Posts Tagged ‘Wimbledon’
July 5th, 2008 | 
Author: Great final today. Venus, the elder sister at last beat Serena in 5 th final match in Wimbledon Tennis.
Thrilled as she was to win her fifth Wimbledon singles championship, Venus Williams dialed down her celebration.
No hopping in place and skipping to the net after match point, the way she’s done so often on that Centre Court lawn. No giddy laughter and whoops of joy, as she’s let out in the past.
This title was different from her previous successes at the grass-court Grand Slam.
This title came at the expense of her younger sibling, Serena.
Reprising their Sister Slam Show in the Wimbledon final after a five-year hiatus, Venus and Serena Williams smacked big serves, hit hard strokes from all angles and chased down seemingly unreachable balls, like no one else does. Overcoming an early deficit, Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her second consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh major championship overall.
“I’m definitely more in tune with my sister’s feelings because one of us has to win and one of us has to lose,” the No. 7-seeded Venus said. “You could never detract from winning a Wimbledon, so of course it doesn’t detract from that. But I’m definitely thinking about how my sister’s feeling.”
No. 6 Serena, meanwhile, was sullen as could be afterward, as though she had just finished losing to a stranger. Which, it turns out, was the way she tried to view Venus. That the champion’s trophy stayed in the family did not ease the pain of defeat.
“It’s definitely not any easier,” Serena said. “I just look at her as another opponent at the end of the day.”
Said their mother and coach, Oracene Price: “Well, you know, she’s going to have to learn how to suck things up. Say, ‘OK, I’m not going to win everything.”’
About 3 1/2 hours after the singles final ended, Price’s daughters returned to the same court, except now they were playing on the same side of the net, and they beat Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-2 to win the women’s doubles title.
A day that began with a meal together at the nearby house they’re sharing, ended with the sisters’ seventh Grand Slam doubles championship—and a total family payday of more than $2.5 million.
Saturday’s earlier encounter was the seventh all-Williams Grand Slam singles final; only one other pair of sisters faced off in a major tournament title match, and that was all the way back at the very first Wimbledon, in 1884.
Williams vs. Williams finals became routine for a bit, when they met in six of eight Grand Slam title matches from the U.S. Open in 2001 through Wimbledon in 2003. Serena went 5-1 in those, including beating Venus at the All England Club in 2002 and 2003.
But big sister got some payback Saturday.
“I didn’t want the same trend to keep happening,” Venus said. “So I climbed a tiny little notch up. It’s 2-5. Still behind, but I’m working on it.”
Venus is 28 and Serena 26, and both have been ranked No. 1. But injuries slowed both, and that 2003 Wimbledon final was the last time they met to decide a championship.
Things were still a tad awkward after all these years—for the sisters themselves, of course, but also for the 15,000 or so fans, who couldn’t seem to get into picking someone to support, leading to a subdued atmosphere; for chair umpire Carlos Ramos, who occasionally forgot to add the necessary first name when announcing, “Advantage, Miss Williams”; and, perhaps most of all, for the relatives sitting in the players’ guest box.
When Venus capped a run in which she claimed five of six games to erase an early 4-2 hole and take the first set, for example, Price simply stayed put, her face expressionless, her hands in her lap.
AP – Jul 5, 4:06 pm EDT
You’ve just seen one of your daughters win the first set of the Wimbledon final, and you don’t jump and applaud? Well, not if you’ve also just seen one of your daughters lose the first set of the Wimbledon final.
“That was a difficult one to watch,” Price said. “You feel happy that the one won it, but you feel so bad because there has to be a loser, too.”
Venus entered the tournament in the midst of an uneven season, with a 14-7 record and without so much as one title of any sort. As long has been the case, however, the grass brought out her best, and she didn’t drop a set all fortnight — not even against the woman she considers her toughest foe.
“I have the ultimate respect for her game and I have a lot of respect for her serve,” said Venus, who also won Wimbledon in 2000, 2001, 2005 and 2007. “If I was playing anyone else, I wouldn’t have to face what I had to face today.”
The same could be said by Serena.
No other top woman consistently serves as powerfully as the sisters do, and Venus broke her Wimbledon record with a 129 mph delivery Saturday. Repeatedly, precisely the way she’s done all tournament, Venus pounded serves directly at Serena’s body.
AP – Jul 5, 4:03 pm EDT
“I’m glad she did it,” Serena said, “because next time, I know what to expect.”
No other top woman consistently pounds groundstrokes the way the sisters do, either, and they produced fantastic points, even if a swirling wind played havoc with some shots and led Venus to catch her service toss countless times.
Neither held back, and the tone was set in the third game, when Venus came to the net, and Serena sent a stinging passing attempt right at her sister’s face. Venus managed to hit a reflex volley winner.
Then again, at 4-4 in the opening set, Serena conceded a point to Venus after the chair umpire called a let when Serena shouted “No!” as she hit a shot she thought was headed out.
Serena, who still leads Venus 8-7 in major titles, actually compiled more aces, 9-4, more total winners, 32-27, and fewer unforced errors, 11-13. But there was one key difference that tilted the other way: Venus was 4-for-7 converting break points, while Serena was 2-for-13.
AP – Jul 5, 4:01 pm EDT
One of those two conversions came early in the second set, when Serena wasted six break chances before converting the seventh as Venus slipped on the worn baseline at the end of a 10-stroke exchange.
That break put Serena ahead 2-1, but she failed to hold in the very next game, when a deep forehand by Venus forced an error to make it 2-2.
They stayed on serve until Venus was ahead 5-4, and she broke there to end it. On the first match point, her sister swatted a 100 mph ace—“classic Serena Williams,” as Venus put it.
But on the next point, Serena sailed a backhand wide. When they met beside the net, the sisters wrapped their arms around each other. The embrace after their doubles victory appeared far warmer.
Now both were champions.
Source: Yahoo sports news
Posted in Uncategorized | 
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The Wimbledon Final match of Men between Federer and Nadal held tomorrow. All Tennis fans are waiting for the final match.
Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal won in straight sets today to advance to the Wimbledon tenn
is final for the third consecutive year.
Five-time champion Federer defeated unseeded Marat Safin of Russia 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in the opening semifinal at the All England in southwest London. Nadal then beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-1, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
Federer will be attempting to better Bjorn Borg’s open-era record of five straight titles from 1976-80 at the only grass- court Grand Slam in two days. Nadal, who beat the Swiss in the final of last month’s French Open, is seeking his first Wimbledon title.
“I am very happy for being in this final for another time,” Nadal told the BBC after the match. “I’ll try to play my best tennis on Sunday, it’s the only way.”
The last time the same men’s matchup was played three years in a row at Wimbledon was 1988-1990, when Boris Becker met Stefan Edberg. Edberg won in 1988 and 1990.
Nadal and Federer have also paired off in the French Open final for the past three years. Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston were mated in the final of the U.S. Open four consecutive times, from 1922 to 1925. No men’s pair has faced off three times in a row in the Australian Open.
Victory in the final would move the 26-year-old Federer within one of Pete Sampras’s record 14 Grand Slam singles titles.
Safin, a former top-ranked played who had slumped to 75th in the world partly due to a knee injury, started the match nervously, dropping his serve in the second game as Federer took a 3-0 lead.
Tie-Breaker
Both men then held serve, with Federer, making his 17th straight Grand Slam semifinal, taking the set with a 108 miles- per-hour ace on his first set point. Safin regularly served over 125 miles per hour in the match.
The second set went to a tie-breaker after both men held serve throughout. Federer built a 4-1 lead, then converted his second set point with another ace.
The third set also started on serve. Trailing 5-4, Safin smashed his racket on his chair, which got him a code violation from the umpire.
With Safin serving to stay in the match, Federer got his first match point after the Russian hit a ball wide. He took it with a backhand passing shot, jumping for joy and shouting “Yes.”
“I was able to break him in the first game of the match and in the last game of the match,” Federer told a news conference. “I think in between I was just really consistent, didn’t really give him too many chances. It was a perfect match for me.”
Too Much
Nadal, 22, proved too much for the 32-year-old Schuettler, who had needed two days to beat France’s Arnaud Clement in a five-set quarterfinal that lasted 5 hours and 12 minutes and finished yesterday.
Nadal’s heavy top-spin ground strokes proved too much for the German in a 22-minute first set. The Spaniard converted his first set point as Schuettler dumped a forehand in the net.
Nadal then was broken in the second set and would trail 5-3. He then fought back to force the tie-breaker, which he won 7-3 when Schuettler hit a backhand wide.
In the third set, Nadal
raced to a 4-2 lead. After both men held serve, Nadal attacked Schuettler’s service, hitting a return winner for 0-30. Nadal would then have three match points and failed to convert any, at one point hitting an easy shot in the net with the court wide open.
Serving for the match at 5-4, the Spaniard held three more match points when he hit an unretrievable forehand winner. He converted his fourth match point with a service winner, raising both arms.
“Today it wasn’t my best match here, but anyways I won in three sets,” Nadal said. “Right now I have on the other side of the net the best player in the world, Roger Federer. I feel I have to play very well to have chances to win. He is playing well, but I am playing well too.”
Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aStcVpBJicHQ
From time.com-
Five years since their last title matchup, the Williams sisters are back in the Wimbledon final with another Grand Slam championship — and family bragging rights — at stake. The sisters won in straight sets Thursday to set up their seventh all-sibling final at a major and third at the All England Club.
Defending champion and four-time winner Venus beat Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6 (3), then two-time champ Serena overcame two rain delays and served 14 aces to down China’s Zheng Jie 6-2, 7-6 (5).
It will be the first all-Williams final at any tournament since 2003, when Serena beat her older sister in the Wimbledon title match for the second year in a row. Serena will be going for her ninth Grand Slam title; Venus her seventh.
“It’s definitely been a while,” Serena said. “We’ve been on the same side of the draw a few times. It’s good. This is a new start for us.”
Said Venus: “It’s every Williams for themself.”
Serena holds an 8-7 career edge over Venus, including 5-1 in Grand Slam finals. Since Venus won the U.S. Open in 2001, Serena has won all their major finals.
“It’s easy, especially with sibling rivalry,” said Serena, who has also reached the women’s doubles semifinals with her sister. “I personally want everything that Venus has. We’re good at this now. We just leave everything on the court. This is the finals of Wimbledon. Who doesn’t want it?”
The sisters shrugged off suggestions that their previous finals have failed to live up to expectations because they feel uncomfortable trying to beat each other.
“It’s gotten easier for me personally because I just realize that I want to win,” Serena said. “This is Wimbledon. This is a Grand Slam. This is history. We both are trying to make our mark.”
Venus overpowered the fifth-seeded Dementieva in the first set and then prevailed in an error-filled tiebreaker to improve her record to 7-0 in semifinals at Wimbledon.
“I am dying for S. Williams to get through,” said the 28-year-old Venus, who hasn’t dropped a set in five matches.
After Dementieva knocked a forehand into the net to end the 1 hour, 42 minute match, Venus skipped and hopped up and down with joy like a kid at a birthday party.
“I guess it started to set in a little bit about being in the final,” she said. “When I’m excited I always jump. That I guess will never change. I’d like to celebrate even more if I’m good enough to take that title.”
Venus then went back out to watch her 26-year-old sister, who sat through rain breaks in both sets before cranking up her big serve, saving a set point in the second set and finishing off the 133rd-ranked Zheng to put her one win away from a ninth Grand Slam crown.
After Zheng dumped a second serve into the net on match point, Serena looked more relieved than anything to get through the match. Venus fiddled with her fingernails as she watched alongside their father, Richard, in the players’ box.
“She definitely pushed me,” Serena said of Zheng, the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and first wild-card entrant to get this far at Wimbledon. “Unbelievable, and not only that she played a great game. She played like she had nothing to lose and she didn’t.”
Richard Williams said he would fly back to the United States on Friday and doesn’t plan to watch a single point of the final on television, saying he can’t bear to watch his daughters playing against each other.
Source: TIME.COM
- Venus Williams has reached the Wimbledon final for the seventh time
- The defending champion dominated Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6 (3)
- Williams will face either younger sister Serena or Zheng Jie in Saturday’s final
Defending champion Venus Williams beat Elena Dementieva 6-1, 7-6 (3) Thursday to advance to the Wimbledon final, setting up a potential championship matchup with sister Serena.
Venus Williams, a four-time Wimbledon winner, overpowered the fifth-seeded Russian in the first set and then won the big points in the second-set tiebreaker to improve her record to 7-0 in semifinals at the All England Club.
Her opponent in Satu
rday’s final could be two-time champion Serena, who was next up on Centre Court to face 133rd-ranked Chinese wild-card entrant Zheng Jie.
It would be the first all-Williams final since 2003 when Serena beat Venus in the championship match for the second year in a row.
| Player Profile |
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Sania Mirza |
| India |
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Grand Slam Singles Results: |
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| Year | Australian Open | Roland Garros | Wimbledon | US Open | ||||||
| 2005 | 3RD | 1ST | 2ND | 4TH | ||||||
| 2006 | 2ND | 1ST | 1ST | 2ND | ||||||
| 2007 | 2ND | 2ND | 2ND | 3RD | ||||||
| 2008 | 3RD | - | - | - | ||||||
| Grand Slam Doubles Results: | ||||||||||
| Year | Australian Open | Roland Garros | Wimbledon | US Open | ||||||
| 2005 | - | 2ND | 1ST | 1ST | ||||||
| 2006 | 1ST | 3RD | 2ND | 3RD | ||||||
| 2007 | 3RD | 1ST | 3RD | QF | ||||||
Source:http://www.wimbledon.org
WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Don’t tell Serena Williams that sister Venus is the one to beat at Wimbledon.
“I would never sit here and say she’s the favorite when I’m still in the draw,” she said, bristling at the suggestion. “That’s not me. I always believe that I’m the favorite. Even if I’m not the favorite, I’m always going to believe that I am.”
The Williams sisters, who between them have won six of the last eight Wimbledon titles, are one round away from a third Wimbledon title matchup and seventh Grand Slam championship showdown. Neither has dropped a set so far, and their power games have set them apart from the rest of the women’s field.
“That would be amazing if we both were in the final,” defending champion and four-time winner Venus said after beating Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-4, 6-3 Tuesday to reach the semifinals.
Two-time champ Serena caught some of her sister’s match before going out and sweeping Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 6-0.
“Watching the competition a little bit,” she said.
Next up for sixth-seeded Serena on Thursday is Zheng Jie, who became the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam by beating Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. The 133rd-ranked Zheng is also the first wild-card entrant to reach the women’s semis at Wimbledon and second at any Grand Slam.
No. 7 Venus will next face No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who wasted a 5-1 lead and two match points in the second set before beating fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3 to reach her first Wimbledon semifinal.
Venus was limping slightly at the end of her match with what she said was a tight left hamstring.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I’m walking around on two legs, doing good, so I’m not really concerned right now.”
The Williams sisters will be heavy favorites to meet in their first tour final since the 2003 Wimbledon championship. Serena won that match in three sets, following up her straight-set win over Venus for the 2002 title. Serena leads Venus 5-1 in Slam finals and 8-7 overall.
“We want to deserve to be there,” Venus said. “We have to play the best tennis to deserve it, so our aim is just to play better than our opponents and really deserve to be there.”
The women have a day off Wednesday, which is set aside for the men’s quarterfinals. For the first time at a Grand Slam in the 40-year history of the Open era, all eight quarterfinalists are from Europe.
The draw seems headed to a third straight final between five-time champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Federer was scheduled first up on Centre Court against Mario Ancic, the last player to beat him on grass—in the first round of Wimbledon in 2002. Since then, Federer has won 63 consecutive matches on grass and 38 in a row at the All England Club. He’s also gone 5-0 against Ancic since then.
Nadal, bidding to become the first man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Bjorn Borg in 1980, was paired against Andy Murray. The 12th-seeded Murray, playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, is trying to become the first British man to win the title in 72 years.
AP – Jul 1, 1:55 pm EDT
The winner of that match will advance to the semifinals against No. 94-ranked Rainer Schuettler or No. 145-ranked Arnaud Clement. The 32-year-old Schuettler is playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal in five years, and Clement last reached the final eight at a major in 2001.
Two-time major champion Marat Safin will play in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal since winning the Australian Open in 2005. His opponent will be No. 31-seeded Feliciano Lopez, with the winner to face the Federer-Ancic winner.
It’s been five years since Serena won the Wimbledon trophy, and the last of her eight Grand Slam titles came at the 2007 Australian Open.
“I always expect to be here,” she said. “I always expect the best. I feel like I deserve this because I don’t think anyone’s been working harder than me, except for maybe Venus. I mean that girl works even harder than I do. I just feel it’s about time.”
Serena, who fell to Venus in the Wimbledon semifinals in 2000, said it hurts less to lose to her sister.
“I mean, I’ll be bitter but at the end of the day it’s a lot easier losing to someone that I feel I should normally beat,” she said.
Serena was asked how the sisters, who are sharing a rented accommodation in Wimbledon village, would handle breakfast on Saturday morning if they are in the final.
“I’m going to sabotage her and eat all the breakfast,” she said with a smile. “I’ll eat all the Wheaties so she doesn’t have any chance, if we get that far.”
Source:http://sports.yahoo.com
Djokovic is out, Sharapova is out , Ana Ivanovic is out ! The way is free for Federer to sixth straight win in Wimbledon. Only Rafael Nadal is a danger for a fantastic record on gras and in Wimbledon.
Sharapova is out, Ivanovic is out , so the ladies competition will be dominated by the Williams sisters, Safina and Jankovic . Next matches from the ladies top three :
Elena Dementieva v Gisela Dulko 1.28 3.50
Tamarine Tanasugarn v Marina Erakovic 1.57 2.25
Ai Sugiyama v Alisa Kleybanova 2.20 1.61
Venus Williams v Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 1.04 10.00
Caroline Wozniacki v Jelena Jankovic 4.00 1.22
Shahar Peer v Dinara Safina 4.33 1.20
Shuai Peng v Alla Kudryavtseva 2.00 1.72
Victoria Azarenka v Nadia Petrova 1.57 2.25
Round 3 matches men´s :
Guillermo Garcia Lopez v Rainer Schuettler 1.90 1.80
Janko Tipsarevic v Dmitry Tursunov 1.61 2.20
Jurgen Melzer v Arnaud Clement 1.83 1.83
Tommy Haas v Andrew Murray 3.00 1.36
Richard Gasquet v Gilles Simon 1.16 4.50
Paul-Henri Mathieu v Marin Cilic 1.72 2.00
Radek Stepanek v Mikhail Youzhny 1.61 2.20
Nicolas Kiefer v Rafael Nadal 8.00 1.06
Ivanovic, who fought off three match points in the previous round, went down at the first opportunity on Zheng’s service winner. Entering a Grand Slam as the top seed for the first time in her career, she struggled with her serve.
Zheng, who entered the tournament with a 17-9 record in 2008 and was a wildcard entry, broke Ivanovic’s serve four times. Ranked 133rd in the world, Zheng advanced to the round of 16 in a Grand Slam just for the second time in her career.
“Last year, I was injured. I was just thankful that Wimbledon gave me the wild card,” said a surprised Zheng.
Ivanovic’s defeat came just two days after Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, the No. 3 men’s seed, was upset by Marat Safin.
“She played really well today and it was a tough match for me,” Ivanovic said. “I’m disappointed with my loss but I still look at it as a learning experience.
“It was a very emotional last couple of weeks for me and it took a bit of a toll. I didn’t have great preparation.”
Roger Federer on Friday won his 62nd consecutive match on the grass surface, easily beating French veteran Marc Gicquel at Wimbledon.
The five-time defending champion won 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on centre court at the All England Club in London. Federer, who has yet to drop a set in three matches, won 84 per cent of points on his first serve and made just 11 unforced errors.
“Again, difficult conditions, tricky opponent,” said Federer. “The wind was swirling. I got down a break in the first game and had to rally back. I played really well throughout the match considering the circumstances.”
His fourth-round opponent will be 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, who beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (2). Hewitt was the last man to win Wimbledon before Federer went on his streak but has not beaten the Swiss star in their last 11 meetings.
Wimbledon Tennis is one of the most highlighted Tennis tournament in the world. All Tennis players are waiting to meet here for this Grand slum. This is also most prestigious grand slum of the Tennis sports. here is the schedule of Wimbledon tennis.
DATES 2008 MATCHES STARTS UP ( subject to changes )
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Monday, June 23 |
Reigning Men’s Singles Champion opens play on Centre Court |
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Tuesday, June 24 |
Reigning Ladies’ Singles Champion opens play on Centre Court |
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Wednesday, June 25 |
Second round matches – Men’s and Ladies’ Singles |
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Thursday, June 26 |
Second round matches – Men’s and Ladies’ Singles |
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Friday, June 27 |
Third round matches – Men’s and Ladies’ Singles |
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Saturday, June 28 |
Third round matches – Men’s and Ladies’ Singles |
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Monday, June 30 |
Fourth round matches – Men’s and Ladies’ Singles |
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Tuesday, July 1 |
Quarter-Finals – Ladies’ Singles |
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Wednesday, July 2 |
Quarter-Finals – Men’s Singles |
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Thursday, July 3 |
Semi-Finals – Ladies’ Singles* |
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Friday, July 4 |
Semi-Finals – Men’s Singles* |
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Saturday, July 5 |
Ladies’ Singles-Finals |
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Sunday, July 6 |
Men’s Singles Final |
Wimbledon Tennis( Men)
Second Round
Roger Federer (1) def. Robin Soderling, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
Marat Safin def. Novak Djokovic (3), 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
David Ferrer (5) def. Igor Andreev, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Marcos Baghdatis (10) def. Thomas Johansson, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Tomas Berdych (11) def. Victor Hanescu, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, 6-2
Stanislas Wawrinka (13) def. Juan Martin Del Potro, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-5
Simone Bolelli def. Fernando Gonzalez (15), 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 7-6 (7-4)
Lleyton Hewitt (20) def. Albert Montanes, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, 6-2
Mischa Zverev def. Juan Carlos Ferrero (21), 6-4, 6-4, 2-1 retired
Fernando Verdasco (22) def. Olivier Rochus, 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 6-1, 6-1
Andreas Seppi (29) def. Florent Serra, 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
Feliciano Lopez (31) def. Roko Karanusic, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
Simon Stadler def. Thomaz Bellucci, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 8-6
Bobby Reynolds def. Frank Dancevic, 4-6, 7-6 (12-10), 6-4, 6-4
Marc Gicquel def. Ilia Bozoljac, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-0), 6-3
Mario Ancic def. Philipp Petzschner, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (1-7), 4-6, 6-3
