Wimbledon

[Bluedog]

Wow! Safin just beat Djokovic is a straight set beatdown! Safin is one of the most perplexing guys on tour - I always cheer for him though. He's insanely talented with ridiculous firepower on his strokes and showed immense promise when he dismantled Sampras to win the US Open several years ago, but hasn't lived up to the expectations, which is usually blamed on his inconsistent mental game. He has some TERRIBLE losses over the years, but also some great wins. Really hard guy to figure out, but if he plays his best, he's tough to beat for sure. This opens it up relatively nicely for Federer, although it's still not an easy route. Hewitt (assuming he gets past Gonzalez, which I expect him to pull off the upset) in the 4th round sure won't be easy. Ferrer in the quarters isn't too easy either as he has been playing some good tennis. although on grass I think Federer should be fine. I like Roddick to do fare well as well and he's been a bit under the radar as of late. A Roddick-Blake showdown in the fourth round would be fun to watch. I still don't see him beating Nadal though, and I think Nadal cruises to the finals unless Roddick's serve is just out-of-this world. If he has an even slightly above average serving day (I'm talking above average for him, which is damn good), I think Nadal prevails. Although this is all assuming Roddick gets to the semis, which certainly isn't a given. I still like Federer to win it all since it's Wimbledon, although Nadal is a close second, and I'll throw in Roddick as the dark horse, but mostly because I'd like to see an American do well. Speaking of Americans, Reynolds, Roddick, Blake, Levine are into the second round.

On the women's side, it's completely open and hard to predict. Ivanovic, the #1 seed, is currently in a tight third set with Dechy and had to fend off two match points. I'd have to assume one of Ivanovic, Kuznetsova, S. Williams, Dementieva, Sharapova, V. Williams, and Jankovic will win it all, but I don't think there's a clear favorite among the group. I'd probably think Jankovic, Venus, or Sharapova, but they're all in the bottom half. Should be quite interesting!

Also, anybody see what Sharapova is wearing? A tuxedo-style top? What? I'm not a fan. Here's a pic: http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/photo;_ylt=Agft2rXfOjZH8SCcwxzFsdwgv7YF?slug=556e2 98cbce3d917fc3e628df1080548-getty-81096383jd139_the_champions&prov=getty

Other thoughts?

[BlueDevilBaby]

Holy cow! Safin must have been serving well. Unfortunately, I have not seen a lick of Wimbledon yet and probably won't until the finals between work and travel this weekend. On the women's side, I don't care who wins, but would like to see an American do it. On the men's side, I'm rooting for a Federer-Nadal final for the drama of it and likely high quality tennis, with Nadal to win so that Federer does not break Borg's record. Otherwise, I want an American to win.

[wilson]

I've been watching it some in the mornings, though I've not caught any big chunks until today. This was a good day for that, however, as this Ivanovic-Dechy match has been a real beaut. I'd really like to see Dechy take it, as she's suffered from several heartbreaking close calls, most notably the would-be match winner that just ticked the tape and fell on the wrong side of the net.

As for predictions, I really don't know, nor do I care at all. There's a reason I pretty much only watch Wimbledon tennis (with the occasional other Grand Slam match thrown in): it tends to be really high-level tennis and very compelling competition, no matter who's playing.

[Bluedog]

Well, shows you how good I am at predicting. Sharapova lost 6-2, 6-4 to the 154th-ranked women in the world! I didn't get to watch it, but, wow, Sharapova must have played awful. 22 unforced errors and 8 double fault isn't so hot. Although I can't seem to find how many winners she had - how can they not include that key fact in the statistics? http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/stats/day4/2088ms.html

Oh well. Nadal also had a tough beginning with Gulbis, losing the first set 7-6, but then pulled it out in four. Usually the women's draw is fairly predictable with the top women cruising to the quarters without an issue, but this tournament seems different. Davenport, one of my favorite players as she's just so nice and incredibly down-to-earth and I've met her a couple times and I have her autograph, defaulted her match unfortunately. And she won't be returning next year. :( She's somebody who has flown so far under the radar over the years for being ranked #1 in the world. It's amazing how much more attn the Williams' and Sharapova have gotten, but I guess they're more "glamarous" or they like the attention more/being in ads, etc. Nothing wrong with that, of course, just shows a big difference in personality. I always thought it was funny that for like the ESPYs (admittedly not really a legitimate awards show), the tennis player of the year would always be like a Williams or Sharapova or somebody flashy, while I don't even know if Henin was nominated many years even when she completely dominated that year....Henin also flies under the radar somewhat, although not to those who pay close attention, obviously.

[BlueDevilBaby]

The American men are now allergic to grass in addition to clay. This comes from basically having nothing but predominantly hard courts in the US. My club had clay courts. Love the clay. Never had the chance to try grass.

[EarlJam]

Anybody watching this match? Schuettler vs. Clement?

5+ hours and counting. Five sets (6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-6)

Update - and now, a rain delay.