The X Blog - Dysfunctional Tennis Blogging at its Finest

PeRFect Federer Flies Past Murray, Setting Up Rematch With Djokovic In Wimbledon Final

Posted by Sean Randall on July 10th, 2015 @ 4:11 pm

Roger Federer is about to turn 34. And today he had one of his best serving days of his career, flying by Andy Murray 7-5, 7-5, 6-4 in a breathtaking performance on tennis’s center stage at Wimbledon.

Wow.

Federer had been serving great all grass season, but today against a top-notch returner in Murray he was as devastating as ever, landing 76% of first serves winning 84% of those with 20 aces. …

Poll: Who’ll Win The Wimbledon Final, Novak Djokovic Or Roger Federer?

Posted by Staff on July 10th, 2015 @ 2:15 pm

The final is set and it’s a rematch from last year as world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic will battle 7-time champion Roger Federer Sunday in the 2015 Wimbledon final.

The top-seeded Djokovic has won 13 straight matches at the All England Club including a 5-set win over Federer in 2014. But Federer has never looked better after displaying some of his best tennis today in a 7-5, 7-5, …

Garbine Muguruza: If You Are Going To Win A Grand Slam, You Want To Beat The Best

Posted by Tom Gainey on July 10th, 2015 @ 9:18 am

Garbine Muguruza isn’t shying away from her challenge tomorrow of having to stop Serena Williams’s run to history in the Wimbledon final. In fact, it’s the match she wanted in her first Grand Slam final. And she already has a win over Serena in a Grand Slam.

“I think is the best final you can play,” Muguruza said about having to play Serena.

“If you want to win a Grand Slam, …

Maria Sharapova: Serena’s Coach Will Never Say Nice Words About Me, And You Know Why!

Posted by Tom Gainey on July 10th, 2015 @ 8:44 am

Earlier in the week Serena Williams’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou stated in the press that he though Victoria Azarenka was a better player than Maria Sharapova.

“For me, Azarenka is much better than Sharapova,” Mouratoglou told the New York Times. “There’s no discussion. Sharapova is a great champion. She has great qualities. She fights incredibly and has tremendous mental strength. But at some stage, her level of play hits a ceiling.”

When …

Serena Slams Sharapova For 17th Straight Time, Meets Muguruza In Wimbledon Final

Posted by Staff on July 10th, 2015 @ 7:54 am

Serena Williams continued her domination over rival Maria Sharapova Thursday trouncing the Russian 6-2, 6-4 to reach her eighth Wimbledon final.

Serena has now won 17 straight over Sharapova, all since Maria’s last victory at the 2004 WTA Championships. Sharapova also beat Serena at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships.

“It’s never easy to beat such a great player who’s had such a wonderful career,” said Serena who’s won 15 straight sets over Sharapova. …

Roger Federer v Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic v Richard Gasquet; Wimbledon SF Picks And Pans

Posted by Sean Randall on July 9th, 2015 @ 2:32 pm

And we are down to just four at our third Major of the season. No surprises really with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray getting through to the Wimbledon semifinal round, but Richard Gasquet? He’s the outlier in the quartet, but does he realistically have a chance to spoil another Big 4 final?

To my picks.

No. 1 Novak Djokovic v No. 21 Richard Gasquet
To answer my first question, it’s no. …

Can Maria Sharapova Finally End Losing Streak To Serena Williams? Wimbledon Semifinals Preview

Posted by Staff on July 8th, 2015 @ 11:57 pm

Two of the biggest female sports stars in the world renew their rivalry – if you can call it that – Thursday at Wimbledon semifinals. World No. 1 Serena Williams and rival Maria Sharapova first met over 13 years ago in Miami. Serena won that encounter but Sharapova won the next two, at the Wimbledon final and at the 2014 WTA Championships.

However, Sharapova hasn’t won since, losing …

Federer, Murray Advance To Wimbledon Semifinal Showdown; Gasquet Outlasts Wawrinka To Meet Djokovic

Posted by Sean Randall on July 8th, 2015 @ 6:50 pm

The semifinals at the 2015 Wimbledon Championships were set today with favorites Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer all advancing easily and comfortably. The lone casualty was Stan Wawrinka who couldn’t survive a tough Richard Gasquet test losing to the Frenchman 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the lone match with any drama on quarterfinal Wednesday.

Early on, it was clear sailing for the top guys. In between the raindrops, …

Wimbledon Women’s Semis Set: Serena v Maria, Aggie v Muguruza

Posted by Staff on July 7th, 2015 @ 3:56 pm

If Serena Williams is going to win her third Slam of the year at Wimbledon this week, she’s going to have to go through the best of the best.

Yesterday she beat five-time Wimbledon champ and sister Venus Williams. Today she beat former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. Next up in the semifinals? Former Wimbledon champ and former No. 1 Maria Sharapova.

Serena in the Tuesday quarterfinals at the All England Club was …

Federer, Murray Head Toward SFs, Djokovic Faces Cilic Test; Wimbledon QF Picks And Pans

Posted by Sean Randall on July 7th, 2015 @ 3:46 pm

We are winding down at the season’s third major as men’s quarterfinals final take center stage Wednesday at Wimbledon. And the favorites are still alive after Novak Djokovic filled out the elite eight bracket today by completing his 0-2 comeback win over Kevin Anderson 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5.

After leveling things last night, you knew it was only a matter of time before the big South African blinked, and he …

Caroline Wozniacki Wants More Women’s Matches On The Show Courts At Wimbledon

Posted by Tom Gainey on July 7th, 2015 @ 10:13 am

After falling in the fourth round to Garbine Muguruza on Court 2 at Wimbledon yesterday, Caroline Wozniacki took a snipe at the tournament for not giving women equal time on Centre and Court 1 as the men.

Customarily, Wimbledon plays one women’s match and two men’s on the two biggest courts. Wozniacki played her second round match on Centre.

“The women really haven’t gotten the opportunity here to play on the big …

Marin Cilic Will Try To Snap A 12-Match Losing Streak To Novak Djokovic In The Wimbledon QFs

Posted by Tom Gainey on July 7th, 2015 @ 9:38 am

Kevin Anderson came up short, so Marin Cilic will now try to knock off defending champion Novak Djokovic tomorrow in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. A year ago, Cilic actually led Djokovic by two sets to one before coming up short 61, 36, 67, 62, 62.

Djokovic has since beaten Cilic easily in London and in Monte Carlo running his record to a perfect 12-0 against the South African.

So what does Cilic have …

Nick Kyrgios Continues To Be A Lightning Rod For Controversy At Wimbledon [Video]

Posted by Tom Gainey on July 7th, 2015 @ 9:01 am

Just 20, Nick Kyrgios is already one of the most controversial figures in tennis. The Australian is part shotmaker, part showman and part clown, as we have seen this Wimbledon.

Yesterday, during a 4-set loss to Richard Gasquet, Kyrgios had all his quirks on display. Hugging ballkids, arguing with the officials and at one point was visibly tanking, letting the Frenchman’s serves go flying by without any effort of returning them….

Grigor Dimitrov Dumps His Coach Roger Rasheed

Posted by Staff on July 6th, 2015 @ 6:58 pm

After failing to build off a breakout 2014, Grigor Dimitrov has parted ways with Australian coach Roger Rasheed.

“After much thought I have decided to end my working relationship with Roger,” Dimitrov tweeted this evening from Wimbledon. “We had many accomplishments together and I wish him all the best going forward. I want to thank him for all his hard work and support over the past couple of years.”

The two hooked …

Djokovic Delayed; Federer, Murray Charge Into Wimbledon Quarters

Posted by Staff on July 6th, 2015 @ 6:41 pm

In the biggest anti-climax of Monday at Wimbledon, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s match against No. 14 Kevin Anderson was suspended after four sets at 6-7(6), 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 due to darkness.

Wah-wahhhhhhhhhh.

The action will pick up on Tuesday at 1 p.m. local time.

The eventual winner in the quarterfinals will take on Croatian No. 9 seed Marin Cilic, who defeated American wild card Denis Kudla, who was the last remaining American …