Tennis: Who Will Be #2?

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Djokovic in Fed's Semifinal Draw

WIMBLEDON, England -- Roger Federer may not want to look too far ahead in the Wimbledon draw. Waiting in the semifinals could be the dangerous Novak Djokovic.

Even the first round could be tricky for Federer, who will face a player he's never beaten as he begins his bid for a sixth straight Wimbledon title. He'll open against Dominik Hrbaty -- a 30-year-old Slovakian playing in his 45th consecutive major -- in the first match on Centre Court on Monday.

In the women's draw Friday, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic and two-time champion Serena Williams are in the same top half. No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams, the defending champion and four-time winner, are in the bottom section.

Hrbaty beat Federer in their only two previous matches in 2000 and 2004, but has slid from No. 12 in the rankings to No. 272 since their last meeting.

If he gets past Hrbaty, Federer could face a third-round match against rising French star Gael Monfils, whom he beat in the French Open semifinals, and either 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt or Fernando Gonzalez in the fourth. Federer's projected quarterfinal opponent is Spain's fifth-seeded David Ferrer.

Djokovic, ranked No. 3, beat Federer in the Australian Open semifinals to end the Swiss star's winning streak there. Djokovic has the size, power and overall game to challenge Federer's supremacy.

No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who lost to Federer in the past two finals, is in the other half of the draw. He could face two-time runner-up Andy Roddick in the semifinals.

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Ferrer, Tanasugarn Take First Grass Court Titles at Ordina Open

DEN BOSCH, Netherlands -- Top-seeded David Ferrer won his first grass title Saturday by defeating Marc Gicquel 6-4, 6-2 at the Ordina Open.

The 31-year-old Gicquel, chasing his first ATP championship in a nine-year career, was overpowered by Ferrer in long baseline rallies at the Wimbledon warmup.

The Frenchman had beaten Ferrer in both their previous encounters -- at Metz in 2006 and at Lyon in 2005.

"I think this proves that we Spaniards can play well on grass," Ferrer said. Second-ranked Rafael Nadal also had his first grass-court title at Queen's last week.

Ferrer, the first Spaniard to win at Ordina, dominated the match. He fired twelve aces and made no double-faults.

"He was too good for me, I tried my best," said Gicquel, who was playing in only his third tournament final.

Earlier Saturday, Thai qualifier Tamarine Tanasugarn beat third-seeded Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-3 to grab her first grass title.

Playing with a bandaged thigh, the Los Angeles-born Tanasugarn clinched the win with a powerful forehand winner.

"I guess my play suits well for the grass," Tanasugarn said.

Safina, the 2006 runner-up in Den Bosch and a semifinalist last year, said Tanasugarn had been the better player.

"She has a lot of experience and she played well today," Safina said.

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Federer, Nadal and Djokovic Voted Onto Players Council

WIMBLEDON, England -- Tennis' three top-ranked men, including No. 1 Roger Federer, were elected Saturday to two-year terms on the ATP Player Council.

In voting two days before Wimbledon begins, No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 3 Novak Djokovic were also elected to terms that begin Sunday.

In the past, top players have been reluctant to run for such positions, but Djokovic said the top three players jointly decided to become candidates.

"I think it's fantastic for the sport," Djokovic said shortly before the vote. "We're changing the face, changing the picture of everything in general.

"We decided together that this is the best thing for sport -- to join the player council and to try to be united in the future to make good decisions for us, for everybody. To be involved in all these major decisions and all the specifics, the details, is very important for us, because in the end we are the most important part of the sport. People are coming because of us. We have to defend our interests."

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are among the players who have been unhappy with decisions by ATP chairman Etienne De Villiers, whose contract expires this year. There's also discontent about the extent of communication between players and the ATP board of directors, which has the lead role in making decisions about the tour.

One subject of debate has been the tour's attempts to restructure the spring clay-court schedule. The decision to downgrade the Hamburg tournament in 2009 from a top-tier event led to an antitrust lawsuit that's pending against the ATP.

Earlier this week, U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said the involvement of the top players in such issues could have a major impact on the game for the next decade or more.

"The structure of the tour and how the ATP is configured could change," McEnroe said. "Maybe the players form their own union. There are a lot of ways this could go that would reshape professional tennis."

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Federer a Wimbledon Underdog?

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Bjorn Borg and Novak Djokovic say Roger Federer’s reign at Wimbledon is in jeopardy. Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal say Federer remains the man to beat on grass.

“It’s maybe a time where some people talk a little bit too much,” Federer said Sunday, 24 hours before playing the first Centre Court match as he begins his pursuit of a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title.

That would equal the record established by William Renshaw, the champion in 1881-86. Since the early 1900s, Federer and Borg (1976-80) are the only men to win Wimbledon five times in a row. Federer’s 59-match winning streak on grass is the longest in the 40-year Open era.

Yet there has been plenty of debate the past two weeks regarding whether Federer is this year’s favorite. It seems everyone but old Willie Renshaw has weighed in on the subject.

Nobody disputes the 26-year-old Federer has struggled in recent months. For only the second time since early 2003, he has been beaten at two consecutive major tournaments. He has lost eight matches this year, only one less than in all of 2007. And he endured his most lopsided Grand Slam defeat in the French Open final two weeks ago, winning only four games against Nadal.

Ranked No. 1 since February 2004, Federer blames his slow start this year on a winter bout with mononucleosis and says he feels fine now. He showed no signs of slippage when he moved to grass the week after the loss in Paris, winning a tournament in Germany without losing his serve, much less a set.

That was against a weak field, however, and the title failed to squelch speculation Federer will soon be an ex-champion in gentlemen’s singles at the All England Club.

“I got the question, `Can Roger win Wimbledon?”’ said Andy Roddick, who lost to Federer in the 2004 and 2005 finals. “I found that to be one of the most ridiculous questions I’ve ever answered in my life. You know, he has won it five times. I’m not sure what else he has to do.”

Tell it to Borg. After erroneously predicting Federer would give Nadal a tough test in the French Open final, Borg now says Nadal and Djokovic are more likely to win Wimbledon than Federer.

Djokovic likes the sound of that. He won his first major title at the Australian Open after beating Federer in the semifinals—the first sign of a narrowing gap atop the rankings.

Djokovic, ranked third, believes Federer will suffer from a French Open hangover.

“I think he’s a little bit shaken with that loss, and mentally he has been struggling in the last couple of months,” Djokovic said. “New names are coming, fresh, talented players who believe more they can win against him, and I am one of them. Suddenly he is worried a little bit.”

Federer’s biggest nemesis disagrees. The No. 2-ranked Nadal is 11-6 against Federer, was runner-up at Wimbledon the past two years and pushed Federer to five sets in the 2007 final.

But Nadal scoffed at the notion Federer is more vulnerable on grass this year.

“Yes, a lot,” Nadal said facetiously. “He didn’t lose a set in Halle—59 matches without losing. Come on.”

In the wake of the French Open, there was debate about the decline of Federer even in Brazil, where Sampras competed in a senior tournament.

“As great as Roger is, he’s going to have his losses and his bad days,” Sampras said. “When push comes to shove in the majors, he’s still the guy that’s most likely to win them. He has lost a couple, and if anything that’ll do him some good. It’ll get him going and fired up. He’ll be just fine.”

Federer has won 12 Grand Slam championships, two shy of Sampras’ record. With five Wimbledon titles, Federer has a chance to match the record of seven shared by Sampras and Renshaw.

There’s little debate the competition for Federer is stiffer at Wimbledon than when he began his reign in 2003. The lawn courts have become slower, which gives baseliners a fighting chance, and the precocious Nadal and Djokovic have adapted to grass more quickly than many young players.

The big-serving Roddick, once Federer’s most formidable obstacle at Wimbledon, has been reduced to an afterthought in discussions about the title contenders.

How does Federer size up the field?

“I feel like I’m the big favorite, obviously,” he said. “It’s a huge year for me, going for my sixth. Getting the fifth one was a dream come true. It’s something that’s going to be very hard to match, I think, in the future. I hope I can also match Pete’s record of seven Wimbledons here. That’s what my focus is.”

Federer faces the toughest draw of the top contenders, with potential first-week opponents including big-serving Robin Soderling, 2007 quarterfinalist Tomas Berdych and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. On Monday, Federer plays Dominik Hrbaty. Following them on Centre Court will be top-ranked Ana Ivanovic, the French Open champion, against Rossana de Los Rios. Other show-court matches include Djokovic against Michael Berrer, and two-time champion Serena Williams against French Open quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi.

Defending women’s champion Venus Williams begins a bid for her fifth Wimbledon title Tuesday against wild card Naomi Cavaday of Britain.

Federer should have no trouble finding his footing against Hrbaty, whose record at Wimbledon is 4-11. It’s worth mentioning again that since 2003, Federer’s opponents are 0-59 against him on grass.

“The game changes a whole lot when you play on grass,” Federer said. “It really favors my game because of my ability to move, the way I defend, the way I use my shot selection. I haven’t lost in such a long time on grass. Obviously my confidence is really, really high.

“Then again, other players are around to really challenge me. That only motivates me. So it should be an interesting Wimbledon this year.”

That’s one point on which everyone can agree.

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Canadian Player Shocks Nalbandian

Wimbledon waited until late in the day for its first real shock in the men's singles - the departure of seventh seed and former finalist David Nalbandian of Argentina who fell in straight sets to world No 98 Frank Dancevic of Canada.

Dancevic’s 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 win, the biggest win of his career, came against a player who had never lost in the first round in five previous appearances at Wimbledon. What is more, Nalbandian had only been beaten in the opening round once in his previous 26 Grand Slams.

How did it happen? Indeed, how could a player who had had only a modest tune-up in the Challenger event at nearby Surbiton and was then injured trying to play the following week at Queen's Club cause such an upset?

Only Dancevic, the 23-year-old from Niagara Falls, can answer that but the evidence on court was compelling enough as he dominated much of the play on No.1 Court..

Dancevic needed just 58 minutes to take a two-set lead, throwing down an ace to clinch the second set.

But his march to victory was halted by Nalbandian breaking him at 5-2 in the third set then holding to love, leaving the Canadian to serve for the match for a second time.

This time there was no mistake. Dancevic went to match point at 40-0 and followed up with a winning service. The junior champion of 2001 had struck again, but on the bigger stage.

Dancevic’s win was based around good serving: he fired 16 aces and got 64 per cent of his first serves on target. But Nalbandian did not help his own cause and was rarely consistent enough to make a difference to the flow of the match.

Since becoming the first player in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon final on his debut, Nalbandian has flattered to deceive. This year his Grand Slam record has been poor, consisting of a the third-round loss at the Australian Open, the second round at the French, and now this early exit.

For Dancevic, the result was revenge for last year’s Wimbledon when Nalbandian knocked him out in the second round.

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Federer, Ivanovic Enjoy Sunny Day at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Wimbledon began with a few surprises Monday. There was lots of sunshine, Serena Williams wore a raincoat anyway, and Roger Federer’s changeover routine was interrupted by a friendly visit from his opponent.

The tennis went mostly as expected. Federer, Williams and new women’s No. 1 Ana Ivanovic won in straight sets. Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic also eased into the second round, while American men went 1-4.

The top-ranked Federer began his bid for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title by winning the first match on Centre Court. Sporting a classy cardigan, he stepped onto the fresh grass promptly at 1 p.m. and looked eager to dispel the notion he’s in decline, winning the first 11 points and beating former doubles partner Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

During a changeover one game from the finish, the 30-year-old Hrbaty broke with protocol by wandering over to the seated Federer.

“I looked over and there he was,” Federer said. “He asked if I could sit next to me. I said, `Sure. There’s no problem. There’s an extra seat.’ We go way back. … He said it might be his last Wimbledon, so it was almost a little bit emotional.”

Said Hrbaty: “If it had been someone else, I wouldn’t have done it. … We’ve had a lot of good times together. I just wanted to tell him he’s a great friend of mine, and I appreciate that.”

Federer extended his grass-court winning streak to 60 matches, including 35 at the All England Club, and yet his continuing domination is in doubt because he struggled the first half of the year.

That might help explain his prematch jitters.

“I did feel all of a sudden a little pressure about two minutes before I went on court,” Federer said. “I felt like, `Wow, OK, here we go. Let’s try to get off to a good start.’ I did.”

He looked as regal as ever in his warmup outfit, highlighted by a beige, four-button sweater with gold trim and a stylized F on the left breast.

But judging from postmatch interviews, Federer was upstaged on the fashion front—perhaps a further sign he’s in decline. His apparel inspired only one question, while Williams fielded five queries about the stylish white trench coat she wore onto court before beating Kaia Kanepi 7-5, 6-3.

A sample of the questions and Williams’ responses:

Q: Was that an effort to keep the rain away this year?

A: I just love coats. I’m always buying Burberry coats. And I don’t know why, because I live in Florida, so it doesn’t really add up. Now I have a wonderful white coat I can wear on the court.

Q: It looked almost Carnaby Street-inspired. Was it a ’60s retro look?

A: It’s definitely kind of retro-inspired—buckles on the wrist, the waistband tie. You can tie it or button it.

Q: It’s not necessarily a piece of athletic attire. Did you have to get any special permission from the club to wear it?

A: It’s definitely not athletic attire. But it’s ladylike, and I’m very ladylike. It goes perfect with my personality. … It’s just delectable.

There were only three questions about Williams’ match, even though it provided a bit of drama when she faced a break point serving at 5-all in the first set.

Kanepi, an Estonian who reached the French Open quarterfinals, takes lusty swings that often put two-time champion Williams on the defensive. But Williams endured the onslaught and took charge after Kanepi double-faulted to end the first set.

“Today definitely was not an easy match,” Williams said. “She was playing unbelievable. I felt like she wasn’t making any errors. I just felt like I just had to hang in there and stay positive.”

The match was the first for the Williams sisters since they lost on the same day in the third round at the French Open. They flew from France to Florida and prepared for grass by hitting on hard-courts.

The unorthodox preparation for Wimbledon is standard for the sisters and not to be questioned—they’ve won the title six of the past eight years.

“We just go home and practice in the hot sun,” said Serena, who is seeded sixth. “We’re so ready to leave Florida. We’re like, `We’re going to do anything we can to stay at the tournament as long as we can so we don’t have to go back in that heat.”’

Defending champion Venus Williams begins her bid for a fifth Wimbledon title Tuesday when she faces wild card Naomi Cavaday of Britain.

Ivanovic played her first match as the No. 1 woman and French Open champion, and the 20-year-old Serb seemed comfortable in the new role, beating Rossana de Los Rios 6-1, 6-2.

“Becoming No. 1 takes more pressure, but also you have to see pressure for what it is,” Ivanovic said. “It’s a reflection of your own ambition. If you see it as a positive thing, it means that you put yourself in a position to do something memorable. So if you look at it that way, it can be very motivating.”

Fellow Serb Djokovic bounced back from a bad set to beat Michael Berrer 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

The highest-seeded player to lose was No. 7 David Nalbandian, eliminated by Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Lleyton Hewitt, who beat Nalbandian in the 2002 final, fist-pumped his way to a five-set victory over Robin Haase. Two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin also won.

Despite the sunny weather, it was another in a series of dismal days for U.S. tennis. The only American woman to join Williams in the second round was Bethanie Mattek, who rallied past Severine Bremond 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. Ashley Harkleroad lost to 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-3.

The lone U.S. male to win was Bobby Reynolds, who advanced when Filippo Volandri retired with a sore left knee after losing the first two sets. Eliminated were Vince Spadea, Kevin Kim and 2008 Olympians Sam Querrey and Robby Ginepri.

Spadea blew a big lead against Thomas Johansson and lost 6-7 (8), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Querrey also started fast but lost to former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Ginepri was eliminated by No. 15-seeded Fernando Gonzalez, and Kim lost to big-serving Robin Soderling, who will play Federer.

“This first day was just a bunch of tough draws for the guys,” Reynolds said. “I guess I’m happy that I won, but obviously you’d like to see all the Americans do well.”

The three highest-ranked Americans—Andy Roddick, James Blake and Mardy Fish—are scheduled to play their opening matches Tuesday. No word yet on what they’ll wear.

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Becker Capitalizes on Davydenko Off Day

Fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko became the biggest casualty of The Championships so far, going down 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to the steady German Benjamin Becker.

This was the Russian’s fifth first-round defeat in seven years and it came largely due to a misfiring serve, which Becker broke twice in the first set.

Standing firm at the baseline, Becker was able to dictate the points, overpowering his opponent with his big forehand. Davydenko, meanwhile, could not shrug off his shaky serve syndrome and was also lacking in the returns department.

The first set whizzed by in 17 minutes, Becker sailing to a 5-1 lead before the Russian salvaged some respect by making the German serve the set out. But when you are only winning 44 per cent of your first serve and second serve points at this level you are creating a whole heap of trouble for yourself.

Davydenko’s body language suggested he would rather be somewhere else after such an embarrassing start. Full credit to Becker, on the other hand, who capitalised on an off-day for the number four seed on a surface he usually struggles on.

In the third game of the second set, Becker forced Davydenko to deuce and narrowly missed out on the opportunity to pounce on another drop in the Russian’s usually exceptionally high serving standards.

Becker was following a simple, aggressive game plan that another B Becker used so well during his time at Wimbledon, making it even more improbable that Davydenko would be given the opportunity to engage in the long baseline battles that has established him as a top-five player for the past four years.

The match was slipping and sliding away from Davydenko as Becker continued to maintain a high all-round standard, hitting winners on both sides of the court and keeping the rallies short with high-octane tennis.

After such a poor start, the odds were against Davydenko managing to impose himself and get back in the game, and that is exactly what happened. The Russian’s serve improved briefly before the net cords and double faults resurfaced and the German raced to an unexpected two-set lead.

If the number four seed was going to go through now, he would have to do it in five sets. But it was Becker who was in charge and he continued to dominate with his serve and forehand, the final nail in the coffin coming in the third game of the final set when Davydenko threw away another service game, and with it ultimately, the match.

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Andy Murray Back with a Bang

Andy Murray made his long awaited return to The All England Club and celebrated with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 win over Fabrice Santoro.

After a two-year wait – he missed last year's tournament with a wrist injury – Murray is back in business and if his first-round performance was anything to go by, there will plenty more to watch as The Championships unfold.

Santoro, the 35-year-old Frenchman, tested every part of Murray's game and every aspect got a clean bill of health. First-round matches are always slightly nervy affairs and no player wants to be at his absolute peak when he begins a Grand Slam fortnight. But so far everything appears to be in good working order and can only get better from here.

It had been Santoro's dearest wish to play a singles match on Centre Court before he retired. So when the draw was made on Friday and his name came out of the hat alongside Murray, the Frenchman could not have been happier.

"I have had a 19-year career," Santoro said before the match, "and I have played on every other court around the world apart from Wimbledon's Centre Court.

"It's the temple of tennis. At Wimbledon they know their tennis and they love their tennis. People are waiting in the street for hours and hours to get in to watch. There is big respect for the players. There is big support for the British, but it will be fair. I know that people will be for Andy, but not against me."

And so it proved. Murray arrived to cheers and applause but with an ill-advised retro beige holdall draped over one shoulder – beige is a difficult colour even for British heroes to carry off. But once he was warmed up and ready for action, Murray was decked out in pristine white. Even his trusty old ankle brace had been replaced with a new, clean and unblemished white support.

As the big match of the day, the A-Team of Tim Henman and John McEnroe had been squeezed into the commentary box for the occasion. As it turned out, it did little for Murray's nerves – every time he looked up he saw his great friend and mentor alongside one of the legends of the game – and both of them were analysing his every move.

Murray has often said that Santoro is the man he most likes to watch. Double fisted on both sides, the Frenchman caresses the ball and guides it to create impossible angles and infuriating spins. It is fascinating to watch and, for the first half of the first set, Murray found himself being entranced by Santoro's skills.

Able to play almost any shot, Murray was drawn into long and complicated rallies in the first few games. Murray broke for a 2-1 lead only to drop his serve three games later and suddenly there was a sharp intake of breath on the famous old court.

Only when Murray finally relaxed and started to put a little muscle behind his shots did he begin to stamp his authority on the match. He stands five inches taller than Santoro at 6' 3" and is 12 lbs heavier so it only seemed sensible to use the advantage. The extra power was enough to wrap up the first set but, even so, the drama was not over.

Dropping his serve at the start of the second set – Santoro raised his fist in triumph as if he had won the set – the Scot had to wait patiently for another seven games for his chance to break back. From there, he nipped away to take a two-set lead but Santoro was not done yet.

Standing toe to toe, drop shot to drop shot and lob to lob with the Scot, Santoro chased Murray all the way to the tie-break. Meanwhile, in the commentary box, Henman and McEnroe were pleading for the Scot to be more aggressive, more commanding and more powerful. Dunblane's favourite son, meanwhile, continued to use subtlety and finesse to win some of his points when a simple wallop of the ball might have achieved the same result.

As Murray finally put himself in a position to get his nose in front in the middle of the tie-break, a very English voice could be heard saying through gritted teeth "hit it!". Murray did not hear Henman's advice and played yet another drop shot, almost got himself into trouble but got away with it. A mini-break up, he was on his way to the second round and an appointment with wild card Xavier Malisse.

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Venus Downs Courageous Cavaday

When defending champions return to Centre Court for their first match in the new tournament, they sometimes take time to find their form. This is what happened to four-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams against British teenager Naomi Cavaday.

After struggling to find any sort of consistency in the first set, the 28-year-old Williams assembled her game impressively to win 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 and will now meet another Briton, Anne Keothavong, in the second round.

That said, Cavaday, a 19-year-old ranked 197 in the world, produced some impressive, powerful tennis that had the American at full stretch. Only ranked fifth among British women, the left-handed Cavaday was not fazed by the prospect of stepping on to the world's most renowned tennis court.

She had shown her potential at The Championships last summer when she held two match points against Martina Hingis before bowing out and she took the fight to Venus from the first ball. In the opening game, Venus was distracted by a bee but could hardly blame that on dropping her serve from 40-love up. The teenager promptly underlined her fine start by going 2-0 up and it was not until the sixth game that Venus managed to get the break back.

In that time Cavaday played possibly the best 20 minutes of tennis of her life, showing commendable spirit as she matched her renowned opponent for power and depth of shot and frequently left Venus stranded with a crosscourt forehand.

Venus had played only seven tournaments this year before Wimbledon and had not struck a ball on grass since winning the title here 12 months ago. Sometimes it showed as Cavaday's battling attitude exposed unexpected fragility in the Williams game, particularly on the forehand side.

Having missed two break points that would have put her 5-3 ahead, Venus was forced into a tie-break she could never have imagined before the match. Even this was no cakewalk. They were locked at four points apiece before Williams pulled away, taking the set after 56 minutes courtesy of a Cavaday forehand service return into the net.

By this time, Venus had realised that whenever she moved up to the net, she won the point. This, combined with some fine serving, made a 21-minute formality of the second set as Cavaday tired in the hot sun.

In three service games, Venus dropped just one point, and that was a double fault. As Cavaday laboured to stay in the match, serving at 1-5, the full strength of Williams was unveiled. All four winning points came from Cavaday’s service deliveries being hammered back past her. But Venus knows there is work to be done before she moves deeper into the tournament.

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A Limping Davenport Advances at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—With Wimbledon devolving into a fashion contest, former champion Lindsay Davenport’s retro getup may have trumped all other outfits.

Her sleeveless white top and pleated skirt were very 1980s, and the wrap on her right leg—with bandages extending from mid-thigh to mid-calf—looked like something out of the British Museum.

Playing her first match at Wimbledon since 2005, Davenport whacked enough winners to compensate for a sore knee Tuesday, and she hobbled past Renata Voracova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

Moving more comfortably into the second round were Maria Sharapova and her new all-white, tuxedo-style outfit, which prompted 13 fashion-related questions at her postmatch news conference. Other winners in straight sets included defending champion Venus Williams, Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick on a second successive mild, dry day at the All England Club.

While photographers focused on Sharapova’s ensemble, and Roddick poked fun at Roger Federer’s opening-day sweater, Davenport resorted to tactics that had her winning ugly. Back on the women’s tour after a hiatus to have her first child, the 1999 Wimbledon champion showed she still possesses the grass-court game to beat anyone—even on one leg.

“I wouldn’t come here if I didn’t think I would do really well,” Davenport said.

Idle for two months after sitting out the clay-court season, Davenport feared rust would be a problem in the opening round. But she was troubled more by a sore knee that has bothered her in recent weeks.

Playing on Court 2—the “Graveyard of Champions”—Davenport held a match point in the 10th game of the second set but failed to convert it. Before the final set began, she required treatment from a trainer, who probed and stretched her knee, then sprayed and wrapped her right thigh. During a changeover three games later, more tape was applied to the knee.

“Some days it feels OK, and other days it is a problem,” Davenport said. “In the latter stages of the second set, I definitely felt like it was getting worse. I didn’t feel great in the third.”

Limited mobility wasn’t really a problem, however, because Davenport has compensated for that her whole career. She went for a big shot at every opportunity, eager to end points quickly, and often did by swatting a winner.

“I actually felt like I started hitting the ball a little bit better because I felt like I needed to do more with it,” Davenport said.

She had help: Voracova double-faulted to fall behind 5-3 in the final set. Davenport lost the first point of the next game, then ripped an ace, a service winner, another ace and another service winner for the victory. She looked to the sky in relief and limped off the court, but an hour later she sounded optimistic about her chance of moving deep into the draw.

Seeded only 25th, Davenport proudly noted she hasn’t lost before the quarterfinals at Wimbledon since 1997.

“I’ve had some of my greatest memories here,” she said. “What started off as a Grand Slam that I probably liked the least definitely turned into one I liked the most in the latter part of my career.”

She’s still a youngster compared to 36-year-old Jonas Bjorkman, whose 15th Wimbledon ended with a four-set defeat against Arnaud Clement. Bjorkman plans to retire in October.

Another veteran, No. 4-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, lost to Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, but it was hardly an upset. The opening-round defeat was Davydenko’s fifth at Wimbledon in seven years.

Afterward the Russian again addressed an investigation into heavy wagering on a match he lost last August at an obscure tournament in Poland. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

“Nobody can prove anything,” Davydenko said. “I think there’s no match-fixing in tennis.”

Nadal began his bid to end Federer’s five-year reign by beating qualifier Andreas Beck 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (0). Nadal, runner-up to Federer the past two years, is coming off his fourth consecutive French Open championship and a win at Queen’s for his first grass-court title.

Three U.S. males reached the second round: Roddick, James Blake and Jesse Levine, who beat fellow American Donald Young. Mardy Fish of the United States lost to No. 8-seeded Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

Roddick never faced a break point and defeated Eduardo Schwank 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (0). He then weighed in on this week’s fashion buzz, which started with the cardigan Federer wore Monday onto Centre Court.

“I personally don’t care,” Roddick said. “But any attention drawn to tennis for whatever reason is good. If that means wearing the Mr. Rogers sweater, whatever else you got, then so be it. I don’t know if it would be a good look for me or any of my friends. Or relatives.”

Sharapova wore a belted tuxedo warmup jacket onto Court 1, along with a sheer bib-style blouse and—for the first time at a Grand Slam event—shorts. Of secondary interest: She beat qualifier Stephanie Foretz 6-1, 6-4.

“To be able to perform in that, with it being so thin, so mobile, it’s really cool,” Sharapova said.

The day’s most exciting tennis may have occurred in the first set played on Centre Court. The normally serene atmosphere became lively when four-time champion Williams fell behind 2-0 and 3-1 against Naomi Cavaday, an Englishwoman who needed a wild card to make the draw.

Sensing a possible upset, the partisan crowd began cheering shots by the Brit even before points ended. The applause proved premature as Williams rallied to win 7-6 (5), 6-1.

Along with avoiding an embarrassing loss, Williams managed to dodge a bee that bothered her in the opening game.

“I was about to serve. I felt something on my leg. I looked down. It was a bee, a big old bumblebee,” Williams said. “I was trying to get it off without getting stung. You know how they usually fly back at you. Then I ended up losing that service game, so I guess the bumblebee got me off to a bad start.”

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'Difficult Draw' Makes Nadal Wary

It is a good job that Rafael Nadal thinks he is getting better as a grass court player because the world number two is not having an easy time of things at Wimbledon.

Nadal will face Ernests Gulbis for a place in the third round – and Gulbis is a fast improving player on every surface regardless of the level of the tournament. Having earned his crust by winning titles at the Challenger level, he moved up easily to the main tour last year and started to dent a few top 10 reputations along the way.

The 19-year-old from Latvia has made everyone sit up and take notice in the past few weeks, reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and making a reasonable transition to grass by reaching the third round at the Artois event.

He was beaten at Queen's by Andy Murray but, storing away the experience and any information he could gain about playing on the surface, he went on to beat the huge-serving John Isner 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 to set up his meeting with Nadal. And the Spaniard is impressed with his young rival.

“I have a difficult draw,” Nadal said. “I'm going to play against a very tough opponent, one of the worst opponents I could play in the second round. Gulbis is a good player, with a very good serve. He plays very aggressively, with an amazing forehand. He's very young, too.”

As draws go, it is anything but straight-forward for the Spaniard. Even if he has reached the Wimbledon final for the past two years, young guns with a lot of confidence and nothing to lose can cause even the best of players a bit of bother.

Nadal knows he is getting better on grass with every year that passes. But as a very polite, self-effacing and modest man, trying to get him to admit to his abilities is a bit like pulling teeth. So, is he a better player this year than he was last year?

“I really don't know,” he said. “Everybody ask me the same question. For the last two years I played the final at Wimbledon, so is very, very difficult to say I am a better player. In my opinion, I am more complete player because I have more options. But I don't know if I am a better player or not on grass. I think in general, yes.”

So the answer, then, is yes, Nadal does think he is a better player than he was. That's handy because he is going to need all his expertise and experience to reach his third Wimbledon final.

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Roddick Doesn't Mind Being Overlooked at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—All the talk about the men’s favorites at Wimbledon has been about Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Largely overlooked has been Andy Roddick. The two-time runner-up insists he’s happy to fly under the radar.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been the one that everybody’s talking about,” Roddick said after beating Eduardo Schwank 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the first round Tuesday. “You know what? I don’t really care.”

Roddick, who lost to Federer in the 2004 and ‘05 finals, has the huge serve and forehand to challenge anyone on grass. But he has been slowed by a shoulder injury this season, missed the French Open and is seeded only No. 6 at Wimbledon this time.

Federer, meanwhile, is going for a sixth straight title. Nadal is coming off his fourth straight French Open championship and first grass-court title at Queen’s. The third-ranked Djokovic is the Australian Open champion.

“The big three?” Roddick said when asked if he’d ever heard the term. “They’ve played pretty well, but it goes in waves. People are going to come in and out. I think Roger and Rafa and Novak have established themselves as the best players so far. There’s no question about that.”

“Now, as far as fun nicknames, headlines and whatever, I don’t really care,” he added. “Everyone’s beatable. I’ve beaten the three of them. But if you’re asking if it (angers) me at all, I don’t really care. I just want to win tennis matches.”

That’s what Roddick did in fairly convincing style Tuesday against a gritty 22-year-old Argentine opponent making his Wimbledon debut. The American served 17 aces and never faced a break point.

“I actually hit the ball probably better than the score indicates,” Roddick said. “It seems like every game I was 30 on his serve and kind of cruising on mine. He would come up with something creative a lot of the times.”

His next opponent is burly Janko Tipsarevic, who beat Thierry Ascione 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-2. Roddick beat the Serbian player in a tight four-settter here in the first round in 2006.

“He just hits a pure ball,” Roddick said. “He’s able to attack off both sides. Doesn’t really play himself out of points. He serves pretty well for someone who is not super tall. If he’s playing well, that’s a lot to deal with.”

Djokovic was due first up on Centre Court on Wednesday for a second-round matchup with former No. 1 Marat Safin, who has slipped to No. 75 and won back-to-matches only twice this year. Federer was to face big-serving Swede Robin Soderling, whom he has beaten in all six previous meetings.

In women’s play, top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was paired on Court 1 against Nathalie Dechy, while two-time winner Serena Williams was scheduled to face Urszula Radwanska on Court 2—the so-called “graveyard of champions” for its history of upsets.

Among those advancing to the second round Tuesday—all in straight sets— were Nadal, defending women’s champion Venus Williams, 2004 winner Maria Sharapova and second-seeded Jelena Jankovic.

While Sharapova made a fashion statement with a tuxedo-style outfit, Lindsay Davenport wore bandages extending from mid-thigh to mid-calf in her first match at Wimbledon since 2005.

The 1999 champion, competing in her 13th Wimbledon at age 32, hobbled with a sore right knee and overcame Renata Voracova 6-3, 5-7, 6-3. Back on the women’s tour after a hiatus to have her first child, Davenport showed she still possesses the grass-court game to beat anyone—even on one leg.

“I wouldn’t come here if I didn’t think I would do really well,” she said.

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Super Safin Destroys Djokovic

The shock of the tournament came on Centre Court this afternoon when Novak Djokovic, hailed by many as a serious contender for this year’s Wimbledon title, was blown away in straight sets by Marat Safin, the former world number one.

Djokovic, the Australian Open champion, seeded three here, never looked comfortable and Safin despatched him 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

This match was keenly anticipated because it was one of those super-charismatic second round encounters that a Grand Slam draw can occasionally yield. These two had met only once before at Djokovic's maiden Grand Slam appearance, in Australia 2005, when Safin granted his opponent a miserly three games in total.

Hence it was widely anticipated that Djokovic would be hungry for revenge, to boost his momentum on the road to a possible semi-final against Roger Federer. But 28-year-old Safin is a man who likes a challenge – he spent last September climbing the sixth highest mountain in the world, Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, and it seemed today he was in the same mood to conquer new peaks.

Djokovic played like someone the crowd had never seen before. He had a simply horrible day, and from the outset appeared unable to engage with the task in hand. The opening game alone saw last year's semi-finalist deliver two double faults to bring up 0-40. He saved his blushes, but it was a sign of things to come.

At 2-2, a Safin drop-shot forced an error from the Serb, who double faulted again to give Safin 3-2. Djokovic broke back next game and emitted a loud bellow as he did so, but it did not sound like a shout of celebration. His touch was still awry and Safin was returning beautifully. Galloping about the court, the Russian punched away a volley to break Djokovic to love again. The Serb looked like thunder.

Early in the second set, their mutual body language seemed a throwback to that first encounter from 2005 – Safin was strolling about the court with the easy confidence of the old hand, while 21-year-old Djokovic was scrambling like an ungainly new boy. The Serb's woes were many – his serve was poor, his error count was high, and his play was tentative.

At 1-1, Djokovic leaked another two break points. He got them back, and began to serve just a little better. But his errors were still cancelling out his winners. Meanwhile, Safin's touch was periodically a delight, and he was returning fearsomely well. Come the tie-break, Djokovic became frustrated by a crucial Hawk-Eye over-rule, and Safin ambled away with it 7-3.

At the start of the third set, Safin's momentum was established and it seemed that Djokovic knew it. He surrendered his serve immediately with a double fault for the second time in the match. The crowd murmured in embarrassment. Whatever they had expected from this encounter, it was not this. But Djokovic was powerless. Safin, whose ranking has been in decline for the past three years, turned back the clock and played like the champion of old.

Djokovic rescued three match points but brought up a fourth, wouldn't you know it, with his ninth double fault. Horrendously, he delivered his 10th to surrender the match.

At the net, Djokovic embraced his conqueror, showing great grace at what must have been a moment of bitter defeat. Both men were cheered from the court, but this is a day Djokovic will long to forget.

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Safin Crushes Djokovic's Wimbledon Hopes

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—A match involving Marat Safin is always worth watching. He’s liable to moon the crowd, smash several rackets or dominate the world’s best player, as he did against Pete Sampras in the 2000 U.S. Open final.

For a change, Wimbledon inspired Safin’s best behavior and tennis Wednesday, much to the chagrin of Novak Djokovic. Finally comfortable on the grass he long has loathed, Safin pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a workmanlike performance to beat the third-ranked Djokovic 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-2.

Safin has been battling a slump for months, or even years, and the big Russian expressed surprise to find himself in the third round.

“The last time I won two matches in a row was I don’t remember when,” he said.

Djokovic, this year’s Australian Open champion, was dismayed to catch the erratic Safin at a peak.

“I didn’t expect it, honestly saying,” Djokovic said. “Playing him on Centre Court obviously motivates him more to do well.”

Safin’s stunner made a good day even better for No. 1-ranked Roger Federer, who beat Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Djokovic was in the same half of the draw and posed a potential impediment to Federer’s bid for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title.

While Djokovic made his earliest exit at a major event in 2 1/2 years, a lucky bounce for new No. 1 Ana Ivanovic prevented a double defeat for Serbia. Facing match point in the second set, Ivanovic hit a forehand that hopped over the net cord for a winner, and more than 90 minutes later she completed a victory over Nathalie Dechy, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 10-8.

“Someone from upstairs made the ball roll over,” Ivanovic said. “If it wasn’t for that net … I would be booking my flight back home.”

Dechy said she cried for an hour after Ivanovic won.

“Maybe today she can go and play the Lotto,” Dechy said. “It would be a good day for her.”

Two-time champion Serena Williams said she was less than thrilled about playing on Court 2, known as the “Graveyard of Champions,” but there were no ghost sightings as she beat 17-year-old Urszula Radwanska 6-4, 6-4.

Williams will next face 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo, who rallied past Virginia Ruano Pascual 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

The two other Americans on the schedule also won. Bethanie Mattek reached the third round at a major event for the first time by beating Vera Dushevina 7-6 (6), 6-4, and she next plays 2007 runner-up Marion Bartoli. Bobby Reynolds matched his best Grand Slam showing when he defeated Frank Dancevic 4-6, 7-6 (10), 6-4, 6-4.

As for Safin: The grass-hating, nightlife-loving, racket-throwing Russian with the roller-coaster resume took the court figuring he might soon be back in Moscow.

“There is a flight at 8:30 leaving every evening,” he said with a smile, “so I was almost there.”

Safin’s ranking has been falling faster than the shorts he dropped in glee to celebrate a nifty shot at the French Open four years ago. He arrived in London at No. 75 with a record of 10-13 this year, and he hasn’t won a tournament since 2006.

It has been a humbling, frustrating stretch for a two-time Grand Slam champion once ranked No. 1.

“I was losing left and right,” said Safin, 28. “I started to get a little bit desperate because I’ve been working really hard week after week. The results are not coming, not coming. You need to be really strong mentally to continue.”

After the French Open, Safin was no longer even the most celebrated player in his family. Younger sister Dinara Safina reached a major final for the first time at Roland Garros before losing to Ivanovic.

The first-round schedule at Wimbledon showed how far Safin has slipped: He and Fabio Fognini found themselves playing at the south end of the All England Club, next to the hospitality tents.

“I played on Court 11, which is almost in another club,” Safin said. “My ranking dropped, so where you expect me to play? Not many people care about the match.”

That victory earned him a promotion to the most famous stage in tennis, where Safin has rarely enjoyed much success. He hasn’t been beyond the third round at Wimbledon since 2002 and has often complained about the surface, the weather and even the food.

“What did I say? `The strawberries are too expensive.’ It’s true. `They don’t have enough for dessert.’ It’s true. … I was right I think in what I said. I didn’t make any lies.”

While Safin’s criticism failed to bring down concession prices, the club has slowed down the courts, much to his delight. A higher bounce allows him to stay in the backcourt, where he can whack his muscular groundstrokes.

“The courts have been getting slower and slower throughout the years,” Safin said. “It’s not any more like they used to be like eight years ago. It was really fast, and now you can play from the baseline and nobody even getting close to the net.”

With Safin in his comfort zone, Djokovic found himself in trouble from the start, falling behind love-40 on his serve in the first game. He rallied to hold but was broken twice in a row to fall behind 4-3.

Two games later, when Safin served for the first set, he shanked a serve that landed 10 feet beyond the baseline, then fell behind love-30. It was a pivotal moment: If Safin let the game slip away, he might well go into meltdown mode.

“He’s known for his, you know, mental instability,” Djokovic said.

Instead, Safin calmly closed out the game and the set, and it was Djokovic who unraveled. He double-faulted five times in the last set, including on the final two points, and his tournament ended not with a trophy but with a stinging critique from Safin.

“He didn’t impress me with his game today,” Safin said. “I could read his serve. I could return. I could stay with him from the baseline, and that’s it.”

Safin next faces No. 29-seeded Andreas Seppi, and it’s a safe bet the match won’t take place on Court 11.

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Hewitt Flies Into Third round

Lleyton Hewitt had a commanding win over Spain's Albert Montanes to join Casey Dellacqua as the only Australians through to the third round at Wimbledon today.

Hewitt, the No.20 seed who has been battling a hip injury, recovered from a tough five-setter against Dutchman Robin Haase in the opening round to beat Montanes 7-6(4) 6-0 6-2 in blustery conditions.

"It was good to get through in straight sets," said Hewitt, who looked to be in some pain from the hip as he entered his post-match press conference.

But he said he was content with the way the injury had pulled up after the first round.

"The first set was difficult, it was hard to get into his service games," he said of today's match.

"He's got a very underrated serve - it's not the best serve, it's not the biggest out there, but it's very hard to do anything with.

"As the match went on, though, I felt more and more comfortable with how I was playing."

The 2002 champion here will next meet Italy's Simone Bolelli, who upset 15th-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 7-6(8) 7-6(7) 3-6 7-6(4).

Hewitt claimed two set points on Montanes' serve in the first-set tiebreak and converted the first when the Spaniard sent a backhand long.

He maintained his momentum to completely steamroll Montanes in the second set before claiming an early break of serve in the third.

Montanes never recovered and Hewitt broke him again in the seventh game to earn the right to serve for the match.

Hewitt won the next game to love, sealing victory with an ace, delighting a vocal band of supporters in the crowd.

There had been trouble in the stands earlier, however, when two men were escorted away by security guards for unruly behaviour.

One of the men was later arrested by Metropolitan Police.

Dellacqua beat Pauline Parmentier of France 1-6 6-2 6-3 to set up a third-round clash with 18th-seeded Czech Nicole Vaidisova, with whom she shares a 1-1 head-to-head record.

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Tanasugarn Topples Zvonareva

The evergreen Tamarine Tanasugarn shocked 13th seed Vera Zvonareva to progress to the third round. Tanasugarn, in the form of her life, won the marathon match 7-6 (12-10), 4-6, 6-3, despite a hamstring injury picked up during the second set.

The Thai’s win was her ninth consecutive on grass, in a run that included winning the Ordina Open in Holland last week. Tanasugarn was a finalist in the Wimbledon Junior tournament in 1995 and has been a consistent performer at the All England Club ever since, reaching the fourth round six times.

She started the game well, breaking Zvonareva’s powerful serve in the first game of the match. She broke again to take a 4-1 first set lead, thanks to some excellent forehand winners. But the Russian, a winner in the ladies’ doubles in 2006 with Nathalie Dechy, hit back to force the set into a tie-break. The tie-break went one way and then the other as both players played tremendous tennis. Tanasugarn eventually took it 12-10.

The Thai started the second set just as she did the first. The world No. 60 went 3-0 up but once again Zvonareva hit back. After levelling the set at 3-3, Zvonareva broke again in a lengthy seventh game. The second set saw a drop in quality as both players struggled with their game, not helped by the heat and the gruelling nature of the match. Tanasugarn called for the trainer for treatment on a hamstring injury but was able to continue with heavy strapping.

Zvonareva closed out the set 6-4 but once again Tanasugarn came roaring back, taking a 3-0 lead at the start of the final set. The game became tenser but the experienced 31-year-old Tanasugarn kept her composure better than her opponent, eight years her junior, to win the match in just over two and a half hours.

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Sharapova, Roddick Upset at Wimbledon

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Moments after Maria Sharapova walked off the court in defeat, her father stomped away from the stadium down a Wimbledon walkway, spitting out words in Russian as he gestured to a companion.

Upon climbing a stairway to the players’ patio, Yuri Sharapov encountered the father of two other former Wimbledon champions, Richard Williams. They shook hands without a word, and Williams began to giggle at the seething Sharapov, who couldn’t resist cracking a rare smile.

They belong to an exclusive club of dads who know what it’s like to watch their little girl flop as the world watches. Sharapov endured the experience Thursday, when his daughter lost 6-2, 6-4 in the second round to Alla Kudryavtseva, a fellow Russian ranked 154th.

“There’s only one winner in the tournament, and everybody else is disappointed,” Sharapova said. “I’m one of them.”

While Sharapova never really gave herself a chance, missed opportunities doomed Andy Roddick. The two-time Wimbledon runner-up went 0-for-8 converting break points, squandered three set points in the final set and lost to Janko Tipsarevic 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

“Any chance I got, I pretty much just choked it,” Roddick said. “It’s like you want something so bad you almost squeeze too tight.”

Other title contenders gave their parents more to cheer about. No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal showed a rare flash of anger at a questionable call in the opening set but regained his composure to beat 19-year-old Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-3. Williams’ daughter, Venus, seeking her fifth Wimbledon title, needed 26 points to win a single game but eventually shook stubborn Anne Keothavong of Britain, 7-5, 6-2.

Venus and sister Serena also won their second-round doubles match shortly after being named to the U.S. Olympic team.

But 1999 Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport withdrew before her second-round match because of a lingering knee injury. Davenport, back at Wimbledon for the first time in three years after becoming a mother, said she still expects to play in the Olympics.

American men went 0-for-3. The elimination of Roddick, Jesse Levine and Olympian James Blake left the United States with one player in the third round of gentlemen’s singles: No. 102-ranked Bobby Reynolds.

U.S. fans might want to claim Kudryavtseva, who was born in Moscow but lives in Boca Raton, Fla. She sent Sharapova to her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament since 2003.

Adding insult to the result, Kudryavtseva trashed the tuxedo-style ensemble worn by Sharapova that had been the talk of the tournament.

“I don’t like her outfit,” Kudryavtseva said. “It’s a little too much of everything. … It was one of the motivations to beat her.”

Spraying shots from the start, cover girl Sharapova disproved the adage that anybody looks good in a tux. The 2004 Wimbledon champion had eight double-faults, including three in one game, and wore the net out with her groundstrokes.

“I guess it wasn’t my day,” Sharapova said. “I was just pretty tentative.”

And why was that?

“Not sure. Very good question. A question I’ll be asking myself later today.”

The second-ranked Sharapova won her third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January but has experienced dismal defeats at two major events this month. She blew a big lead in a fourth-round loss to Dinara Safina at the French Open.

Kudryavtseva, the daughter of a world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling, has been ranked as high as 59th. She came within two points of upsetting Venus Williams in the first round last year.

“I was so close to winning, and then just played a little too passive in the end,” Kudryavtseva said. “So today I was like, `There’s no way I’m going to do the same mistake again,’ so I went for my shots.”

In the final game, Sharapova shanked two shots, then double-faulted to reach match point. Kudryavtseva fulfilled her pledge to stay aggressive, smacking a forehand winner for the victory, then hopped backward toward the net with glee.

“She beat me, and it probably made her tournament,” Sharapova said.

Sharapova walked off wearing a frown and not her tuxedo warm-up jacket, which instead was tucked in her bag, not to be seen again in the tournament.

Also gone for good is the sixth-seeded Roddick, who failed three times to put returns in play when he had set points in the fourth set. When he chipped one of the returns awkwardly into the net, he cursed himself, and he was just as self-critical an hour after Tipsarevic closed out the upset.

“I just didn’t make anything happen out there,” Roddick said. “Zero, zero, zero.”

Tipsarevic advanced one day after fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic was upset in the second round by Marat Safin.

“This means the world to me,” Tipsarevic said. “I’m just glad that I won and Serbia will have more representatives in the men’s singles draw.”

The elimination of Roddick eases the path to the final for Nadal, seeking to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon back to back.

Facing a tough second-round opponent in the precocious Gulbis, a French Open quarterfinalist, Nadal looked unusually edgy early. He threw a brief tantrum at 5-all in the first set when the chair umpire awarded a point to Gulbis, ruling the ball had bounced twice before Nadal hit it.

“I say, `That’s unbelievable how you can’t see something like this,”’ Nadal said. “I said, `Probably your fault I’m going to lose the set.’ But … I lose the set because I played terrible, terrible next game.”

There was also a tense moment in the second set of the Williams match, when she and Keothavong exchanged shots at point-blank range. Keothavong ripped a backhand that hit Williams in the neck area.

“It hurt,” Williams said. “This is tennis. You’ve got to be ready for whatever. I’ve hit some people, too. That’s just how it goes sometimes. I don’t think she was aiming for me. And if she was, she didn’t tell me about it.”

It has been an eventful week for Williams, who was attacked by a bumblebee in her first match. But she’s into the third round without any stings or bruises, so who can blame her dad for giggling?

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Murray Outplays Malisse

The ending may have been slightly confusing but the result was just what Andy Murray was looking for. He beat Xavier Malisse 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 and is through to the third round.

As he pumped down his final ace on match point, Murray clenched his fist and yelped in victory but Malisse held his hand up and brought the celebration to a halt. Everyone stared at everyone else.

The umpire, Lars Graff, waited for a moment. Murray filled the time by playing "keepy-uppy" (juggling a tennis ball with his feet), Malisse sat on his racquet and waited. After a while, Murray asked what was going on and that is when the confusion began.

Graff thought Malisse had indicated he was not ready for play when Murray served; Malisse thought he had challenged the call on the serve (it was his only chance of stopping the inevitable by that stage). Eventually Hawk-Eye was brought into action, the ball was called good and Murray was declared the winner. It was never in doubt.

In his heyday, Malisse reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2002, cutting through the draw with a dazzling display of shot-making that was only halted by David Nalbandian. Those days are long gone, however. Malisse has slipped to 94 in the rankings and it soon became apparent that the Belgian had nothing with which to hurt Scotland's finest. Slightly less fleet of foot than in days of yore, he was always chasing after shadows.

He is still as unreliable as ever. There were flashes of his former talent, such as when he managed to break the Murray serve in the second set. But he could only hold it together for a handful of points and Britain's No.1 broke back immediately and continued the destruction.

Malisse tried it again briefly in the third set as he attempted to apply pressure to Murray's serve, but the Scot served his way out of trouble and did not allow the Belgian another point in the match.

From Murray's perspective, it was just the sort of convincing, straight-forward win that he wanted in the first week of the tournament. No reserves of energy expended, a swift 93-minute work-out to keep everything perfectly tuned and sharp and he would be back home in good time to walk the dog and watch the football.

The crowd was none too sure what to make of it all. Brought up during the Tim Henman years, a decade of eye-wateringly tense tea-time encounters, with Henman doing his level best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, they were not sure how to react to a British man playing much better than his opponent and sprinting into the third round.

The object of their affections was trying out all the various aspects of his game – and there are plenty to choose from. He traded blows from the baseline and dusted off his ground strokes; he started feathering his trademark drop shots from the very first game; he served 16 of aces, the fastest at 136mph, and he scampered forward to polish off the volley when the opportunity presented itself. Malisse did not know what to expect next.

Tommy Haas, Murray's next opponent, should have a better idea of what the Scot is capable of – the two have met twice before, with honours even. But this is Wimbledon, this is grass and with Murray in his current form and mood, this should be a winnable match.

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Top Seeded Ivanovic Upset by Wildcard

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was knocked out in the third round of Wimbledon on Friday by 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie of China, extending a spate of stunning upsets at the All England Club.

Ivanovic, who took over the No. 1 ranking after winning the French Open earlier this month, slumped to a 6-1, 6-4 loss to the wild-card entry and doubles specialist.

Ivanovic, who saved two match points before overcoming Nathalie Dechy in three sets on Wednesday, had no answer for the hard-hitting Zheng.

“It’s a surprise for me,” said the 24-year-old Zheng, who won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2006. “Thanks to Wimbledon, (which) gave me a wild card. I just tried my best and had to keep going, going.”

It was the earliest exit by a women’s top-seeded player at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis lost in the first round to Jelena Dokic in 2001.

Also Friday, the last remaining American in the men’s draw, Bobby Reynolds, lost to Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Ivanovic went out a day after 2004 champion and third-seeded Maria Sharapova was ousted by 154th-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva and two-time men’s runner-up Andy Roddick was bounced by Janko Tipsarevic. A day earlier, Australian Open champion and No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic fell to Marat Safin.

Ivanovic committed 17 unforced errors, converted only one of seven break-point chances and lost serve four times. She could lose the No. 1 ranking depending on how far No. 2 Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova advance in the tournament.

The match ended with Zheng’s serve hitting the service line and Ivanovic shanking her forehand return into the Court 1 stands.

“She played really well today and it was a tough match for me,” Ivanovic said. “I’m disappointed with my loss but I still look at it as a learning experience.

“It was a very emotional last couple of weeks for me and it took a bit of a toll,” she added. “I didn’t have great preparation.”

Zheng has won 11 tour doubles titles, including the 2006 Wimbledon and Australian Open championships with Yan Zi. She has captured three career singles titles, in relatively small events at Hobart in 2005 and Estoril and Stockholm in 2006.

In 2004, Zheng reached the round of 16 at the French Open to become the first Chinese woman to make the fourth round of a Grand Slam. She reached a career high singles ranking of No. 27 in 2006.

Zheng will play singles and doubles for China at the Beijing Olympics in August.

“I felt today the match gave me more belief for the Olympics,” she said.

Other title favorites fared better Friday.

Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight Wimbledon title by beating Marc Gicquel in straight sets, setting up a fourth-round matchup with the last man to win the championship before his run began.

Two-time women’s champion Serena Williams dispatched 2006 winner Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (5), 6-1, extending her supremacy over the Frenchwoman to a career record of 10-2.

After the first rain delay of the tournament, Federer overwhelmed the 53rd-ranked Frenchman 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Centre Court for his 62nd consecutive win on grass and 37th straight at the All England Club.

His next opponent will be Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002—the year before the Swiss star won the first of his five straight titles.

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Wimbledon: Day 6 Preview

Here we are, at the midway point of the 2008 Championships after a week mercifully low on rain but certainly not devoid of drama. Some of the biggest names in the sport have boarded early flights to elsewhere but the one constant factor at Wimbledon, it seems, is the lone Brit jousting to make his way into the second week.

For years it was Tim Henman who annually shouldered home hopes, but these days Henman has swapped tennis court for commentary box and the baton has passed to Andy Murray who, it has to be said, does not appear unduly burdened by expectation at the age of 21.

His confidence lifted by two straight-sets wins, the young Scot bids this afternoon to get into Monday's fourth round as he goes head-to-head with Tommy Haas, the 30-year-old Florida-based German who received his education in the arts of the game as a pupil at the Nick Bollettieri Academy. So thoroughly did Haas absorb his days there that he now lives in Bradenton, where the academy is situated and where he still practises.

One of Bollettieri's brightest, Haas rose at one point six years ago to second in the world rankings. But, it has to be said, he is the sort of bloke who tends, figuratively speaking of course, to walk into glass doors and off the edge of cliffs.

At the age of 17 he broke his right ankle and less than a year later broke the other one. Since then the injuries have come in such a flow that his middle name might be Surgery rather than Mario, though he once managed to fly with the Blue Angels formation team without mishap.

At the end of 2002 Tommy had surgery on his right shoulder and six months later underwent another operation, missing the whole of the 2003 season and battling his way back up the rankings from 349. At the 2005 Wimbledon he trod on a ball and sprained his ankle. In 2006 he was stricken by a stomach virus and a right wrist injury and last year he retired from Wimbledon's fourth round with a torn stomach muscle and, just in case he thought that was it for the season, he underwent more shoulder surgery in November.

The shoulder still bothers him, too. He missed both the Australian Open and Roland Garros as a result this year and returned to the German grass event in Halle after a six-week lay-off. So he could, with reason, be said to be short of match practice, as well as distinctly unlucky.

In comparison, Murray's well-documented ailments - twisted ankle, injured knee, wrist damage, sprained thumb - seem piffling stuff. So for both of them to get through today's match on Centre Court unscathed would be a triumph of medical science. They have met twice previously at the Indian Wells Masters Series, in slightly testy circumstances apparently, sharing a win each, but Murray is in impressive flow at the moment and should achieve that holy grail of British tennis, a place in Wimbledon's second week.

Rafael Nadal (Mr Muscles of Mallorca) will undoubtedly have recovered from the travails of his tightly-contested second round win over Ernests Gulbis and the celebrations of watching his nation's football team march into the final of Euro 2008, so it's back to work again on Centre Court, with the opposition provided by another German, Nicolas Kiefer, who is also coming back well from two wrist operations.

Rafa has won both their previous clashes, one of them in this year's Davis Cup quarter-finals and is looking ominously set for another good run on the turf of London SW19. But that has been said of other top talent in the last few days - Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova, Andy Roddick, Ana Ivanovic - who have all said their farewells. Nadal will need no reminding that Kiefer can play a bit and will react accordingly.

It is a busy day in the men's draw for the French, who have four in action. Their best hope Richard Gasquet, a semi-finalist here last summer, takes on a compatriot, Gilles Simon, while the 14th seed, Paul-Henri Mathieu faces a tough test against the fast-improving Croatian teenager Marin Cilic. Finally, that wily veteran Arnaud Clement will hope to spin enough magic to see him past Austria's Davis Cup man, Jurgen Melzer.

The women's champion, Venus Williams, has what looks like her third undemanding match in succession. She faces the 25-year-old Spanish qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who is the only Spanish woman left in the draw. Williams has beaten Martinez once before, but it was all of seven years ago, in a tough three-setter at the Australian Open.

Jelena Jankovic, the second seed, will be hoping her chances of progress have been increased by the exit of big names, and she has what appears a straightforward job this afternoon against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, with the extra incentive of opening the Centre Court proceedings.

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Venus Joins Sister in Wimbledon Round of 16's

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—One swing from completing her week’s work, Venus Williams toed the baseline, dribbled the ball, gave it a toss and delivered yet another thunderclap serve at sun-kissed Wimbledon.

The ace bounced off the Court 1 backstop as Williams trotted to the net to bid another foe farewell.

The scoreboard said 127 mph, the fastest women’s serve ever recorded at Wimbledon. The scoreboard also had Williams winning 6-1, 7-5 Saturday over qualifier Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez.

It was an upset-filled first week at Wimbledon and a rough one for American tennis, but the nonconformist Williams sisters ignored both trends. Four-time champion Venus and two-time champion Serena won three matches each without dropping a set.

Both advanced to Monday’s round of 16, as did No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal on the men’s side.

With No. 1-ranked Ana Ivanovic and No. 2 Maria Sharapova eliminated, and with No. 3 Jelena Jankovic limping to victory Saturday, prospects look good for an all-Williams final next weekend.

“The chances were wonderful from the beginning, from round one,” Venus said. “That’s how we see it. The more we progress, obviously the closer it gets.”

It would be their first meeting in a Grand Slam final since Serena beat Venus for the 2003 Wimbledon title.

Potential pitfalls remain, Jankovic foremost among them. But she hurt her left knee in the first set against 17-year-old Caroline Wozniacki.

Jankovic won 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, finishing the match with her leg heavily wrapped. She planned to have an MRI exam before facing Tamarine Tanasugarn on Monday.

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Jankovic said. “I hope for the best so that I will be able to play my next match.”

Unable to overcome injury was French Open runner-up Dinara Safina, who finished in tears as she lost to Shahar Peer 7-5, 6-7 (4), 8-6. Safina, who required treatment of her thighs during at least two changeovers, cried between points and hit half-speed serves in the final game, then double-faulted on match point.

Alla Kudryavtseva had a successful encore to her upset of Sharapova, reaching the fourth round at a major event for the first time by beating Peng Shuai 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.

With a late start on Centre Court, Nadal barely beat darkness but easily defeated Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-3. Runner-up to Roger Federer the past two years, Nadal is trying to become the first man to consecutively win the French Open and Wimbledon since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

On Monday he’ll play No. 17-seeded Mikhail Youzhny.

In the wake of the worst showing by American men at Wimbledon since 1926, with no one reaching the second week in singles, top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan advanced to the doubles quarterfinals.

But the U.S. curse extended to Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who lives in California, and German Tommy Haas, who lives in Florida. Both lost.

Tursunov was beaten by Janko Tipsarevic, who upset Andy Roddick in the second round. Haas was defeated by Andy Murray, seeking to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936.

The marquee men’s match Monday will be five-time defending champion Federer against 2002 winner Lleyton Hewitt.

Defending women’s champion Venus Williams is to play Alisa Kleybanova, and Serena Williams faces unseeded Bethanie Mattek, the only other remaining American. Those matches are back to back on Court 2—the “Graveyard of Champions”—but the sisters will nonetheless be heavily favored, as usual at Wimbledon, where they’ve won six of the past eight titles. Venus and Serena have settled into a groove on grass after enduring third-round upsets at the French Open—only the second time both lost on the same day at a major event. Serena cleared Wimbledon’s third-round hurdle Friday, and Venus was in a hurry to follow.

Her opponent was a Spanish left-hander with a lifetime record of 4-7 in Grand Slam matches. Predictably, Martinez Sanchez had no chance in baseline rallies, and the first set was a tennis clinic of sorts, with Williams whacking winners all over the court.

Her serve was especially impressive—she finished with 11 aces and won 33 of 38 points on her first serve. Even Martinez Sanchez’s supporters could appreciate the overpowering performance.

“Vamos, Venus,” someone shouted.

But in the second set Martinez Sanchez changed strategy and began to play serve and volley. It was a curious tactic to counter Williams’ booming groundstrokes, like diving into the barrel of a howitzer, but for a while it worked.

Martinez Sanchez won three games in a row for a 5-4 lead. Then Williams began to treat her like slow traffic on the British motorway, passing her on the left, then on the right, then on the left again.

“I was pretty happy, because she started putting some pressure on, and I had some good answers,” Williams said.

Williams won 12 of the final 14 points, the last with the record serve. At 127 mph, it topped the previous Wimbledon high of 126 achieved by both Venus and Serena. Venus holds the women’s tour record with a 129 mph serve at last year’s U.S. Open.

“The power that I have … it’s a real blessing,” she said. “I’m actually never really trying to serve that hard, if that makes any sense. It just comes big. It’s just how I serve. It’s just me.”

Williams celebrated the victory with her customary pirouette and wave, and as she left the stadium, she spotted a friend in the stands. She put her thumb to her ear and her little finger to her lips and mouthed the words “Call me.”

Time to start making dinner plans for the second week.

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Wimbledon: Day 7 Preview

It may be windy and it may be a touch chilly for the time of year but, hey, the rain is holding off and Wimbledon is steaming ahead like one of those magnificent transatlantic liners of old. Steaming into the second week with the finest programme of the fortnight, too.

These days Wimbledon stands alone among the four Grand Slams as the one which does not play on the middle Sunday - something welcomed by the players as well as tournament staff and we media folk - so this means that the fourth rounds of both men's and women's singles are due to be completed in their entirety in one day. Weather permitting, of course.

It is time for regrouping and reassessment; who among the seeds is still standing from the wreckage of the opening week and who is likely to be contesting the big one by the weekend? Let's deal first with the ladies. Here, in the shape of two players, there is one name which stands out: Williams. While the big names around them have toppled, sisters Serena and Venus have needed not so much to stride forward as to just stand tall and play their game.

Both are rather good at that. Six times in the eight years which constitute our new century one Williams or the other has conquered Wimbledon: Venus four times, Serena two. Quite a statistic, isn't it? No wonder their father, Richard, is already sporting a celebratory cigarillo.

The smoke should still be curling after today, too. Serena, the sixth seed who has not conceded a set so far, takes on a fellow-American, the only American, man or woman, not called Williams who is still standing. She is Bethanie Mattek, a 23-year-old ranked 69 who saw off last year's runner-up, Marion Bartoli, in the last round. Serena won their only previous match, two years back in Cincinnati, at a cost of four games.

As for Venus, four-time winner and defending champion, progress has been even smoother, if possible, against opposition which did not rate as over-demanding. Now comes another name which has not illuminated the boards of the sport so far, Alisa Kleybanova, one of the horde of young Russians who are threatening to take the women's tour by storm. Kleybanova is only 18 but already ranked inside the top 50. Venus, with a fifth reunion with the Venus Rosewater Dish in the forefront of her thinking, will have assessed all this and is ready to swing into action.

Jelena Jankovic, the second seed, is the highest-ranked woman still involved, albeit with a sore left leg after her laboured third round win on Centre Court. She did not even know who her next opponent is and when she was told "a Thai girl" she replied, "Tiger who? Tiger Woods?" No, not Tiger, but a 31-year-old Thai called Tamarine Tanasugarn, who has been playing tennis to match her bewitching name. However, if the Jankovic leg holds up, Tamarine could be destined for a Thai sunset.

Now the men's draw, where the big three has been reduced to the big two with the departure of Novak Djokovic. Roger Federer, five-time champion and owner of the nicest gold-trimmed cardigan in town, booked his place in the last 16 on Friday with his third simple victory, but things may become a touch tougher today when he faces Lleyton Hewitt. The feisty Aussie, winner of the title in 2002, is the only other former champion in the field.

They go back a bit, these two. All the way to 1999 in fact, 21 matches in all. Federer has won 13, Hewitt eight, but none of the last 11. So Federer is favourite for the round dozen but, quite rightly, he points out that Lleyton does not belong on the same planet as the word "quitter". That said, expect an entertaining battle and a win for Cardigan Man.

There is a frisson in the air over London and a spring in the step of most British who care for sport, since Andy Murray and his new curly hairdo have waltzed into the fourth round without undue fuss, matching his previous best at Wimbledon. Not quite time yet to start mentioning how long since a Brit won this thing (Fred Perry, 1936) but we are entitled to be getting a trifle excited. The level will be racheted up if Andy can surmount his next hurdle, the French number one and eighth seed Richard Gasquet, who was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon 2007.

Gasquet reckons he is playing "not my best tennis, but good tennis for sure" and says he is looking forward to taking on that hairdo on Centre Court. Murray's attitude? Bring it on.

Looking forward more than one match is foolhardy, but let's do it anyway and point out that if Murray gets past Gasquet he could meet Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals. First, of course, Rafa must himself see off the Russian, Mikhail Youzhny in today's extravaganza of choice matches.

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Jankovic Toppled by Tanasugarn

Second seed Jelena Jankovic was given a short, sharp shock as she was knocked out in the fourth round by unseeded Wimbledon veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand.

With so many seeds falling by the wayside in the first week, Jankovic went on to court knowing that she would rarely have a better chance to break her Grand Slam title duck and in the process move to the top of the world rankings.

But those dreams were dashed by a woman who, despite being ranked just 60 in the world, has become a permanent fixture in Wimbledon's fourth round. Tanasugarn has reached this stage seven times in 11 years, but never before had she progressed any further.

For Jankovic, defeat was short - just 75 minutes - and painful. Two days ago she had struggled through her Centre Court match against the Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki in three sets and had extensive treatment on her left knee. Today, on the crowded cockpit of Court 18, the Serbian came to the court with her knee strapped and she needed more treatment in the latter stages of the match.

But her injury did not seem to hamper her early on and it was only in the sixth game that she started to come under pressure.

Trailing 3-2, Jankovic saved two break points before Tanasugarn's counter-attack gave her a 4-2 lead when the Serb missed a forehand.

Tanasugarn kept the lead to run out the set in 36 minutes. As her forehand winner ended the set Jankovic slipped over behind the baseline.

Jankovic slipped further, too, on the scoreboard when she lost serve at the start of the second set and she called the trainer to the court at the first opportunity two games later for attention to her knee. A second trainer attended to Tanasugarn at the same time, treating a back injury.

But medical interventions over, the rhythm of the match remained unchanged. Jankovic dropped serve to fall 4-1 behind and broke Tanasugarn for the only time in the next game.

But an awesome forehand which landed right on the junction of the baseline and tramlines gave the Thai another break and the chance to serve for the match. She did so successfully and was in tears as she celebrated reaching her first quarter-final after trying every year since her debut in 1998.

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Williams' Sisters Win at 'Graveyard of Champions'

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—While Roger Federer glided to another victory on Centre Court, and Rafael Nadal won despite a scary stumble on Court 1, the Williams sisters found themselves playing back to back Monday on cozy, clattery Court 2, known as the "Graveyard of Champions."

What in the name of lawn tennis were they doing out there?

"It wasn't what I would have liked to see," Serena Williams said. "Initially I thought, `OK, is this the right schedule?' I thought maybe there was a mistake."

The sisters' mother and coach, Oracene Price, suspected more than a mere mistake by tournament organizers.

"I guess they wanted to put them on the jinx court so they could lose," Price said.

The sisters said Wimbledon gives men preferential treatment in court assignments, while Federer came to the defense of the All England Club, and the tournament referee said there was no intent to slight anyone.

Even after Venus and Serena spent the day at the Graveyard, their title hopes remained very much alive. They're defying the trend in a women's tournament that, by one measure, ranks as the most upset-filled on record.

Four-time champion Venus played first, making a high-noon entrance on the court known for its history of upsets and beating Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-4. Ninety minutes later, two-time Serena joined her older sister in the quarterfinals by defeating American Bethanie Mattek 6-3, 6-3.

Neither sister has lost a set in the tournament, and the chances of a sibling showdown in the final keep improving as a wave of upsets take out other title contenders. The fourth round claimed No. 2-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, leaving No. 5 Elena Dementieva as the highest-seeded survivor among the final eight.

The elimination before the quarterfinals of the women seeded Nos. 1-4 has never previously happened at Wimbledon since the tournament began keeping such records in 1927. It's the first time it has happened at any Grand Slam event in the 40-year Open era.

"Every player is ready to play, especially at these Slams," Venus Williams said. "Everyone comes out with double vengeance, so you just have to be ready."

Jankovic, slowed by a knee injury she suffered in the previous round, lost to No. 60-ranked Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 6-2. Kuznetsova was beaten by No. 14-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 1-6, 7-5.

Their defeats ensure Ana Ivanovic of retaining the No. 1 ranking next week, even though she was beaten by Zheng Jie in the third round. The No. 133-ranked Zheng, who needed a wild card to enter the tournament, became a first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist by beating No. 15-seeded Agnes Szavay 6-3, 6-4.

Alla Kudryavtseva, who upset No. 3-seeded Maria Sharapova in the second round, was eliminated by Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-4.

Tanasugarn, a first-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist at age 31, will play Venus Williams on Tuesday. The 19-year-old Radwanska will face Serena Williams.

Almost as unpredictable is the men's draw, with eight of the top 10 players eliminated. But the No. 1-ranked Federer and No. 2 Nadal remain on course to meet in the final for the third consecutive year.

While Federer beat 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt for the 12th time in a row Monday, Nadal hurt his right leg against Mikhail Youzhny and stopped in the middle of the second game for treatment by a trainer.

Nadal slipped on worn turf behind the baseline while stretching for a shot, and his right leg bent awkwardly. He said he felt a crack behind the knee.

"I felt a little bit pain," he said. "I was a little bit scared."

After the trainer wrapped Nadal's leg below the knee, the Spaniard showed no sign the injury bothered him the rest of the way, winning 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

"Right now I am feeling better," Nadal said an hour after the victory. "Tomorrow we will see how I wake up. But hopefully going to be fine."

Nadal will next play No. 12-seeded Andy Murray, trying to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936. He thrilled a partisan Centre Court crowd by completing a comeback win just before dark against No. 8 Richard Gasquet, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4.

Marat Safin reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time since winning the 2005 Australian Open, beating No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. Safin's opponent Wednesday will be No. 31 Feliciano Lopez, who overcame three match points to defeat No. 10 Marcos Baghdatis 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 8-6.

Federer will next play the last man to beat him at Wimbledon, Mario Ancic. Federer overcame some shaky moments in the first-set tiebreaker to defeat Hewitt 7-6 (7), 6-2, 6-4, while Ancic outlasted Fernando Verdasco 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11.

Since losing to the big-serving Ancic in the first round in 2002, Federer has won 63 consecutive grass-court matches, including 38 at Wimbledon.

"I completely underestimated him back in 2002," Federer said. "What it taught me was not to underestimate any opponent."

That may be the biggest challenge in the next two rounds for the Williams sisters, who have won six of the past eight Wimbledon titles and are dominating again this year. If the Graveyard of Champions can't stop them, what will?

Court 2 has no tombstones, but the names of losers there includes such former champions as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors— and both Williams sisters.

There are no replay reviews on Court 2, where the scoreboard is manually operated. There are no seats behind one baseline and only three rows behind the other. Spectators can hear players muttering to themselves, and the soundtrack for matches also includes cheering from other courts and noise from the nearby dining area for players.

"I don't think I've ever played a fourth-round match on a court like that in my career," Serena Williams said.

With all 16 fourth-round matches on the schedule Monday, tournament referee Andrew Jarrett said it was unavoidable that some leading players would be assigned to outer courts. Serena and Venus found themselves back on Court 2 for their evening doubles match, which they also won to reach the quarterfinals.

The tempest about the schedule was defused somewhat because the sisters swept all three matches, and defending champion Venus at first said she had no complaint. But when asked if Wimbledon slights the women when deciding court assignments, she said yes.

Regarding Federer, Serena said, "I haven't seen him on Court 2 in, like, six years."

She's close: He last played there in the 2003 quarterfinals.

Federer said he didn't think the tournament was being disrespectful of anyone. He remembers Sampras losing on the Graveyard in his final Wimbledon match in 2002.

"Pete played on Court 2 after winning seven years," Federer said. "Who deserves what here? It's the club who decides in the end.

"I wouldn't be disappointed if they put me on Court 2. … Sometimes it's also kind of cool. You're closer to the crowds. It's kind of a different feeling out there."

The Williams sisters might be glad to know the days are numbered for the Graveyard of Champions. As part of a project to renovate the outer courts, a new Court 2 opens next year, while the Graveyard will become Court 3 in 2009— meaning fewer marquee matches—and will eventually be torn down.

In the meantime, Venus has been assigned to the Court 1 stadium Tuesday. Serena is to play on Centre Court, where fans may find them both Saturday.

Edited July 1, 2008 by mauiguy90

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Murray Comeback Lights Up Centre Court

It was 9.29pm and almost dark. They had been on court for 3hrs 57mins and for two sets and 92 minutes of that struggle, no one would have given Andy Murray a hope but somehow Scotland's finest pulled off a rip-roaring, nerve-snapping 5-7, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Richard Gasquet.

Murray is through to the quarter-finals, the first time in his career he has reached the last eight at a Grand Slam. Now he meets Rafael Nadal, but with the whole of the Centre Court crowd roaring themselves hoarse to help him along, anything seems possible.

Pity the poor All England Club – they are half way through building the new multi-million pound sliding roof for their famous old court and along comes Murray and whips up his followers to raise that roof and rattle the rafters.

When the two men had met last time, it was on Gasquet's home turf in Paris at the Bercy Masters with the victor earning a ticket to the Masters Cup in Shanghai. In the winner-takes-all environment – and playing in front of a vociferous Parisian crowd – Gasquet was as tight as a drum but still just nicked the result.

This time the tables were supposed to have been turned – this was meant to be Murray leading his 15,000 supporters in a teatime bout of Andymonium (it is the new Henmania). The pressure was allegedly on the Frenchman as he tried desperately to get through another round and move a step closer to defending the semi-final ranking points he earned last year here. Right, then – over to you, Andy.

But as talented as Murray is, not even he can expect to win a place in the quarter-finals without the aid of a first serve. Against the 10th best player in the world, he could not afford to display any sign of weakness, any crack in his defences that Gasquet could pick away at, but he could not buy a first serve for the first two sets. By the end of the first set, he was down to 44 per cent accuracy on the shot and by the time he was a break down in the second set, that had dropped to a miserable 42 per cent.

At the other end of the court, Gasquet was serving consistently, clobbering his forehand and laying into his single-handed backhand. He was also chasing forwards to the net whenever he could, stealing the march on Murray.

Both of them were hitting winners as if it were going out of fashion but Gasquet was keeping his unforced errors to a minimum while Murray was just having one of those days. He would set up the point perfectly and then go for the final winner only to wince as it flew just over the baseline or clipped the net and fell back.

From going toe to toe with Gasquet for the first 11 games, Murray was finally broken as the Frenchman set off on a run of four consecutive games to take the first set and grab the early break in the second.

Murray did everything in his power to get the crowd working for him, chasing lost causes and turning them into winners when he was in trouble – and the crowd responded in deafening style – but it was not enough. Gasquet was just too good.

Only when Gasquet came to serve for the match did the nerves start to jangle. As his serving arm turned to lead and his brain to cement, he dropped his serve on a double fault. The crowd perked up. It had taken 2hrs 16 minutes for Murray to so much as scratch Gasquet's armour but now, as the Centre Court faithful gasped, screamed and pleaded with the Scot to make a match of it, we had a fight on our hands.

Two sets down and 5-5 may not be the best place to plan for victory, but it was the only chance Murray was going to get. With the crowd at his shoulder, he battled, scrapped and strained through eight game points before he finally he held serve – and the louder the Scot's new best friends cheered, the edgier Gasquet became.

Murray, meanwhile, had found a new lease of life. He was aggressive on the returns, he was finding the fizz in his ground strokes and, on occasion, he was even landing some first serves. When he took the third set tie-break with a roaring, staggering backhand winner that was played so far out of court that he was almost in the photographers' pit, he brought the house down. Henmania was never like this.

With 2hrs 40 mins gone, it was game on.

For three sets, Gasquet had barely noticed the 15,000 fans screaming for Murray. He had gone about his business as if he were playing in is own back garden. Then just when he needed his nerve to hold, he could not think for the noise around him and the sight of the big Scot staring at him from across the net. Murray suddenly seemed two feet taller and, in the few seconds it took Gasquet to tighten up and Murray to realise it, the Scot's first serve had returned.

The fourth set whistled by in just 25 minutes as Gasquet's resistance crumbled and the noise levels on Centre Court increased with every winner and every game. As Gasquet complained about the fading light, he could do nothing about his fading chances. Broken in the opening game of the fifth set, he could only watch as Murray accelerated away and into the last eight.

Edited July 1, 2008 by mauiguy90

[mauiguy90]

Williams' Sisters On Track to Wimbledon Final

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—One prematch glance Tuesday at the data displayed on those fancy, new digital scoreboards at staid, old Wimbledon provided a pretty persuasive case for why Venus Williams might be considered the woman to beat.

The entry under career record at the grass-court Grand Slam: “55-7.” The listing of her best result: “WINNER 2007, 2005, 2001, 2000.”

Yet another reason to like the American’s chances: The way she served during the ensuing 6-4, 6-3 quarterfinal victory over Tamarine Tanasugarn—smacking eight aces, saving nine of the 10 break points, tying her Wimbledon record with a 127 mph delivery.

That extended Williams’ winning streak at the All England Club to 12 matches, including 19 sets in a row. Nonetheless, at least one person who knows a thing or two about tennis and a thing or two about Venus Williams flatly rejected the notion that she’s the favorite: Serena Williams.

Asked after her own impressive quarterfinal victory—6-4, 6-0 against 11th-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska—whether her older sister should be considered the likeliest champion, Serena shot back: “I would never sit here and say she’s the favorite when I’m still in the draw. What are you on?”

Rather than a sibling rivalry, that response perhaps reflects nothing more than the sort of competitive drive that helped the younger Williams win eight Grand Slam singles titles. That haul includes the 2002 and 2003 Wimbledon championships, each time concluded by beating her sister.

One more win apiece, and they’ll reprise the all-in-the-family final tradition Saturday. In Thursday’s semifinals, Serena will face 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie, who became the first Chinese player to reach the semifinals at a major tournament by upsetting 18th-seeded Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.

Venus next plays the highest-seeded remaining woman, No. 5 Elena Dementieva, who beat No. 21 Nadia Petrova 6-1, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

Zheng is the first wild-card entrant to reach the women’s semifinals at Wimbledon; only one woman ranked lower has made the semifinals at any Grand Slam.

“I just try my best to keep going,” Zheng said.

“China has quite a lot of sports in which it is a world leader,” she said through a translator. “Unfortunately, tennis is not one of them.”

Like Zheng, Radwanska and Tanasugarn were playing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time. Unlike her, they were forced to deal with a Williams on Tuesday.

More specifically, they were forced to deal with those Williams serves, developed by Dad all those years ago on the courts in Compton, Calif.

“We’re different,” Venus said. “I serve big almost every time. She goes for a little more placement.”

Against Radwanska, Serena hit 11 aces, including four in one game while pulling even at 3-3 in the first set. On the last of those, Radwanska lunged and whiffed, then grimaced at her racket.

“It’s too much, you know,” Radwanska said.

She isn’t exactly a nobody, having won the Wimbledon junior title in 2005 and pulled off an upset of defending champion Maria Sharapova at last year’s U.S. Open. But Serena made her look absolutely ordinary, if that, taking 28 of the last 37 points.

While Serena mixed in flat 120 mph serves with spinning, kicking changeups, Venus stuck with the hard stuff against Tanasugarn.

“I have a lot of power, so it helps,” Venus said. “Definitely, the power helps.”

She produced some of her best stuff when she needed to, particularly in the match’s sixth game.

Tanasugarn earned six break points, and the first five vanished thanks to, in order, a 107 mph service winner, a 102 mph service winner, a 115 mph service winner, a 94 mph service winner and a 122 mph ace.

“I’m really blessed to be able to have a serve to get me out of those issues,” Venus said.

On break point No. 6, Tanasugarn managed to put her return in play but then slapped a forehand into the net.

That’s when she turned her back to the court and motioned toward the players’ guest box with her hand, raising one finger at a time to count out those missed opportunities: 1-2-3-4-5-6.

“She served very well during the break points,” Tanasugarn said. “So what can I do?”

A few moments later, she did come up with a possible solution. A tad envious of her statuesque opponent—the 6-foot-1 Williams has 8 inches on her— Tanasugarn said, “Next life, I want to be tall as her. Please.”

Neither Williams has dropped a set during the tournament, and their seedings — Serena is No. 6, Venus No. 7—certainly seem to have been miscalculated. It’s the first time at any Grand Slam in the 40-year Open era that none of the four top-seeded women reached the quarterfinals, making the path even smoother for the siblings.

Hard to believe, but there hasn’t been a Williams vs. Williams final at a tournament since 2003 at the All England Club.

And what if they do meet again for the title, in what would be their seventh matchup in a Grand Slam final? What would breakfast be like Saturday morning at the place they’re sharing here?

“I’m going to sabotage her and eat all the breakfast,” Serena said. “I’ll eat all the Wheaties so she doesn’t have any chance.”

[mauiguy90]

Murray vs. Nadal Preview

When Andy Murray sealed his epic comeback win over Richard Gasquet to advance to the quarter-finals, he turned to his support team in the stands, drew up his shirtsleeve and flexed a pale bicep by way of celebration.

Later he would say the act was in tribute to his personal trainers, who have been working hard to build up the young Scotsman’s strength. But he may have been sending a subliminal message to the man with the biggest biceps in the sport – Rafael Nadal, his opponent in the last eight on Wednesday.

Murray will certainly have his work cut out against the Spanish No.2 seed, who has more than proven his grass court credentials over the past couple of years. Last year he stretched Roger Federer to five sets in a thrilling Wimbledon final, and a few weeks ago he won the Artois on grass at Queen’s Club. Underlining his growing comfort on the surface, against Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round here on Monday, the Spaniard even won 21 of his 24 forays to the net.

The head-to-head record between Murray and Nadal is 3-0 in the Spaniard’s favour. As might be expected, the clay court maestro had a relatively straightforward time of it the last time they played, in the round of 16 at Hamburg in May, winning 6-3, 6-2.

But the two matches they played on hard courts were much closer. At the Masters Series in Madrid in October, the Spaniard prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, and at the Australian Open in January, Murray held a two-sets-to-one lead before Nadal finished strongly for a five-set triumph.

Still, Murray, the 12th seed here, says that match taught him he could play at Nadal’s level. “For probably 4½ sets I was up there with him and definitely had my chances,” he said.

Of course, both players’ have evolved since then.

“He’s definitely playing better on grass than he has in previous years,” Murray said. “[And] I like to think I’m playing a bit better.

“It is going to be a completely different match to a year and a half ago. I have to look at the guys that have given him trouble - and the way that Tsonga played against him in Australia this year.

“It is really important to serve well, be aggressive and not give him a chance to start dictating the rallies.”

For the winner, the prize is a semi-final against either Arnaud Clement or Rainer Schuettler, both surprise, unseeded quarter-finalists.

Against Nadal, Murray will be hoping his relationship with the crowd, which shifted gears on Monday night, will be an asset. Indeed, the 20-year-old admitted that without the monumental level of support against Gasquet, “I don’t know for sure if I would have won.”

“Obviously Nadal is the favourite for the match. But I do think that I can win,” Murray said.

For his part, the 21-year-old Spaniard is taking things in stride, whether it is a twinge suffered behind one of his knees in his last match, or the prospect of playing a homegrown favourite. He insists he is not fazed.

“The Wimbledon crowd is always very respectful with everybody. And with me, when I go on court, I feel the people are with me always, so that’s very nice.

“I just can say thank you very much for the England people and the London people. I felt the same last week in Queen’s. I know if I play against Andy Murray, probably the crowd is going to be with him. But I think with me they are going be nice, too.”

Ever the charmer, he is probably right.

[JetsetBkk]

Murray doesn't stand a chance.

And I'm not just saying that coz he's 2 sets down at the moment.

[mauiguy90]

Murray doesn't stand a chance.

And I'm not just saying that coz he's 2 sets down at the moment.

Murray had a good run at Wimbledon and a great win over Gasquet. He'd have had a better chance against Fed (2-1) but that's the luck of the draw. He can come back... next year!

[mauiguy90]

Federer Routs Ancic, Meets Safin in Semis

WIMBLEDON, England (AP)—Lest anyone forget that Roger Federer has, indeed, lost at Wimbledon, the BBC filled time during a rain delay Wednesday by rolling tape of his 2002 first-round exit against Mario Ancic.

That, of course, was the last time Federer stepped on a court at the All England Club—or anywhere on grass, for that matter—and walked away without winning.

Once Wednesday’s weather cleared up, Federer faced off against Ancic on Centre Court once more, only this time they were playing in the 2008 quarterfinals, and it was no contest whatsoever. The top-ranked Federer dismissed Ancic 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 to extend all manner of streaks: 39 consecutive wins at Wimbledon, 64 consecutive wins on grass, and 17 consecutive semifinal appearances at Grand Slam tournaments.

There were other numbers at which to marvel, not the least of which was this: Federer won 61 of 71 points on his serve.

Asked afterward if he could pick one match over his career that stands out from the rest in terms of quality, Federer replied, “Thankfully, I get those moments quite often, actually.”

So there.

If anyone wondered whether the thumping he took from Rafael Nadal in last month’s French Open final might have a lasting effect on Federer, it sure doesn’t sound as though there’s anything wrong with his confidence— particularly here.

“I’ll have a chance to win this tournament for the next five or 10 years,” said Federer, whose semifinal opponent Friday is the resurgent Marat Safin, a former No. 1 player who owns two Grand Slam titles.

“My game’s made for grass,” Federer continued. “There will always be tough opponents, dangerous opponents. That has been the case for the last years, as well. But I found a way to win always. Of course, my dream is to not only win this year, but many more years to come.”

He is trying to become the first man since 1886 to win Wimbledon six years in a row. Pete Sampras never did it. Neither did Bjorn Borg. The only man who did? Willie Renshaw, and he only needed to win one match in each of his five title defenses, because back then the reigning champion got a bye into the final.

Federer is forced to navigate a tougher path, and the expectation this year has been that he will face his nemesis Nadal in a third straight Wimbledon championship match. The second-ranked Nadal moved closer to that by overwhelming 12th-seeded Andy Murray of Britain 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 for his 22nd consecutive victory overall.

Just like Federer did against Ancic, Nadal avoided facing a single break point against Murray, who was in his first major quarterfinal.

“I feel like the return is normally a strong part of my game. I had no chance at all really on his serve, which was a shame,” Murray said. “He’s improved his game a lot on the grass in the last couple of years. Definitely, he’s the second-best grass-court player behind Federer. He’s definitely closer to him this year than he was.”

Nadal agreed with that assessment.

He’s trying to make a little history of his own: No man has won the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Borg in 1980.

“I am doing a lot of things better than last year,” Nadal said. “Slice better. The position on court, in my opinion, I felt like this is better. Playing more aggressive with the forehand all the time, and the backhand is feeling well, too.”

The four-time French Open champion knows he’ll be facing an unseeded player next, but he doesn’t know which one. The quarterfinal between 94th-ranked Rainer Schuettler and 145th-ranked Arnaud Clement was suspended because of darkness at one set apiece.

They’re slated to resume play Thursday, when the forecast calls for showers, and whatever the outcome, Nadal would be an overwhelming favorite.

Safin acknowledges Federer should be looked upon that way in their matchup.

“I’m playing semifinals, but that doesn’t mean that I have a chance there, because the guy has won how many times already here?” Safin said after beating No. 31 Feliciano Lopez 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1), 6-3. “To beat Federer you need to be Nadal and run around like a rabbit and hit winners from all over the place. … It’s just a little bit too difficult for me to beat him.”

Especially if Federer plays the way he did Wednesday.

He served brilliantly, including 15 aces—one on each of the final three points. He returned just as well, handling Ancic’s 130 mph serves and limiting him to nine aces, half of what the Croat was averaging in the tournament.

Federer broke Ancic four times, and even when he didn’t, made him work. The third set’s opening game, for example, took 16 minutes, with 10 deuces and four break points, before Ancic finally held. It lasted 26 points, and Federer won 12 — or, put another way, two more than Ancic took off Federer’s serve all match.

“There’s not one point you get for free,” said Ancic, a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2005.

The All England Club was the only Grand Slam site where Safin hadn’t reached the final four. He came to Wimbledon with a 10-13 record this season, a ranking of 75th and a well-documented distaste for the place, from the grass to the weather to the high price of strawberries and cream.

But he’s played fantastically, beating No. 3 Novak Djokovic and three other seeded players. Federer knows how talented the 6-foot-4 Russian is.

“I never looked at Marat like No. 80 or 90 in the world. I mean, that’s ridiculous. He knows that himself,” Federer said. “He’s finally showing again what he can do. It’s just quite surprising he does it here at Wimbledon.”

One of Federer’s two losses in 10 matches against Safin came in the 2005 Australian Open semifinals, 9-7 in the fifth set.

“Marat knows how to beat me,” Federer noted. “That was a hard one. I’m going to try to get him back for that one.”

As Ancic knows all too well, Federer can follow through on such thoughts.