Birthday Greetings

The management and staff of the Breathe Tennis Blog would like to extend warm 23rd birthday wishes to former World No. 1 and our little Danish cupcake, Caroline Wozniacki. Enjoy your big day!!

Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Birthday Greetings

The management and staff of the Breathe Tennis Blog would like to convey hearty 68th birthday greetings to Virginia Wade, three-time Grand Slam champion - the 1968 US Open, 1972 Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships in 1977. Have an awesome day!!

Last British Ladies' Singles Champion at Wimbledon, Virginia Wade (1977)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Today also marks what would be the 70th birthday of American tennis legend Arthur Ashe, who held the US Open victory in the same year as Virginia Wade. Arthur Ashe, like Wade, won every Grand Slam except for the French Open. Rest in peace, glorious titan!!

Arthur Ashe: July 10, 1943 to February 6, 1993

The Petite Francaise & The Long-Awaited Brit

It's been a while since our senses were tingled the way they were over the weekend during the last two showdowns at the All-England Club. Our eyes certainly beheld sights they hadn't anticipated, by the crowning victories of two underdogs who proved themselves worthy of coronation at the final ceremony; and I can't speak on anyone else's behalf but my ears sure were surprised by the "pop!" that shot off the rackets of the female finalists in their epic confrontation on Saturday.

Marion Bartoli's very first serve in court died like a lead cannon underneath the frame of Sabine Lisicki's racket. That first game was taut with tension already, and Lisicki emerged from it with an early break. However, Bartoli did not leave her ruthlessness at home and immediately broke back, then broke again in Lisicki's next service game to go up 3-1.

Trailing 1-5, Lisicki seemed to have met her match in power and playing style in the petite Frenchwoman and was lambasting herself (rightly so) for her amassed unforced errors. Yet another netted forehand handed Marion the game and the set 6-1; she pumped her fist in determined passion and Sabine couldn't look more despondent.

She tried in earnest to clamp down on errors in the second set, did Lisicki, but Marion only exploited her resulting tenacity to go up a break and 2-1. It's been only about half an hour since the start of the match and Sabine really hasn't begun to threaten Bartoli's serve, whereas her own is under increased pressure with every service game.

The fifth game seemed to be going the way of the German, but Marion would not let up and soon forced - and captured - a break of serve. With the match slipping away, Sabine must have felt the nerves of inexperience creeping through her system, while her seasoned opponent was really finding her rhythm on the court.

Poor decisions came in torrents thenceforth, including a "drop-volley" that landed so snugly in the doubles alley, you'd think that's where she wanted it to go. Follow the ensuing break of serve with a love hold by Marion and we've got another 5-1 predicament for the young Sabine. Thankfully, she would hold. No embarrassing scoreline for the woman who beat Serena Williams -- Serena Williams!! -- to get here. And then she would break the Frenchwoman's serve - brava! - for a more manageable 4-5 trail. And to think she was in tears just three games before.

Now, the pressure rested on Bartoli's ability to draw on her years of wisdom, including her quarterfinal-or-better performance at every single Grand Slam, in order to see her through one ultimate service game.

It began with a sixteen-shot rally in which Sabine had the upper hand but choked on the gas to give Marion a short ball that was punished by a brilliantly angled cross-court backhand return.

The second point was a swinging serve near the far corner of the service box; Lisicki mis-stepped and threw the return out wide.

The next serve went down the tee and a one-two punch ground-stroke wrong-footed the German again. Wow, was she making it that easy for Bartoli? 40-0.

Out wide went the serve, up high flew the dust, and on her knees went Marion Bartoli, overcome with emotion at her first major title win.

The winning moment for Marion Bartoli

The wily Novak Djokovic commenced his Wimbledon 2013 final bid with a service hold. British would-be savior Andy Murray responded with a hold of his own. Sunday's proceedings were about to get messy and we all knew it.

Despite being both big and clean hitters of the ball, Murray would find an early break for 2-1. The sound of the ball popping off their rackets was the loudest sound in the stadium. Following suit, Djokovic broke back in the very next game to equalize at 2-2, then hold for a 3-2 lead on serve.

Game six would see Andy looking much more comfortable, serving big and handling the overhead well to grasp a love hold for 3-3. Already Novak is pulling tricks out of the bag to play in the mind of the World No. 2.

Case in point: down 0-15 in the next service game, Djokovic tested Murray's defense with a smash, a lob and a volley, all in the same point, only to find that Andy was more than capable of returning each put-away with interest. Nole would eventually miss the forehand down the line to give Murray 0-30. Slightly frustrated by this turn of events, Novak challenged a cross-court backhand of his called wide, but hawk-eye showed it was indeed out and abracadabra Muzzah had triple break point. Wouldn't you know, the Serb would miss the first serve and Murray would punish the second to break again for a 4-3 lead. Would he be able to consolidate this time though?

Could the sorrow of last year's loss have crept into Murray's mind at this point? It may well have, considering he made two double faults to open the eighth game. It turned into a long, multiple-deuce game at that, with Djokovic fighting his way to break point. Access denied! said Murray with a smashing forehand down the line. Convincing hold. 5-3.

"Mr. Resilient" is an alias of Novak Djokovic: he battled back from 0-30 down in the next game to hold for 4-5.

But the ghost of Fred Perry guided Murray's serving arm through four huge serves for a love hold and ownership of the first set, 6-4.

Service games began long and tight in the second set. The commentators were implying that Djokovic was approaching the net far too often to stop from extending the rallies after his marathon semifinal against Del Potro; however, Djokovic came out on top in back-to-back 20+ rallies and fought without face and through slips and falls to hold for 4-1.

Game six was a strange one. When Murray hit a close shot at the baseline, Djokovic hit the return well wide......then tried to challenge Murray's shot? Of course, the umpire refused to comply and we in the audience could tell from hawk-eye (and intuition) that the shot in question was indeed in bounds. In the next point, Djokovic missed an easy forehand so that Murray was able to hold for 4-2. Oh dear, are we seeing signs of mental weakness from the Serbian legend?

He would double-fault himself out of rhythm for a 15-40 deficit in the following game. But it's been "only" an hour and thirty-nine minutes. Much, much more tennis to be had. Nole erased both break points to make it deuce. Andy had different plans, however, and would laser an 86 mph forehand across the court to gain the advantage. Soon thereafter, Djokovic lamely surrendered the break with another double fault.

This 4-3 lead will be worthless if Andy doesn't consolidate, say the mumbles of every Brit fan crowding Center Court and its surroundings.

With things getting tougher on serve, Murray was ballsy to plant an ace out wide on the line, then play a risky drop-shot to prevent a break chance and hold for 4-all.

5-5. Djokovic had been out of challenges for a while now but starting yelling to the umpire about another questionable baseline shot from Murray, and again he's wrong. Andy then conjured up two break points and took the second for a 6-5 lead. He would serve out the second set to love, 7-5.

It must have been the gods of tennis looking down upon Andy Murray that day; it was the hottest day at Wimbledon over the entire fortnight and Djokovic was a world above Murray......in unforced errors, 21-11; the one which sealed the opening game for Murray was a wide backhand.

Successive love holds from both players set the tone at 2-1, favour of Murray. He'd be soon on the back pedal at 2-4.

But the US Open reigning champ reappeared right away with break opportunities on the Serb's serve. Breathing hard after saving the first, Novak would give up the second chance and the break lead.

Spiral/helical blue and green lights above the stands flashed silently as Nole tripped and fell for a second time to ruin blinding forehand point for 15-15.

The likes of Bradley Cooper, Gerard Butler and Wayne Rooney were all in the audience, hoping, like any other, that Great Britain has a long-awaited champion in the dude from Dunblane.

He (Novak) would hold for 4-4, but must have felt it was getting rather ridiculous: Andy had come back from every break down to level things out against the odds. Errors were piling up for the World No. 1 and he was trying out EVERYTHING in his arsenal but Murray had the solution for each weapon. Sign of the times when Djokovic netted the forehand to hand Murray a 5-4 lead and chance to serve for the championship.

Andy's girlfriend Kim Sears looked pumped up as ever. She had good reason to be. Her guy was on the verge of an historical turning point.

One backhand wide from Novak: 15-0.

Andy then put away a clever drop-shot: 30-0.

Big serve. Return long. 40-0. Triple championship point!

Nole was too good at the net: 40-15.

Novak blasted the nervous second serve: 40-30.

Andy's turn to be nervous, he pushed the backhand long: deuce.

Then he netted an inside-out forehand to give Nole the advantage.

A good body serve followed and we were back to deuce.

The net cord found favour with Novak at an opportune time: advantage Djokovic.

Luckily, Murray would remember his ranking and his nerve to recover for deuce #3.

But he was underestimating the Serb - Novak will never just 'go away'. It's break point Djokovic again.

But again, Andy found a way to shut him out. What's that we were saying about Nadal the Great Counter-Puncher? Oh never mind? Okay then. Deuce #4.

The first serve had completely gone away in this unforgettable game. But Murray would find a fifth chance to close it out at home.

And he did it.

His mum was in tears......he had won. Kim oh-emm-gee'd almost in slo-mo. Butler's mouth was agape.

Forget bringing the trophy home after how many decades - this is what it takes to make Ivan Lendl smile.

Andy Murray, two-time Grand Slam champion

Breathe tennis!!

Same Script, Slighty Different Cast

The past decade or two of tennis in the Open Era has been marked by the success of a handful of individuals who, by their triumphs, losses, spirit and consistency, are all GOAT material, much to the dismay of their lower ranked colleagues. Now, it would seem their victorious era is coming to a sputtering end. One may question the match fitness of Roger Federer, the physical health of Rafael Nadal and the confidence of Serena Williams, now that all three have graciously stepped out of Wimbledon this year. None of these three withdrew, unlike some of their younger rivals, however; we can see that the hunger to win is still lion-like. But how long do we have until they cannot compete at the highest level anymore?

The answer may not be easily attained, but we have a clear idea of who is just itching to fill up their shoes once they become retirees like Andy Roddick and Mary Joe Fernández.

Andy Murray

He's just won a convincing semifinal against Jerzy Janowicz of Poland.

The boys both held serve fairly well to begin with; a point to remember happened when Andy was serving at 2-2. The Brit showed us his wheels by chasing down the kind of ball that even David Ferrer wouldn't bother going after AND producing a stunning backhand on it that forces Jerzy's lob return to fall wide.

But the Pole had definitely brought out his biggest guns with massive serves and delicate drop-shots. Neither player had a decent look at a break point and they both held for twelve combined games in that set, forcing a tiebreak.

Janowicz's big serve put him in a good position at 6-2 in the tiebreak and Murray would forfeit the set with a double fault.

Second set: Janowicz returned the favor by double-faulting at 30-40 to give the Muzzah an easy break. Andy remained a break to the good, all the way to 6-4, wrapping up that set.

Third set: Andy slowed down a bit, flinching under the pressure of Janowicz's deft touch and untouchable service games. Jerzy took charge then and raced to a 4-1 lead. But when both fellas tried to out-net-play one another, it's Andy who came out on top with two successive breaks to lead for the first time at 5-4 with the chance to serve for the set. Murray got hit in the back from a smash by Jerzy at the net on his first set point but maintains his composure to secure the set soon thereafter.

It's two hours and twenty-four minutes into the match when they decided to close the roof. Murray wasn't too happy about that as he probably felt the twenty-minute wait would kill the momentum he was just starting to build. Quite frankly, the World No. 2 had a point: it wasn't raining, neither was it sufficiently dark to justify it. Janowicz was begging for this about half an hour ago, so he got a delayed grant to his wish.

The roof closure didn't seem to help his predicament much, though. Murray soon broke him, channeling his obvious frustration within a chugging train of huge serves and sharp ground-strokes. 3-1 Murray.

Andy was running and running and running away with this set, taking out all his anger on the racket with what the commentators often call 'controlled aggression'.

It's in the blink of an eye that he had Janowicz on the ropes at 5-3, with the Pole needing to hold serve to stay in this. But Jerzy was desperately laying it all out with double faults and wild shots everywhere to give Andy match point at 30-40. Of course, he missed the first serve. And Andy drove  a rare soft second serve to claim the match in fine style.

You dare to question the British #1's clutch? I advise you to think twice. He finds himself caged in a corner often, yes. Sure, he had to come back from two sets down against Verdasco the other day but the scent of a second consecutive Wimbledon final appearance was on his nose even then and he bounced back well enough. We may have laughed earlier on this year if he'd said he felt he could end the year in the top spot. But it doesn't look quite so impossible now, does it? It's Muzzah time.

World No. 2 Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic

The Serbian prince hasn't got too much left to prove, with six Grand Slams already under his belt. But he isn't anywhere near slowing down, either.....and the same cannot be said of Roger or of Rafa at the moment. He faces Murray in the final showdown on Sunday after a marathon win over Juan Martin Del Potro on Friday.

Sabine Lisicki

The German blonde with the pretty smile was certainly not showing it off early on in her match versus World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska (Janowicz's compatriot) on Thursday. Lisicki had to fight very hard to grab the first set from Aggie, who showed up with both thighs taped up after a grueling match against Li Na two days before. 6-4 Lisicki.

If you'll recall, Radwanska was the highest seeded player in the ladies' singles draw and had to show some tenacity to draw out a heap of errors from Sabine and claim the second set 6-2.

Wimbledon says Steffi Graf was the last German woman in the finals here. Lisicki must have made her proud by winning that encounter, even if only after throwing away her first chance to serve for the match and having to play a tense tiebreak.

Final score: 6-4, 2-6, 9-7.

Ahh, that smile..... :)

Which brings us to the weekend.....

On Saturday, a brand new name will echo throughout the bleachers on Center Court when either Marion Bartoli or Sabine Lisicki walks up the podium with the coveted Rosewater Dish.

Then on Sunday, Andy Murray will try to stop Novak Djokovic from creeping closer to Roger Federer's seventeen-count tally of major titles by bringing home the gold this time around.

Of course, live streams can be found here and you know where to come back to for more tennis news.

Breathe tennis!!

The Last Four

When we first set out on this incredible journey of tennis frenzy, we had our odds packed in the corners of the "Big Four": among the gentlemen - Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray - and among the ladies - Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Agnieszka Radwanska. We hadn't the faintest idea that all our little notions and predictions were about to be thrown out the window.

The Wimbledon Trophies

Yet here we are, on the eve of the semifinals, with more than half of each "Big Four" team missing.

The first to go was Rafael Nadal. No amount of praise for his remarkable comeback from career-threatening injury is going to take away from how unprepared he was to compete in back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments with a knee that was - pardon the pun - just learning how to walk again, or, more importantly, how extraordinarily well his conqueror Steve Darcis played on that humid first Monday on Court 1. Camp Nadal deserves a serious conk in the head for fumbling with the Spaniard's tournament schedule. An ostentatious over-estimation of one man's bounce-back-ability has probably worsened Rafa's physical match fitness, possibly irreparably and in both knees.

On Tuesday came the withdrawals, most notably that of second seed Victoria Azarenka. The Belarusian was literally crying after she fell and hurt her right knee during her first round match against Maria João Koehler, again on Court 1. That slide in the grass did not hinder her winning that match but it impeded her continuing her contest for the title; she withdrew shortly before her second round match that Wednesday. She was a serious contender for the trophy and would have played Flavia Pennetta.

Roger Federer's loss was the one that very few saw coming from afar. The seven-time Wimbledon champion failed to defend his title in what should have been an easy second round win against a player ranked outside the top 100, Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine. The first set was already under Federer's belt with an easy tiebreak hold when the tides began to change in the second. Stakhovsky was refusing to go away and forced another tiebreak in the second set. A wild forehand mishit would give the Ukranian the chance he needed to equalize. With things drawn even, a tantalizing set of cat and mouse ensued in set three, with Sergiy miraculously ending up on top after breaking Roger's serve at 5-5 to win the third set 7-5. The fourth set was the lengthiest by time at 50 minutes, but it seemed like no time at all had elapsed before Federer was serving to stay in the match in yet another tiebreak. He managed to overcome the first match point against him, but a crafty backhand slice from the Ukranian forced his backhand return just wide of the service line and Stakhovsky so achieved a great feat in Wimbledon tennis.

Maria Sharapova was also a casualty among the fallen at the All-England Club. Portugal's Michelle Larcher De Brito was the one who uprooted the third seed from the ladies' singles draw with a straight sets win in the order of 6-3, 6-4. In Maria's defense, the grass on Court 2 was so slippery that any change in direction had her stumbling like the "cow on ice" she once described herself as (referring to her clay court form earlier on in her career). But the Russian seemed too shaken to even hold her own and really let Larcher De Brito get the best of her.

Serena Williams has been the latest of surprise losers in the draw; her defeat comes at the hands of Sabine Lisicki, the German 23rd seed. Sabine proved to be the tougher opponent in their face-off on Center Court on Monday. Serena's winning form was nowhere to be seen during the match, except for the second set. Lisicki had just enough pressure match experience to keep her composure at all the right times. That's how you take it to Serena Williams.

So neither of last year's names will be etched into the Gentlemen's Singles gilt cup or the Venus Rosewater Dish this time around; history will be made one way or another, and new ground will be trodden upon by the brave and kicking contenders left in the draw......

With two finals spots up for grabs, Sabine Lisicki will face Agnieszka Radwanska while Marion Bartoli will battle Kirsten Flipkens in the semifinals on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the quarterfinals in the Gentlemen's Singles draw features Novak Djokovic/Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer/Juan Martin Del Potro, Lukasz Kubot/Jerzy Janowicz and Fernando Verdasco/Andy Murray.

The Big Four may be, for all intents and purposes, gone.....but the Last Four are palpably close to defying the odds at Wimbledon to give us new and refreshing champions.

Breathe tennis!!

Breaks and Breakthroughs

Wimbledon, Day 7

Ladies

Well, the days of upsets are not yet at an end beyond the pearly gates at the All-England Club. Manic Monday's shocker is Serena Williams's loss to 23rd seed Sabine Lisicki. The top seed and defending champion started more than okay with routine service holds. But Serena's usual composure seemed to melt down, first into complacence and then into a sort of baffling apathy.

Her opponent was still too self-focused to notice the frequent lapses in intensity; but Lisicki was quick to turn the heat up, going back behind Serena on the ground-strokes to make the 31-year-old look more, well, her age.

Serena was soon flopping most uncharacteristically around the baseline and the net and the mid-court trying, with utter futility, to stop the roll that her German rival was on.

Broken twice to end up set point down at 2-5, 0-40, it's hard to tell if Serena even noticed that her opponent was serving just as massively as she was, but winning all the big points as well. Lisicki took the first break chance and wrapped up the first set with a strong fist pump.

Williams, however, hasn't become a 16-time major champion by lying on her belly. Reacting well to the pressure of extending her 34-match win streak and retaining her title, Serena's effort to bounce back in the second was felt most emphatically. Before long, she had come back to win it 6-1.

The decider was all Williams as well. Matching firepower with firepower, she would soon grind out a 4-2 lead, with fortune, flair and experience all on her side.

Sabine, however, fought gruesomely to break back for 4-all and then the unthinkable happened: Lisicki played a drop-shot that had Serena stumbling towards the net, then nailed the volley down the tee to break for 5-4 with the chance to serve for the match.

And boy did she come through. Williams seemed more and more shaken with every point that led to dethronement and the ruthless Lisicki wrapped the ball around her a million ways to pull off yet another upset at Wimbledon this year, beating the reigning champ 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

For match highlights, click here.

Serena Williams (L) lost to Sabine Lisicki (R) on Monday

Kaia Kanepi did indeed stop the inspired Laura Robson from giving England a "son-of-the-soil" win this year; Kanepi defeated the 19-year-old in a stiff match that ended 7-6, 7-5. Perhaps feeling her country's expectations heavy on her back, Robson surrendered the lead in the first set twice before losing it in a tense tiebreak, then was broken at 5-5 in the second to hand Kaia the victory in straights.

Marion Bartoli, Petra Kvitova and Li Na all dismantled their fourth round opponents in straight sets, while Sloane Stephens and Agnieszka Radwanska needed deciders to book their spots in the quarters.

Click here to watch today's matches.


Gentlemen

Jerzy Janowicz won a marathon match against Jürgen Melzer by 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, while Ferrer, Del Potro, Verdasco and Berdych made it through also to the quarterfinals.

Hometown favorite Andy Murray still has not dropped a set in his bid this year to go one win further than last year; he beat World No. 26 Mikhail Youzhny 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.

Beginning in fine form, Murray showed Youzhny the meaning of the ranking difference between them and broke fancily to serve out the first set. Showing more emotion that is usual for the Scot, Murray was fist-pumping almost Rafa-like with every tough point won.

Youzhny fought back as best as he could to come back in the second but, with the crowd enormously on his opponent's side, and Murray feeling as confident as ever, there wasn't much he could do to prevent a tiebreak. And Andy, urging the crowd to cheer him on, would soon recover from a mini-break and win the tiebreak.

The third set was by far easier for Murray to work through; his rival had pulled every trick out of the bag and still not managed to seriously threaten the World No. 2. The 31-year-old Russian Mikhail Youzhny would be broken a few more times before the adept and strong hands of Andy Murray ended the match with a forehand volley.

Pumped up Andy Murray on Day 7 at Wimbledon 2013

Novak Djokovic was more than comfortable on Center Court while completely outplaying back-in-form veteran Tommy Haas. Djokovic would take the first set 6-1, undoing any imaginings Haas may have had that beating the World No. 1 would have been easy.

Haas did sort of threaten the Novak serve in the second set but couldn't follow through with securing the set and eventually lost it 4-6, digging himself a monumental two set hole.

Still not admitting defeat, however, Haas clamped down on errors and forced a few out of Djokovic to produce an all-or-nothing tiebreak in the third. That is when the top seed showed his very finest work, answering every question that Haas asked on the racket and taking the set and the match with a 7-6 (7-4) tally.

Tomorrow, Berdych will try to stop the Serb from claiming his second Wimbledon title and, if Haas's experience is any indication, it certainly will not be an easy task.

Novak Djokovic is into the QFs at the All-England Club

For a view of the official draw, click here.

Breathe tennis!!