Mauresmo Exits, Nadal-Soderling Tangle at Wimbledon

Mauresmo served for the first set at 5-3 but was broken, then in the tiebreak she led 6-3 but lost five consecutive points to drop the set. The match was interrupted by rain three times before the Frenchwoman won the second set but was then run over in the third for a 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1 final tally.

In her post-match conference the Frenchwoman uttered multiple obscenities to describe her state of mind.

"Everything went wrong today," said Mauresmo, who had 14 double faults. "The serve was definitely not working really well today. A little bit I think I had some up and downs throughout the first week, and it showed a little bit more today when it's a bit well, first when you play a better opponent and when it's a little tighter in terms of score...Probably confidence. I'm struggling to get the confidence back."

Vaidisova seemed to deal with the rain delays better, utilizing the "Stairmaster."

"It was kind of tiring," Vaidisova said. "You walk all those stairs up to the locker room and back. You have to get used to it. You sit there, you wait, you talk to your dad or someone for a second. You go on again."

Other winners beating the rain in fourth-round play Tuesday were No. 18 Marion Bartoli upsetting No. 3 Jelena Jankovic from a set down, No. 5 Svetlana Kuznetsova stopping the run of Austrian teen Tamira Paszek, and No. 6 Ana Ivanovic outlasting No. 11 Nadia Petrova in three.

"At the end I was a little bit stronger than her physically," Bartoli said of Jankovic. "She looked tired. I'm very satisfied with my performance today...I'm a Top 20 player -- I'm not No. 200 in the world. I could be in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. It's not that big of a surprise. I was happy, but not over-happy. It's normal for me to win some matches at this stage."

While Bartoli explained to the media that it was normal for her to win big matches, Jankovic, as the song goes, blamed it on the rain.

"The rain completely put me off," Jankovic told the assembled media. "I was not the same player as I am normally. If I play like this my ranking is the same as the other girl's, it's not the number three player in the world. It's 20, or 30 or 50. At the end of the day it's not tennis that decides these sorts of games, it's the person who can stay strong mentally and physically."

Kuznetsova in her match put away the teen Paszek in under an hour.

"It was pretty comfortable," Kuznetsova said. "She began very well, but during the match I put more and more pressure on her. She played worse, worse and worse. So for me it was better. I was getting more confidence and she went a little bit lower. I expected a very tough match, so I'm happy. Every round my performance grows and I'm happy about that."

Postponed due to rain Tuesday was (2) Maria Sharapova vs. (23) Venus Williams.

On court to watch for on Wednesday will be Sharapova vs. Venus Williams, and Serena Williams vs. Justine Henin.

Hewitt, Davydenko, Ferrero Advance at Wet Wimbledon

Only three men's matches were completed amidst on and off rains Tuesday at Wimbledon, with Juan Carlos Ferrero, Nikolay Davydenko and Lleyton Hewitt advancing.

The No. 16 Hewitt tamed No. 22 Guillermo Canas in four sets, while the No. 20 seed Ferrero straight-setted Serb Janko Tipsarevic, and the No. 6-seeded Davydenko stopped Frenchman Gael "Force" Monfils in straight sets.

Matches suspended due to rain were (3) Andy Roddick leading Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-2, 6-5; (2) Rafael Nadal tied with (28) Robin Soderling 4-4 in the fifth; (4) Novak Djokovic tied with Nicolas Kiefer 7-6(4), 6-7(6); and (19) Jonas Bjorkman leading Wayne Arthurs 6-2, 6-1, 4-3.

TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Derek Mcgovern writing for The Mirror: "I could reveal here the names of five players who regular tennis punters have learned not to trust an inch, but libel lawyers would be on to me quicker than a British Wimbledon exit. Instead here are the 10 sports I consider most likely to throw up corrupt results: 1 Greyhounds, 2 Horse racing, 3 Cricket, 4 Snooker, 5 Darts, 6 Tennis, 7 Football, 8 Boxing, 9 Big Brother, 10 Eurovision."...Voting ends Friday for ESPN's ESPY Male Athlete of the Year, get your tennis votes in at: http://www.atptennis.com/en/news/2007/espy_nominations.asp...The USTA is seeking "highly qualified candidates for the position of Chief Operating Officer / Executive Director, USTA. The Chief Operating Officer / Executive Director, USTA shall, subject to the direction of the Board and fully accountable to it, oversee the day-to-day operational programs, policies, and procedures of the USTA and the functioning of the National office." No announcement about current COO/Exec. Dir. D. Lee Hamilton?...Jelena Jankovic after losing the multiple-rain delayed match to Marion Bartoli: "Every rain break she came back better and better because she can rest. She's this kind of player who practises 10 hours a day...she's only into tennis and I'm not, I just do my job for a few hours and then I go. Each time when I came back I felt bad, I didn't do my strokes, my tactics were completely wrong...I think it suits the lower ranked players, they have more of a chance to play with you. I think if we could have played a match without breaks I could have won in maybe two sets, also maybe in the third set as well." -- in other words, "Wah!"...From The Independent on Serena Williams' Wimbledon behavior: "Williams' selective need to visit the bathroom has prompted allegations of gamesmanship. Some critics have even suggested she also faked the calf injury that added such a dramatic air to her victory. The last charge is ludicrous. Williams' yelp of pain, and her collapse to the turf, was obviously genuine. That she only wanted to go for a toilet break when her opponent was about to serve (which is no longer permitted), and not when she was about to serve does seem more Machiavellian."...How about Robin Soderling pulling at his ass to mimic Rafael Nadal during his match with the Spaniard? That is good stuff, that's what men's tennis needs. Afterwards Nadal looked at Soderling like he wanted to quietly take him behind the scoreboard and do that wrestling move where you break the guy's back over your knee...From Reuters: "Russian fifth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova has been turning heads at Wimbledon with her new hairstyle. She is sporting long, blonde braids for the grasscourt grand slam instead of her normal chin-length style and has even been getting tips on the extensions from tennis's most fashion conscious players -- Venus and Serena Williams. "They tell me what I have to do to take care of it," the 21-year-old told reporters. Kuznetsova said the question she was most asked about her new look was 'how long did it take'? "I hear it more than my name...I have to put a huge note on my front so everybody knows." Inevitably, she was asked once more and with a patient smile said: "Three and a half hours."...The WTA Tour announced that Doha, Qatar will host the 2008-2010 Sony Ericsson Championships...The Wimbledon main draw is 64 matches behind...By Rebecca Camber and Dan Newling of The Daily Mail: "Maybe it was Tim Henman's early exit. Maybe it's the rain. Or the latest terrorist attacks. But for whatever reason, attendance at Wimbledon has slumped to one of the lowest levels in a decade. Yesterday, as thunder and lightning rocked London SW19, there were no long queues of fans snaking around the block, the stands were strangely quiet and Henman Hill was practically deserted." -- Nice self-Q-and-A, we think maybe you found the answer?..Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of the All England Club: "The persistent heavy rain is causing waterlogging in a number of car parks leading to a reduction in capacity. Therefore, we strongly urge spectators coming to Wimbledon to use public transport wherever possible."...From blogger Steve Tignor: "You have to feel for Pat Mac, Darren Cahill, and Chris Fowler -- how much yammering were they prepared to do when they got over there? The whole ESPN crew has started to look like they don't care how they appear or what they say. They've tapped Brad Gilbert for all of his stories and sartorial inventions -- what did he have going to today, a dinner jacket? -- and played all the historical parlor games they can play. And I don't think anyone needs to see Serena Williams bashing her calf again."

Also see:

ATP Marketing Geniuses Again Change Tennis Finale
http://www.tennis-x.com/vachblog/2007-07-03/63.php