Venus Struggles, Nadal Coasts at Wimbledon
Posted on June 27, 2007
Nadal Advances, Henman Thrills at Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal confirmed his grasscourt chops and "Brave" Tim Henman showed flashes of old as a hearty 52 men's matches were completed amidst a break in the rains Tuesday at Wimbledon.
The world No. 2 Spaniard handled the serve-and-volleying American Mardy Fish 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3, while Henman, resuming from the previous day at 5-5 in the fifth set, downed No. 25 seed Carlos Moya 13-11 in the final set when Moya double faulted on match point.
"I always believe that good things are going to happen," Henman said. "I certainly needed a lot of belief at 2-4, 15-40 in the fifth. I stuck to my guns and I played some great points to not only win that game but to break back and get on level terms. It would have been pretty sweet to finish it off last night. But I think now, having gone through that, playing as well as I did, perhaps this scenario is even better."
Nadal, defending his runner-up effort from last year, started hot against the potential American threat.
"I returned very well," Nadal said. "Just one moment in the third set I was serving little bit worst. That's normal. I need improve a little bit that, need improve a little bit the second serve. But the rest, playing from the baseline was very, very good. Very good forehands. Running good. Feeling good."
Other seeded winners Tuesday were (4) Novak Djokovic (d. Starace), (6) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Korolev), (7) Tomas Berdych (d. Massu), (9) James Blake (d. Andreev), (10) Marcos Baghdatis (d. Gulbis in four), (11) Tommy Robredo (d. Kendrick in five), (12) Richard Gasquet (d. Ulihrach), (14) Mikhail Youzhny (d. Pless), (15) Ivan Ljubicic (d. Spadea in four), (16) Lleyton Hewitt (d. Bloomfield), (18) Jarkko Nieminen (d. Russell), (19) Jonas Bjorkman (d. Vicente), (20) Juan Carlos Ferrero (d. Hajek in five), (21) Dmitry Tursunov (d. Almagro in four), (22) Guillermo Canas (d. Navarro Pastor), (23) David Nalbandian (d. Zverev), (24) Juan Ignacio Chela (d. Becker 10-8 in the fifth), (26) Marat Safin (d. de Voest), (28) Robin Soderling (d. O.Rochus), and (29) Agustin Calleri (d. Horna).
Blake said it was a difficult draw facing the 'Russian Roddick.'
"It was a great win. I felt like it was a tough draw to start out with," Blake said. "Andreev is an excellent player, huge forehand, big serve. Not ideal to play him first round. But to get through it is a really good feeling, especially since I maybe got a little tentative towards the end and he fought back and started going for broke and things were going in, which can be dangerous."
Upset-makers Tuesday were un-seeds Nicolas Kiefer (d. (30) Volandri), Andreas Seppi (d. (31) Hrbaty), and Kristof Vliegen (d. (32) Monaco), all in straight sets.
Highlights Wednesday on the men's side at Wimbledon are (3) Andy Roddick vs. Thai Danai Udomchoke, Tim Henman vs. Feliciano "F-Lo" Lopez, (1) Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro, (26) Marat Safin vs. Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, (5) Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez vs. Alejandro Falla, (9) James Blake vs. Andrei Pavel, (20) Juan Carlos Ferrero vs. Gilles Muller, Tomas Zib vs. (13) Tommy Haas, (12) Richard "Baby Fed" Gasquet vs. Nicolas Mahut in an all-French affair, (17) David Ferrer vs. Paul-Henri Mathieu, and Jan Hernych vs. (15) Ivan Ljubicic.
Sharapova Leads, Venus Struggles at Wimbledon
The shoulder-addled Maria Sharapova led the seeded charge Tuesday at Wimbledon, with the No. 2-seeded Russian defeating Yung-Jan Chan 6-1, 7-5.
"I was happy with the way I started and the way I controlled the match," Sharapova said. "I didn't feel like I did the same thing in the second set. I was a little passive, especially on her second serves, which I attacked really well in the first but didn't really take advantage of in the second. That was clearly the difference."
In the third round the Russian could meet Venus Williams, who struggled past Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
"The first set went so fast -- my balls were flying and I didn't have any answers," Williams said. "That bothered me because when things are going wrong, I can figure it out and change my game. I needed to change my game plan, taking a step back to take a couple steps forward. It was definitely a well-contested match -- the fans enjoy that. I could feel they were enjoying when I was coming back."
Other seeded winners on the day were (3) Jelena Jankovic (d. Keothavong, bagel in the second), (4) Amelie Mauresmo (d. Jackson), (5) Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Vakulenko from a set down), (8) Anna Chakvetadze (d. Kerber), (10) Daniela Hantuchova (d. Pavlyuchenkova 0-and-1), (11) Nadia Petrova (d. King 0-and-1), (19) Katarina Srebotnik (d. Baltacha in three), (23) Venus Williams (d. Kudryavtseva in three), (24) Alona Bondarenko (d. Craybas), (26) Ai Sugiyama (d. South), (27) Sam Stosur (d. Brandi in three), and (31) Michaella Krajicek (d. Obziler 6-1 in the third).
Elena Vesnina had the only upset on the day, ousting No. 30 seed Olga Poutchkova 6-1, 6-3.
Matches of interest scheduled for Wednesday include (1) Justine Henin vs. Vera Dushevina, Alicia Molik vs. (7) Serena Williams, (3) Jelena Jankovic vs. Jarmila Gajdosova, (10) Daniela Hantuchova vs. Elena Likhovtseva, Nathalie Dechy vs. (12) Elena Dementieva, Tatiana Poutchek vs. (8) Anna Chakvetadze, (6) Ana Ivanovic vs. Melinda Czink, (31) Michaella Krajicek vs. Brit Katie O'Brien, (9) Martina Hingis vs. Aiko Nakamura, (14) Nicole Vaidisova vs. Karin Knapp, and Eleni Daniilidou vs. (25) Lucie Safarova.
TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Venus Williams nearly gets upset on the storied graveyard court a day after sister Serena struggled and Martina Hingis overcame two match points. That court is for real...Wayne Arthurs blasted 41 aces and overcame a two-set hole to 2006 junior Wimby champ Theimo De Bakker. Arthurs is the oldest cat in the draw at 36, while De Bakker was making his Slam debut. Welcome to the bigs kid...Speaking of 5-setters, there were nine altogether on Tuesday alone. Grass is boring?...Tim Henman has needed five sets to win his opening-round matches at Wimbledon the last three years...Tournament darkhorse Ivo Karlovic was ousted by magician Fabrice Santoro. So much for Ivo...After two days of play just three American men remain -- Andy Roddick, James Blake and Amer Delic...All Top 20 seeds in both the mens and womens draws are still alive, though some have yet to play...Juan Martin Del Potro is the youngest kid left in the draw...Daniela Hantuchova lost just 14 points to Russian 16-year-old Anastassia Pavlychenkova, the junior No. 1...Only 3 American men advanced into the second round at Wimbledon, the smallest tally in the Open Era according to ESPN...From the WTA Tour: "On the first day of the Wimbledon Championships, Whirlpool launched the brand new "Love Life" book -- an exclusive compilation of lifestyle tips from 15 of the best Sony Ericsson WTA Tour players. This lifestyle guide covers a range of different sections, from players offering hints and advice on nutrition and travelling to providing readers with a glimpse of the Tour's glamorous fashion scene revealing a unique view into the lives of the leading players on the tour."...Tim Henman on the slow Wimbledon grasscourts: "Kick serve now works on grass. You can get a lot of sideways movement on it." And Henman responding to BBC commentator John McEnroe wondering if the Brit will be able to recover for his next-round match: "Fine. Won't be an issue. McEnroe has it wrong again."...From The Telegraph: "The Lawn Tennis Association announced yesterday that the British Davis Cup coach, Peter Lundgren, had been put on leave of absence "for personal reasons" following allegations that the Swede was slurring his speech at the LTA coaching conference over the weekend. Having coached Roger Federer to his first Wimbledon title and Marat Safin to victory at the Australian Open in 2005, Lundgren was appointed last October to assist John Lloyd at Davis Cup ties and also work with other British men outside the squad. The move was met with fierce criticism by Josh Goodall, the British No 3, who blamed the way the matter was handled by the LTA for his 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 first-round defeat by Feliciano Lopez after being informed of his coach's absence immediately before going on court. "I'm so angry that the LTA have done this before the biggest match of my life," Goodall said. "The timing is disgraceful. Ten minutes before my match I'm trying to look for my coach and I get word from the LTA that, though not sacked, he won't be around for the next month."...Maria Sharapova on her shoulder injury: "The doctors say it doesn't really make a difference if I take time off or not. I don't know why, but they say if I can play with it, the pain is not too severe. For three weeks after this tournament I will not play. I'm going to be working on a lot of strength [exercises]."...Venus Williams on her shaky first-round win: "The fact that Serena and my mom were there was definitely key to my win. I was definitely listening to Serena. She was saying all kinds of things -- you can do it, stay down, mix it up. Just simple things. Not any coaching, just encouraging words. But I didn't want that Court 2 jinx on me. Now I've made my mistakes in the first round and it helps to work out those cobwebs. It will definitely help me in the coming rounds."...From Tom Tebbutt of The Globe and Mail: "The saga of Daniel Nestor and Mark Knowles -- "will they or won't they stay together" -- has been resolved. Nestor said yesterday he got so exasperated by continuing "miscommunication" involving his change of doubles partners that he threatened to play with neither Knowles nor Nenad Zimonjic, the Serb who was originally to be his new partner after Wimbledon. He claimed the situation was finally worked out when Knowles and Zimonjic had a conversation on Sunday. As a result, Zimonjic will play with Nestor starting after the U.S. Open, with Nestor and Knowles remaining together until then as well as playing the year-end Masters Cup in Shanghai. "If there's a lesson from this is that it's like a husband who wants to have an affair and makes promises to both people," Nestor said. "You made promises that you're not able to fulfill."...From tennis writer Matt Cronin: "Here's a big scoop from USA Today's Doug Robson: Michael Chang (who is coaching Shuai Peng) is dating! He told Robson he's "dating exclusive a woman he's been seeing on and off for a few years." Here's another: Serena Williams IS dating actor and comedian Jackie Long, who has been her friend for a few years. The two just spent a weekend together in Ibiza."