On a quiet middle Sunday at the All England Club, let’s take a look back at the wild first week shaping the 2012 Wimbledon Championships.
Coming off an historic win 17-days previous at Roland Garros, and Wimbledon Final appearances each of the past five years…Rafael Nadal was upset in a second round five-setter by World #100 Lukas Rosol. Rosol went on to lose to Philipp Kohlschreiber, and will play next at the Braunschweig Challenger in Germany. On top of the world for 24-hours, then back to reality…a theme that seems to define this year’s fortnight in London.
Sam Querry’s been playing some sick tennis heading into Wimbledon, making it to the semifinals of the Queen’s Club tune-up…where he lost to Marin Cilic. Unfortunately for Sam, he had to face Marin again in the 3rd round at Wimbledon, and it turned out to be an epic battle. Cilic eventually won 17-15 in the 5th set.
Nashville’s Brian Baker’s been winning tournaments this year, and was the surprise, first round, upset-winner over Xavier Malisse at Roland Garros; but then went on to lose to Gilles Simon in the second round. It’s a different story at Wimbledon. He had to play the qualies to earn his spot in the field, and now Brian is into the fourth round, where he’ll play Philipp Kohlschreiber! Baker has only lost one set in the first three rounds of play.
Mardy Fish is playing well…and is still secretive about the “medical treatment” he had on his heart. He was struggling after his first round win, but continues to advance – defeating David Goffin in third round three-setter. Goffin is the surging Belgian who gave Roger Federer fits in the Round of 16v at Roland Garros. Next up for Mardy – a 4th-rounder with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
After winning Eastborne, Andy Roddick was playing well…and was up a set on David Ferrer in the 3rd round. Ferrer then came back and won a tie-break in the second, and easily advanced over Andy in four sets. Next up for Ferrer – Juan Martin del Potro.
John Isner suffered a tough first round loss to Columbia’s Alejandro Falla, losing the match 5-7 in the 5th after another Isner marathon battle. I think it’s safe to say John has surpassed both Todd Marin and Greg Rusedski as THE tennis player who makes it as hard for himself as he possibly can, each and every match.
We’re on course for another Djokovic vs. Federer semifinal, while everyone from London to Dunblane expects nothing less than an Andy Murray appearance in the Final, thanks to Rafa’s shocking loss in the second round. We’ll see if Coach Lendl can help get Andy through the pressure.
On the ladies side…Serena Williams had to fight to get into the fourth round. Zheng Jie took her deep into the third, before Serena finally broke to win 9-7.
The Yaroslava Shvedova story is a remarkable one. Her third-round opponent was Sara Errani…the Roland Garros runner-up to Maria Sharapova. Shvedova played a perfect first set against Sara…winning every single-point (all 24) to take the set 6-0 in 15-minutes. She finished-off Sara in the second set 6-4 to advance to the fourth, where she’ll next face Serena.
Venus Williams was also in the singles draw, but lost in the first round to Elena Vesnina. Together, Venus and Serena have advanced to the second round in the doubles competition where they now have to face the Russian pairing of Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova.
Notable names still in the women’s draw: Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova (the defending Champion), Maria Sharapova, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic…
Notable names already eliminated: Sam Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki (first round loss), Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic
Monday features 4th round action from both sides of the draw, including a pressure packed match for Andy Murray as he faces Marin Cilic…fresh off that 17-15, 5th-set win over a surging Sam Querrey.
What will the week hold? Enjoy the matches!
If you want to see Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova compete, take a look at the video below…”New balls please.”
