you're beating one, you still have the

other one who is pressing you.

You're saying, ‘Am I about to beat him? Is it possible?

***

And Roger sounds a little crabby in his post: I still have plans to play for

many more years to come. It's normal that after all of a sudden losing

early after being in the quarters 36 times, people feel it's different.

You guys hyped it up so much: me playing Rafa, and we're both out.

So there's a letdown clearly. Maybe it's also somewhat a bit disrespectful

to the other opponents who are in the draw still. I think it sends a

message to you guys as well that maybe

you shouldn't do that so often next time around.

Rafael Nadal Upset in 1st Round at Wimbledon

Wimbledon - Men's First Round

Steve Darcis d 5 Rafael Nadal - 76(4) 76(8) 64

Well, Rafa had to come back to earth at some point.

But crashing down this bad was not something anybody expected.

I mean, who throught he could actually LOSE points after this fortnght???

This is his first loss at a Slam in the 1st round.

This was only Rafa's 3rd loss this year AND Steve's 2nd 2013 match win.

This loss may have also hurt Rafa's shot at year-end #1.

It's tough to finish on top of the pile with no points from 2 Slams.

Was it the knee? He refused to mention it in his presser. So probably.

UGH.

Post match: Two weeks ago I was in a fantastic situation,

winning a fantastic tournament [at Roland Garros]. Two weeks later,

I lost here in the first round. That's the positive and the negative

thing about this sport. It is tough losing in the first round.

Pierre -VS- Maggie May

Some London paper fun ahead of Wimbledon.

Though I think Novak's dog is cute I certainly prefer Andy's.

No contest.

ATP & WTA Winners at Eastbourne & 's-Hertogenbosch

's-Hertogenbosch ATP 250 - Men's Final

Q Nicolas Mahut d 2 Stanislas Wawrinka - 63 64

This is the feel good story of the weekend.

At 31 Nicolas is the oldest 1st time ATP winner since 2005.

Before this tourney he had a W/L of 1-2 for the 2013 season.

Post match: It's amazing. I cannot believe I won today.

Eastbourne ATP 250 at - Men's Final

Feliciano Lopez d 2 Gilles Simon - 76(2) 67(5) 60

Feli wins his 3rd title and 1st on grass - and 1st in 3 years.

Post match: I think grass is my best surface,

and to have at least one title on grass is very nice feeling.

***

Interesting to note: both men's winners this weekend are over 30.

WTA Eastbourne - Women's Final

Elena Vesnina d Q Jamie Hampton - 62 61

Elena picks up her 2nd title (both 2013) - Jamie will wait for her 1st.

Post match: But I kept believing in myself. I knew I would win this title.

I knew it was going to happen. It's not self-confidence - I knew if I kept

working hard and believing in myself, it would come. And it did.

WTA 's-Hertogenbosch - Women's Final

Simona Halep d 4 Kirsten Flipkens - 64 62

2 weeks - 2 titles. Last week she won at Nurnberg.

So she's on a nice little 10 match winning streak.

Will she be too tired to do much at Wimbledon?

Post match: I'm really happy. I want to enjoy this evening.

It's a special moment for me.

Jamie Hampton Gains Her 1st Ever WTA Final - At Eastbourne

WTA Eastbourne - Women's Semifinal

Q Jamie Hampton d 5 Caroline Wozniacki - 67(8) 75 63

Jamie beat Caro once in the juniors now she can boast an official WTA win.

The win will push Jamie to new heights - the top 30.

Her qualifying days will now be a thing of the past.

And hello American hopeful pressure.

Poat match: I didn't come just to play the qualifying. I try to enter every

tournament & think to get deep in the tournament, & look to win the title.

So coming off my Roland Garros run I had a good amount of confidence,

and I was hoping to get deep into this tournament this week too.

***

US hopeful vs US hopeful: Jamie just drew Sloane in Wimby 1st round.

So there's that bummer US hopeful news from London today.

Caroline Wozniacki into Semifinals at Eastbourne

WTA Eastbourne - Women's Quarterfinals

5 Caroline Wozniacki d Ekaterina Makarova - 46 60 63

The '09 champ is still in the hunt for her 1st title of the year.

She will face American Jamie Hampton for the 1st time.

Well 2nd, they played against one another in the 2005 US Open juniors.

Hampton won that one. Caro doesn't even remember it. LOL

Caro: I'm not sure - I mean, I've played so many matches before,

so I don't remember.

I don't know why that really strikes me as funny. But it does.

Prolly cuz you know Jamie tells anyone who'll listen.

I would.

Rafael Nadal is Seeded 5th for 2013 Wimbledon

The seedings have been released for the coming Championships and...

Rafael Nadal has been placed as the tournaments 5th seed.

Wimbledon ignored giving Rafa a deserving discretionary bump.

Most in the tennis world think he should at least be the 4th seed.

There is one word to use here: dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Let's see... Rafa is a 2-time champ and 3-time runner-up.

4th seed David Ferrer has been a quarterfinalist exactly once.

Moreover, Rafa has beaten David all 4 times they've played this year.

AND - we don't even need to compare their 2013's. It's no contest.

Well, as payback I hope Rafa gets placed in Murray's quarter...

Only then will Wimby get that they've made a serious blunder.

It's worth repeating: dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb.

***

Photo: Rafa's first practice yesterday at Wimby,

 

Andy Murray Wins 3rd Title at Queens Club

Queen's Club ATP 250 - Men's Final

1 Andy Murray d 5 Marin Cilic - 57 75 63

Queen's Club becomes the 1st tourney where Andy has collected 3 titles.

He could not have asked for better Wimbledon prep.

Post match: I feel good. I'm a bit tired. Because of the weather it's been

mentally a quite draining week. I'll probably take a day off tomorrow and

start hitting on Tuesday, quite light, and get myself fresh, work on a

couple of things in the build-up to Wimbledon.

***

Andy donated his prize money to the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Where pal & tennis pro Ross Hutchins recieved treatment for Hodgkin’s.

Well done, Andy.

Roger Federer Wins 1st Title of 2013 at Halle

Halle ATP 250 - Men's Final

1 Roger Federer d Mikhail Youzhny - 67(5) 63 64

The GOAT needed to dig deep in his last 2 matches.

He dropped the 1st set in both of those matches to Haas & Youzhny.

But in the end he won his 6th title at Halle.

It had to feel good as he hadn't won a title since Cincy last summer.

There is only 1 tourney where he has more titles: Wimbledon with 7.

And further - he tied McEnroe at 3rd on the list of all-time titles at 77.

He has quite a ways to go to catch leader Jimmy Connors at 106.

Methinks that Connors record is safe.

Post match: I am happy it worked for me today. I was satisfied with my

game in the past 10 months. Maybe people thought I was playing badly.

That was not the case. I was playing well but, when it mattered,

the others were just better. Today it worked well.

Lleyton Hewitt Thru to Semifinals at Queen's Club

ATP 250 Queen's Club - Men's Quarterfinal

Lleyton Hewitt d 3 Juan Martin Del Potro - 62 26 62

Someone is busy turning back the clock to his glory years.

Remember: Lleyton is a 4-time champion here: '00-'02 & '06.

At 32 he's looking to become the tournies oldest winner as well.

He'll next face the defender 5 Marin Cilic in the Sf's - H2H: 1-0/Lleyton.

The only time they played was last year at the London Games.

So Lleyton's gotta feel good about his match tomorrow...

Post match: Cilic is going to be another tough one, very similar to my

match against [Sam] Querrey yesterday and against del Potro today.

In terms of that, I have had good preparation for playing him,

but, he's the defending champ here.

Novak Djokovic & Brothers Spend a Day at the Beach

Is there a better way to get over a stinging loss like the one in Paris...

Than with your bro's on the beach? (Photo from Novak's Facebook page.)

It's weird how some players can get over a loss faster than their fans.

Hell, I'm still gutted over Monica Seles' loss at the '08 French Open!

And her '02 loss at Wimbledon.

Anyway, Nole next tournament will be Wimbledon.

He's defending a Sf at SW19 - and should easily be able to repeat that.

Unless Wimby farts up a #5 seeding for Rafa and they meet in the Qf's.

Anyway, have fun Nole - you've got some work to do in London.

Roger Federer into Semifinals at Halle

ATP 250 Halle - Men's Quarterfinal

1 Roger Federer d WC Mischa Zverev - 60 60

This was the 2nd time in his career Roger has double bageled someone.

Roger has only played 1 final so far this year - a loss to Rafa at Rome.

He hasn't won a title since Aug. 12 at Cincinnati.

Those are not familiar to Federer fans. It's quite a draught.

In fact, this is the latest he's gone in a season without a title since '99.

Since his last win (of his 5 here) at Halle he's been runner-up twice.

Including his loss last year to Tommy Haas.

Speaking of, Roger will play Tommy in the Sf's tomorrow.

So yea, we'll see.

Andy Murray Wins 2 Matches Today to Gain Quarterfinals at Queens Club

He's baaaaa-ack.

After a little injury layoff he's back on the grass at Queen's Club.

Tho he didn't play the French Open his ranking actually improved to #2.

But he's got lots of grass court points to defend. Or not...

He's got 1200 runner-up points to defend at Wimbledon and...

He's got 750 points just being erased because he can't defend the Olympics.

Also interesting to note - his home Slam may bump him to 3rd seed.

Federer may have the funky Wimby seeding formula in his favor.

Let's see if they have the nerve!

2013 French Open Champions

Rafael Nadal

Serena Williams

The Bryan Brothers

Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina

Frantisek Cermak & Lucie Hradecka

Rafael Nadal Wins 8th French Open Title

French Open - Men's Final

4 Rafael Nadal d 5 David Ferrer - 63 62 63

8.

Rafa moves up to 3rd with Roy Emerson on the Slam list with 12.

Only Pete Sampras with 14 and Roger Federer with 17 are ahead of him.

He improved his French Open record to 59-1. A sick winning percentage.

Rafa also notched his 20th win over Ferrer and 4th of the 2013 season.

He is also the 1st man to qualify for the season ending tournament.

In a rankings quirk the win actually saw his ranking fall back to #5.

But he is firmly atop the Race to London rankings by a mile.

With 90 points to defend the rest of the year - lookout Nole...

Hi8tory: No man has ever won 8 titles at any one Slam before.

History: And no man has ever won a Slam 9 years running.

Post match: Eight times here is a lot. I never thought about that.

But I will keep practising with the same passion and intensity to bring

my tennis to the highest level possible.

***

Rafa has played 9 tournaments this year and made the finals of all 9.

He's won 7 of them making him the tour leader.

Next up is Wimbledon where he's won it twice: '08 & '10.

It's also the place where he lost early in '12 & left the tour with an injury.

This year plan on Rafa hitting Wimby with a hunger for a big points gobble.

Serena Williams Wins 2013 French Open Title

French Open - Women's Final

1 Serena Williams d 2 maria Sharapova - 64 64

It took her 11 years to win a 2nd French Open title - but she's done it.

That is the longest gap between Slam (any Slam) titles in the Open Era.

She now has 16 Slams and at least 2 of each: AO 5, FO 2, W 5, USO 4.

She has a ways to go to catch Steffi Graf who has at least 4 of each.

Post match about her Slams:

I'm just trying to go up and up. Today when I won I was trying to win

the French Open; I wasn't trying to get to No.16. I think it was

Fabrice Santoro who told me that on court, 16, and I thought,

"Wow, I forgot about that.' I think it's really special. I feel like I definitely

want to continue my journey. If It means I stop at 16 or if it means I have

more, I definitely want to continue my journey to get a few more.

***

I doubt she will ever catch Margaret Court with 24 Slams but...

Serena is 2 away from Chris Evert & Martina Navratilova.

Their count is definitely in jeopardy.

David Ferrer Thru to Final at French Open

French Open - Men's Semifinal

5 David Ferrer d 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - 61 76(3) 62

It took 11 years and 42 Slams for David to finally gain his 1st final.

And it's very well deserved.

He had come up empty in his last 5 semifinal attempts.

He takes a massive losing record against Rafa with him - H2H: 19-4/Rafa.

Post match: I'm very, very happy. This tournament is very special for me

and to be the first final of Grand Slam in Roland Garros is amazing.

Now I want to enjoy this moment, to rest tomorrow,

and to try my best in the final.

I know he's the favourite, but I am going to be focused every point.

I will try to do my best.

Rafael Nadal Defeats Novak Djokovic in Epic 5 Set Thriller in Semifinals at the French Open

French Open - Men's Semifinal

4 Rafael Nadal d 1 Novak Djokovic - 64 36 61 67(3) 9-7

Halfway thru the 5th set this was getting classified as an instant classic.

This baby was breathtakingly contested at an unreal high level.

And it should have been the final.

Rafa is going for an 8th French Open title.

No man in tennis history has 8 titles at any one given Slam.

A win would also put his Slam total at an amazing 12.

Today he also tied the record for most match wins at the French Open: 58.

Remember: Rafa has lost ONE match in 9 years at Roland Garros.

20's: At Rome a couple weeks ago he reached 20 wins over Federer.

Today he reached the same level over Nole - H2H: 20-15.

A win in Sunday's final would put him at 20 wins over Ferrer.

Post match: You need to love the game. You [need to] appreciate what

you are doing in every moment. I learned during all my career to

enjoy suffering, and these kind of matches are very special.

You don't have the chance to play these kind of matches every day.

So when these kind of matches happen you suffer,

but I really enjoy these moments.

Serena Williams Thru to Final at French Open

French Open - Women's Semifinal

1 Serena Williams d 5 Sara Errani - 60 61

This is Serena's 20th Slam final - she has only lost 4 times at this stage.

One of them was to Maria in the '04 Wimbledon final.

In fact the only 2 times Maria beat Serena was in '04.

Since then Maria has gotten a whole series of beatdowns.

Also, this is Serena's 2nd French Open final - she won in '02.

It was the beginning of her 'Serena Slam' if you'll recall.

Post match on winning another French Open title:

It would be awesome for me. I don't think there's anything that can

describe how happy I would be. But right now it's still a dream -

I still have another match to play, hopefully to win.

It's still two people fighting for the championship.