Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 6, 2023 0:04:47 GMT 1
Day 3
After another rain delay which lasted for a couple of hours in the morning and a brief sharp shower in the afternoon, the Wimbledon schedule was on catch up mode after yesterday's almost complete washout - with a mixture of 1st round and 2nd round matches being played.
Mixed fortunes for the Brits playing today - Katie Boulter (WR #89) beat Daria Saville (WR #231) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2
A match resumed from day 2. It was a dominant performance from Katie after a slightly nervy tie-break and she over-powered her opponent around the court. This match was interrupted by some knob protester during the changeover in the tie-break and play was delayed by a further 20 minutes to clear the confetti and jigsaw pieces left on court.
Good signs for Daria Saville too and I hope she carries on her progress to recovery after surgery.
Katie next plays Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova, who's ranked #99 and a winnable match for her but Tomova did beat a seed in the first round in 3 sets. Also I was pleased to hear she would be playing mixed doubles with her long term Aussie boyfriend Alex De Minaur. Looking forward to watching that (presume it depends on how either players singles progress if they would play or not)
- George Loffhagen (WR #371) lost to Holger Rune (WR #6 Seeded 6) 6-7 (4-7) 3-6 2-6
After a close first set yesterday, Rune picked up another gear today to win and Loffhagen struggle a bit with his serve. He can take a lot of confidence from this game for his development
- Arthur Fery (WR #391) lost to Daniil Medvedev (WR #3 Seeded 3) 5-7 4-6 3-6
A thoroughly entertaining match where the scoreline didn't tell the story of the match. Fery gave Medvedev problems and I was impressed with the number of serve/volleys he did. Reminded me a bit of Henman in a way. I'm glad to hear he's going to turn pro after this match, as he does have potential to succeed. - Sonny Kartal (WR #266) lost to Madison Keys (WR #18 seeded 25) 0-6 3-6
No surprises here losing to the current Eastbourne champion and controlled performance from Keys. Kartal showed great attitude on court and relishing the opportunity. - Heather Watson (WR #144) lost to Barbora Krejcikova (WR #11 seeded 10) 2-6 5-7
Heather's history with round 1 at Court 1 isn't the greatest and replicated again today after a slow start. She was more competitive in the 2nd and had chances to break serve at 4-5.
There was some slight controversy not commented on towards the end of the 2nd set at 5-6, as the trainer was called by Krejcikova for a "pain" in her foot and subsequently was strapped up. However Heather was due to serve next and subsequently lost the game and match. Apparently Krejcikova does have history on this previously when momentum was shifting.
- Jodie Burrage (WR #108) lost to Daria Kasatkina (WR #10 seeded 11) 0-6 2-6
Clearly the occasion of playing on Centre Court and the celebrities in the royal box hit Jodie hard and didn't play well at all until early in the 2nd set, when the rain delay came. After the rain delay she was unable to recover. However Kasatkina played really well and utilised her top level experience with a variety of gameplay and shots. Potential to go far in the tournament. Burrage could enter the top 100 for the first time after Wimbledon ends, which will be a major milestone in her career and enabling her to play in the US Open without qualifying.
Another good match today was the match between Thiem and Tsitsipas, which went into a 5th set tie-breaker and thoroughly entertaining to watch. Andy Murray will be pleased it went this long and faces Tsitsipas in the 2nd round. They do have history, in particular the 2021 US Open match, where Tsitsipas had a 8 minute toilet break and Murray didn't like it.
Shockingly, there are still first round matches to be played on Thursday but the weather forecast is looking good for tomorrow.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 7, 2023 0:16:26 GMT 1
Day 4
Full days play today and a pretty good day for the Brits with some excitement and shocks throughout the day.
- Katie Boulter (WR #89) beat Viktoriya Tomova (WR #99) 6-0 3-6 6-3
Katie played a wonderful match and out-powered her opponent in the first set with winners flowing all around. Errors creeped in the 2nd set but soon regained her composure and game in the 2nd half of the 3rd set.
Katie will next play the current Wimbledon Champ - Elena Rybakina in the 3rd round. I expect this to be on Centre Court on Saturday. She'll play with little expectation to win and if she can find a way to neturalise Rybakina's serve and exploit her lack of movement, she might have half a chance.
With her reaching the 3rd round, she will comfortably be in the top 80 in the rankings (along with a good prize money once again).
- Liam Broady (WR #142) beat Casper Ruud (WR #4 Seeded 4) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0
Broady's 2nd time playing on centre court and he relished it this time, playing a blinder in a tightly fought contest against his much experienced, successful opponent. This arguably is the biggest win of his career and the biggest shock in this year's Wimbledon.
You could easily tell who was most comfortable on the grass surface and Ruud showed signs of struggling after taking a 2-1 set lead. Ruud practically gave up after a close game in the 4th set, where Broady came on top.
He'll next play 26th seed Canadian player Denis Shapovalov in the 3rd round.
- Jan Choinski (WR #164) lost to Hubert Hurkacz (WR #18 Seeded 17) 4-6 4-6 6-7 (3-7)
Wasn't to be for the debutant and former hater of grass courts. He kept in touch with his more experienced opponent but Hurkacz's serve proved too much and proved decisive in this match. Choinski has earned a lot of respect and the prize money will help him to play further tournaments overseas. - Andy Murray (WR #40) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (WR #5 Seeded 5) IN PROGRESS 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4
Thanks to the Liam Broady match, this match started around 19:45 and was played under the roof. Tsitsipas was unplayable in the first 2 sets with his powerful serve and forehand and Murray struggle to win a break point. After Murray won the 2nd set, he broke Tsitsipas serve early in the 3rd set (to love) and barring a fright at the end of the set, where he slipped and looked to have damaged his groin, won the 3rd set before the 11pm curfew suspended the match.
This will continue tomorrow where if Tsitsipas wins, he potentially will have to play 4 days in a row. Win or lose, I suspect he'll be the first to complain about the scheduling of his matches.
Winner of this match will play Laslo Djere, who himself provided a shock and beat the 28th seed Ben Shelton.
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Post by Shireblogger on Jul 7, 2023 7:22:38 GMT 1
I really enjoyed Broady's match. Must be the match of his life. Well played Liam.
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Post by rubcale on Jul 7, 2023 8:23:53 GMT 1
I suspect AndyM is held hostage to the BBC - he mostly gets later matches.
Had they played to a finish yesterday I think he would have won.
Sadly although hopefully wrong I expect Tsitsipas to come through pretty handily today now he will be fresh.
Great win for Liam Broady but should be noted that Ruud is not suited to grass - was really exciting at the start of the fourth set.
Hope Katie Boulter can do herself justice against Rybikina but I would probably prefer her to play on Court 1 (assuming that it will be on a show court) than Centre - the occasion and pressure might get to her.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 7, 2023 13:48:04 GMT 1
Katie Boulter does have experience playing on Centre Court when she beat Ka Pliskova last year (I had to look back on my comments last year to confirm what show court it was, as I initially thought she played on court 1).
Also there isn't really any stand out names left in the 2nd section of the women's draw other than Rybakina (i.e. players who scheduled to play Tue/Thu/Sat) worthy of playing on Centre Court. So a dead cert you'd think.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 7, 2023 17:05:21 GMT 1
Murray, Norrie and Broady playing at the same time!
You wonder why Norrie doesn't get the prime time match slot despite being British #1.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 8, 2023 2:34:43 GMT 1
Day 5
- Andy Murray (WR #40) lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas (WR #5 Seeded 5) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 4-6
A tight final 2 sets with Tsitsipas being the victor. Tsitsipas seemed to be the fresher of the 2 players and the number of winners proved to be decisive.
As with last year, Murray is unsure whether he'll continue on playing next year after successive 2nd round losses and being quite bullish on his chances this year. I hope he does but I suppose it depends on his motivation.
- Cam Norrie (WR #13 Seeded 12) lost to Christopher Eubanks (WR #43) 3-6 6-3 2-6 6-7 (3-7)
First time seeing Eubanks play and he reminded me of John Isner - powerful serve and accurate ground strokes. Norrie struggled to make any in-roads to Eubanks serve, even the 2nd serve he was bombing them down at 110mph.
Norrie will be bitterly disappointed but the better man won.
- Liam Broady (WR #142) lost to Denis Shapovalov (WR #29 Seeded 26) 6-4 2-6 5-7 5-7
Broady had his chances and was able to keep to the level against the former Wimbledon semi-finalist. However he looked tired in the 2nd set after his shock win yesterday. I didn't watch the final 2 sets.
I don't think it will be enough to enter the top 100 but it will be close.
In doubles news, Salisbury/Ram suffered a shock defeat in the 1st round of the men's doubles. The couple pairing of Boulter/De Minaur in the mixed doubles won their 1st round match. Dart/Watson won their 1st round women's doubles match but Nicholls/Barnett lost their 1st round match.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 9, 2023 14:32:38 GMT 1
Day 6 - Katie Boulter (WR #89) lost to Elena Rybakina (WR #3 seeded 3) 1-6 1-6
A clinical performance from the current Wimbledon champion to dispatch the last Brit standing in the singles draw. The match did show a clear gulf in class between the 2 players and how Rybakina was able to answer anything Katie threw at her.
After the dust settles, Katie should reflect positively on a successful 5 weeks for her. Winning her first WTA title, rising 40+ places in the rankings and comfortably in the top 100 and equalling her best Wimbledon run as last year.
I hope she does stays injury free and continues her recent successes and relish the experience the US Open series and the US Open itself.
Overall I think how the Brits done in this years Wimbledon is as to be expected. The disappointments being Harriet Dart losing her 1st round, Norrie exiting the 2nd round and Watson's slow start against Krejcikova. A. Murray was close but must be wishing the curfew was an hour later. Broady will be happy with his 3rd round appearance and also good signs from Jodie Burrage, Arthur Ferys and Jan Choinski.
Other than Murray or Norrie, it was always going to be a tough ask for a Brit to be playing in the 2nd week, even if Raducanu or Draper was playing this year.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 10, 2023 23:49:46 GMT 1
Day 8
GB's success in the doubles at Wimbledon continues this years with all British pairings of wildcard entry Naiktha Bains / Maia Lumsden made the women's doubles quarter finals. The first all British pairing to play in the QF in 40 years.
Another British pairing of wildcard entry Jonny O'Mara/Liv Nicholls made the mixed doubles Quarter Finals after their impressive win against 4th seeds Wesley Koolhof and Laylah Fernandez.
Top seeds Neal Skupski w. partner Wesley Koolhof reached the 3rd round of the men's doubles.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 11, 2023 0:31:46 GMT 1
Some controversy has risen over the non-handshake between the Ukrainian and Russian/Belarusian players at the end of matches when they face each other. Basically most of the Ukrainian players (mainly the women, as there's no Ukrainian men in the top 100) agreed they would not shake hands with Russian/Belarusian players at the end of the match, due to the on-going war in their country.
Originally this came to light back in the French Open, where Svitolina (UKR) lost to Sabalenka (Belarus) and the crowd booed Svitolina for apparently being disrepectful.
This happened again at Wimbledon on Sunday when Svitolina played Belarusian Azarenka in a highly entertaining, well fought match, where Svitolina was victorious this time but Azarenka was booed off the court for apparently not staying for handshakes, despite her respecting Svitolina's decision and acknowledging each other after the match.
The Russian/Belarusian players acknowledge and respect the Ukrainian decision but despite the whole furore and media coverage about the non-handshake prior to the Svitolina/Azerenka match, the crowd still booed which was not right.
As the booing was likely due to the crowd not knowing, there's pressure on the WTA to do some sort of announcement or notice to the crowd to notify them of this.
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Post by Panda on Jul 16, 2023 17:55:23 GMT 1
Henry Searle wins the boys' singles title on Court 1. The first British player to win a junior Wimbledon title since Laura Robson in 2008 and the first British boys' champion since Stanley Matthews Jr (son of the football legend) in 1961.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 17, 2023 18:07:06 GMT 1
From the bits I've seen in the final, Henry Searle reminds me a bit of a young Andy Murray with a Rusedski type lefty fast serve. Bodes well for the modern game. Hope he builds on his success but more importantly, not to hype him up too much and let the success grow as organically as possible - similar to how Murray was introduced in the senior game.
What you don't want is another Raducanu situation, where a big success means you're under scrutiny a lot and having to play catch up whilst still developing your game.
A few other results to bring - Mens Singles Final - Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in 5 sets 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4
I think one of the better finals we've had in recent times (thanks to Djokovic not completely dominating the final). Initially it was going Djokovic's way in the first half of the game but Alcaraz got more into the game and was a good watch. It was like watching Djokovic playing a clone of himself + Nadal.
- Mens Doubles Final - N Skupski / Koolhof beats Granollers / Zeballos in 2 sets 6-4 6-4
Neal Skupski becomes the first Briton to win a Wimbledon title in 3 consecutive years in 87 years (won the mixed doubles with Desirae Krawczyk in 2021 and 2022) and the first to win a mens doubles final since Johnny Marray won it in 2012.
I had to watch this on mute for the majority of the match to avoid listening to John Inverdale talking about where he was when Borg/McEnroe was playing in the 1980 final, how Skupski isn't a household name and comparing them to the Woodies. Thankfully it's his last year commentating at Wimbledon. The parts I did watch, it was a comfortable game with Koolhof being the better player of the 2.
- Womens Singles Final - Marketa Vondrousova beats Ons Jabeur in 2 sets 6-4 6-4
I would say one of the shocks to win a Grand Slam, as Vondrousova becomes the 1st unseeded player to win Wimbledon and the 1st to win a Grand Slam since Emma Raducanu in 2021. She continues a long line of successful Czech players to have won a major tournament.
It's easy to forget what Vondrousova has achieved in an arguably low keyed career. Finalist at the French Open in 2019 and current silver medallist from the Tokyo Olympics.
Jabeur was the favourite and both couldn't keep their serve in the first set. 2nd set was more conventional but Jabeur still struggled with her serve and giving away a lot of cheap points.
A better final than last year but still quite a forgettable one.
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frag
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Post by frag on Jul 17, 2023 21:36:02 GMT 1
- Mens Singles Final - Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in 5 sets 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4
I think one of the better finals we've had in recent times (thanks to Djokovic not completely dominating the final). Initially it was going Djokovic's way in the first half of the game but Alcaraz got more into the game and was a good watch. It was like watching Djokovic playing a clone of himself + Nadal. I didn't catch much of Wimbledon this year, but I did manage to watch the whole of this match. Very entertaining stuff, with both players managing to keep rallies going (or make a great effort to do so) when they seemed to be lost causes. I definitely think it'll go down as one of the better Wimbledon finals, and will perhaps be looked back on as a changing of the guard.
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Post by paulgilb on Jul 17, 2023 23:02:30 GMT 1
- Womens Singles Final - Marketa Vondrousova beats Ons Jabeur in 2 sets 6-4 6-4
I would say one of the shocks to win a Grand Slam, as Vondrousova becomes the 1st unseeded player to win Wimbledon and the 1st to win a Grand Slam since Emma Raducanu in 2021. She continues a long line of successful Czech players to have won a major tournament.
I believe she is the first player of either gender to win a Wimbledon singles title having never previously got further than the 2nd round since Evonne Goolagong in 1971.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 18, 2023 1:27:06 GMT 1
- Mens Singles Final - Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic in 5 sets 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4
I think one of the better finals we've had in recent times (thanks to Djokovic not completely dominating the final). Initially it was going Djokovic's way in the first half of the game but Alcaraz got more into the game and was a good watch. It was like watching Djokovic playing a clone of himself + Nadal. I didn't catch much of Wimbledon this year, but I did manage to watch the whole of this match. Very entertaining stuff, with both players managing to keep rallies going (or make a great effort to do so) when they seemed to be lost causes. I definitely think it'll go down as one of the better Wimbledon finals, and will perhaps be looked back on as a changing of the guard. If I go into more detail, the almost 30-minute game in the 5th game of the 3rd set, where there was about 10 deuce points on Djokovic's serve epitomised the class, quality and the desire of both players to win that game. I thought Djokovic smashing of his racquet (which he's has now been fined £6000) was telling, not just because he lost his serve but having to play that extra shot and having no solution to beat an essentially better version of himself.
There were shades and similarities of the Sampras vs. Federer match in 2001 - where Sampras was trying to win his 8th title, of which the 8th title was going to be 5th in-a-row, Federer was a month short of being 20 and the match went into 5 sets but at the 4th round stage - and there was a sense of a changing of the guard then.
I can't see anyone in the "new generation" getting close to Alcaraz at the moment, especially on the soft surfaces. So we could be seeing a few of these finals with both players for a year or 2 at least. The hard courts can throw a few surprises and unexpected winners.
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Post by rubcale on Jul 18, 2023 9:37:59 GMT 1
Bad weekend for me - I was rooting for On Jabeur and Djokovic.
I now have seious doubts whether Jabeur has the bottle to win a Slam - that match was hers for the taking - Vondrousova played pretty well but Jabeur just couldn't get going despite having leads in both sets. The pressure really seemed to get to her.
Katie Boulter is now at a career ranking of #73 although Rybakina exposed her game and Jodie Burrage about whom I know very little is inside the top 100 at #98.
I haven't really been following the rankings so am somewhat surprised to see Can Norrie at #13 - he must have had a massive cushion in points.
I was expecting him to drop sharply after making the semis in 2022 and going out in R2 this.
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 19, 2023 2:53:51 GMT 1
Bad weekend for me - I was rooting for On Jabeur and Djokovic. I now have seious doubts whether Jabeur has the bottle to win a Slam - that match was hers for the taking - Vondrousova played pretty well but Jabeur just couldn't get going despite having leads in both sets. The pressure really seemed to get to her. Out of the 3 GS finals she's been in, I agree this was by far her best chance to win one and was the clear favourite to win after Svitolina's SF exit.
She could do with some advice from Andy Murray or even Amelie Mauresmo to see what she can do differently if she does reach another final, as this is a very similar situation to what they experienced before winning their first slam. As with Murray, she's got a similar situation where there's a fairly established "big 3" now in Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina with her at #4.
There were no points offered last year at Wimbledon so an entry in this year's Wimbledon would either be a gain or 0 points.
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Post by rubcale on Jul 19, 2023 12:37:59 GMT 1
There were no points offered last year at Wimbledon so an entry in this year's Wimbledon would either be a gain or 0 points.
Thanks - I'd completely forgotten about that!
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Pablo
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Post by Pablo on Jul 20, 2023 2:34:26 GMT 1
A big hoo-hah has erupted on social media (and subsequently made the papers) over a match at a WTA event in Hungary between the Chinese player 2nd seed Zhang Shuai and the local Hungarian player Amarissa Toth. The full article and Youtube vid of what happened is below but the TL:DR version is there was a disputed call on whether the ball landed wide or on the line. As it was a clay court, there was no hawk eye system in use so no challenges. It does appear the ball caught the line but the umpire checked and confirmed it was out. Zhang protested to the umpire to double check and got time violations in the process. Protests continued by Zhang after the next point but Toth went over to the mark and rubbed it out. Zhang retired from the match after the game was won by Toth after suffering from a panic attack after consulting with the physio (which she does have a history of along with mental health issues). Shook hands with the umpire and opponent - who celebrated. Clearly there was a lack of sportsmanship from Toth with her reactions and was in the wrong and this has been condemned by several players on social media and sympathising with Zhang. The WTA has (reluctantly) got involved.
Personally even though it was a wrong call, Zhang should have just continued on with the match but I can understand from her view, it was quite blatant it was in but the reactions from Toth didn't help matters.
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Post by rubcale on Aug 17, 2023 11:22:55 GMT 1
Another eraly defeat for Cameron Norrie this time to Gael Monfils - he heading south very quickly.
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