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Monthly Archive for June, 2010
Murray mania!
Its Men’s Quarter Finals day at the All England Club today, and although there have been fewer shocks in the mens draw, we are left with 4 matches that are all finely balanced and have more than a little spice for tennis fans. In truth, without wanting to sound like a football commentator, the so called underdogs could all cause shocks and all matches could go any way.
Andy Murray will be bidding to emulate his achievements from last year in making he semis . He faces a player in Tsonga who combines speed, power a big serve and forehand, generally the type of player he struggles against a la Roddick/ Verdasco / Berdych style. Andy must lift his level and avoid dropping into his bad habits by stepping into court and trying to dominate rather than hanging back and trying to react to his opponent. This will be tight, and Murray could drop his first sets of the tournament but he should win
Rafael Nadal has struggled but showed us his fighting qualitites in coming through in his 2nd and 3rd round matches in 5. His demolition of Paul Henri Mathieu was not totally unexpected as the flakey Frenchman has a history of flapping in the face of adversity. Rafa wont have it all his own way today against Soderling who up until his 4th round match with David Ferrer had not lost a set. It will be a good game and maybe even go to 5, I just hope the Majorcans knees hold up and we get to see a real battle.
It could be argued that Novak Djokovic has the easiest passage to the semi finals. He faces the Taiwanese player Lu who defeated Andy Roddick in 5. Lu may be small in stature but read the big American’s serve very well and moved his opponent around the court. If both players play to their potential we have a straight sets win for the Serbian, However Nole has never made it to the semis before, will he bottle his best shot?
And Finally, Tomas Berdych faces Roger Federer face off in an eagerly anticipated encounter. Berdych is a much better player than he was 2 or 3 years ago when Federer would have won in three straight. Berdych is on the back of the semi finals of Roland Garros and in the form of his life. Federer has played himself into some form and has the Falla game well and truly out of his system. The underdog could definitely cause some damage here and maybe a huge shock
Ballboy
Have you ever thought about what they do with those 52,000 (slightly!) used tennis balls at Wimbledon? We, at club level, are accustomed to using the same three balls until a dog steals one and proceeds to slobber all over it, you hit one over the fence and into the stream, or they simply stop bouncing after months of use (or abuse!) And just to think those snobs at Wimbledon want a new set after every 7 and 9 games alternatively! However, there are many good uses you can put those old, fluffy, discoloured balls to!
Tennis Ball Chair
A recent Motocross magazine suggested removing the tubing from tyres and replacing them with tennis balls, allowing more bounce and durability on off-road terrain. Many households use old tennis balls in their washing machines to prevent balling of garments (please note, washing tennis balls does NOT make them NEW tennis balls!)
A tennis ball can also be attached at the end of a 91.5cm chain and be used as a novelty net measuring device. Other uses include; chew toy for a dog, childproofing sharp corners in your home, improving posture (balance ball between shoulder blades), stress ball and jar opener (cut ball in half). You could go to the extreme and save up your used tennis balls for years and years to create furniture for your living room such as a tennis ball chair – show others what a true tennis fan you are (Not recommended for people with bad backs, bad necks, people who are prone to muscular tension or people who generally like to be comfortable when they sit down!)
House for a Mouse
Wimbledon actually put their used balls on sale and the money raised goes towards certain charities, some were even donated to the ‘A House for a Mouse’ charity which saw used tennis balls make new homes for our furry little friends! So next time you are about to hit that dead ball into oblivion, think twice and reuse, renew, recycle your way to a greener, fluffier existence!
With two big line ups yesterday in the last sixteen namely Serena-Maria and Kim-Justine, the quarters may look to some as being a little of an anti-climax. The two matches were competitive and relatively close although not the long drawn out classics one perhaps hoped for.
LTB takes a quick look at the Quarter finals head to head stats:
Serena Williams (1) v Li Na (9)
4-1
Petra Kvitova v Kaia Kanepi
1-2
Kim Clijsters (8) v Vera Zvonareva (21)
5 -0
Venus Williams (2) v Tsvetana Pironkova
1-1
Going by these statistics, we could see Serena, Kaia, Kim and (most likely) Venus all get through to the ladies semi-finals. One thing that stands out for me is the rather strange and unpredictable set up between two unseeded players.
What an opportunity for both Kvitova and Kanepi to get a place in the final 4 of a Grand Slam. These relatively unknown players from Eastern Europe are pure evidence that drive and determination to succeed prevails against all odds. (Please note this LTA).
Kanepi is a former junior world Number 1 who won the French Open girls title in 2001 beating a certain Dinara Safina and Svetlana Kuznetsova in the process.
Kvitova is a 6’ tall left hander with a two handed backhand a la Monica Seles. She defeated third seed and crowd favourite Caroline Wozniacki with the loss of just 2 games! Wow! That is impressive stuff.
What a match for these two players on Court Number 1 today. One thinks it will be a match they will remember for years to come. With the chance to play on Centre in the semis up for grabs, it may prove an interesting match, as long as nerves don’t become a factor on the biggest show court these girls will have played on at SW19.
If you havent got a ticket for this years Championships, the 4th round wouldnt be a bad day to head down to South London to queue. You have all the big names in fourth round action and at this stage there are more big names than show courts so inevitably you can catch some great 4th round grandslam action on a day pass on the outside courts.
The weight of the world
So far Rafa and Roger have stuttered. Federer came within a hairs breath of being knocked out by Alejandro Falla in round 1 and Nadal has been taken to 5 sets in round 2 and 3. Federer did show us some of his class in defeating stylish Frenchman Arnaud Clement in the 3rd round, he was clinical and able to experiment somewhat against his opponent. We saw glimpses of vintage Federer on Friday, I hope that come 1pm his Wimbledon 2010 will start and we can forget about his earlier round performances. His match is far from straightforward, in Melzer we have maybe a leftie who loves to come to the net. Having made the semis in Roland Garros he is in the form of his life and will be tough to beat. Federer seems to struggle against top spin hitting lefties, Melzer is one of those. It could go the distance.
Masha and Serena, fantastic!
After his exertions on Saturday, Nadal faces another Frenchman Paul Henri Mathieu whom I think he is going to feel the backlash for Nadal’s poor performances thus far. Rafael should be recovered from his injuries and I expect him to progress in straight. Our Andy takes on Queens’s Finalist Sam Querrey last on Centre, this will be the biggest test for the Scot but having peaked against Gilles Simon, I think Murray has too much craft and trickery for the big serving American. It could get tight, Andy may get beaten up a little but he should prevail. Robin Soderling has seemingly made it R4 under the radar, he is playing fantastic tennis and his flat clean hitting should see him prevail against clay specialist David Ferrer.
There are two classic encounters in the ladies draw on Monday. The resurgent Maria Sharapova takes on last years Champ and 12 time grand slam winner, Serena Williams. On paper it seems a close match but in truth Serena is so much in the groove on grass it should be straightforward ( despite my love for Masha) I would love it to be a classic match and Maria to reannounce her arrival on the biggest stage, but I think despite her huge power and awesome determination, Serena will win.
Battle of the Belgians!
And Finally, two Belgians do battle for a place in the Quarter Finals. Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin who have met twice this year and taken each other to 3rd set tiebreaks in both occasions, face off on the grass. Up until this point, Kim has looked the more impressive of the two but Henin cannot be discounted. I hope the Court One crowd are treated to an absolute classic and the winner, I see making the final. In an order of play bursting with big names I have nearly failed to mention the Djokovic Hewitt match, for passion, flair and heart this match will be brilliant. It would be fantastic to see Lleyton back in the Quarters of a major again, then again Djokovic should fancy his chances against the older Aussie. I hope that Lleyton can counter punch his way past the Djoker.
Whatever happens today, I just hope for some good tennis!
Ah the middle Sunday of The Championships. A day off to recuperate on what has been an amazing first week in Wimbledon history. A day to catch our breath before it all starts tomorrow again in what looks set to be a Manic Monday.
If this is your ‘I don’t have to run day’ today and you need something to read as you relax, then take a peep at the work of the official Wimbledon Poet in residence. Matt Harvey was appointed by the powers that be along with The Poetry Trust to “capture the flavour of the world’s premier tennis tournament”.
Not everyone perhaps enjoys poetry but as one who likes the written word, I have taken a keen interest in what is referred to on the official website as ‘Wimblewords’.
Hear ye, hear ye, The Wimbledon Poet Mr Matt Harvey
There is a range to choose from: The grandest of Slams, Thwok, A Royal Appointment and By Royal Disappointment but my two favourites are More than a lawn and Mrs K with Strawberries.
More than a lawn puts down in black and white how a court, any grass court is more than a lawn when tennis is being played on it, liking it to a coliseum and a combat area amongst other things.
Mrs K with Strawberries sees Matt put himself in the shoes of a lady tennis fan enjoying a bowl of England’s finest summer dessert which triggers a reminiscence of her childhood days watching Billy Jean, Stan Smith and Ille Nastase.
In a sport where there are a multitude of shots, points, games, sets and matches (the Isner- Mahut match alone was a mere 183 games long), it can be hard to describe in a matter of words and paragraphs what Wimbledon is all about.
But like all good masters of their trade, those that do it well make it look and sound so easy. Think of a Federer forehand, a Pete Sampras serve, or a Boris Becker volley dive. They made it seem so simple and yet if we mere mortals were to try to replicate their actions, we would fail exceedingly.
And speaking of exceedingly, that reminds me of Mr Kipling. No, not the one who makes good cakes but the poet that adorns the All England Club House. Yes, lines from Rudyard Kipling’s famous and may I add wonderfully wise poem If are etched on the wall for players to see as they make their way down to Centre Court.
Andy Murray walks under the wise words before leaving Centre Court
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same…
How appropriate in the game of tennis and knockout Grand Slam where there can only be one winner and 127 losers, is it to be reminded as the poem goes on to describe, how you can be a true man (ladies, at this point we have to console ourselves that daughter/woman would not have rhymed as well but that we can still apply our gender to this work of fine art), if you can deal with losing as well as winning.
A tough task and perhaps one today of all days when a certain World Cup team will make their way home, is made more poignant especially the opening lines:
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you…
Inspired by these empowering words of wisdom, I decided to pen my own verse, with a little help from a Christmas rhyme you may know well:
Twas the night before Magic Monday, when all through the Club House,
Not a Wimbledon tennis champion was serving, not even a mouse!
Enjoy your rest day tennis fans!
After a disappointing performance in the mixed doubles with Jamie Murray, Laura Robson has decided she will compete in the Girls Singles which gets underway on Monday at the All England Club. The LOVEtennis Blog favourite played with the ‘other’ Murray, Jamie, in the mixed. Both players showed good chemistry on court laughing and joking between points but they were soundly beaten 3&3 against Andre Sa and Vera Zvonareva! It caps off a disapointting week for British Tennis as a whole, the worst year for British tennis players on record despite the huge investment in tennis by the LTA. 
Initially there were no English men in the singles draw, the top 3 ladies had their opportunities but let them slip and Laura Robson and Heather Watson battled valiantly but fell just short. Andy Murray is left to carry the flag once again along with Fleming and Skupski, Eaton and Inglot. Both pairings have come through very tough early rounds. Once again we turn to Laura Robson to put a smile on our faces, we hope that she can perform well and with a little luck go deep into the draw. Even that would do little to mask the players failure this week. Its back to the drawing board for the LTA! Bring in Johnnie Mac!
In what many at LOVEtennis Blog have been dubbing the longest blog in grandslam history, we continue the 3rd part of the Wimbledon Queue trilogy as our three Amigos have just got their tickets for centre court having spent most of the night entertaining fellow queuers.
As we lay in our pen, lying on each other for a bit of comfort we nodded off now and again. We were periodically woken by other happy queuers on the opposite side of the fence, happy that the end was in sight. When eventually the grounds opened up at 1030am, we made the trek up to Henman Hill and not for the reason you would think! We positioned ourselves under a few shadey trees at the top of the hill and nodded off to sleep, completely wasting the opportunity to see the players hit the practice courts!
I was eventually woken by Senor Scorah who had brought me an ice cool Coffee drink, one of them £7 things you can only ever buy at SW19! What an expensive but thoroughly tasty surprise. We made our way down to Centre Court and were thoroughly impressed by our seats, maybe 2 rows from the front beside the scoreboard! We all frantically texted our mammys reminding them ’set the video recorder, Il be on tv all afternoon’ I think I sent that text to everybody in my phonebook, my leg didnt stop vibrating .
Snore!
So having queued all night, slept on the dirty pavement, ate next to nothing and drank warm water been rudely awoken by a chirpy English gentleman and then queued some more, we were totally knakered. It is something that must be done once, it is a fantastic experience but by the time the tennis comes around you cannot help but be absolutely shattered!
So follow these simple steps and get the best tickets you can get without spending the whole night on the pavement. 1) Join the queue early in the evening, set up your tent when you can. 2) At a suitable point in the evening when darkness is beginning to fall and most people are closing up their tents, zip up your tent and walk away as if nothing strange is happening 3) Head to the B&B that you have booked for that all important soft mattress and pillow 4) Set the alarm for 5am and make your way back to the queue just before the queue starts moving. Voila you have your position in the queue without having to do the hard bit, you avoid having to carry any of your sodden tent or clothes around all day too!
If you havent done Wimbledon before, try the queue it is something you will never regret!
Gold dust!
So the three amigos spent most of tha late afternoon exploring the grounds of the All England Club, we even managed to sneak back into Centre Court to sneak a peak at Mr Rusedski who was in action. That evening we wearily made our way out the gate of SW19 and began to walk back to Southfields Tube Station. It was then when we had a brainwave, we joined the already swelling queue for the next days tickets, got the queue cards and sat ourselves down on the pavement of South London and watched all the fans come past in their droves. It was then it was decided that one of us would keep dick in the queue whilst the other two would go home get a burger and freshen up. I drew the short straw and ended up on me bum watching the then trickle of people leave the All England Club to make their way home. There was plenty going on to keep me occuppied, the takeway and fastfood outlets all handed out their flyers and the newspaper sellers were trying to sell me the evening standard for the order of play. I duly obliged, always enjoyed reading the tennis press anyway.
The queue for the toilets can be quite long
Just as my stomach had grumbled for the 5oth time, the two amigos appeared in the distance all fresh faced and preppy looking. They could see from the look on my face that I wasnt the happiest camper, hungry and feeling quite dirty but they soon put a smile on my face when they produced a belly busting 16′ pizza. I demolished it quicker than an Andy Roddick serve. Feeling quite restless and numb from the road, we took a little run to the front of the queue to see how the other folk were living. Most it must be said had nice tents, some had deck chairs, others were roasting some sausages on the BBQ and sipping on a few beers. There seemed to be a nice buzz all along the queue as most settled down and tried to get some sleep. The three amigos though were feeling quite chatty and keen to strike up conversation with anyone that would take us on. We must have stopped at a dozen different tents, each with a different nationality and differing reasons why they were in the queue. We bumped into a nice Ozzie called Tim, eager to see Lleyton in action, others from South Africa just eager to be a part of it. All very incredibly friendly and nice, some even offered us a beer or two. Nobody could seem to differentiate the Northern Ireland accent from the Irish one so we were just happy to be the Paddys in the queue!
We played the ‘we are Paddies’ line quite frequently and I can honestly say it was a fantastic night of meeting like minded tennis fans. We even sneaked up to the main gates, the ones that the players go in and probably could have wangled our way into the grounds at 1am in the morning but we thought better of it! We eventually tiptoed back to our tent and tried to get comfortable ( if such a thing is possible ) on the South London pavement! Senor Murphy found a nice comfortable and sheltered spot at the entrance to the mens toilets. Senor Scorah, sat in his sleeping bag under an umbrella and I rolled up my Evening Standard to make a pillow. When we eventually stopped chatting with each other it must have been 4am and we drifted into a light sleep until……..
Good Morning Campers its Day 4 of the Championships, wakey wakey! It was then we began to regret our queue frolicking just a few hours before. A typically English night steward woke us up one by one, he seemed like he enjoyed it. I looked at my watch it was 5.05am flip me, I never knew play began so early! When we eventually coerced ourselves out of the foetal position and to our feet it must have 6am, most people were dismantling their tents. Shortly after the queue rather amazing began to move, we trundled along with a £4 bacon butty in one hand and our queue cards in the other.
Then we had to make our big decision, did we go and see Henners and Federer on Centre or Roddick, Venus and Clijsters on One. We all opted for Centre, having sampled a little tasted the day previous we were all mad for more. The queue continued its merry path toward the turnstyles and we received our gold coloured wristbands. By 9am we had our tickets and were nicely squashed in a pen until the grounds opened at 1030am.
Part three to follow!
Courtside v Couch potato
It’s been a tough week for me, working during Wimbledon. It’s not an ideal combination, but it has to be done sometimes. I grabbed as much tennis at I could watch during lunchtimes and in the evenings, but it’s not quite the same as being there. Wimbledon is such an amazing place you have to feel it to believe it.
This Wimbledon of all Wimbledon’s has been so special in the first week alone. What with Roger’s Fed Express almost being de-railed on the opening day, to quite simply the most remarkable tennis match ever played in the long history of the game by John Isner & Nicolas Mahut, to the Royal visit by HM Queen Elizabeth II, it’s been quite a week for The Championships.
As I watched the matches on Centre Court, I could see the very seat I sat in last year watching the ladies final and I thought ‘Wow! I was there!’
To console myself for not being there this year and for any LOVEtennisBlog readers who can’t be there this year either, here’s my top ten things you CAN do watching Wimbledon at home on TV that you can’t do being there at the AELTC:
Courts at your finger tips!
Serena's inspirational pretty nails
Jolly good shot young man!
Enjoy the tennis today where ever you watch it from!