TAG | 2010 Wimbledon
June 28, on Monday, the second week of the 2010 Wimbledon officially began after the traditional day off on the previous day. All eyes were focused on the main courts; Centre Court, Court 1 and Court 2, at this point of the tournament. Day 7 featured some upsets as well as routine victories.
When Yen-Hsun Lu defeated last year’s finalist Andy Roddick in an intense five set fourth round match, it was the major headline of the day. Lu won the second and third sets in tiebreaks, after losing the first set 6-4. He failed to close out the match in a fourth set tiebreak. Finally, Lu prevailed in the fifth set, winning it 9-7. At any grand slam event, Yen-Hsun Lu, who is from Chinese Taipei, has never been past the third round. Roddick played a good match, but perhaps some of the pressure to repeat his last year’s performance played a role in this relatively early loss.
From 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic faced stiff competition. However, Hewitt’s counter-punching game was overpowered by Djokovic, 7-5 6-4 3-6 6-4. Meanwhile, in straight sets without any trouble, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray all won their fourth round matches.
There were two upsets on the women’s side as Caroline Wozniacki and 2007 finalist Mario Bartoli were both eliminated. Another interesting match was the all-Belgian fourth round affair between Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin. Clijsters prevailed 2-6 6-2 6-3, and denied Henin the chance to win the only Grand Slam that’s missing from her resume. In straight sets, the Williams sisters both won their fourth round matches, as Serena took out Maria Sharapova and Venus defeated Jarmila Groth.
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Tennis: Wimbledon Review, June 26 and 27 Highlights
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The level of play and court drama heats up, as the first week of the 2010 Wimbledon comes to an end. However, there were very few headlines about the men’s and women’s singles match on June 26 and June 27. First of all, at this stage of the tournament, most of the courts are scheduled with doubles, mixed doubles, and juniors’ matches. Additionally, the traditional Wimbledon rest day, Sunday June 27, as all of the players had the day off.
Most of the focus was on Centre Court, Court 2, and Court 1, on June 26 (day 6). On Centre Court, women’s defending champion and world number 1 Serena Williams kicked off the action, as she comfortably defeated Dominika Cibulkova 6-0 7-5 in the third round.
The next match featured number 33 seed Philipp Petzschner of Germany and sportsbook betting favorite, Rafael Nadal. By 6-4 4-6 6-7(5) 6-2 6-3, Rafael Nadal won the match. However, Nadal was physically hurting in this tough match that lasted nearly 4 hours. In fact, throughout the match, he called out the physio trainer several times to treat his elbow and knees. After playing two consecutive five set matches, it seems that Nadal may be the most fatigued player heading into the second week of Wimbledon. Frenchman Paul Henri Mathieu, who won his third round match in a tough four set battle that, featured 3 tiebreaks, faces Nadal, next.
A third round clash between Andy Murray and Gilles Simon was the last featured match on Centre Court. Murray, the British hope, easily took out the Frenchman 6-1, 6-4 and 6-4. Murray’s fourth round opponent will be American Sam Querrey, who won his third round 9-7 in the fifth set on Court 1. Other winners on Court 1 included 2004 women’s champion Maria Sharapova and French Open finalist Robin Soderling. Both of them won their third round matches in straight sets.
Day 5 of the 2010 Wimbledon was very routine, especially for the top players on both the men’s and women’s draws. This was surely one of the quietest days of the tournament so far. Part of it is due to all of the doubles action that’s going on around the grounds.
At the dawn of Day 5, all eyes were still on John Isner, who completed the longest match in tennis history on the previous day. Isner spent more than 11 hours on the court throughout three total days, and won the match 70-68 in the fifth set. However, Isner’s second round match was a whole different story. Isner was scheduled to play the first match of the day on court 5. Mentally and physically exhausted from the previous marathon match, John Isner was dismantled 6-0 6-3 6-2 by Thiemo De Bakker. After the match, John Isner said he would take a break from tennis to get some well deserved rest before playing his next tournament.
On the men’s side, the top players cruised through their third round matches comfortably. Defending champion Roger Federer defeated veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-2 6-4 6-2. Number 3 seed Novak Djokovic took out Albert Montanes 6-1 6-4 6-4. Andy Roddick, last year’s runner up, had a slight stumble in his match against the young German Philipp Kohlschreiber. Roddick lost the second set in a tough tiebreak, but eventually took control of the match and won it in four sets. Tomas Berdych and Paul Henri Mathieu both won tough five set matches.
On the women’s side, the top players also didn’t have any trouble in their third round matches. Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Venus Williams, and Jelena Jankovic all won in straight sets.
This interesting piece of write-up presents one of the most extraordinary tennis matches that has ever played on any Wimbledon court. In tennis history, Day 3 and Day 4 of 2010 Wimbledon featured one of the most extraordinary matches. For the record books was the first round match between number 23 seed American John Isner and qualifier Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. It actually started on day 2 and it was suspended after the completion of four sets. For the two warriors to complete their match Day 3 was still not enough and it was postponed again, tied at 59-59 in the fifth set. Finally, John Isner won the match 70-68 in the final set, on Day 4. This was a perfect example of what physical fitness and mental toughness in sports is all about.
Over the course of three days, the battle lasted for just over 11 hours, and this became the longest match in tennis history. Over 100 aces were served by Isner and Mahut, which is another new record. The amount of games and points played were also record breaking. There was a small ceremony to honor John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, after the epic marathon match. No one could have imagined that the major headlines of 2010 Wimbledon and of the year would happen on court 18.This epic battle also provided the sports betting fans some US Open tips, the tournament which will get under way a few months down the line.
As the Queen of England visited Wimbledon for the first time since 1977, Day 4 featured another historic moment. The Queen was greeted by both the Wimbledon Champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams. She also enjoyed a great display on Centre Court from fellow Brit Andy Murray, who won his second round match in straight sets. On the men’s side, another interesting match was between Rafael Nadal and Robin Haase. Nadal was really challenged, but he eventually prevailed in the fifth set, wining it 6-3.
2010 Wimbledon’s first two days have been filled with plenty of drama and excitement already. There were several tough five set matches, on the men’s side, including some upsets.
All eyes were on defending champion and tennis betting star, Roger Federer, on day one. After Federer lost the first two sets to Alejandro Falla, who is ranked outside of the top 50 and is not a well known name, the crowd was stunned in silence. Federer was really struggling for a few hours and it seemed that the crowd would perhaps see the biggest upset in Wimbledon history. The six time Wimbledon champion eventually recovered and won the match with a 6-0 fifth set.
Number 3 seed Novak Djokovic in his first round match against Olivier Rochus also struggled. However, in five sets, Djokovic managed to win the match. Meanwhile, Nadal and Roddick easily won their first round matches in straight sets.
During the first two days of Wimbledon, on the men’s and women’s sides, several upsets have already taken place. While 8th seeded Fernando Verdasco was knocked out in the first round, Number 7 seed Nikolay Davydenko lost in the second round.
2010 women’s French Open Champion Francesca Schiavone, in her first match at the grass courts of Wimbledon had no luck. Additionally, in the opening round, French Open finalist Samantha Stosur was also knocked out. This proves once again how difficult it is to make the transition from red clay courts to a grass surface.
So far, the match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut was one of the biggest headlines of the tournament. On day 2, their match started and has been carried over to day 3, but still wasn’t completed. Tied at 59-59 in the fifth set, this has already become the longest match with the biggest scoreboard in tennis history. The match will resume on day 4.
