WIMBLEDON 2015

Draws out! http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/draws/

Terrific grass season so far - Bencic and Konjuh both winning their first titles in style heralds really good things for the WTA. Shame Bencic has such a tough R1 - though her match vs Pironkova is certainly one of the most mouthwatering R1s. (Also: Konjuh/Cornet, Brown/Lu, Coric/Stakhovsky, Strycova/Stephens - the latter is playing the best tennis of her career, certainly, she's fixed her BH and everything.)

People were talking about Djokovic's tough draw and I assume they were joking? If he faced Kohlschreiber in R4 it'd be NID so why does R1 change everything?

Quite happy that Margarita Gasparyan's one-handed BH will get showcased on a big court against Serena. I wonder if Konta can do anything against Sharapova, she looked genuinely good at Eastbourne.

On board the "Dustin Brown to beat Nadal" train. THE DECLINE, IT IS FINALLY REAL

Oh yeah my slightly rushed and boring predix:

Women

(1) Serena Williams d. Dominika Cibulkova
(16) Venus Williams d. Francesca Schiavone
Kristina Mladenovic d. (23) Victoria Azarenka
Bethanie Mattek-Sands d. Tsvetana Pironkova
(4) Maria Sharapova d. Daria Gavrilova
(24) Flavia Pennetta d. (WC) Naomi Broady
(11) Karolina Pliskova d. Urszula Radwanska
Sloane Stephens d. Alison Riske
(31) Camila Giorgi d. (5) Caroline Wozniacki
(10) Angelique Kerber d. (20) Garbine Muguruza
(18) Sabine Lisicki d. (15) Timea Bacsinszky
(26) Svetlana Kuznetsova d. (3) Simona Halep
Ana Konjuh d. (8) Ekaterina Makarova
(21) Madison Keys d. (12) Eugenie Bouchard
(13) Agnieszka Radwanska d. Misaki Doi
(2) Petra Kvitova d. (28) Jelena Jankovic

S.Williams d. V.Williams
Mladenovic d. Mattek-Sands
Pennetta d. Sharapova
Pliskova d. Stephens
Kerber d. Giorgi
Lisicki d. Kuznetsova
Konjuh d. Keys
Kvitova d. A.Radwanska

S.Williams d. Mladenovic
Pliskova d. Pennetta
Kerber d. Lisicki
Kvitova d. Konjuh

S.Williams d. Pliskova
Kvitova d. Kerber

S.Williams d. Kvitova

Men

(1) Novak Djokovic d. (27) Bernard Tomic
(14) Kevin Anderson d. (24) Leonardo Mayer
(9) Marin Cilic d. (17) John Isner
(5) Kei Nishikori d. Alexander Zverev
Fernando Verdasco d. (4) Stan Wawrinka
(16) David Goffin d. (19) Tommy Robredo
(21) Richard Gasquet d. (11) Grigor Dimitrov
(26) Nick Kyrgios d. (7) Milos Raonic
(8) David Ferrer d. Vasek Pospisil
(22) Viktor Troicki d. Dustin Brown
Alexandr Dolgopolov d. (13) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(3) Andy Murray d. Sergiy Stakhovsky
(6) Tomas Berdych d. Lukas Rosol
(12) Gilles Simon d. Adrian Mannarino
(15) Feliciano Lopez d. (20) Roberto Bautista Agut
(2) Roger Federer d. Sam Groth

Djokovic d. Anderson
Nishikori d. Cilic
Verdasco d. Goffin
Kyrgios d. Gasquet
Ferrer d. Troicki
Murray d. Dolgopolov
Berdych d. Simon
Federer d. Lopez

Djokovic d. Nishikori
Kyrgios d. Verdasco
Murray d. Ferrer
Federer d. Berdych

Djokovic d. Kyrgios
Murray d. Federer

Djokovic d. Murray

lol u have dustin brown taking out rafa?

bencic looked awesome today

if rafa loses to dustin brown he should 100% retire

if lu is healthy, he will absolutely beat dustin brown

Can't see Stan (even calming down from great heights achieved at the French) losing to piss like Verdasco.

Fed to lose before the semis.

Thinking a down-in-the-dumps Djoko could lose before the final, or certainly in the final to Murray, as I saw a 95 mph 2nd serve from him. If he keeps that up he could well win his 3rd slam.

On the women's side if Petra reaches the final I reckon she'd beat Serena. Obv its a big if, reckon she'll bomb - no shit Sherlock etc.

if rafa loses to dustin brown he should 100% retire

He lost to him last year!

And losing to darcis was worse.

Bad draw for Federer, outstanding draw for Novak

hm i think i missed that dustin/rafa match when it happened - its here on youtube, it is kinda spectacular huh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgwxnzlj0R4

Remember that all time for not just Brown's perfect lobs and monstrous backhand slap returns, but also how on a fuzzy stream it looked like one of his clothing sponsors was Grindr.

I actually think Murray can win but I'm just not going to go out on that particular limb in any official prediction sense

Agree Verdasco is generally useless but he leads the h2h with Stan 2-1, Stan's return game is so much less effective on grass and Verdasco has this habit of randomly peaking after stretches of uselessness

I also actually think Venus is perfectly placed to beat Serena but their matches have rarely been about form or logic.

IMAGINE tho if the player who ends Serena's quest for both a second Serena Slam and a potential calendar Slam is HER OWN SISTER

Oh yeah also look out for a potential CSN upset - Ostapenko in R1 is last year's girls' champ who's come on strong in the ITFs this year. Should be interesting to watch regardless.

I see the ATP are already selling the Kokkinakis/Zverev/Chung/Ymer/Edmund gang as a New Generation, very smart of them. The WTA meanwhile stays writing headlines about Bouchard's selfies

eeeee excited.
xp Venus preventing Serena Slam would be extra weird given the last one was entirely at her expense

I come back from Italy on Fri 10th, wim men's SF day - really hoping to see a Djoko - Stan rematch in the SF.

Gasparyan acquitting herself well so far

Told you all she was good. Nice to see a few brilliant 1HBs in there too.

Diyas/Pennetta was a good match, pleasantly surprised to see Zarina make the upset

Ostapenko up an early break on CSN, playing very well

That's turned into "Ostapenko is hammering CSN, up a set and a double break"

Really impressed by her game, very smooth and easy power

wow csn is so incredibly inconsistent, even for a women's tennis player

overly reliant on on-court coaching + least comfortable on grass + tendency to go into her shell when being overpowered + much-improved junior champ from last year with a big game = this result

Ostapenko's BH is wonderful

Incredible get from Bencic to finally close out Pironkova. Tsvetana got injured in the second set and it looked like a formality until she started fighting right at the end

Elsewhere I saw Struff totally gift the key breaks in sets 4 and 5 to Tomic, who looked weirdly super-casual about going five. Kanepi is basically not moving vs Hsieh. This Hewitt epic is a grindingly predicatble occurrence WHY HASN'T HE RETIRED YET

Victor Estrella Burgos broke Becker with an amazing FH pass, served out to love - first Dominican win at Wimbledon!

Chung v Herbert is an aggravating match, Chung just spurned about 100 game points to hold serve. Lots of multi-deuce games where none of the points are good

Someone's only here for the R1 paycheque...

https://twitter.com/angelikf/status/615570037404008448

The Missed Smash ‏@Themissedsmash 28m28 minutes ago

@angelikf thank goodness there are players like this on tour. If you're in a slam, you should play unless you physically cant. #thankyou
0 retweets 0 favorites

but... it seems that she physically can't play?

PAM https://twitter.com/PHShriver/status/615580778454454273

I think they meant "at least she didn't retire after a token three games like others have in the past *cough, Martic*" but I don't think that would make it better or worse. I don't blame Rogers either, someone ranked where she is can't afford to turn down the pay cheque and - possibly - her one shot of competing at Wimbledon. Not the players' fault that Slam wealth doesn't trickle down to where they make a living the rest of the year

oh alison ;_;

HURRAY NO MORE HEWITT

(Hi everyone!)

Every year I almost enjoy this thread more than Wimbledon itself.

Baghdatis is just PEAKING, beautiful to watch, no sign of the calf thing from the Nottingham SF

Young is as useless and whiny as ever

Really thought Safarova would be an obvious upset after her shambolic Eastbourne outing but Riske choked gigantically and Lucie managed to win ugly

lol, Baghdatis casually rushing the net after every return. So disrespectful to Young's serve

This is one of the most unusual sets of stats you'll see in 2015 men's tennis, or really tennis in general

http://i.imgur.com/q1l60OD.jpg

Dolgopolov dfs to hand back the break
Andrew Castle: "Edmund breaks back, that's a bit of Yorkshire grit for you!"

Kvitova looking great on paper. No points lost on serve in the set. But Bertens looks pretty rubbish, and her look as being blasted past reminded me of Wozniacki, with about as much chance of beating Peaktra on grass :D :D :D

Second consecutive Slam where I've watched Svitolina win a three-setter despite being far the less imaginative, creative and versatile olayer on court. Doi was dominating every rally and never really stopped but suddenly was unable to put a finishing shot into court. It was kinda hard to watch because that's exactly my problem on court too

Brown/Lu obviously tremendous fun, lots of diving volleys and angled passes and all sorts of delightful shotmaking

Petra serving for the match, having not lost one point on serve. DFed, obv.

35 minutes. Quicker than any of the three double bagels so far. (Weirdly - there had been no double bagels at Wim since 2009!)

"the hors d'oeuvre is over"

sounded like andrew castle obv

Lucic-Baroni beats Shvedova 75 67 75, sinks to her knees. Has a shot to take out Muguruza next.

It's really beyond doubt for me that Pospisil is the hottest ATP player

total package yeah

Very rusty by Robson, as expected, but glimpses of her old form. Rodina was very average but solid in every department, a good foil to see where Robson is at. Nearly got horrendously screwed on MP though

There really is no greater disparity between physical talent and mental strength in the top 100 than Garcia. Watson choking for her life and chucking in puffball serves and Garcia just smacks errors.

Coric dealing with Stakhovsky's wily game surprisingly well...

LMAO Bouchard is a set down to Duan Ying-Ying. Duan choked three SPs before finally taking the TB; she's generally hampered by a total unwillingness to run or move (at one point a ball bounced ~3ft away from her and she just sort of lunged and stumbled at it) but was bashing the ball a whole lot better than Bouchard.

Duan's sole career grass experience prior to coming through qualies was one Australian ITF 25K in 2012, where she qualified and lost R1 to Arina Rodionova.

Duan to serve for the match after Bouchard completely panics at 4-4...

DUAN WINS. Served out to love. Seventh career match on grass, beats last year's Wimbledon finalist. Bouchard out of the top 20 now...

yeah i was watching that match and duan seems very...movement averse

I can't believe Bouchard only tried one dropshot, which worked perfectly. Or just, y'know, not bash full pelt at the ball with your horrible technique and maybe take a bit off and just move Duan around

Halep hitting error after error in solidarity with Bouchard right now

on one point in the first set bouchard kind of took a half-swing on a return; the return landed around the service line and duan couldn't get to it

I'm experiencing what I will call a "schadenfreude sandwich":

1) lol Bouchard
2) Something is going on with her, right? This is some super dramatic peak/valley shit and I hope everything is okay with her.
3) LOL BOUCHARD

Coric cramping badly at 4-4, deuce in the 5th...

Coric actually won multiple extended baseline rallies to hold despite being unable to run

Bouchard had nine opening round losses last year so it's not like she was ever a player who went deep into tournaments every time. Obviously the pressure is affecting her, but there's also 1) she massively revamped her game to become ultra-aggressive in the 2013-14 off-season; it always takes the Tour a while to collectively figure out a new way to beat you (Petra helpfully wrote the set text on this in last year's final); 2) that revamp happened despite her fugly technique which may have worked while she was confident and her opponents hadn't figured it out, but now that neither is the case...

Beautiful volley by Cepelova to get to MP on Halep...

lol halep

HALEP OUT TOO

Cepelova has struggled so much with illness and injury of late, great to see her playing well again!

aw, I can't really indulge in schadenfreude with Halep

okay maybe a little

Coincidentally I was reading this piece on stalkers and women's tennis earlier - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/sports/tennis/womens-tennis-still-has-safety-concerns-22-years-after-the-monica-seles-attack.html - and Halep's poor form seems to date from the Stüttgart incident

Wow, Coric wins 9-7 in the fifth. Of all the young guns I think he has the greatest need to win

outlasting Robredo at RG and Stakhovsky here is pretty impressive. nb i didn't watch much of either match

jesus, that stalking article is depressing

er, Zheng Saisai is owning Woz right now :o

Two breaks up with some pretty zany, creative tennis - have a slice! have a moonball! here I am at net knocking off your shitty FH! - but as per the playbook, Saisai crumbled :(

Three mothers in R2: Tatjana Maria, Evgeniya Rodina and Casey Dellacqua

Must be heartening for Keys to look at her coach for support and see Davenport fiddling around on her phone

ha she looks so nervous

Voegele has great eyebrows

I've heard a lot of comms mangle players' names but I don't know how this guy is getting "Vergulla" from Voegele

Rybarikova FINALLY wins a match at Wimbledon on her 8th try...via retirement over Knapp

I can totally see how you might get Vergulla from Voegele. I mean, it'd be more Furgələ but if your German was even worse than mine you could get that. Or does Stefanie pronounce it Italian-style? Is that a thing.

Looked at some highlights from Bouchard/YYD and nearly laughed. Bouchard may as well have played on one leg like she said she would if she had to. If Serena wins this tournament it's going to be the biggest gap between 1 and 2 ever isn't it.

Coric and Rublev look like the best young guns to me, since Kyrgios is a flake and Zverev seemingly a clay specialist in style

Tomic played his first round match with a popped collar

Berdych-Chardy was enjoyable last night, esp as they were suggesting coming off at 4-4 in the 4th and ended up playing the set to a t/b conclusion, beyond the point at which Hawkeye had stopped working due to lack of available light. 9:28pm finish (and Wimb a week further away from solstice this year).

the FH halfway up the net at 5-5 in that TB encapsulated Chardy's career somewhat

Grass-court tennis looks great near-dusk and I'm sure that's just nostalgia at play. They need to get the old illuminated scoreboard back in.

Seeing a lot of Bouchard/Kournikova comparisons which just seem lazy and inaccurate...it's just not the same situation at all, let alone the same career arc. Kournikova was ultra-talented but chased the money and off-court stuff before her game was wrecked by injury. Bouchard, despite how she's written about, actually does minimal off-court glam stuff and seems more motivated by the tennis than the fame, and last year did the absolute best she could with her limited game.

I see Hantuchova as a better parallel - big breakthrough year sees a few very flashy results and very consistent Slam showings take her to the top 5, gets hyped up beyond belief, various factors including the over-hype lead to a death slump the following year, she'll eventually stabilise and have the #10-#30 career that befits her talent.

Christina Macfarlane ‏@chrissymacCNN 10m10 minutes ago
BREAKING: Gates have been temporarily closed at @Wimbledon...officials say there has been a fire on Court 1. More details to follow

!!!

Urszula Radwanska is now 0-9 in Slam R2s with this loss to Stosur. Quite surprising that a former top 30 player and top junior hasn't made even one R3 but I guess if you can't beat Stosur on grass...

kei withdraws :(

:(

The AUS fans are somehow even worse this year than usual

Keys trying her utmost to choke at the end there but Voegele couldn't do anything

my annual hatewatch is in progress, cmon hoegenkamp

*hogenkamp, even

my annual hatewatch is going to have to wait until she's playing someone who's any good

Kyrgios outright bullying umpires on the regular now

scrrratch that, 2DFs into 3BPs

and a third DF! :D

Last year's AO girls' champ Elizaveta Kulichkova, making her Slam debut, is at 8-8 in the third vs Wickmayer...

The AUS fans are somehow even worse this year than usual

Pretty much unbearable during Hewitt's match yesterday.

were they there wearing those stupid fucking green and gold hats I saw in Paris? HATE FOREVER.

Awful awful awful.

Tumaini Carayol ‏@tumcarayol 35m35 minutes ago
"Is that a threat? Does it feel good to be up there in the chair? Do you feel strong up there in the chair?" - Kyrgios to the umpire.

Howard Bryant ‏@hbryant42 31m31 minutes ago
Linesman tells chair ump of Kyrgios language. Kyrgios looks at him and says, "You're a real champion. Did you get your point across?"

Imagine being sat next to the AUS fans in 35 degree heat watching Kyrgios act like a petulant brat while winning easily

cypriot fire

tommy haas pushing raonic to a second straight TB in the 4th after getting smoked 0&2 the first two sets

Thiem's looking more comfortable on grass than I've ever seen him before. Learning fast. Really nice touch at net that I didn't know he had. 2 sets to 1 up on Verdasco, who started the third set in control and obviously threw in a massive braincramp service game towards the end of the set

man berankis with that backhand DTL twice in 3 high-leverage service points, good stuff

(in 3rd set TB)

Baghdatis is like the proto-Monfils, still trolling everyone by going two sets and a break down just for fun before the NID comeback

Oh Verdasco. Down BP in the 5th, idiot FH out then idiot challenge wasted despite the umpire TRYING to tell him not to bother

Thiem didn't press the advantage home...

Probably the best match yet, that was

Vika looking pretty good so far, got Mladenovic next

Amazing set from Krunic - was a double break down vs Errani but won 6 games in a row with some brilliant shotmaking

i like Krunic

is that Martic in the crowd supporting her?

Lisicki losing to McHale on Centre Court would be quite funny

~dustin~

It's been a good match

he has an insane touch

...I say as he bunts that half-volley wide

2DFs in a row from Rafa

To even entertain losing to this..

this is extraordinary tbf

Sadly post-Rosol and Kyrgios it isn't.

hark at scrooge!

awful unforced error for BP

Nadal's FH were made of iron now its just wait and its over. Broken.

awful unforced error for break!

yeah this is rubbish Nadal but Brown is still playing great

lol

standards people.

Nadal shakes his head after dicking around with this nobody at the net.

Can tell how you're feeling Rafa. I can.

Dustin is awesome fuiud

but I guess he's a nobody if you only bother to watch tennis 4x a year

He's a qualifier.

I can see he can hit the ball hard though.

Few aces and things like that.

he has extremely good touch

if he lacks anything it's patience but that's what's won him this match

there are lots of great players in qualifying every year

2 MPs. pack it in Rafa

oh dear he left that and Nadal got it in!

a FH in, too little too late.

Brown has to serve now - awesome.

that would've been an amazing pick up from rafa - two away now Brown.

2MPs - played it cool post DF

Gets it.

Acknowledging his grass-court specialism in a nice interview now

rafa looked *so* lost on browns serve, could barely read it and even when he could get it back it was so short the pt was over in 1-2 shots

Its all wrong right now. Rafa isn't clipping those FHs on the line anymore. Looks done, or at least how clay court specialists used to look like on grass a decade ago.

great prediction lex btw hope u bet it

once i watched that '14 match it really did not seem at all far fetched tbh, browns strategy and skill set vs nadal are superior

lex on the ball and how.

Hate to do this to you but...

if rafa loses to dustin brown he should 100% retire

― johnny crunch, Saturday, June 27, 2015 5:46 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I hope Lex bet on it - I got 10/3 on him winning the first set, 6/1 on him winning the match, and rebacked at the end of the third set at 12/5. Nice wee return, that. He's exactly the kind of player Rafa can't cope with at Wimbledon.

Yup I bet on it. I went today, had No 1 court tkts, watched Dustin on the hill.

Brown is an incredible talent born a generation or two too late, his skillset makes him a journeyman in 2015 but he'd have been a superstar (maybe not a champion, but ranked highly enough that he wouldn't be the unknown he is to casual fans now) in the '80s or '90s with that touch. Really glad he got a Centre Court moment like this in his career.

And it is also the case that Rafa has finally actually declined. Grass has been the harbinger for years - four straight years he's lost to a non-top 100 opponent before the Wim QFs. So those aren't one-offs but a pattern and Brown fit into it perfectly.

Anyway I had No 1 court tickets but spent maybe 20 minutes on it in total - a glimpse of Peak Petra just to say I saw it IRL, and also because my feet hurt. Oh yeah and I popped in to see Sweta lose to the wrong Pliskova at the end, who'd have thought Kristyna would outlast Karolina?!

Saw the first set and end of the White Mug beating Lucic, it went as you'd expect with Lucic ballooning errors at key moments. Both have really awesome power up close. The White Mug's skirt literally looks like a piece of garden netting she cut up inexpertly.

As Paire was closing in on a 2-0 sets lead I remarked to someone I was with that it was such a contrast to the last time I'd seen Paire in this spot, when he was moaning and muttering and getting code violations and generally being a grass grump. He was focused and playing so well, and the things he can do with the ball are even better to watch live than on TV - so much of it is so sudden or casual. Obviously doesn't take much to make it all wobble though, the minute he was broken in the third set you knew it'd go five. Peak dramatics throughout the 5th, code violations and lengthy pleas in French to the umpire and stamping on his racquet after two straight points in the last game. Bautista Agut did very well to balance consistency with aggression in the face of all that.

Tatjana Maria beating Ying-Ying Duan 11-9 in the third - insane match, one of the best the tournament will provide. The most extreme stylistic contrast you're likely to come across - Duan immobile but so powerful, Maria slicing everything and I mean 100% of her BHs and 95% of her FHs. So many rallies where Duan would belt the ball full-pelt to every corner and angle she could think of and every time this soft slice would come back - Maria's defence was just whoa. All of those rallies inevitably ended with a Duan error but she actually dealt with Maria's junk well - she wasn't bashing reckless errors 2-3 strokes in at all. Bit one-dimensional maybe, she was a bit scared of the net and never realised with Maria so far behind the baseline that a dropshot might work.

Coric losing in five to Seppi, the last two sets 1-6 1-6. Not dissimilar, Seppi was defending and slicing to superb effect. Coric kept up a pissy monologue at his camp between basically every point. Obviously he's good but it's a bit weird how his demeanour, physique, grunting and general attitude suggest a powerful, aggressive player dominating the play, but...he doesn't actually have a kill shot. And in terms of fitness, his went first.

Niculescu was as awesome to watch as ever against Cepelova, an easy win for her <3

Also I have rarely been more certain about any section of the draw as I am about Wozniacki's 16th, ie with Giorgi and then Muguruza/Kerber ahead of her there is no fucking way she makes the QF.

Maria is going to drive Keys absolutely nuts but Keys can volley so should handle it in the end. Every time I talk about Maria I always think people might need me to clarify that it isn't Sharapova, not that it's possible to mix the two up.

Oh, not surprised to see Makarova upset either, she looked very out of sorts against Vickery even when winning. Rybarikova! Wimbledon wins like buses - she waited eight years for one and two came along including over a top 8 seed :)

I won't be surprised if Kvitova does to Jankovic exactly what she did to Bertens and Nara.

Would be curious to see an analysis of Rafa's FH depth vs Rosol / Darcis / Kyrgios / Brown. Def seems like it's gotten worse. Rosol did a Doohan (that '87 performance vs Becker being my benchmark for journeyman-aflame Slam surprises) and could conceivably have beaten anyone that night. Dar and Kyr were intermittently brilliant. Brown's highlights reel is spectacular but he wasn't anything like as consistently good as Rosol.

But, yes, absolutely the worst sort of player to encounter on a grass court for Rafa at this point in his decline - it was a perfect fit for an upset. Think Rafa 2012 would've escaped in four or five.

News just in: Australian tennis fans still really annoying.

Was talking to a few ppl who work in tennis yesterday and they're getting on everyone's nerves, apparently def much worse than usual. They apparently barge their way to the front of the gates so they can make a charge for those prime seats as a group right as the gates open

anyway, lol @ three DFs in the final game of that set to hand it to Raonic

Yeah, that shut them up for a bit.

Oh I should've said earlier but I think Gasquet is gonna destroy Dimitrov today

The thing is that Kyrgios hits those moronic 124mph second serves down SP precisely because if he somehow pulls them off people will ooh and aah and praise him to the heavens, and if he doesn't then he's a mysterious and perplexing enigma.

Anyway, begone dickhead vs servebot. Baghdatis v Goffin on one screen, Gasquet v Dimitrov on the other

These BH-to-BH rallies in Gasquet/Dimitrov >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

kyrgios is so wacky, i can't help but watch him

something about the behavioural flaws of the cypriot diaspora. oh there's a real cypriot playing, might check him out instead

kyrgios just played a shot of the day contender to get a BP tbf

He's not Cypriot. He's half-Greek, half-Malay. His dad comes from northern Greece

Baghdatis, the actual Cypriot playing, does not display these "behavioural flaws" either

loses the BP, throws racket into crowd, gets code violation warning. how can you scorn this! what a quirkster

wtf someone told me he was cypriot! :(

anyway, he's just gotten his 3rd BP, this is q good now

expecting kyrgios to slam down his racquet mid-point, have it bounce back to him and hit a cross ct winner

what a quirkster
what a quirkster
what a quirkster
what a quirkster
what a quirkster
what a quirkster
what a quirkster
what a quirkster

Players have been defaulted for that in the past and Kyrgios is lucky he wasn't

lol cmon lex gimme some credit there, tongue planted further into cheek than kyrgios' when he plays those thru-the-legs shots at 40-0

find it compelling that someone is channelling bahrami and leconte in serious nu-era competitive tennis. of course i don't rly approve but it's like a morality play or something

his antics seem to be working, too: raonic off his stride, 3BPs

I can't really get too mad at Kyrgios because his game is so much fun to watch. And bless him if he takes out Raonic.

Goffin the first into the last 16 :) His first Slam second week since his RG 2012 breakthrough

Vandeweghe just hit 3 DFs in a row. LOL.

always love discussion of minibreaks

down BP in the third set, Dimitrov leaves a ball that lands in. It was obvious already but he will never happen

bencic has stormed back impressively

i root for gasquet cuz hes maybe the only pro ive seen sweat as much as i do on ct

Bencic back from 1-5 to 6-5...

xps Roddick and Kuznetsova

Goodness, that last game of Gasquet/Dimitrov. Gasquet doing his utmost to gag away a match he was in total control of from 40-0 up, four MPs later just started playing woeful passive shit that landed on the service line, so Dimitrov dumps two basic BHs halfway up the net to push him over the line

Great stuff (amidst some terrible extraneous stuff) from Kyrgios there, was a decent watch

Bencic has now made the second week of a Slam for the second time...and this is only the seventh Slam she's contested. So clutch, both in the first set comeback and throughout the very tight second set. Didn't let injury or fatigue get to her. Nine-match winning streak.

Really didn't think Lucie would navigate her tough draw, thought she was heading for a post-RG dip after her horror show at Eastbourne. Kudos to her for toughing out Riske and Stephens. Better at being a top player than I'd predicted!

Was so excited about Zarina Diyas getting into R4 for the second year running that I didn't notice Watson actually making a match of it

Wow, Watson just took a set off Serena. Despite not making a single first serve in that game, I don't think

hitting a lot of extreme angles and going for it, short pts, etc p nice job

and Watson's broken her first game

:o

Watson's anticipation is on point

yea serenas timing is a lil off

oh boy

wau

!!!!!!

Serena loses serve with two DFs to go a double break down :o

This has to be one of the biggest shocks ever if she wins

This is unforced error central from Serena here.

if Watson can hold this game she'll've earned this match

Watson throwing in junk and dropshots and changes of pace and retrieving everything is exactly what Cornet did last year and the textbook way of eliciting errors from Serena

That epic game where Watson got broken was textbook turning point, I guess. Making more errors now, Serena banging down aces

don't know, a couple of times it's looked like Watson's going to tighten up but she keeps playing thru it. Serena, on the other hand...

ok now it's turning back again

wdn't bet against Williams from here

Oof. From 40-0 up, Heather?

Oracene has been everything in this match. I think she was napping for most of it, spent the period where Serena went down 0-3 having an inexplicable giggle fit and is now like

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CJAjGOIWEAANwTi.mp4

fantastic point from Watson for that game

omg but not as good as that one

Watson's defence!

three break points!!!

omigod she's serving for the match

no kiss of death but Watson's composure alone here has been massive

Two brilliant games in a row, whoa. Watson to serve for it

Watson has played her share of ridiculous rollercoaster matches with 5 million momentum shifts, she should be used to them

suddenly getting a lot more first serves in

lol that loopy topspin FH on the line to save BP

5-5...

5 million and 1

there was just no way heather was gonna serve that out, i give her massive credit getting to deuce

that miss could be the killer

match point Williams

well poo

great match

Testament to how well Watson was playing that I didn't even put a bet on Serena to come back and win

omg how does Garry Richardson still have this job. Every question about Watson until one about Venus

That was the first tennis I've watched this year and I turned up in the pub at the exact moment the match turned Serena's way. Oh dear.

omg how does Garry Richardson still have this job.

His interview with Andy Murray after the match against Haase was abysmal.

Anyway, well done Heather, I doubt Serena will have a tougher match this tournament.

Also, annoyed I didn't cash out my speculative quid placed at 12/1 when she was 3-0 up in the 3rd, but I really thought she was going to go on and do it.

yeah she was in with a shout right up to the end

This amazing Safarova point was probably also the turning point of her match

https://vimeo.com/132552268

Muguruza/Kerber and Niculescu/Pliskova are two v entertaining stylistic contrasts right now

It occurs to me that Kerber and Niculescu have two of my favourite FHs in tennis, for very different reasons

Titanic game by Muguruza. 16 minutes, eight deuces, five set points saved.

point of the tournament there

omfg the first point of the TB

Muguruza has saved 7 SPs now. Two with FH winners on the line

What a superb set of tennis that was from Kerber/Mug.

Insane quality. Muguruza saves NINE set points, at least three with winners right on the line, and takes the TB 14-12. Two more sets of that please

I fear for Petra facing either of these two playing like that.

Browns just won a set. 2-1 against Troicki

Niculescu into week two of a Slam for the second time :))))))))

Muguruza easily the 92-95 (or whatever) generation player i've been most impressed by

She fell off just a bit in the second set. What a contrast.

In the 1992-95 generation I'd put Keys' potential above Muguruza's but those are definitely the two most impressive to me.

Meanwhile, Giorgi has hit her 300th DF of 2015

(Not an exaggeration, her actual 300th)

Maria just hit a dropshot ROS vs Keys

Kerber/Muguruza getting good again (and just in time for Kerber, who woke up at 1-3 15-40 down)

That game where she was down 00-40 and still won it was amazing.

Haha @ that match ending on a Hawkeye challenge so close

Brilliant performance by the White Mug over one of the most in-form opponents tbh. Really time for her to make a push for the top 10 rather than floating around #20 forever

isner has mishit like 8 shots already since the restart

& bails himself out w some bomb serves

Haaaaaaa @ that match's resumption lasting two games and finishing with an Isner DF. PERFECT

Potential tournament-ruining nightmare stopped in its tracks. BEGONE

the ball kid ran all the way back across ct and i think fucked up his tempo there

agree m/l xp

ugh there is nothing worse than Groth servebotting out a set when I want him OFF THE COURT immediately.

timea is exposing lisicki there

espn is asking fed to explain his emojis lol

Tsonga got robbed :(

Blatant double hit from Karlovic down SP.

Elsewhere, Govortsova makes it two Belarusians in a Slam second week ever (the last non-Azarenka BLR in a Slam second week was Olga Barabanschikova, Wimbledon 2000). Jankovic playing very well to take Petra to three, let's see how long it lasts. Pospisil seems to have got it together for now vs Ward.

ffs Petra, get it together.

If Jankovic had only had a serve like this in her prime...

Petra's first serve seems to have gone missing but aside from that I don't think she's playing that badly.

Oh my god. 4-4, 30-30, Petra stops the rally to challenge (AFTER she'd hit a really great cross-court FH that had Jankovic on the run). Obviously she was wrong. IDIOT

Oh my gawwwwwwd these errors suddenly. From 30-0 to 30-40, MP Jankovic

lol petra

Oh well, bye bye Petra

Bollocks

Well, probably Jelena's best ever win at Wimbledon. Petra...no comment for how the last two games unfolded.

Also what the fuck is going to happen in that bottom half now. Here's your women's last 16.

(1) Serena Williams (USA) vs. (16) Venus Williams (USA)
(23) Victoria Azarenka (BLR) vs. (30) Belinda Bencic (SUI)
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Zarina Diyas (KAZ)
Coco Vandeweghe (USA) vs. (6) Lucie Safarova (CZE)
(5) Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) vs. (20) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP)
(15) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI) vs. Monica Niculescu (ROU)
(Q) Olga Govortsova (BLR) vs. (21) Madison Keys (USA)
(13) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) vs. (28) Jelena Jankovic (SRB)

Going with Serena, Vika, Ma$ha, Lucie, Garbiñe, Timea, Madison, Aga.

Venus is obv in better form but form doesn't historically matter that much in all-Williams matches, I cannot see Venus ending her little sister's Serena Slam. Niculescu actually leads the h2h against Bacsinszky 4-1 but all those matches were in Bacsinszky's first career...I would be delighted with a Niculescu run obviously.

You probably know exactly what's happening in Monfils/Simon. Exhibition tennis. Exhibition attitudes. Monfils serving at SP in the third set TB, has fit of giggles. Loses ensuing point, is still giggling

Brilliant shotmaking all around too obv

simon/monfils are v even

yea simon has better head on his shoulders & focus obv

They really should move this to Centre, like, NOW, handy post-set break. I imagine they won't.

lol gael

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CJGGkIHWEAAUQMK.mp4

Monfils breaks by cracking three massive BHs and then a dropshot return winner

it continues!!

I like the way the rules on a gift shop headband were VERY CLEAR and NON-NEGOTIABLE but no one - not players, not crowd, not any of the tweeting journalists actually there - had any idea what the fuck was going on with the court change until it actually happened there

this is fun. like a classroom change at school

Of course he jumped

trust it's all been this great

aw, those two <3

Your men's last 16!

(1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. (14) Kevin Anderson (RSA)
(9) Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. (WC) Denis Kudla (USA)
(4) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. (16) David Goffin (BEL)
(21) Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs. (26) Nick Kyrgios (AUS)
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) vs. (22) Viktor Troicki (SRB)
(23) Ivo Karlovic (CRO) vs. (3) Andy Murray (GBR)
(6) Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. (12) Gilles Simon (FRA)
(20) Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs. (2) Roger Federer (SUI)

predicting Djokovic, Cilic, Wawrinka, Kyrgios, Troicki, Murray, ...I have no idea, Simon?, Federer

Best matches of week one imo:

1. Verdasco/Thiem
2. Simon/Monfils
3. Maria/Duan
4. Brown/Nadal
5. Muguruza/Kerber
6. Serena/Watson
7. Coric/Stakhovsky

falling asleep in front of the TV with Petra up a set and then waking up to find Jankovic has won, oh god, why, why, why. I guess I should thank Groth for winning that set because if I'd had to watch it live I might have ODed on something

Only two games in and something tells me Kyrgios won't have to save nine MPs this year

LOL there's a crowd of pro-Gasquet chanters giving the Fanatics a taste of their own medicine. I don't even think they're French

Oh my god, Keys looks dire, dire, dire. Hitting everything long and cannot deal with Govortsova's fast, low responses to her every shot.

MIRKA!

http://mobile.news.com.au/sport/tennis/quiet-please-fanatics-told-shut-up-during-sam-groth-and-roger-federers-game/story-fndkzym4-1227428859907

I'm sort of shocked Keys couldn't take advantage of Govortsova's gigantic wobble at 5-1 up. Just gifted the 5-3 game to her.

Kyrgios's first code violation comes 13 games in. He hit multiple highlight reel points in that game but got broken on a DF, and now he's getting booed

Kyrgios outright tanking this set atm.

Jesus I only just noticed Safarova flopped that set to Vandeweghe after serving for it WHAT ARE YOU DOING LUCIE

Vandeweghe playing extremely well

Kyrgios just hit a brilliant dropshot that clipped the top of the net, raised his arms to bask in his own glory…Gasquet ran it down and flicked the winner. Heh.

Lucie breaks back.
feeling really anxious about Venus-Serena and i don't even mind who wins, it's such a weird sporting occasion

Lost amidst Kyrgios's antics, Gasquet's hit his share of highlight reel points in this match

Fucking EW, Lucie, sending that girl through to a Slam QF

That Gasquet backhand from out of court to save that SP was astonishing.

Kyrgios is being a dolt.

so fucking pressed about Lucie losing to Vandeweghe. WHY LUCIE. Still, there's doubles. Eh.

Fuck's sake Gasquet is useless. Two MPs come and go, Kyrgios takes the TB

Todd Woodbridge: You can't turn the TV off with this fella.
Me: <turns TV onto Bacsinsky/Niculescu>

getting the Occasional Bitching About Australian Commentators in, couldn't deal with John Fuckwit Newcomb talking about how Kyrgios has now saved 11 MPs v Gasquet - 9 last year, 2 this year. SMUG ARSEHOLE I HATE YOU SO MUCH.

so wussquet to lose in 5 now?

forehand slice winner from Serena <3

Me: <turns TV onto Bacsinsky/Niculescu>

same

so wussquet to lose in 5 now?

yup

some great points in JJ-Aga.
argh too many matches

Niculescu has Bacsinszky so confounded right now. OMG she could make the QF OMG

lmao @ that DF

LOLOLOLOLOL Gasquet flips the script courtesy of Kyrgios randomly DFing twice to end the TB

Gasquet improves his record in Slam R16s to a glorious 3-16.

Simon with the chance to go 2-7

What's going on with Murray here? Sound off in pub. Incredibly weak serving.

Oh wait, he hit a 117mph first serve. I think was averaging in the 80s before that.

Aga v JJ is such a fun match

Nervy end to the second set between Timea and Monica but Timea serves it out at the second try...

Aga is winning? Please.

That BH pass by JJ when she was out of camera shot >>>>>>>>

Aga through and given what a meal Keys has made of her pretty easy draw so far...

Yay the White Mug a set up on Wozniacki

Aga :)))

Aga intermittently looked really good - serve occasionally fine, backhand good, volleys good... Anne Keothavong pointed out that her and Nav left on good terms which seems counter to assumptions. Would be hilarious if she made the SF or F after the end of that.

White Mug doing so well under pressure in this set

Goffin broke Stan back on a hilarious net cord - his shot was going way wide and the net spun it back in

Ed you really need to COLLECT your countrymen, they are a mess at this Slam. What the hell is this

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/nick-kyrgios-fans-show-their-support-by-smearing-vegemite-and-nutella-on-their-face-amid-wimbledon-run-10367381.html

Three weeks ago Rybarikova made Muguruza look hapless and clumsy on grass. Two weeks ago Muguruza looked more comfortable but still lost to Konta. Last week she played high-quality tennis to beat two of the most dangerous grass-lovers in the draw, Lucic-Baroni and Kerber. And now...looking 100% at home, serving for a place in the QF.

Struggles a bit but closes with an ace. Garbiñe!!!

Wozniacki now 0-5 in Wimbledon R16s which is exactly what her talent level merits.

Your women's QFs:

(1) Serena Williams (USA) vs. (23) Victoria Azarenka (BLR)
(4) Maria Sharapova (RUS) vs. Coco Vandeweghe (USA)
(20) Garbiñe Muguruza (ESP) vs. (15) Timea Bacsinszky (SUI)
(21) Madison Keys (USA) vs. (13) Agnieszka Radwanska (POL)

H2Hs:

Williams 16-3 Azarenka (3-0 on grass, 2-0 this year)
Sharapova 0-0 Vandeweghe
Muguruza 1-0 Bacsinszky (1-0 this year)
Radwanska 3-0 Keys (1-0 on grass)

Gotta go with Serena, Maria, Garbiñe and...before the tournament I'd have said Keys but she has struggled so much. Aga

Ed you really need to COLLECT your countrymen, they are a mess at this Slam. What the hell is this

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/nick-kyrgios-fans-show-their-support-by-smearing-vegemite-and-nutella-on-their-face-amid-wimbledon-run-10367381.html

This is why when I travel overseas I don't tell people I'm Australian. My countrymen are THE WORST. LITERALLY THE WORST.

Simon's defence has pushed Berdych's game off a cliff edge

Simon into his first Slam QF since AO 2009!

Goodness. Nole's just gone a set and a break down to Anderson :o

kind of great from anderson there - not just a serving giant

he doesn't rly have a backhand but still

and there's the choke

efficiently swift after the momentary possibility

some aussie cunt yelled 'go kevin' before he missed a smash there

she should be executed

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

heavens!

yes!!!

incredible comeback in the tie-break, was a 95% nole win at 4-0

that was a very brave play and delicious volley on SP

and after blowing first the break and then the SPs and then having that nightmare 0-4 start to the TB...

what a match! can cut the tension with a knife, so many tough holds for both guys.

Crazy match.

kind of great from anderson there - not just a serving giant

― rahrah avis (imago), Monday, July 6, 2015 6:14 PM (45 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

misunderstood player. Much more similar to Berdych than Isner or Karlo.

Anderson's played four sets against the RG finalists this grass season and so far they have gone

76 76 against Stan at Queen's
76 76 against Nole here...

Also, a dip following that devastating loss might have been expected for Nole. His ground game has been kinda blah today

:/

every so often a choke service game, guarantee he'll serve the next one out to love or 15

Meanwhile, Pospisil is still out there trying to come back from two sets to love down twice in one day. Beat Troicki in 5 in singles earlier. Now serving at 6-7 in the 5th in doubles against Jamie Murray and John Peers

or 30 lol

Pospisil/Sock lost :( Would've been an incredible accomplishment and playing 10 sets in one day (!) may have wrecked his already-slim QF chances now.

Oh well at least his pretty face will get the screentime it deserves against Murray

here comes the choke again

lex you like sock?

he seems like an affable enough guy but it's not my favourite kind of game

And Djokovic/Anderson to finish tomorrow.

I like Sock because his forehand is unique. I root for almost anyone who is unique in some way, with how homogenized the game has become.

btw I can't recommend following @WTAreactions highly enough, they've been peaking of late

simultaneously feel like this is EXACTLY the sort of thing the actual WTA should be doing to promote the game, and the sort of thing they could never do well

I also love that the players seem to be into it

^^thank you for this - so many gold Jankovic .gifs <3

Oops @ Anderson. Two DFs to get broken at 5-5

What a gigantic gag from Anderson in both of the last two games (and Anderson had more chances throughout the set too)

Nole's ground game is a passive mess and everyone else should be perking up right now

Your men's last 16:

(1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. (9) Marin Cilic (CRO)
(4) Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. (21) Richard Gasquet (FRA)
Vasek Pospisil (CAN) vs. (3) Andy Murray (GBR)
(12) Gilles Simon (FRA) vs. (2) Roger Federer (SUI)

H2Hs:

Djokovic 12-0 Cilic (1-0 on grass, 1-0 this year)
Wawrinka 1-1 Gasquet
Murray 3-0 Pospisil (2-0 this year)
Federer 5-2 Simon

Having said that I have no faith in Cilic to overturn THAT H2H.

Shocked at how little Wawrinka and Gasquet have played! Once in 2006 (Paris indoors), once in 2013 (RG) and that's it. Doesn't give much away. Gasquet's best tennis here has been better than Wawrinka's but Gasquet has also tried to gag a lot...

Muguruza/Bacsinszky already excellent!

looking forward to Wawrinka/Gasquet, their RG match was incredible

LOL what a flop from Maria serving out the match (and an excellent last point by Vandeweghe)

Sharapova so lucky not to DF down SP

Such a good set right up til Bacsinszky BLINKED serving down 5-6

Absolutely monster hitting from Vandeweghe. She really raised her level after Sharapova failed to serve out the match - totally pinned Maria behind the baseline with her power

Muguruza into her first Slam SF. Her BH was so on point today. This breakthrough's 4 real I think

Only just catching up. Figure I'll just watch Serena's match here...

OK what's going on with Serena?

Same as every other Slam match this year so far. Let's see if it lasts this time.

At least Aga has won her 1st set

Or 'the 2012 runner-up from Krakow' as the BBC describes her.

I need to look up how many sets Serena has dropped in slams this year, because for someone who's undefeated it sure has seemed like a lot

Vika playing really well. She really has a handle on a lot of Serena's patterns. This happened in their last two matches. Vika will inevitably get broken serving for the match, I'd guess.

Keys has almost no control over her power...it's really highlighted in comparison to Muguruza earlier, who was controlling her power in long sustained rallies with ease. Keys is more explosive but she cannot do that. And her returning has been woeful.

Serena three-setters this year:

Australian Open R3, d. Svitolina 46 62 60
Australian Open R4, d. Muguruza 26 63 62
Indian Wells R4, d. Stephens 67 62 62
Miami QF, d. Lisicki 76 16 63
Miami SF, d. Halep 62 46 75
Fed Cup, d. Errani 46 76 63
Madrid R3, d. Azarenka 76 36 76
Roland Garros R2, d. Friedsam 57 63 63
Roland Garros R3, d. Azarenka 36 64 62
Roland Garros R4, d. Stephens 16 75 63
Roland Garros SF, d. Bacsinszky 46 63 60
Roland Garros F, d. Safarova 63 67 62
Wimbledon R3, d. Watson 62 46 75

And today

sublime point

This is amazing tennis

AGA!

She played best in the third set tbh, some really brilliant points at key moments. Muguruza will be tougher than Keys, as she actually is able to sustain rallies

After that incredible start to the second set it's really been all about Serena in the other match...

missed the match and haven't read the article but this ESPN headline made me lol:

Coco Vandeweghe accuses Maria Sharapova of bad sportsmanship

(xp) If only John McEnroe could be bothered to pronounce her (sur)name properly.

That was a pretty great day for women's tennis!

Men's QFs otoh are a gigantic snooze so far. Save us Stan and Richard!

Gasquet exposing Wawrinka's timing a bit. Takes the first set which means everyone left in both men's and women's draws has dropped at least one set

LOL Gasquet inevitably flopped serving to stay in the second set. DF down SP, here we go

Meantime in the other match, Cilic is actually playing really well but Nole is having one of those days where he just won't miss. It's both awesome and dispiriting.

Also commentators need to shut up about Cilic's height. He's *always* moved well for a tall guy... It's not like a thing he learned recently or anything.

!!!! I don't think anyone saw STAN doing at the end of set 4 pretty much what Gasquet did at the end of set 2, right down to the DF on SP

Oh Stan... And into a fifth set we go.

Well, Gasquet may be 3-16 in Slam R16s but he is 2-0 in QFs!

On a general note, it's nice to remember how good a shotmaker Gasquet is when he wants to be. Bets on him choking this away regardless?

I'd have taken you up on that and then Stan hit the tamest return EVER on BP

Holy amazing backhands

BACKHANDS

meh was hoping Cilic could have taken a set at least but looks like that's not happening. Djokovic virtually unplayable on serve.

Gasquet spurning all sorts of chances...

Peak Gasquet game there

Wow Gasquet!

Gasquet's been playing with actual composure AND genius in the last 10 minutes...

Oh dear

lololol

This has been a crazy match.

This is -such- a Gasquet match!

I mean what was Richard thinking with the timid passive shit on BP anyway

Richard's found his BH again!

weirded out seeing Gasquet be all steely and shit, esp after failing to serve it out earlier

Loving this match.

Wawrinka's not giving him anything on serve

oh god the wave

lol are the crowd really booing Stan for hitting directly at Richard

some amazing points now

awesome hold from Richard... really want him to win now all of a sudden

Again, actual gutsy tennis from Gasquet

So often the blinking follows missed BP opportunities...

yessssssssssss

Gasquet: 3-16 in Slam R16s, 3-0 in Slam QFs

His QFs record now at 3-0 :D lol xpost

Relegated to listening on their spotty radio stream at work but wow! Way to hang, Gasquet!

Phew.

It's a shame for the SFs bc a Stan/Nole rematch would've been way more popcorn butttt I want to be out of the house relatively early on Fri eve so I win

Your SF H2Hs

Williams 17-2 Sharapova (2-1 on grass, 1-0 this year)
Muguruza 2-2 Radwanska (2-0 this year)

Djokovic 12-1 Gasquet (1-0 this year)
Federer 12-11 Murray (1-1 on grass)

So two where the winner is obvious and two where I have really no idea what will happen but will go with Muguruza and Murray

my step-mother thinks i look like stan

i don't, and i don't even like her, but i sort of root for him now anyway

White Mug is off to a brilliant start

Sustained power over 20+ stroke rallies - exactly the opposite of Keys' random but unsustainable bashing

Also, was v impressed when Muguruza said she woke up on QF day really excited to play her match - not a hint of nerves, she looks so relaxed out there

Plus she's managed to hit through Kerber's defence and Bacsinszky's craftiness so she's been ideally primed for Radwanska

super impressive stuff from Garbine, so poised.

Muguruza just channelled Serena for that service game

Radwanska takes advantage of a minor Muguruza wobble, breaks back. Let's see what Garbine's made of...

Amazing defence from Aga to get the break.

Damn I was really hoping this match wasn't going to get exciting. I need to leave the house!

That match flipped fast

Oh dear. I still think Muguruza can take this but that should've been the game to steady herself...

Fun stuff

She'll take the game after it though

unreal defense from aga in the last few games

POINT Garbiñe!

Incredible pt to break!

A bit of Aga magic...

Had Muguruza running up and down and up and down the court

Lobs and more lobs

Such a fun match

Bloody hell the angle on that return by Aga

THAT CHALLENGE AGA

Muguruza in the final!!!!

What an ending to that match.

But yay Muguruza! Nervy last game but she battled through.

;_; Aga

I don't mind so much about Aga losing...I don't really feel like she's back, it was partly a fortuitous draw opening for her (à la Ivanovic at RG), and I don't feel like she's playing well to do anything against Serena - we've seen 2012 already. Serena/Muguruza will make for the better final - and the WTA really needed a young player (with long-term potential) to step up

lmao three DFs in the first game from Maria

(xp) all true

:D ok i'm gonna watch this

oh the nail-biting suspense of a Sharapova v. S. Williams Grand Slam semifinal

No double bagel :(

^

Sharapova served quite well in that game but still needed about 4 UEs from Williams to win it

The funny thing is Serena's intensity is maybe 30% of what it was against Vika. She still looks half-asleep at times. Sharapova literally doesn't have the skillset required to even get Serena out of her comfort zone.

Ended up a bit glued to the girls' QF between Anna Blinkova and Tornado Alicia Black. Pushing, choking, MTOs, exhortations, everything. Blinkova has served for it five times and blinked five times. One match point, netted a putaway drive volley. Black is a gigantic pusher, has not hit one winner in the time I've been watching. Oh wait, Blinkova about to serve for it a sixth time at 11-10...

^what happened?

serena being unbelievably profligate here, about to serve for the match

Blinkova won it with an ace, remarkably!

lol forever at the sight of Maria working herself into a frenzy against a half-asleep Serena for the sake of a routine 2 and 4 loss

can muguruza make it a good final iyo

I expect her to

Certainly hope so.

Serena leads the H2H 2-1

2013 AO R2, Serena 62 60
2014 RG R2, Garbiñe 62 62
2015 AO R3, Serena 26 63 62

Dat backhand

that was like the dream semi for nole, gasquet had basically no chance

Well this is pretty good so far

POINT

CLEVER way to take SP from Fed

Involving match, this one.

Murray is saving these SPs in STYLE

This game!

Incredible quality

quite a game

What an effort by Murray to hold

finally out of that game with an ace. so much highlight-reel stuff in that game alone

a BP for the set cmon Feds

Another incredible SP but Fed takes it

When last did Federer look this good?

Against elite opposition in a Slam? 2012 maybe?

Fed is even getting challenges right lol

until he got overconfident with that one!

haha oops

holy shit

Fucking hell that pass

Amazing to see.

That was just a masterclass tbh

yeah vintage performance

his hair right now

Don't recall a single break point for Murray

Federer hit *eleven* UEs

and 56 winners

xp I think he had one near the start of the first set

also, Murray's stats are pretty magnificent too. 17 UEs, 35 winners

although the funniest stats I've seen from this tournament are from that Anna Blinkova/Tornado Alicia Black girls' QF, which Blinkova won 1-6 6-3 12-10

Blinkova - 63 winners, 77 UEs
Black - 12 winners, 21 UEs

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-sun-never-sets-on-roger-federer-endings-and-wimbledon/

Not sure if anyone's posted it but kept thinking about this piece throughout the match, about how Federer's twilight years have now lasted longer than his prime years and how he's become a model for high-level athletes playing past their peak.

yeah loved that article.

btw hingis was unreal in her women's doubles SF today. Any shot she wanted she had, lines hit at will, volleys ruthlessly angled, and she finished off with a sublime lob.

Let's just enjoy this again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=929ldRSeiGo

Back from hol.

Usually I'd be angry re: Murray but looking at the highlights and stats that sounds like vintage Fed. Hope he can show some of that form again tomorrow.

What's the verdict on Roddick? sounded p/good but heard little.

Did Gasquet have nothing left against Novak?

Pretty good start from Garbiñe!

Indeed, great if she could win the 1st set.

Hell of a hold from Muguruza.

Serena hitting exclusively to the Mug FH, which has broken down.

I fear it's all over.

Serena from 5-1 to 5-4. Amazing last game by Muguruza

Strange ending.

Four in a row, 12 years apart. Incredible

Lovely ceremony.

The way Serena's reinvented her game to dominate hugely different eras of the sport is so underrated. So many champions get left behind by changes in equipment, technology, surfaces etc, and she's risen to every challenge.

Women's doubles final is so much fun. Mirza just hit an incredible running BH crosscourt winner!

Serena and Martina winning Wimbledon - it's the 90s all over again! First Wimbledon title in 17 years for Hingis. Brilliant match

All set up for old geezer Federer to win.

around all of the gross discourse surrounding serena this is an interesting read - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/sports/tennis/tenniss-top-women-balance-body-image-with-quest-for-success.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

“It’s our decision to keep her as the smallest player in the top 10,” said Tomasz Wiktorowski, the coach of Agnieszka Radwanska, who is listed at 5 feet 8 and 123 pounds. “Because, first of all she’s a woman, and she wants to be a woman.”

D:

No matter how hard she tried I don't think Aga could improve on 5'8".

leg-breaking surgery iirc

I'm sure the Radwanska team said she intended to bulk up in the off-season. I don't think Aga either has the body type to gain muscle easily or that it would help her go up a level, but it's stupid reasoning if Wiktorowski actually meant it.

Also Serena is only 5'9" I think?

Got Portishead stuck in my brain now, ty v much Tomasz Traditional

oh god, we have the Next Isner upcoming, Reilly Opelka in the boys' final is a 6'10" servebot

haha I did not know this happened
http://www.youtube.com/watch?t=34&v=QeKIYDC21mQ

Djoko is returning quite well in that 2nd game. on serve

Fed is looking rly strong on serve at the next.

Fantastic FH fed: 0-30 on Novak's serve.

3 BPs

Breaks easy.

oh dear tho

2 BPs back!!

terrific break back - i mean that first return to 0-15..

Back-to-back breaks!

Loving this.

Most comfortable service game for Novak, two aces.

pushing the lines all day long!

terrific sorta slicey drop shot from fed to get him through: 6-5

god rally: 15-15

DF: 30-30

SP Fed!!

Djokovic BH in the net, SP...

finds a 1st serve

did everything right there, 2nd SP

Successful Fed chip and charge for SP 2...

ace to save that!

Djokovic is so clutch serving on the AD court.

more god rallies: adv Novak

Forget Fed's serve for a mo, Novak with another ace for a TB

Made the BH DTL that time!

unbelievable get from novak

That get!

stamping his authority: 3-0 Novak

nailing Fed in the TB.

Djokovic withstanding Federer shanks flukily landing in

should've made a return there: 5-1 Novak

lol this TB has been entirely one-way

wow that was a total stinker of a tie-break.

LMAO DF to end it

Man oh man.

On serve but UEs can't fly off 's racket fast enough

Fed's racket

feeble BH from fed on 15-15

Still on serve but Federer's missing so much more off the ground

ok, deuce from pretty much nowhere, and now a BP for Fed!

Fed does really well when he mixes up the slice and the drive. Probably best to save it for the big points.

terrific on the line from Novak but slips to hand another BP

Two big FHs save two BPs...

aww god rally and winner from Novak.

just fuck OFF with those amazing, accurate shots.

Gorgeous FH DTL and Djokovic holds

Fed made a FH UE in the prev point: 7-1 is the stat.

other than the Aus TV ad breaks consisting of a fucking Beats By Dre ad with Nick Kyrgios being a brat while a Skepta (!) song plays, this is like 100% enjoyable

serves keeping Fed in it.

oh dear DF for SP

1st unforced error in ages from Novak

lol Fed's DFs coming at the worst times

Fed clinging on...

omg BIG let off, that was the match.

Mini choke-ovic there

Goodness BH winner from me: 30-30

massive FH: BP Fed.

oooooo Fed blows a chance for a break there...

man Fed was a cm away. then lands in the net

at least Fed went for it there. good point Roddick that he went for it.

now on the line

'happier with that decision from Roger' lol - Roddick is good at this.

amazing call - that was in, deuce

fuck you w/that BH Fed

Novak gave another UE but eventually keeps it on serve. total junk from Fed.

big hold for Djokovic (duh, obviously). Federer really made some needless errors during those deuces

Novak went for a lob instead of a passing shot on 30-30

God if Djokovic had won that point

lol in. 1-0 Fed.

Terrible dropshot from Fed

double mini-breaks back from novak, no place to hide.

Federer redeems himself slightly with that dropshot-BH combination

and then Novak wins the next: 4-2

FH in the net again.

3 SPs Novak

Great rally from Fed to make Novak serve for it.

That rally

Five SPs saved so far...

unbelievable 11th hour get from Fed: 6-6

should've made that fed, ffs

went for it on 2nd serve.

Goodness

Wild BH after a point he was in control of. SP 7 for Djokovic

jesus another fkn BH off to the junkyard

Boris Becker looks like he wants to jump down on the court.

lmao Djokovic slipping yet again

9-9, great drama

what a return Novak, another SP

ANOTHER SP missed, this time on his own serve

more resistance from Fed.

what a return

now SP Fed.

Huge Fed return, SP on his own serve now...

Balls of titanium.

miracles

Holy shit @ that entire tie break.

Just upped the aggression so much. Knew he had no other option

WAOW

tuned in at 5-3 of the tie-break, understandably enthused

Novak totally after Fed: 2BPs

Both sets were won by the player who looked inferior for most of them

saves them!

and wins the game, that was great stuff - resists to Novak's intent

very poor UE from D

vintage FH, roger back on it

Novak comes in for 30-30

now BP, so good this - best period of the match

what a chance fed

just about keeping his mind together to get through

what a rally and drop shot from Novak to earn that BP

one.more.shot

And he gets the break!

consolidates at the next 3-1

they're going to put the roof on aren't they *cries*

can't roddick get his tie in order? what a rebel.

lob for 15-30

not a great approach from fed: 40-30

4-2

sleepwalking to 3sps

3rd set Djokovic.

2-2 15-30, Fed in the net

30-40, BP

Djokovic making some crucial gets to get that break...

that return pushed all the lines - and so a break, give this another 15 mins.

Federer doesn't look like he has much left. These errors

oh man 0-30 up then more errors after some good serving

Break for the title Nole!

two BPs for the title

Does it!!

Drama-free!

Welp. Kinda feel like if Rog couldn't do it here, he might not ever again. Though I guess it's always possible he lands in a final against someone else. But it's going to be hard.

Really kept it together after the calamity of that 2nd set.

As for Fed to make it to a final at 33 its just one more line to add to the legend.