Wimbledon 2007: Andrew's TV-reports (added full TV-reports: 1r + 2r + 3r + 4r) [Archive] - TennisForum.com

Wimbledon 2007: Andrew's TV-reports (added full TV-reports: 1r + 2r + 3r + 4r) [Archive] - TennisForum.com


TennisForum.com > Player Forums > Enter Player Forums > Europe > Russian Roulette > The Siberian Siren > Wimbledon 2007: Andrew's TV-reports (added full TV-reports: 1r + 2r + 3r + 4r) PDA Wimbledon 2007: Andrew's TV-reports (added full TV-reports: 1r + 2r + 3r + 4r) andrewbroad Jun 26th, 2007, 01:20 AM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://www.wimbledon.org/ Contents -------- 1. First-round draw 2. Maria Sharapova preview 3. Order of play for Tuesday This is a Maria-filtered subset of my full analysis of the draw: http://www.wtaworld.com/showthread.php?t=305015 ------------------- 1. First-round draw (Monday's losers removed) ------------------- 1.1 Top quarter: Daniela Hantuchová ----------------------------------- * JUSTINE HENIN [1] won * Vera Dushevina * Sun,Tiantian v Emilie Loit * Elena Vesnina v OLGA POUTCHKOVA [30] (may the better win!) * ALYONA BONDARENKO [24] v Jill Craybas (davai Alyona!) * Eva Birnerová v Ágnes Szávay [Q] (pojďme Eva!) * Roberta Vinci won * PATTY SCHNYDER [15] won * DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [WC] (poďme Daniela!) * Maria Elena Camerin v Elena Likhovtseva (both nice; forza Maria Elena!) * Nika Ožegović [Q] v Anna-Lena Grönefeld * KATARINA SREBOTNIK [19] v Elena Baltacha [WC] (dajmo Katarina!) * SAMANTHA STOSUR [27] v Kristina Brandi [Q] * Milagros Sequera v Julia Schruff * Alicia Molik won * SERENA WILLIAMS [7] won 1.2 Second quarter: Anna Chakvetadze ------------------------------------ * JELENA JANKOVIĆ [3] v Anne Keothavong [WC] * Meghann Shaughnessy v Jarmila Gajdošová * Gisela Dulko [DF] v Eleni Daniilidou, 7-5 3-6 0-0 (15/30) LUCIE ŠAFÁŘOVÁ [25,DF] won * MARION BARTOLI [18,S] won * Olga Govortsova [Q] v Greta Arn, 6-7 (5/7) 0-0* * Kaia Kanepi won * SHAHAR PE'ER [16] won * MARTINA HINGIS [9] won * Aiko Nakamura [s] won * Laura Granville won * SYBILLE BAMMER [20] won * MICHAËLLA KRAJÍČEK [31] v Tzipora Obziler, 6-2 6-7 (6/8) 0-0 Sandra Klösel v Katie O'Brien [WC], 3-5 Viktoriya Kutuzova [WC] v Tatiana Poutchek * ANNA CHAKVETADZE [8,EF] v Angelique Kerber (davai Anna!) 1.3 Third quarter: Nicole Vaidišová ----------------------------------- * ANA IVANOVIĆ [6,DF] v Melinda Czink (ajde Ana!) * Edina Gallovits v Meilen Tu * Aravane Rezaï v Shenay Perry (allez Aravane!) * Anne Kremer v FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE [29] (dajee Anne!) * Virginia Ruano Pascual v ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES [22] (¡vamos Virginia!) * Tatiana Perebiynis [Q] v Emmanuelle Gagliardi (davai Tatiana!) * Sania Mirza [DF] v Yaroslava Shvedova (both nice; chal Sania!) * Vania King v NADIA PETROVA [11] * NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] v Karin Knapp (pojďme Nicole!) * Nicole Pratt v Casey Dell'Acqua [Q] * Victoria Azarenka v Jelena Kostanić Tošić * Yan,Zi [Q,S] v TATHIANA GARBIN [21] (jia you Zi!) * Ayumi Morita [Q,S] v MARA SANTANGELO [28] (ganbatte Ayumi!) * Caroline Wozniacki [WC] v Anastasiya Yakimova (kom så Caroline!) * Virginie Razzano v Yvonne Meusburger * Jamea Jackson v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [4] (anyone but Mauresmo!) 1.4 Bottom quarter: Maria Sharapova ----------------------------------- * Julia Vakulenko v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] (davai Julia!) * Bethanie Mattek v Vasilisa Bardina * Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova v Agnieszka Radwańska (aide Tsvetana!) * Anna Smashnova v MARTINA MÜLLER [32] * TATIANA GOLOVIN [17,DF] v Hsieh,Su-Wei [Q,S] (allez Tatiana!) * Tamira Paszek v Barbora Záhlavová Strýcová [Q] (auf jetzt Tamira!) * Iveta Benešová v Catalina Castaño (pojďme Iveta!) * ELENA DEMENTIEVA [12] v Nathalie Dechy (davai Elena!) * Kateryna Bondarenko v DINARA SAFINA [13] (davai Kateryna!) * Akiko Morigami [s] v Alberta Brianti (ganbatte Akiko!) * Peng,Shuai [s] v Hana Šromová (jia you Shuai!) * Alla Kudryavtseva v VENUS WILLIAMS [23] * AI SUGIYAMA [26] v Melanie South [WC] * Maria Kirilenko v Alizé Cornet [LL] (both nice; davai Maria!) * Séverine Brémond v Ekaterina Bychkova (both nice; allez Séverine!) * MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v Chan,Yung-Jan (davai Maria!) -------------------------- 2. Maria Sharapova preview -------------------------- Maria has struggled all year with a right-shoulder injury that sidelined her from 27th March to 22nd May, yet she managed to battle her way through to her first Australian Open final and first French Open semi-final before being routed in both those matches. She's still looking for her first WTA singles-title since Linz 2006, and blew a golden opportunity to claim it at Birmingham, where she led Jelena Janković 3-0* in the third set. Maria was alarmingly erratic at times at the French Open and Birmingham, and is still serving too many double faults, although she did hit some good serves too at Birmingham. Maria's draw is pretty tough, even with Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Janković safely tucked away in the top half. The first three rounds could be relatively difficult if her potential opponents rediscover their best form, and she has three-time champion Venus Williams in her fourth-round draw before I even worry about who she might have to play in the semis... 2.1 First round --------------- Chan Maria beat Chan,Yung-Jan 6-3 6-2 in their only meeting, 2r Miami 2007, but the 17-year-old world #51 is one of the fastest risers of the last year tho. Chan Chan was on a four-match losing-streak going into Miami, but since then she won four matches to reach the third round of Charleston from qualifying (beating Serena Williams 5-3 retired), and won ITF Dothan, ITF Gifu and ITF Fukuoka back to back before losing in the first rounds of the French Open and Istanbul tho. Chan she thrashed Jamea Jackson 6-3 6-1 in the first round of Birmingham (Jackson is just coming back from a long injury lay-off), lost 6-3 6-4 to Alyona Bondarenko, and lost 3-6 6-3 6-4 to Angelique Kerber in 1r 's-Hertogenbosch, so I'm not too worried about Maria's chances here tho. 2.2 Second round ---------------- Séverine Brémond was a surprise quarter-finalist here last year, and is ranked #37 to Ekaterina Bychkova's #93, but Bychkova has an impressive 2:0 head-to-head over Brémond (whom Maria has never played). Brémond is having a truly dreadful year, with a win/loss record of 5:17. She has won only one match (at Berlin) in her last 12, although at least the two on grass have been three-setters (against Alicia Molik and Eleni Daniilidou). Bychkova's year so far has consisted of a lot of first-round losses, punctuated by runs to the second round of Paris and third round of Miami - both after qualifying. Bychkova did give Maria a tough match at Moscow last year before Maria won 6-4 7-5, so I expect her to beat Brémond and perhaps do likewise here, although her grasscourt-credentials aren't too impressive: she lost to Andreja Klepač at Birmingham, and at Eastbourne she beat Catalina Castaño (who absolutely hates grass) before losing to Vera Dushevina - the girl who beat Maria in the Girls' Singles final of Wimbledon 2002. 2.3 Third round --------------- I am titillated by the prospect of the Super Maria Sisters (Sharapova & Kirilenko) meeting in the third round. I watched all three of Little Maria's matches at Birmingham, and she played very well, so she definitely has a chance to come through. Little Maria may have lost six matches in a row going into the French Open (where she reached the second round), but she certainly didn't look like a player in a slump at Birmingham as she beat Raquel Kops-Jones 6-3 6-3, Nathalie Dechy 5-7 6-2 6-0, and did one game better than Big Maria against Jelena Janković in an almost identical scoreline (3-6 6-3 7-5). Sadly, Little Maria lost 6-2 6-3 to Sybille Bammer in 1r Eastbourne, but she just has to forget that and remember how well she played at Birmingham, and she could win a couple of matches at Wimbledon. Big Maria hasn't found it that easy playing against Little Maria, who is her best friend on the Tour: + 2005 Los Angeles 2r: Big Maria 7-6 6-2 - 2005 Beijing sf: Little Maria 6-4 2-1 retired (right pectoral muscle strain) + 2006 Miami 4r: Big Maria 3-6 6-4 6-1 But the seedings project that Big Maria will meet Ai Sugiyama in the third round, in a repeat of their epic Wimbledon 2004 quarter-final, which Maria won 5-7 7-5 6-1. Maria also needed three sets to beat Sugiyama 4-6 6-0 6-1 at the Tokyo Pan Pacific 2007, when she served 14 double faults. Sugiyama is a plucky fighter who gets a lot of balls back, which is always a tough type of opponent for Maria. Sugiyama, who turns 32 on 5th July, has had a negative win/loss record of 13:14 for 2007 so far. She has two wins over Little Maria, reached the third round of the French Open (losing to Anna Chakvetadze), and lost her opening matches at both Birmingham and Eastbourne. But she's always dangerous at Wimbledon: last year, she knocked out Martina Hingis in the third round. 2.4 Fourth round ---------------- Venus Williams may no longer be the dominant force she was in 2000 and 2001, when she won Wimbledon and the US Open, but there's always the danger that Wimbledon will bring out the best in her, as it did in 2005, when she won the title with a ranking of 16, ending Maria's title-defence 7-6 6-1 in a stunning semi-final. But Maria has won her other three meetings with Venus: qf Zürich 2004 (6-3 6-4), sf Miami 2005 (6-4 6-3) and 3r Miami 2007 (2-6 6-2 7-5) - the round before Maria was hammered 6-1 6-1 by Serena Williams. That augurs well for any potential match against Venus. Venus started the year by winning the Tier III at Memphis, with a 6-1 6-1 thrashing of Shahar Pe'er in the final. But there's nothing too scary about the rest of her year to date - her claycourt-season culminated with a 6-4 4-6 6-1 loss to Jelena Janković in 3r French Open, but then clay always was her worst surface. But considering that she also lost to Janković in 3r Wimbledon 2006 - when Janković was a much lesser player than she is now - perhaps the 27-year-old is only a shadow of her former self. Dinara Safina would be another potentially tricky match-up. Maria leads their head-to-head 3:2, but suffered two harrowing losses to Safina: qf Moscow 2005 (Maria led 6-1 4-2 but lost 1-6 6-4 7-5) and 4r French Open 2006 (Maria led 5-1 in the third but lost 7-5 2-6 7-5). This year, Safina has won Gold Coast over Hingis, and been runner-up to Janković at Charleston. Her win/loss record is an impressive 30:12. She reached the semi-finals of 's-Hertogenbosch, where she extended Janković to 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8/6). 2.5 Quarter-finals ------------------ The seedings project a meeting with Svetlana Kuznetsova [5], who is certainly the strongest player in that eighth of the draw, with an impressive 32:11 win/loss record for the year so far, but there's a question-mark over her fitness after she pulled out of Eastbourne with an abdominal strain. Kuznetsova is one of Maria's toughest opponents, with their head-to-head at 3:3. It was Kuznetsova who beat Maria in 4r Wimbledon 2003. 2.6 Semi-finals --------------- I'm not going to analyse this in depth right now, but two possibilities jump out at me: a rematch of Maria's Wimbledon 2006 semi-final against Amélie Mauresmo - who looked restored to being a great threat in a close Eastbourne final against Justine Henin - and a rematch of Maria's French Open 2007 semi-final against Ana Ivanović, whom Daniela Hantuchová thrashed 6-3 6-1 at 's-Hertogenbosch. Of course I would prefer a first meeting with Nicole Vaidišová, but grass is Nicole's worst surface, and I don't relish the prospect of her being jerked around by Mauresmo in the fourth round. ---------------------------- 3. Order of play for Tuesday ---------------------------- Court 1 (start 13:00 BST = 12:00 GMT) 1. MS 1r: JAMES BLAKE [9] v Igor Andreev 2. MS 1r: LLEYTON HEWITT [16] v Richard Bloomfield [WC] 3. WS 1r: MARIA SHARAPOVA [2] v Chan,Yung-Jan 4. WS 1r: Julia Vakulenko v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] Full order of play: http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/ -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ andrewbroad Jun 28th, 2007, 12:03 AM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://www.wimbledon.org/ Contents -------- 1. First-round result 2. Second-round draw 3. Order of play for Thursday --------------------- 1. First-round result (Tuesday 26th June) --------------------- + MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] d. Chan,Yung-Jan, 6-1 7-5 My TV-report for this match will be posted at a later date. -------------------- 2. Second-round draw (Wednesday's losers removed) -------------------- 2.1 Top half: Daniela Hantuchová, Anna Chakvetadze -------------------------------------------------- * JUSTINE HENIN [1] won * Elena Vesnina won * ALYONA BONDARENKO [24] v Ágnes Szávay [Q] (davai Alyona!) * Roberta Vinci v PATTY SCHNYDER [15] (forza Roberta!) * DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v Elena Likhovtseva (both nice; poďme Daniela!) * KATARINA SREBOTNIK [19] v Nika Ožegović [Q] (dajmo Katarina!) * Milagros Sequera won * SERENA WILLIAMS [7] won * JELENA JANKOVIĆ [3] won * LUCIE ŠAFÁŘOVÁ [25,DF] v Eleni Daniilidou, 6-4 3-6 4-2 (40/40) MARION BARTOLI [18,S] won * SHAHAR PE'ER [16] won * MARTINA HINGIS [9] won * Laura Granville won * MICHAËLLA KRAJÍČEK [31] v Katie O'Brien [WC] (both nice; kom op Michaëlla!) * ANNA CHAKVETADZE [8,EF] v Tatiana Poutchek (davai Anna!) 2.2 Bottom half: Nicole Vaidišová, Maria Sharapova -------------------------------------------------- * ANA IVANOVIĆ [6,DF] v Meilen Tu (ajde Ana!) * Aravane Rezaï v FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE [29] (allez Aravane!) * Tatiana Perebiynis [Q] v Virginia Ruano Pascual (may the better win!) * Sania Mirza [DF] v NADIA PETROVA [11] (chal Sania!) * NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] v Nicole Pratt (pojďme moja krasná Nicole!) * Victoria Azarenka v TATHIANA GARBIN [21] * Caroline Wozniacki [WC] v MARA SANTANGELO [28] (kom så Caroline!) * Yvonne Meusburger v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [4] (jeder außer Mauresmo...) * SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] v Bethanie Mattek (...und bitte Kuznetsova auch nicht) * Agnieszka Radwańska v MARTINA MÜLLER [32] * TATIANA GOLOVIN [17,DF] v Tamira Paszek (both nice; allez Tatiana!) * Iveta Benešová v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [12] (both nice; pojďme Iveta!) * Akiko Morigami [S] v DINARA SAFINA [13] (ganbatte Akiko!) * Hana Šromová v VENUS WILLIAMS [23] * Alizé Cornet [LL] won v AI SUGIYAMA [26] (allez Alizé!) * MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v Séverine Brémond (both nice; davai Maria!) ----------------------------- 3. Order of play for Thursday ----------------------------- Centre Court (start 13:00 BST = 12:00 GMT) 1. MS 2r: Tim Henman v Feliciano López, 1-1 (15/15) 2. WS 2r: MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v Séverine Brémond 3. MS 2r: Werner Eschauer v RAFAEL NADAL [2] Full order of play (note the earlier start-time on outside courts!): http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/ -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ andrewbroad Jul 1st, 2007, 02:04 PM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://www.wimbledon.org/ Contents -------- 1. Second round 2. Third-round draw: Bottom half 3. Fourth-round draw: Top half 4. Order of play for Saturday --------------- 1. Second round (Thursday 28th June) --------------- Nice winner, nice loser: + MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] d. Séverine Brémond, 6-0 6-3 Maria swept through the first set like she planned to dish out her first double bagel since ITF Peachtree 2002, but in the second set the wind rose, Maria became more erratic, and Séverine was better able to live at Maria's pace. My full TV-report will be posted at a later date. -------------------------------- 2. Third-round draw: Bottom half -------------------------------- ANA IVANOVIĆ [6,DF] v Aravane Rezaï (both nice; ajde Ana!) * Virginia Ruano Pascual v NADIA PETROVA [11] (¡vamos Virginia!) * NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] v Victoria Azarenka (pojďme Nicole!) * MARA SANTANGELO [28] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [4] (forza Mara!) * SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] v Agnieszka Radwańska * Tamira Paszek v ELENA DEMENTIEVA [12] (both nice; gemma Tamira!) * Akiko Morigami [S] v VENUS WILLIAMS [23] (ganbatte Akiko!) * MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v AI SUGIYAMA [26] (davai Maria!) ------------------------------ 3. Fourth-round draw: Top half ------------------------------ * JUSTINE HENIN [1] v PATTY SCHNYDER [15] * DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ [10,EF] v SERENA WILLIAMS [7] (poďme Daniela!) * MARION BARTOLI [18,S] v JELENA JANKOVIĆ [3] (allez Marion!) * MICHAËLLA KRAJÍČEK [31] v Laura Granville (kom op Michaëlla!) ----------------------------- 4. Order of play for Saturday ----------------------------- Court 1 (start 13:00 BST = 12:00 GMT) 1. WS 3r: MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v AI SUGIYAMA [26] 2. MS 3r: DAVID NALBANDIAN [23] v MARCOS BAGHDATIS [10] 3. MS 3r: Nicolas Kiefer v NOVAK ĐOKOVIĆ [4] Full order of play (note the early start-time on outside courts!): http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/ I realise that this is late, but I couldn't access WTAworld on Friday night, or at any time on Saturday. -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ andrewbroad Jul 3rd, 2007, 02:59 AM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://www.wimbledon.org/ Contents -------- 1. Photos 2. Third-round TV-report: Sharapova v Sugiyama 3. Fourth-round draw 4. Andrew's wishes 5. Order of play for Tuesday --------- 1. Photos --------- http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=sharapova Search Getty Images for sharapova For completists: http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?pg=1&cap=1 Various players including Maria: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=wimbledon_r1 http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=wimbledon_r2 http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=wimbledon_r3 ---------------------------------------------- 2. Third-round TV-report: Sharapova v Sugiyama (Saturday 30th June) ---------------------------------------------- + MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] d. AI SUGIYAMA [26], 6-3 6-3 This was a brilliant performance from Maria, and the first convincing indication that she may be ready to reclaim the title she won two years ago. Maria was hitting beautiful groundstrokes of flairsome power. That's why she's such a joy for me to watch, especially when she's timing the ball as sweetly as she did on Saturday! Maria has struggled with her serve all year, but in this match, her serve was back to being the huge weapon it was prior to this year, and she only served one double fault. She also cut out those alarming rashes of groundstroke-errors that have marred her recent performances, and her only real blip was a momentary loss of concentration resulting in a break against her at the start of the second set. But once Maria sensed the moment to break back (in the sixth game), she raised her level to a higher plane - one that not even Justine Henin would have been able to resist on grass! Sugiyama is still playing very well at the age of 31, hence the respectable score. She served very well herself, and moved very well as usual. But she was angry that play was not suspended when she was match-point down and it was raining. Personally, I was just glad to get Maria home and hosed before Monday, which would not have been the case if the match had been suspended at that point! My full TV-report will be posted at a later date. -------------------- 3. Fourth-round draw (Monday's losers removed) -------------------- * JUSTINE HENIN [1] won * SERENA WILLIAMS [7] won * MARION BARTOLI [18,S] v JELENA JANKOVIĆ [3] (allez Marion!) * MICHAËLLA KRAJÍČEK [31] won * ANA IVANOVIĆ [6,DF] v NADIA PETROVA [11] (ajde Ana!) * NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [4] (pojďme Nicole!) * Tamira Paszek v SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] (geht scho Tamira!) * MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v VENUS WILLIAMS [23] (davai Maria!) Two years ago, Venus Williams ended Maria Sharapova's title-defence with a stunning 7-6 6-1 victory in the semi-finals. But Williams has sunk even lower in the rankings than she was back then, and with her three-set struggles against Alla Kudryavtseva in the first round and Akiko Morigami in the third round (both 7-5 in the third), Maria's increasingly brilliant performances this Wimbledon, and her 3:1 head-to-head against Williams, I don't see Maria suffering her earliest Wimbledon-exit since 2003. Sharapova faces Venus with more in the tank By Sonia Oxley (Reuters) >>> Maria Sharapova seemed to run out of steam the last time she played Venus Williams on grass, but has since worked on her stamina to ensure there will be more in the tank when they meet in Wimbledon's fourth round on Tuesday. The two former champions met in the semi-finals at the All England Club in 2005, when Williams won 7-6 6-1 on her way to her third title here. The Russian 2004 champion has since built up her strength to cope with longer matches. "That's something that I've improved," the number two seed told a news-conference. "I've always known there was so much room for improvement physically for me, but also the intensity-level of putting two games together - keeping that intensity after you break your opponent, being smart about things." Their routes to the last 16 have been very different, with the Russian yet to drop a set while Williams contested nerve-racking first- and third-round matches that went to three sets. The American 23rd seed has looked out of sorts, but has still managed to display traces of her powerful serve and booming groundstrokes to regain a grip on matches that were on the brink of slipping away. If the flashes of the old Williams become sustained spells of power, the match could be close. "If I play her, we always have really, really tough matches, and you can never underestimate her as an opponent, even though she hasn't had the best year. So, yeah, either way it will be tough." Sharapova has won three of their four meetings, including one in Miami this year, and Williams said she was looking forward to the challenge of playing the Russian. "Every match is different. Every point is different. It's not predictable. It's not the same," Williams said. "The only way to control it is to play better and to stick to what you know and do it and execute." <<< Venus: I can win title [Teletext 498] (Thursday 28th June) >>> Three-time champion Venus Williams insists she can improve on her current form to launch an assault on the title. Williams beat Hana Šromová 6-2 6-2 to reach the third round, where she will play Akiko Morigami from Japan - and victory could set up a fourth-round match-up with Maria Sharapova. Williams said: "I have a good base to keep playing aggressively. That's the only way I can play." <<< Serena Williams: "Venus has the game to beat Maria, especially on grass. Venus has a great serve. I mean, she runs like the wind. She's so tall. She's playing well. She definitely has the game to beat her. With that being said, she just has to go out there and do it. And she can do it." ------------------ 4. Andrew's wishes ------------------ MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF]: 4r + VENUS WILLIAMS [23] qf + Tamira Paszek sf + NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] _f + MARION BARTOLI [18,S] ---------------------------- 5. Order of play for Tuesday ---------------------------- Centre Court (start 11:00 BST = 10:00 GMT) 1. WS 4r: NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] v AMÉLIE MAURESMO [4] 2. MS 4r: ANDY RODDICK [3] v Paul-Henri Mathieu 3. WS 4r: MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v VENUS WILLIAMS [23] Sharapova ready for Venus meeting [CEEFAX 490->495] >>> Maria Sharapova meets Venus Williams in the final match on Centre Court on Tuesday as Wimbledon organisers hope for better luck with the weather. The fourth-round clash follows Andy Roddick's match with Paul-Henri Mathieu, while Amélie Mauresmo opens proceedings at 11:00 BST against Nicole Vaidišová. <<< Full order of play: http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/ * NOTE THE EARLY START-TIME ON >ALL< COURTS! * -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ andrewbroad Jul 4th, 2007, 03:15 AM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://www.wimbledon.org/ Contents -------- 1. Fourth-round scoreboard-report: Sharapova v V.Williams 2. Fourth-round draw: Bottom half 3. Quarter-final draw: Top half 4. Andrew's wishes 5. Order of play for Wednesday --------------------------------------------------------- 1. Fourth-round scoreboard-report: Sharapova v V.Williams (Tuesday 3rd July) --------------------------------------------------------- Suspended overnight: * MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v VENUS WILLIAMS [23], 0-0* (15/30) Due to frequent showers, the match was moved from Centre Court to Court 3 - a setting way too humble for any Maria Sharapova match, let alone one involving a three-time Wimbledon-champion! The match started at 17:06 BST. First set --------- Williams serving 0-0: 15/0. 15/15. 30/15. Play was suspended by a thunderstorm with torrential rain at 17:07. --------------------------------- 2. Fourth-round draw: Bottom half (Tuesday's losers removed) --------------------------------- * ANA IVANOVIĆ [6,DF] won * NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] won * SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] won * MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v VENUS WILLIAMS [23], 0-0* (15/30) Svetlana Kuznetsova: "They're extremely good players. They've been number ones, they both won Wimbledon. They play very good on grass, but I beat Maria maybe a few years ago on a grass-court [at Wimbledon 2003]. I would never say I don't have chances, but I still have to perform well and play a good game." ------------------------------- 3. Quarter-final draw: Top half ------------------------------- * JUSTINE HENIN [1] v SERENA WILLIAMS [7] * MARION BARTOLI [18,S] v MICHAËLLA KRAJÍČEK [31] (both nice; my loyalty is to Marion) ------------------ 4. Andrew's wishes ------------------ MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF]: 4r + VENUS WILLIAMS [23] qf + SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA [5] sf + NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ [14,EF] _f + MARION BARTOLI [18,S] ------------------------------ 5. Order of play for Wednesday ------------------------------ Centre Court (start 12:00 BST = 11:00 GMT) 1. MS 4r: ANDY RODDICK [3] v Paul-Henri Mathieu, 6-2 6-5 2. WS 4r: MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] v VENUS WILLIAMS [23], 0-0 (15/30) 3. WS qf: JUSTINE HENIN [1] v SERENA WILLIAMS [7] 4. XD 2r: (LISA RAYMOND/MIKE BRYAN)[1] v Melanie South/Alex Bogdanovic I don't like this order of play. Maria v Venus is the last remaining women's fourth-round match, so the priority should be to get that played first. Full order of play: http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/scores/schedule/ -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ andrewbroad Jul 22nd, 2007, 02:42 PM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://www.wimbledon.org/ Contents -------- 1. Photos 2. Fourth-round TV-report: Sharapova v V.Williams 3. Wooden-Spoon List --------- 1. Photos --------- http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/players/wtas961.html http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=news_photos&p=sharapova Search Getty Images for "sharapova" Many players including Maria: http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/gallery?pg=1&cap=1 http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com/2/photogallery/?Event=wimbledon_r4 http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/6274978.stm (Maria in Days 2,4,6,9) ------------------------------------------------- 2. Fourth-round TV-report: Sharapova v V.Williams (Wednesday 4th July) ------------------------------------------------- - MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] lt. VENUS WILLIAMS [23], 1-6 3-6 Serena Williams said "I feel violated" after losing to Justine Henin in the quarter-finals of the French Open - it seemed a strange remark at the time, but it sums up perfectly how I feel about this loss of Maria's. Maria was only a shadow of the brilliant player I saw in her second- and third-round matches. She struggled in just about every single service-game, facing numerous deuces and break-points. She made no impression on the Williams-serve all match, not even getting a look at a break-point. Williams, on the other hand, looked every bit the player who dominated Wimbledon in 2000 and 2001, and tore apart Maria in their 2005 semi-final. It's unbelievable that she could transform herself like this after the last couple of years that she's had, and her desperate struggles in the first and third rounds here, but it just shows how dangerous it is to write off either Williams-sister, no matter how low their rankings or how long it's been since they put in a performance like this. So Maria certainly had terrible luck with the draw. Maria held her opening service-game of the match, despite being pegged back from 40/0 to 40/40, but a long game with four double faults gave Williams the break, and she tamely gave Williams another break for 1-5. Maria came through a marathon 22½m service-game of 13 deuces and 7 break-points - which was interrupted for rain - to hold for 2-1 in the second, and held again for 3-2* after a game of 3 deuces and 2 BPs. But when she went 0/40 down at *3-3 in the second, her fate was sealed and Williams stormed to victory without dropping another game, despite Maria saving her first match-point with a brilliant 5-stroke rally ending with a crosscourt forehand winner. Maria has struggled with her usually-brilliant serve all year, it's affecting the rest of her game and her confidence, and until her right-shoulder injury fully heals, she's going to run into an opponent who can 'violate' her in every single tournament she plays. I'll post my full TV-report at a later date. -------------------- 3. Wooden-Spoon List -------------------- 1. VENUS WILLIAMS (23) 2. MARION BARTOLI (18) 3. ANA IVANOVIC (6) 4. JUSTINE HENIN (1) 5. SVETLANA KUZNETSOVA (5) 6. MICHAELLA KRAJICEK (31) 7. NICOLE VAIDISOVA (14) 8. SERENA WILLIAMS (7) 9. MARIA SHARAPOVA (2) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 10. JELENA JANKOVIC (3) 11. NADIA PETROVA (11) 12. PATTY SCHNYDER (15) 13. Tamira Paszek 14. Laura Granville 15. AMELIE MAURESMO (4) 16. DANIELA HANTUCHOVA (10) 17. Akiko Morigami 18. SHAHAR PE'ER (16) 19. Aravane Rezai 20. Elena Vesnina 21. Agnieszka Radwanska 22. ANNA CHAKVETADZE (8) 23. Victoria Azarenka 24. Milagros Sequera 25. AI SUGIYAMA (26) 26. LUCIE SAFAROVA (25) 27. Virginia Ruano Pascual 28. ALYONA BONDARENKO (24) 29. ELENA DEMENTIEVA (12) 30. MARTINA HINGIS (9) 31. MARA SANTANGELO (28) 32. KATARINA SREBOTNIK (19) 33. Hana Sromova (Q) 34. Olga Govortsova (Q) 35. Meilen Tu 36. Vera Dushevina 37. Bethanie Mattek 38. Katie O'Brien (WC) 39. Nicole Pratt 40. Alicia Molik 41. Severine Bremond 42. Jarmila Gajdosova 43. Sania Mirza 44. Roberta Vinci 45. TATIANA GOLOVIN (17) 46. SYBILLE BAMMER (20) 47. Yvonne Meusburger 48. Elena Likhovtseva 49. DINARA SAFINA (13) 50. Kaia Kanepi 51. FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE (29) 52. Emilie Loit 53. MARTINA MULLER (32) 54. Tatiana Poutchek 55. TATHIANA GARBIN (11) 56. SAMANTHA STOSUR (27) 57. Alize Cornet (LL) 58. Eleni Daniilidou 59. Tatiana Perebiynis 60. Agnes Szavay (Q) 61. Iveta Benesova 62. Aiko Nakamura 63. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) 64. Nika Ozegovic (Q) 65. Alla Kudryavtseva 66. Flavia Pennetta 67. Melinda Czink 68. Jorgelina Cravero (Q) 69. Julia Vakulenko 70. Tzipora Obziler 71. Karin Knapp 72. Lourdes Dominguez Lino 73. Chan,Yung-Jan 74. Anne Keothavong (WC) 75. Vania King 76. Camille Pin 77. Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Q) 78. Aleksandra Wozniak 79. Jamea Jackson 80. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (WC) 81. Alberta Brianti 82. Tamarine Tanasugarn 83. Shenay Perry 84. OLGA POUTCHKOVA (30) 85. Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova 86. Angelique Kerber 87. Jelena Kostanic Tosic 88. Julia Schruff 89. Melanie South (WC) 90. Zuzana Ondraskova 91. ANABEL MEDINA GARRIGUES (22) 92. Jill Craybas 93. Nathalie Dechy 94. Naomi Cavaday (WC) 95. Ayumi Morita 96. Elena Baltacha (WC) 97. Peng,Shuai 98. Greta Arn 99. Edina Gallovits 100. Timea Bacsinszky 101. Vasilisa Bardina 102. Sandra Kloesel 103. Casey Dell'Acqua (Q) 104. Anastasia Rodionova 105. Ekaterina Bychkova 106. Meghann Shaughnessy 107. Yaroslava Shvedova 108. Ashley Harkleroad 109. Hsieh,Su-Wei 110. Varvara Lepchenko 111. Virginie Razzano 112. Maria Elena Camerin 113. Kateryna Bondarenko 114. Tatjana Malek 115. Anne Kremer 116. Sun,Tiantian 117. Anna Smashnova 118. Viktoriya Kutuzova (WC) 119. Yan,Zi (Q) 120. Kristina Brandi (Q) 121. Maria Kirilenko 122. Gisela Dulko 123. Emmanuelle Gagliardi 124. Eva Birnerova 125. Catalina Castano 126. Martina Sucha 127. Anastasiya Yakimova 128. Anna-Lena Groenefeld -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ andrewbroad Apr 5th, 2008, 11:14 PM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/ Maria Sharapova: "Hopefully, the break will have refreshed me and brought back the motivation that was always there." ----------- First round (Tuesday 26th June 2007) ----------- + MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] d. Chan,Yung-Jan, 6-1 7-5 At last I have got round to finishing my full TV-report of this match and uploading it to my website, along with some pretournament articles: http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/wimbledon2007.html -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mariasharapovacenter/ andrewbroad Apr 12th, 2008, 11:52 PM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/ Maria Sharapova: "When I'm on the court, I just have to think about myself and not have any worries, and kind of have those horse-blinders, be in my own bubble and not worry about the shoulder, and just play and enjoy." ------------ Second round (Thursday 28th June 2007) ------------ + MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] d. Séverine Brémond, 6-0 6-3 At last I have got round to finishing my full TV-report of this match (including a point-by-point description and a transcript of Maria's BBC interview) and uploading it to my website: http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/wimbledon2007.html ============================ From Amelia Island with Love ============================ I am delighted that the Amelia Island 2008 final will be between Maria and pretty little Dominika Cibulková, although I would have preferred Anna Chakvetadze to come through as the second seed. MARIA SHARAPOVA: Three members of Broad's Eternal Fanship were beaten at Amelia Island. What have you to say, Number Two? ANNA CHAKVETADZE: They were Broad's choices. His players failed. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ: It was your plan! They followed it implicitly! ANNA CHAKVETADZE: Impossible. It was perfect. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ: Except for one thing: I was dealing with Šprem! ANNA CHAKVETADZE: Who is Šprem compared with Broad's Eternal Fanship? MARIA SHARAPOVA: Exactly. What have you to say to that, Number Three? Your countrywoman Cibulková is in the final, and the trophy is not yet in our possession. I have already negotiated with the Russians to return it to them. We've agreed a price. And Broad's Eternal Fanship always delivers what it promises. Our whole organisation depends on our keeping those promises. I warned you. We do not tolerate failure, Number Three. You know the penalty. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ: Yes, Number One. MARIA SHARAPOVA: Our rules are very simple. If you fail... <kicks Anna with poisoned toe-blade; Anna stares at her in disbelief before collapsing> Twelve seconds. One day we must invent a faster-working venom. Number Three! DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ: Yes! MARIA SHARAPOVA: I do not wish to have to tell the Russians there will be another delay. DANIELA HANTUCHOVÁ: There will be no delay, Number One. There's still time. -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mariasharapovacenter/ mal Apr 13th, 2008, 05:54 AM Andrew, are you a real doctor? You know, in the old days doctors were content with doctoring their bills, and taking 10% off the morphia prescription, now, apparently, they are dispensing marijuana. andrewbroad Apr 20th, 2008, 10:54 PM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/ Maria Sharapova: "It's the third call that the guy got wrong. You look at him, and he's wearing sunglasses. He loses all credibility at that point." ----------------------------- Maria Sharapova's third round (Saturday 30th June 2007) ----------------------------- + MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] d. AI SUGIYAMA [26], 6-3 6-3 A brilliant performance by Maria - such a joy to watch. Sugiyama played very well herself, but Maria dismantled her with sweetly-timed groundstrokes of flairsome power, and narrowly avoided having the match suspended until Monday as it rained at match-point. My full TV-report includes a point-by-point description and a transcript of Maria's BBC-interview: http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/wimbledon2007.html Congratulations to Maria for winning her first claycourt-title at Amelia Island, and for reaching the age of 21 yesterday (19th April). For those of you who are completists, there is an animated image of Maria in this week's Transworld Sport, which is repeated in the UK on Channel 4 from 03:10 to 04:00am BST on Saturday 26th April (listed under Friday). -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mariasharapovacenter/ P.S. (to mal) I am not a medical doctor; my title comes with a PhD in Computer Science. mal Apr 21st, 2008, 02:11 AM Whoa!! :cat: :worship: andrewbroad May 3rd, 2008, 11:30 PM ================= THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam) ================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/ Fourth round (Tuesday 3rd/Wednesday 4th July 2007) ------------ - MARIA SHARAPOVA [2,EF] lt. VENUS WILLIAMS [23], 1-6 3-6 It was closer than the scoreline implies (it lasted 1h28m excluding rain-delays), but unfortunately the close games were all on Maria's serve. Still, this kind of result makes you appreciate how far Maria has turned her career around from 2007 to 2008. The way things are going this year, I just might get my dream French Open final between Maria and Vera Zvonarëva. My full TV-report includes a point-by-point description, and transcripts of both players' BBC-interviews: http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/wimbledon2007.html -- Dr. Andrew Broad http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/ http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/shara/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sizzlingsharapova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jeldani/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sharapova_vaidisova_hantuchova/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mariasharapovacenter/

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