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Tag: Wimbledon 2021

  • Wimbledon 2021: Pliskova strikes into last-16, Swiatek eases previous Begu

    Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova beat Tereza Martincova 6-3, 6-3 within the battle of Czechs on Court Two to maneuver into the last-16 at Wimbledon on Friday.
    Former world primary Pliskova fell on the first hurdle within the tune-up tournaments in Berlin and Eastbourne final month however the 29-year-old has but to drop a set at Wimbledon.
    The final time the 2 met was within the first spherical of the US Open in 2019 and there was little to separate them, with Pliskova advancing solely after successful tiebreaks in two units.
    Although Pliskova made 36 unforced errors and 9 double faults, she fired 30 winners previous her compatriot who struggled together with her first serve and managed to transform just one break level alternative.
    While others often go for the cautious second serve, Pliskova’s excessive double fault depend was a results of going for a robust second serve which has moved her to the highest of the aces charts with 22 within the match.
    Pliskova, who has reached not less than the quarter-finals of each Grand Slam barring Wimbledon, will play both American Sloane Stephens or Russian wildcard Liudmila Samsonova within the subsequent spherical.
    Swiatek eyes dream double after crushing Begu
    Only 4 girls have gained Wimbledon having additionally clinched the junior title, however Iga Swiatek is wanting an more and more good guess so as to add her identify to that record after storming into the fourth spherical with a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Irina-Camelia Begu on Friday.
    Former French Open champion Swiatek’s relentless stress sport crushed her Romanian opponent in a blink of an eye fixed in a one-sided demolition on Court 12.
    Poland’s Swiatek, seeded seven, suffocated her opponent from the begin to attain the final 16 together with her third straight-sets victory.

    ⏱ 55 minutes later… @iga_swiatek races into the second week of #Wimbledon, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu 6-1, 6-0 pic.twitter.com/waTzzBa0ot
    — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2021
    While she clinched the junior title on the All England Club in 2018, she arrived at Wimbledon this yr having beforehand gained just one senior match on grass, however now appears to be like very a lot at residence on the slick lawns.
    So a lot so, that it now appears a sensible risk that she may be a part of Ann Jones (1956), Karen Hantze (1960), Martina Hingis (1994) and Amelie Mauresmo (1996) by backing up her junior title with the true deal.
    Not that she is letting that distract her.
    The 20-year-old, who gained the Roland Garros title in 2020, dropped solely eight factors on serve towards Begu and half of them got here in only one sport.
    She broke her opponent twice to race right into a 5-0 lead, earlier than Begu lastly held serve, after which confirmed some grit to go together with the punishing consistency of her groundstrokes when she saved three break factors to carry and take the primary set.
    The second set was much more one-sided as Swiatek swept away the dying embers of Begu’s resistance to romp into the subsequent spherical.
    Next up for Swiatek can be an encounter with former champion Garbine Muguruza or Tunisian Ons Jabeur.

  • Murray pulls off Oscar-winning efficiency, Venus follows Serena out of Wimbledon

    Andy Murray appeared down and out on Wednesday however he was again doing what he likes finest at Wimbledon, selecting himself up and dusting himself down as he roared to a 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-4 6-2 second-round win over little-known German qualifier Oscar Otte.
    Before Wednesday, Murray had by no means misplaced a Grand Slam match to a participant ranked as little as quantity 151 Otte and he had by no means been crushed earlier than the third spherical on the All England Club.
    When the match needed to be briefly halted at 2-2 within the fourth set as gathering gloom meant the Centre Court roof needed to be closed in order that the competition might proceed beneath floodlights, it appeared as if Murray was on the verge of shedding each of these private milestones on day three of the championships.
    But that stoppage allowed 118th-ranked Murray, taking part in on a wildcard this yr as he works his means again to full health following hip-resurfacing surgical procedure in 2019, to collect his ideas and alter his ways as he gained 10 of the subsequent 14 video games to e book a third-round assembly with Canadian tenth seed Denis Shapovalov.
    Britain’s Andy Murray celebrates successful his second spherical match in opposition to Germany’s Oscar Otte. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
    “I enjoyed the end, the middle part not so much. What an amazing atmosphere to play in. I needed everyone’s help tonight and they did a great job,” a hugely-relieved Murray instructed the hollering 7,500 followers who had been allowed into the stands.
    “I needed to do one thing otherwise. I began going for my photographs extra, dictating extra factors. I used to be being somewhat bit unfavourable and due to the shortage of matches I didn’t make the appropriate choices.
    “I played the right way the last couple of sets. The first set and a half was good. It’s the bit in the middle I’d like to change.”
    The Scot, who ended Britain’s 77-year anticipate a males’s Wimbledon champion in 2013 earlier than repeating these heroics three years later, had come into the grascourt main having performed solely 5 Tour-level matches in 2021.
    That lack of match-fitness caught up with Murray within the second and third units to such an extent that not solely did he battle to maneuver round courtroom, a few of his photographs made him appear like a novice quite than a participant who has contested 11 Grand Slam finals in what is taken into account to be the best period in males’s tennis.
    Highlights: 

    One explicit effort, when he smashed straight into the online with your complete half of Otte’s courtroom at his disposal, left him pink confronted whereas the gang, and his opponent, howled in laughter.
    That howler halfway by the second set gave little trace of what was nonetheless to return.
    In the top it turned out to be a Centre Court blockbuster that featured gripping motion, a mid-match twist and late-night drama that was performed out in tennis’s most well-known enviornment.
    Both males took a lot of tumbles on the slippery turf and when Murray screamed out in agony and clutched his groin after shedding his footing early within the fourth set, there was a quick second when it appeared that it was sport over for the Scot.
    The 34-year-old, nonetheless, was not prepared to jot down off his probabilities so simply – and denied Otte his second of glory.
    “One of the reasons why I’m still playing is because of moments like that. Why would you want to give that up,” Murray, who’s taking part in singles at Wimbledon for the primary time since 2017, stated.
    Murray’s triumph capped a hat-trick of wins for British males on Wednesday, with Dan Evans becoming a member of him in spherical three whereas Cameron Norrie reached the second spherical.
    Venus follows Serena out of Wimbledon
    Venus Williams of the U.S. reacts throughout her second-round match in opposition to Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur. (REUTERS/Peter Nicholls)
    A day after sister Serena endured a heart-breaking Wimbledon exit after struggling an harm within the first spherical, Venus Williams additionally bowed out of the singles on Wednesday.
    Venus, aged 41 and taking part in in her ninetieth Grand Slam event, pushed Tunisian twenty first seed Ons Jabeur exhausting within the opening set however finally succumbed to a 7-5 6-0 defeat.
    It is the primary time no less than one of many American sisters has failed to achieve the third spherical at Wimbledon since Serena made her debut on the event in 1998.

    Seven-time Wimbledon champion Serena was compelled to give up in opposition to Aliaksandra Sasnovich on Centre Court after slipping within the first set and injuring her leg, ending one other try to assert a record-equalling twenty fourth Grand Slam title.
    Venus stated it had been exhausting to observe her youthful sibling’s tearful exit the day gone by.
    “Absolutely couldn’t watch. It was too much. I just couldn’t watch it. I know exactly what that feels like when all your faculties are taken away, things you work hard for and earn, and suddenly life happens,” she stated.
    Asked how Serena was, she stated: “I think she’s doing the best you can when you get hurt. It’s awful. It sucks.”
    Venus nonetheless has curiosity within the event as she might be taking part in the combined doubles with Nick Kyrgios.

  • Wimbledon 2021: More slipping and sliding at Centre Court as Novak Djokovic wins

    Novak Djokovic slid, slipped, skidded and stumbled into the third spherical on Wimbledon’s slick grass Wednesday by beating Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
    Djokovic didn’t face a break level and dedicated simply six unforced errors, together with one along with his forehand.

    Another Djokovic slip. He’s NOT joyful. #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/O1R8yjRgXx
    — SERVE AND VOLLEY (@Serveandvolley9) June 30, 2021
    But footing continued to be a problem on the third day of the match, and Djokovic went sprawling a number of instances, as did gamers in different matches and no less than one ball child.
    “I didn’t slip just once; I slipped like six times,” Bianca Andreescu mentioned after shedding her first-round match. “The courts are super slippery. I have only played here once before, but they weren’t like this at all. I spoke to a couple other players, and they said it’s not that normal. But this is something we can’t really control.”

    On the bottom however nonetheless stored his eye on the ball and returned the shot, just for Anderson to hit it large! Idemooo Noleeee #NoleFam #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/4qaAlgPwqe
    — NovakDjokovicUKFan – Linda🐊🦋 (@DjokovicUk) June 30, 2021
    Seven-time champion Serena Williams retired from her first-round match Tuesday with a leg harm after she slipped. Roger Federer’s opponent, Adrian Mannarino, needed to name it quits after he fell and twisted his knee.
    Persistent rain the primary two days of play created slick circumstances. The climate additionally triggered a scheduling backlog, with 27 first-round matches pushed into Wednesday.
    The retractable roof was open when the top-ranked Djokovic was first on Centre Court for his rematch towards Anderson, who additionally misplaced after they performed within the 2018 closing.
    While Djokovic endured an up-and-down efficiency on the slippery floor and rose from one spill muttering in frustration, he had little hassle with Anderson. The preternaturally limber Djokovic prolonged one rally by hitting a forehand whereas down on his knee — and gained the purpose.
    Djokovic seeks his sixth Wimbledon title and third in a row. By profitable the championship, he would additionally match the report whole of 20 majors shared by Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and would wish solely a title on the U.S. Open to comb all 4 Grand Slams in 2021.

    Inch-perfect precision from @DjokerNole 😮#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/9dbbrhxV72
    — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2021
    Andreescu made one other early Grand Slam exit when she misplaced to Alice Cornet 6-2, 6-1. The Canadian gained the 2019 Open however is 2-5 in majors since, together with three opening-round defeats.
    Andreescu, who has battled accidents however was seeded fifth, dedicated 34 unforced errors to seven for Cornet.
    “I tried to stay positive the whole match,” Andreescu mentioned. “I tried to figure it out, how I can play her better. But honestly, she played really well.”
    Yoshihito Nishioka overcame a 15-inch peak disparity to beat 6-foot-10 John Isner 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-4. The match befell on Court 18, the place Isner gained a report fifth set 70-68 in 2010.
    Also advancing was Queen’s Club match champion Matteo Berrettini, who hit 20 aces and pulled away from Guido Pella 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. American Sam Querrey upset No. 11 Pablo Carreño Busta 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5.
    Former U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori ousted Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 for his a hundredth Grand Slam match win. No. 10 Denis Shapovalov moved into the third spherical when Pablo Andújar withdrew due to a rib harm.
    In different ladies’s play, French Open runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Ana Bogdan 6-2, 6-2.

  • Serena Williams in tears after Wimbledon exit

    Serena Williams needed to bow out of Wimbledon 2021 after she stopped enjoying her first-round match due to an harm. As a consequence, Belarus’ Aliaksandra Sasnovich is thru to the following spherical.

    Gut wrenching first set for Serena Williams. Tried to powerful it out however clearly couldn’t energy by. Hopefully not the tip of Serena’s run. #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6br2drkzVy
    — SERVE AND VOLLEY (@Serveandvolley9) June 29, 2021
    Williams’s desires of profitable an eighth Wimbledon singles title and equalling Margaret Court’s Grand Slam file of 24 resulted in tears when she slipped and needed to have her left ankle examined.
    The 39-year-old slipped on the grass whereas hitting a forehand within the fifth recreation. Wincing in ache she tried to stroll gingerly, and after dropping that recreation went to the locker room.

    Serena Williams is in tears as she serves at 3-3.
    She falls once more, and retires.
    She is in floods of tears as she waves to the group.
    This completely can’t be how her #Wimbledon profession ends. It can’t. She HAS to come back again.
    She has to. pic.twitter.com/FQiRgemkda
    — The Tennis Podcast (@TennisPodcast) June 29, 2021
    Thereafter Williams returned to proceed, however with the rating 3-all, her leg buckled throughout a rally and he or she crumpled to the courtroom.  A crying Williams bit her higher lip and coated her face between factors. The tennis legend acquired a number of help from the group however ultimately dropped to her knees, and known as it quits.
    Williams then made her means as much as the online to shake fingers with Sasnovich, conceding with the rating 3-all, 15-30. Bidding a tearful adieu, she raised her racket and put her left palm on her chest.
    Officially, it’s going to go within the books as solely the second first-round Grand Slam exit of Williams’ profession.
    (With AP inputs)

  • Wimbledon 2021: Roger Federer strikes into spherical 2 after Adrian Mannarino retires attributable to damage

    Roger Federer, eight-time champion on the grass-court Grand Slam, survived a scare towards France’s Adrian Mannarino to maneuver into the subsequent spherical of Wimbledon.
    Federer obtained into the second spherical with a 6-4 ,6-7 (3), 3-6, 6-2 win over Mannarino. The Frenchman, taking part in on his thirty third birthday, received the second and third units earlier than retiring with a leg damage.

    🎾 Así se lesionó la pierna Adrian Mannarino 🇫🇷 y debió abandonar su partido ante Roger #Federer 🇨🇭 en la primera ronda de #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/l49pT5QO93
    — El Gráfico (@elgraficoweb) June 29, 2021
    Mannarino was behind within the fourth set when he slipped on the grass and fell, grabbing his proper knee in ache. He limped via two extra video games within the first-round match earlier than lastly calling it quits as hello motion was severely compromised.
    Federer was sheepish about profitable. “Not like this, please,” he advised the gang. “Look, he could have won the match at the end. Obviously, he was the better player.”
     

    Our coronary heart goes out to you, @AdrianMannarino – it was a efficiency to be pleased with and we want you a speedy restoration#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/0uREBcRcrc
    — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2021
    With this win, Federer improved to 7-0 towards Mannarino.

  • French Open runner-up Tsitsipas shocked in Wimbledon first spherical

    French Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas has been upset within the first spherical at Wimbledon by Frances Tiafoe of the United States.
    The 57th-ranked Tiafoe utilized strain by charging the web typically and received 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. He had been 0-11 beforehand towards gamers ranked within the prime 5.
    Tiafoe received 24 factors on the web and saved all seven break factors he confronted.
    Tsitsipas was seeded third and had received extra matches than every other participant on the lads’s tour this yr. He reached his first Grand Slam ultimate at Roland Garros this month earlier than squandering a two-set lead within the ultimate towards Novak Djokovic.
    Tsitsipas misplaced within the first spherical at Wimbledon for the third time in 4 appearances.
    Former 2-time champ Kvitova loses at Wimbledon
    Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has been eradicated within the first spherical by American Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-4.
    Stephens, a former prime 10 participant now ranked 73rd, dedicated solely 14 unforced errors. Her finest exhibiting at Wimbledon was in 2013, when she reached the quarterfinals.
    Kvitova was seeded tenth and received the match in 2011 and 2014.

  • Wimbledon: Some stars lacking, however intriguing storylines

    The checklist of huge names lacking this yr’s Wimbledon Championships continued to develop until minutes earlier than the draw ceremony on Friday. The defending champion within the ladies’s singles occasion, Simona Halep, was the most recent to announce her withdrawal – owing to a calf damage she’s struggled to get well from.
    This checklist additionally contains the likes of two-time champion Rafael Nadal, three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, and former finalist Milos Raonic within the males’s part. Four-time Major winner Naomi Osaka is the opposite high-profile participant absent from the ladies’s subject.
    Yet there stay a number of huge names who will compete for the title now that Wimbledon – the one Grand Slam to be cancelled (and never postponed) final yr because of the Covid-19 pandemic – is about to happen once more, starting Monday.
    World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will head to Centre Court on Monday – as is customary for the defending champion. Serena Williams, a seven-time champion at SW19, a highly-accomplished grass-courter, will proceed her pursuit for the elusive all-time file twenty fourth Slam. And Roger Federer will return to the place his comeback has been focused in direction of.
    Amidst all of the commotion, the attracts have thrown up a couple of attention-grabbing potential storylines.
    MEN’S SINGLES
    Return of Federer
    When Federer returned to the tour earlier this yr after lacking most of 2020 on account of a double knee surgical procedure, he had asserted that Wimbledon was his predominant precedence. So a lot in order that he was keen to compete on the French Open simply to assist him add extra match-time to arrange for the grass Slam. The finalist from the final version has a difficult begin although, as he faces French southpaw Adrian Mannarino – who’s able to pulling off upsets any day.
    Murray will get a wild card
    The two-time Wimbledon champion has had a torrid time over the previous few years with accidents protecting him away from the tour for lengthy spells. Fit this time round, Murray wanted a wild card to enter the primary draw. The dogged defender will tackle hard-hitting Nikoloz Basilashvili.
    Projected quarterfinals
    Should the highest eight seeds make their method by way of the draw, there’s the promise of gripping quarterfinal clashes. Djokovic will tackle the damaging Andrey Rublev (5), French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) will face constant Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut (8), Alexander Zverev (4) is in the identical quarter as gifted Italian Matteo Berrettini (7), and there would be the grace of Federer (6) towards the unorthodox (but efficient) second seed Daniil Medvedev.
    WOMEN’S SINGLES
    Serena Williams vs Angelique Kerber in third spherical
    Two former champions are slated to conflict within the third spherical. A repeat of the 2018 closing between former World No 1s Serena and Angelique Kerber is within the offing, ought to they make it to the third spherical.
    Biggest first-round match
    The most attention-grabbing first-round match-up within the ladies’s draw will probably be between two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
    Rough begin for Swiatek
    The 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek could have a difficult begin to her second Wimbledon marketing campaign because the seventh seed will face Su-Wei Hsieh from Chinese Taipei within the opening spherical. The 35-year-old, a former doubles No. 1 (at the moment 5), will not be an influence participant. But her trickery and ever-changing shot-speed causes nice disruption to an opponent’s rhythm. She even obtained the higher of the tenacious Halep at Wimbledon in 2018.

  • Wimbledon 2021: Quiz, anybody?

    1st Round: Wimbledon was canceled in 2020 for the primary time because it was worn out yearly from 1940 via 1945 due to World War II. Before that, it was referred to as off from 1915 via 1918 due to World War I. In what different yr was the event not held because it was first staged in 1877?
    a.) 1909
    b.) 1901
    c.) 1879
    d.) Never
    ___
    2nd Round: Who was the final participant aside from Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray — collectively referred to by some because the Big Four of males’s tennis — to win what the All England Club calls The Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy?
    a.) Pete Sampras
    b.) Lleyton Hewitt
    c.) Goran Ivanisevic
    d.) Andre Agassi
    ___
    third Round: Starting with the 2000 event, how most of the previous 40 girls’s singles finalist slots at Wimbledon — 20 winners, 20 runners-up — have been stuffed by Serena or Venus Williams?
    a.) 10
    b.) 15
    c.) 20
    d.) 25
    ___
    4th Round: Roger Federer holds the file for many Grand Slam ultimate appearances by a person with 31, and is adopted intently on the all-time checklist by Novak Djokovic with 29 and Rafael Nadal with 28. Who ranks fourth on that checklist?
    a.) Rod Laver
    b.) Ivan Lendl
    c.) Roy Emerson
    d.) Pete Sampras
    ___
    Quarterfinals: When Novak Djokovic got here again from two units all the way down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas within the French Open ultimate, he grew to become the primary man in additional than a half-century to win a Grand Slam title after twice profitable matches through the event regardless of dropping the preliminary two units. Who was the earlier man to drag off two such comebacks on the best way to a significant championship?
    a.) Ted Schroeder
    b.) Henri Cochet
    c.) Yvon Petra
    d.) Robert Wrenn
    ___
    Semifinals: Who was the latest feminine qualifier to achieve the semifinals at Wimbledon? (Bonus: In what yr and to whom did she lose?)
    a.) Kaia Kanepi
    b.) Marion Bartoli
    c.) Alexandra Stevenson
    d.) Severine Beltrame-Bremond
    ___
    Final: Since the beginning of 2015, what number of grass-court matches has Serena Williams misplaced?
    a.) zero
    b.) 2
    c.) 5
    d.) 10
    ___
    ANSWERS
    ___
    A view of the Venus Rosewater Dish – the Ladies’ Singles Trophy, and the Gentlemen’s Singles Trophy. (AP Photo)
    1st Round. d. The oldest Grand Slam tennis event, first held in 1877, had by no means been canceled for any cause aside from a world conflict till final yr’s pandemic.
    ___
    2nd Round. b. Hewitt beat David Nalbandian within the 2002 Wimbledon males’s ultimate for his second Grand Slam title. Since then, the 17 males’s singles trophies have been divided this fashion: eight to Federer, 5 to Djokovic, two to Nadal and two to Murray.
    ___
    third Round. c. One Williams sister or the opposite has been the Wimbledon girls’s singles champion or runner-up a complete of 20 instances over the previous 20 years. Serena Williams has gained the event seven instances and been the runner-up one other 4; Venus Williams has gained it 5 instances and been the runner-up one other 4. They have met one another in 4 all-Williams finals.
    ___
    4th Round. b. Lendl reached 19 Grand Slam finals, profitable eight championships and ending because the runner-up a record-tying 11 instances (Federer additionally has misplaced 11 main finals). Sampras is subsequent on the checklist with 18.
    ___
    Quarterfinals. a. Schroeder did it at Wimbledon in 1949, trailing two units to none within the first spherical and quarterfinals en path to the championship. That was the one time the American entered Wimbledon. The different three males listed as potential solutions all did it earlier: Wrenn on the U.S. Championships in 1896, Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927, Petra at Wimbledon in 1946.
    ___
    Semifinals. c. Stevenson is the one lady to make all of it the best way to the semifinals on the All England Club after going via qualifying to get into the principle draw. She did it at age 18 in 1999. Stevenson was crushed by Lindsay Davenport within the semifinals. Kanepi (2010) and Beltrame-Bremond (2006) reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon as qualifiers; Podoroska acquired to the semifinals as a qualifier ultimately yr’s French Open.
    ___
    Final. b. Williams is 26-2 in that span on grass, with all the matches at Wimbledon — and each of the losses within the ultimate. She gained the titles in 2015 and 2016, sat out 2017 as a result of she was pregnant, then was the runner-up to Angelique Kerber in 2018 and to Simona Halep in 2019