Agassi and Nadal Size Each Other Up at Wimbledon

On Saturday Agassi can't hurt Nadal with the serve as much as by dictating play off the ground with the aid of the slick grasscourts. The grass is playing harder this year with higher, more predictable bounces, but still the lawns take much of the bite out of the jumping lefty Nadal groundstrokes, which befuddled and overpowered Agassi in their first meeting.

"The physicality of the game has changed tremendously," said Agassi, who in his early years on tour sported pipe-cleaner arms and spent more time doing hairspray-can lifts than hitting the gym. "Compare Nadal at 20 to me when I just turned 20. It's a different game."

Other seeds into the third round Thursday were (3) Andy Roddick (d. Mayer), (5) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Gimelstob), (10) Fernando Gonzalez (d. Safin from 0-2 sets down), (13) Tomas Berdych (d. Santoro in five), (15) Sebastien Grosjean (d. Delgado in four), (18) Marcos Baghdatis (d. Pavel who retired in the first set with injury), (22) Jarkko Nieminen (d. M.Lee, bagel in the second), (23) David Ferrer (def. Spanish countryman Garcia-Lopez), (26) Olivier Rochus (d. Zib, losing two games), and (27) Dmitry Tursunov (d. A.Martin).

Two players weighed in on the upset tip Thursday, with Serb future star Novak Djokovic straight-setting (11) Tommy Robredo, and Georgian Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze serving (16) Gaston Gaudio off the court in straight sets.

Dangerous-floating American Mardy Fish blasted Dutchman Melle Van Gemerden off the lawns, dropping only three games in one of four all-unseeded results Thursday, joined in the third round by German Philipp Kohlschreiber (d. Falla in four), Italian Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali (d. Galvani in four), and Swedish veteran Jonas Bjorkman (d. Dlouhy in five).

When darkness fell, two matches were left without finish as former champion and No. 6 seed Lleyton Hewitt was embroiled in a surprising two-sets-all clash with serving-and-volleying Korean Hyung-Taik Lee 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-6(6), 6-7(5), and homecountry hope Andy Murray left Brit fans sleeping fairly soundly, as long as they weren't reading his blog, with a two-sets-to-one 7-6(5), 6-4, 4-6 lead over Frenchman Julien "United Colors of" Benneteau.

Matches of interest Friday at Wimbledon include (8) Blake vs. Max "The Beast" Mirnyi, Murray vs. Benneteau (to finish), (7) Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic vs. Wawrinka, (6) Hewitt vs. H.-T. Lee (to finish), (1) Federer vs. Mahut, (13) Berdych vs. (19) Haas, (4) Nalbandian vs. (28) Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco, and keep an eye on Court 18 for the all-unseeded Djokovic vs. Youzhny.

A Murray win Friday would set up another Brit-lip-smacking match-up with Roddick, while if Fish can swim past Labadze in the next round he would face the winner of Agassi-Nadal.

Venus Dodges Ray-Gun at Wimbledon

LONDON, UK -- Having fallen to Lisa Raymond in Grand Slam play before, Venus Williams came into her second round match expecting a battle. And as Raymond serve-and-volleyed her way to a one-set, 5-2 lead, it looked as though Williams was going to lose that battle. But the American stepped it up in a big way at the most critical of times, conjuring up the form that has taken her to three Wimbledon titles, clawing her way back into the match with inspired shotmaking and eventually prevailing, 67(4) 75 62.

Coming in ranked 84th, Raymond seemed to pose little threat to Williams' title defense. But the 32-year-old, one half of the world's hottest doubles team, has had success over top players in the past, notching 15 career Top 10 wins, and has also been a solid performer at Wimbledon, reaching the second week five times, including a quarterfinal run in 2000.

Perhaps the reason her Wimbledon resume is so impressive is that she is one of the true all-court players currently in the game. And her serve and net play were on fire in the early stages of the match against Williams; going up against one of the biggest returners in the game, Raymond stayed on serve throughout the first set and raced through the tie-break, then gained the first break of the match en route to a 5-2 second set lead.

But that's when Williams stepped it up. The defending champion went on a tear, producing numerous winners even off her previously-erratic forehand. She won 11 of the last 13 games in a hurry, finishing off the match with her 11th ace, her 49th winner of the match.

"Certainly she was playing so well, her serve was penetrating, her serve-and-volley was penetrating, everything she was doing she was doing so well," Williams said. "It was very strange to be chasing the balls; it's not a situation I'm used to being in. Usually I'm the one dictating, making the winners and the errors. But then I got a lot more committed to doing what I needed to do. Finally I got my rhythm, at the right moment."

"Experience, I guess, isn't everything," said Raymond, who was two points away from the victory while serving at 5-3 in the second set. "I didn't get one first serve in in that game. I had been pretty meticulous with my service games. Then I guess it's just natural. You're about to serve for the match against the defending champion and you start rushing. I did and it cost me. I didn't serve well that game; you can't give Venus second serves."

Williams has pulled off several big match comeback victories in her career, including on the lawns of the All-England Club. Perhaps her most memorable come-from-behind win came in the final last year, saving a match point against Lindsay Davenport to win her third Wimbledon, a performance that was recently honored with a nomination for the upcoming ESPYs. She contemplated her previous nail-biters when asked in the post-match press conference.

"There have been some major times. Obviously, last year's final. I was really down this time. I took the positives out of it 'cause I was only down one break, and I was serving very well. I just happened to play some bad shots to get broken. I was just thinking, all I have to do is break once and it's gonna be very tough for her to break me again. Once I got that break, I felt very confident.

"It is very important not to think about losing. It's important to think about finding the solution before time runs out, so that's pretty much what I did."

Williams is now 44-6 here, winning the title three times (2000, 2001, 2005) and finishing runner-up two times (2002, 2003). Even before reaching her first final she stood out from the pack with two quarterfinal runs (1998, 1999), where she dropped tight matches to grass court greats Jana Novotna and Steffi Graf. Needless to say, the American feels right at home at this event. And Raymond recognizes that she could very well go on to win it a fourth time.

"This is Wimbledon. She's gonna be tough to beat. You have to play smart. You have to play well and hope she's a little off. She loves playing here. She loves the grass. Any time you're successful at an event, it's like home to you. Once you walk in those doors, I'm sure that's how she feels. She's got a successful formula for Wimbledon."
-- WTA

Schnyder Loses, Sharapova Cruises at Wimbledon

LONDON, UK -- The tension was high at the All-England Club Thursday, as second round action was completed. Defending champion Venus Williams nearly made an early exit to Lisa Raymond, while several other seeds were tested on Day 4 of The Championships.

Top seed Amelie Mauresmo was tested by Samantha Stosur, but still managed to move through in straight sets, 64 62. Mauresmo gained an early break of serve and held on to win the first set, then stepped it up a notch in the second, improving to 4-0 lifetime against the young Australian. The win also lifted the Frenchwoman's career Wimbledon record to 19-6, which includes semifinal finishes in each of her last three appearances here.

"A typical grass court match," Mauresmo said. "She likes to come in as well. That made it a little bit different from all the other matches I have to play usually. So it was quite interesting. I felt I served and returned pretty well today. I took the opportunity I had right at the beginning of the match, and then took another couple of chances in the second set. So, yeah, very satisfied about this match."

Also winning through to the third round was Maria Sharapova, the No.4 seed this fortnight, who beat Ashley Harkleroad, 62 62. It was a rematch of the pair's Australian Open second round encounter, won by Sharapova, 61 75, but only after saving three set points in the second set. This time, the Russian teenager came in more prepared for a tough battle.

"She's a pretty good hitter," Sharapova said. "I played her in Australia. I had a pretty tough second set. I knew she's definitely playing a lot better than when I played her in juniors. We've played a few times already, so I knew her game quite well. I thought I did a lot of things good and came in at the right time.

"But it's only going to get tougher from here. It's a matter of stepping it up and coming up with the goods when I need it."

The only other Top 8 seeds in action (other than No.6 seed Williams) were given all they could handle by their opponents, with one emerging victorious and the other becoming the biggest upset victim thus far.

After a tight opening round victory over India's Sania Mirza, No.7 seed Elena Dementieva labored for three hours to outlast former Top 15 player Meghann Shaughnessy, 57 63 75, while No.8 seed Patty Schnyder was not so lucky, falling 46 61 64 to French qualifier Severine Bremond, having split the first two sets Wednesday before darkness stopped play. Schnyder is now a dismal 7-11 lifetime at Wimbledon, having only once before passed the second round, and even then she fell in the third round, in 2001.

Schnyder was not the only seeded player to fall on Day 4. No.20-seeded Israeli teen Shahar Peer was sent home by China's Peng Shuai, 64 76(5), while No.29-seeded French teen Tatiana Golovin was dismissed 26 64 64 by Australian Sony Ericsson WTA Tour veteran Nicole Pratt.

Other seeded winners were Anastasia Myskina (No.9), Dinara Safina (No.14), Daniela Hantuchova (No.15), Flavia Pennetta (No.16), Ana Ivanovic (No.19), Katarina Srebotnik (No.21), Anabel Medina Garrigues (No.23), Elena Likhovtseva (No.25) and Jelena Jankovic (No.26).

Other unseeded winners were Americans Shenay Perry and Amy Frazier, Austria's Sybille Bammer, Polish teen Agnieszka Radwanska and Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn.
-- WTA

Clijsters, Henin, Hingis Feature Friday at Wimbledon

LONDON, UK -- Belgian stars Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne as well as 1997 Wimbledon champion Martina Hingis open third round competition on Friday. Here is a preview of the key match-ups.

(2) Kim Clijsters (BEL) vs. Zheng Jie (CHN) -- First meeting

After receiving a free pass to the third round, a tough challenge next awaits Clijsters. Last year, Zheng became the second Chinese woman in tennis history to win a Sony Ericsson WTA Tour singles title (Hobart). She then missed Wimbledon due to the Chinese national championships but notched her first couple of main draw victories here this year. At a grass court tune-up at 's-Hertogenbosch last week, she captured her sixth career Tour doubles title.

(3) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL) vs. (30) Anna Chakvetadze (RUS) -- First meeting

Chakvetadze fell in her main draw debut here last year but still has a good amount of grass court experience under her belt. In juniors, the Russian reached the 2003 Wimbledon final as a qualifier, losing to Henin-Hardenne's Fed Cup teammate, Kirsten Flipkens. Earlier this year, Chakvetadze reached her second career Tour singles semifinal at Warsaw, upsetting Daniela Hantuchova en route. Henin-Hardenne looks to be in the best grass court form of her career. After winning Eastbourne last week, the three-time Roland Garros champion has dropped only four games in her first two rounds here.

(5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS) vs. Li Na (CHN) -- First meeting

Li just broke into the Top 30 after posting some spectacular results earlier this year. In Berlin, she became just the second Chinese woman to reach a Tier I semifinal. Li then managed to make a successful transition to grass. In Birmingham, she reached the third round in singles and then became the first Chinese player in Tour history to break into the Top 30. Kuznetsova will have to be alert from the beginning. The Russian, who made the quarters here twice, was forced to three sets in her second round match.

(10) Nicole Vaidisova (CZE) vs. Karolina Sprem (CRO) -- Vaidisova leads 1-0

Vaidisova takes on Sprem, who made a name for herself here two years ago by handing Venus Williams the earliest Wimbledon loss in seven years (second round). The Croat tacked on two more wins that year to reach her first Grand Slam quarterfinal. She will have to play equally well against Vaidisova, who proved two weeks ago that she can excel on big stages. At Roland Garros, she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal, eliminating Amé©e Mauresmo and Venus Williams along the way. Last year, Vaidisova defeated Sprem in three sets at Indian Wells.

(12) Martina Hingis (SUI) vs. Ai Sugiyama (JPN) -- Hingis leads 6-1

Hingis and Sugiyama have met seven times over the past 10 years and the only time Hingis wasn't victorious was at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Japanese No.1 has proven to be a serious threat at the All England Club. In addition to winning a doubles title, Sugiyama also posted some impressive singles results. In 2004, she was five points away from upsetting eventual champion Sharapova in the quarterfinals. In 1996 and 2003, she had impressive runs to the fourth round.
-- WTA

DAILY TENNIS-X E-NEWSLETTER
Who cares if you need it or not, show your love for Tennis-X, contribute to the fund, only eight bucks for one year of daily tennis news! Pay as you go! You know you want to. Bring a friend. Preferably a girlfriend. Read what tennis industry insiders read each morning to get their heads around the latest news, insight and opinion on pro tennis. A year's subscription costs less than a meal and a pint. Get the Tennis-X Daily Dish in your e-mail in-box, even before it's posted on the web, by signing up for the net's most complete daily e-newsletter at http://www.tennis-x.com/subscribe.php

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
How about Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt doing a complete 180 Thursday. Hewitt looked great in the first round, then like crud Thursday. The reverse for Roddick...Since dumping the opening set, Andre Agassi has won six straight sets...Rafael Nadal overcame an 0-2 set deficit for the second time in his career Thursday, breaking the spirit of Robert Kendrick. Kendrick had just won his first career match at Wimbledon in he first round...What makes Roger Federer so good? He's only been aced two times in two matches...The way things are going, Andy Roddick will play Andy Murray and Andre Agassi meets Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon on Saturday, the same afternoon England plays Portugal in the World Cup. Get out the riot gear...Venus Williams won 11 of the last 13 games to rally and beat Lisa Raymond...Justine Henin-Hardenne has won 13 straight matches...Roger Federer has won 43 straight on grass, 23 straight at the Big W...Olivier "The Roach" Rochus has registered the biggest blowout of the tournament on the men's side, dropping just two games to Tomas Zib...Roger Federer's opponent today, Nicholas Mahut, also won Wimbledon as a junior in 2000...Amy "Joltin' Joe" Frazier is playing in her 70th career Grand Slam...From tennis blogger Peter Bodo: "I also was bummed when I saw that Mark Philippoussis went down in flames to plodding, diligent, he-puts-his-pants-on-one-leg-at-a-time Max Mirnyi. Scud (or "Pou" to some among his legion of female admirers) has pretty much blown his career for a combination of three reasons: he's as lazy and soft as he is talented, he's a stud muffin, and he's dumb as a rock (actually, that may be an insult to any self-respecting chunk of rhyolite or biotite)."...While Patrick McEnroe as the U.S. Davis Cup captain wisely holds back somewhat when speaking of his "boys" (as he must), his brother and former D-Cup captain John has no qualms about letting loose with both barrels at America's upper echelon, especially struggling poster boy Andy Roddick: "Andy is an intelligent guy and there have been questions as to his approach. The irony in sports is that sometimes the less you think and the more you react, your hard work will pay off. Over-analyzing and over thinking can get you in trouble particularly on a court like this when things happen so fast. For a guy with that big of a serve, he doesn't take advantage of it as much as he should. I think his opponents pick up on his doubts. He is playing based more on hope than belief and that's why you have seen his ranking slip. Roddick just needs confidence and a few good things to happen. First, he needs to keep in top condition so that he can put himself in a position to succeed when that opportunity comes. He likes (grass) the best so clearly he is in a comfort zone here and then he needs things to fall his way. He's gotten away from the thing he does best which is that big serve and forehand and has forgotten about those others players and is only focusing on [Roger] Federer. What's happening is that the other players are beginning to think they have a chance now and they have taken advantage of his liabilities. He has a tendency to go out there and try and kamikaze it, trying to come in on balls when he's not really comfortable. You always have to keep your core and make sure that you are in a position to have confidence in what you do best. I'm hopeful that he's beginning that process already."...Following in the footsteps of Lleyton Hewitt, who once remarked to the media that Aussie tennis fans were stupid, Andy Murray is making big headway with Brit fans via blogging on his new website, noting that he definitely won't be rooting for England during the World Cup. What's next for the Scottish wunderkind? Stubbing out a cigarette on the Union Jack before a match? Offering a two-fingered salute toward the Queen's box before exiting the court? Time to ramp it up, come out Friday with the Portugal jersey...Lisa Raymond went for the throat-clutcher serving for the match at 5-3 against Venus Williams, failing to get a first serve in...Maria Sharapova after letting slip in a press conference that she enjoyed collecting stamps: "Everyone's calling me a dork now. My agent said not to talk about that because he's definitely gotten so many e-mails from people. We're getting e-mails from, like, stamp collecting magazines asking if I can do an interview. It's just a hobby. I'm actually good telling stories, but that is one I should have never talked about." -- Take it easy Global Brand, don't venture too far from what your agent tells you to do. Doing a cover shoot for Stamps Monthly would probably be the coolest thing you never did...From the AP: "SUPER SUNDAY: For sports fans, it's Super Sunday -- the men's singles championship at Wimbledon and the World Cup soccer final in Berlin on July 9. British bookmaker William Hill is offering odds for a Double-Double championship bet, allowing a combined bet to be placed on a player from one country along with the country's soccer team. With the World Cup quarterfinals set to begin Friday, and the Wimbledon men's final still more than 10 days away, Williams Hill's best offer involves Argentina, with 2002 finalist David Nalbandian (20-1) and its soccer team the 7-2 second favorite combining for odds of 94-1. "I hope they beat Germany in the quarterfinals and then we'll see what happens," Nalbandian said of the possible Argentinian double. Andy Murray, although he's Scottish and not English, forms part of the British double -- Murray and England combining at 350-1. Germany and Tommy Haas are next best at 550-1 while France, with former Wimbledon semifinalist Sebastien Grosjean, is at 1,200-1." -- And the U.S. with Andy Roddick are -- oops, sorry, is that football with the round ball or the seed-shaped one?...Martin Johnson getting all politically incorrect for The Telegraph: "It wouldn't be Wimbledon without the annual debate on prize money, and the women banging on about equal pay, so it's high time the All England Club got to grips with the modern world and started paying the girls precisely what they're worth. In which case, next year's ladies' singles winner will get a postal order for 2.95 (pounds), a Zone One Travel Card for going on the Tube, and a complimentary teddy bear (tea towel and apron set for the runner-up) from the Wimbledon Shop. The All England Club are not the kind of establishment who like to court controversy, which probably explains why their chief executive is forced into promoting the usual argument against equal pay, namely less money for less work. What he'd really like to say, but can't, is that the tickets for women's tennis matches in the first week of a grand slam should be subject to the same government regulations as a cigarette packet, and stamped: "Warning. May Induce Irreversible Coma."...And from Chris Clarey in the New York Times: "The women's long-running quest for equal prize money at Wimbledon has gathered momentum this year with everyone from Andre Agassi to British prime minister Tony Blair offering their support to those who would bust through the glass ceiling at the All England Club. But the third day of play was perhaps not the best day to push the point too hard. One of the arguments in favor of equal pay is that it is not a question of the men playing best-of-five sets and the women playing best-of-three. It is a question of entertainment value. Yet there could be no debate about which gender provided fewer thrills on Wednesday. No. 1 women's seed Amelie Mauresmo won her first-round match over Ivana Abramovic 6-0, 6-0. Defending champion Venus Williams won 6-1, 6-0 against fellow American Bethanie Mattek, who made much more of an impression with her attire -- knee socks and tight white shorts -- than with her attempts to serve and volley. No. 3 seed Justine Henin-Hardenne and Martina Hingis both cruised into the third round with 6-1, 6-2 victories."...Rafael Nadal says the big bad umpires all over the world are picking on him: "I don't know what's happened in recent months and tournaments with the umpires. It's strange because every time I feel under a lot of pressure over time. Today he gave me a time warning when I was bouncing the ball to serve. Later he told me I couldn't say 'Wait a second' (when receiving serve). That's unbelievable, no? That's a new rule, maybe. I don't know, maybe it's just for me. I don't know if it's because in Rome [Roger] Federer said I had coaching and [Ivan] Ljubicic talked about the time at Roland Garros," said Nadal. "But maybe the umpires need to look more closely because it is not my fault sometimes. It's not nice for me." -- Last time we checked the server gets to dictate play Rafa, not the returner holding up the hand, you and J-H-H should start a club...Props to Marat Safin for another classic entertaining meltdown, going up 2-0 sets on Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez before an argument with the chair umpire results in an f-bomb-dropping collapse. Awesome. If we believed in smiley icons it would be that one that bows to you. You can't teach that, it's innate, a mildly-retarded form of genius. Sorry, "mildly-mentally-handicapped" form of genius. Too good. Picture that little bowing happy face again...Do you really want to bet against Venus, who has been to the Wimbledon final in five of the last six years? "V" for victory just gets better as the tourney goes longer. Retire if she's winning Slams just because her overweight sister is overburdening her joints and might be forced to call it quits? Can't see that.