Jankovic changes clothes on court

Jankovic, in the match versus Bartoli, changed her "tiny" undergarment from the black to the white one.

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Rafael Nadal and his lover

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Who are they?

There are two strange people attending Wimbledon 2008 tennis matches. Two mysterious, man and woman, covering their face by a rubber mask appeared around SW19 area.

The mask has small holes near eye and nose area, so they can breathe and see normally.

They come and enjoy the match quietly and seriously. We currently can't determine who they are and the purpose of their disguise.

People think that they are performing art, or this is some advertisement strategy, or some V.I.Ps want to watch tennis matches but don't want to reveal themselves.

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Wimbledon 2008 Women Semi Finals

Elena Dementieva (RUS)[5] vs Venus Williams (USA)[7]
Jie Zheng (CHN) vs Serena Williams (USA)[6]

There has been an awesome inevitability about the progress of the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, towards Saturday's women's final. Thursday marks the last chance for the odds to be upset and for a repeat of the 2002 and 2003 "family" finals to be avoided.

So let us examine the prospects of the two ladies whose task it is to attempt to turn back the Williams tsunami: Russia's Elena Dementieva and Zheng Jie of China.

First, Dementieva. This will be her first semi-final in a decade of Wimbledons and on previous form it represents another chance for the 26-year-old - who has swapped Moscow for the tax-free life of Monte Carlo - to live up to her label of the "nearly" lady. This is her 39th Grand Slam and she has yet to win one.

The air of New York appears to suit the Dementieva game most of all: she has had two semi-finals and one final appearance at the US Open, while she also reached the final at Roland Garros in 2004.

Surely, you would think, just one small push would be enough to see Dementieva seize a Slam. And yet, and yet. Tuesday's quarter-final against Nadia Petrova was a classic example of what most ails the 26-year-old Dementieva - a chronic inability to finish off an opponent the way the Williamses do. That, plus a serve that is, to say the least, a touch short of oomph.

This year has been a good one for her, with a ninth career title picked up in Dubai and a return to the top 10. But her difficulties against Venus are starkly revealed in the statistics. Only two of their previous seven matches have resulted in a Russian win and in both of her victories, Dementieva squeaked home in a third-set tie-break, whereas four of the five Williams wins have come in straight sets.

At 5ft 4in, Zheng is the lesser half of the Little and Large semi-final. Lesser in achievement as well as stature, but still a fine athlete with a never-say-die attitude.

The people at the All England Club who dish out wild cards had an inspiration in awarding one to Zheng. It came on the strength of her 2006 doubles win here, a memorable achievement that was followed by a nearly blank 2007 season because of ankle surgery in which her ranking disappeared off the radar.

The fashion in which Zheng saw off her previous five opponents, particularly the top-seeded Ana Ivanovic, was a revelation. She has become the first Chinese, man or woman, to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, winning 10 sets and dropping just one. And everyone's heart went out to her when she announced the dedication of her prize money to the Chinese earthquake disaster relief fund.

Zheng shares a record with Monica Seles as the only other wild card to reach a Grand Slam semi-final, Seles’ coming at the 1995 US Open when she was on her way back after her 1993 stabbing in Hamburg. Should Zheng defeat Serena, she would be Wimbledon's first unseeded finalist.

And so we come to Venus and Serena, who have ruled Wimbledon's roost virtually unchallenged since the start of the century. The kids from Compton, California have transformed women's tennis and, sensibly, now just zero in on the biggest prizes in it, particularly here in London.

Venus, the defending champion, has won Wimbledon four times and Serena twice. Serena's wins came in 2002 and 2003 against her big sister. In only two summers since the millennium, has a Williams not been Wimbledon's champion. It is an extraordinary statistic, oft-repeated in these columns and deservedly so.

The fact that they are seeded sixth and seventh bothers them not a bit. Both have aimed their rackets and their ambitions at finals day on Centre Court from the beginning of the year.

Serena has enjoyed a more successful 2008, with a 30-3 win-loss record, compared to Venus' 19-7. Serena has won six more Grand Slams to add to her brace of Wimbledons, whereas Venus' Wimbledon quadruple is boosted only by a couple of US Opens.

Serena has won all four Slams at least once. Venus has yet to triumph in Australia or Paris but you get the strong impression it doesn't bother her unduly. Another Wimbledon will do very nicely, thanks, until she heads for home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, to resume her alternative career, fashion design.

Whether the culmination of Thursday's events will be another all Williams final we shall not know until the end of the day. The pundits say so, but Dementieva and Zheng may yet decree otherwise.

_____________________

Written by Ronald Atkin

source: http://www.wimbledon.org/en_GB/news/articles/2008-07-02/200807021215021394609.html

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Wimbledon 2008 4th round: As good as it gets

- Federer dumps out Hewitt: Roger Federer came out on top in the battle of the Wimbledon champions by trumping Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 6-2 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

Australian Hewitt, the only men's winner in the draw other than five-times champion Federer, kept the Swiss on his toes during a tight first set.

The 27-year-old Hewitt, struggling with a hip injury, had hoped to profit from some inside information since his coach Tony Roche had been in Federer's camp until 13 months ago.

But his challenge fizzled after an engaging first set in which he traded an assortment of bewitching volleys and groundstrokes with the Swiss maestro.

Neither player earned a break point during the opening set, but as he has done many times in the past, Federer saved his best arsenal for the tie break.

The vocal Australian contingent of fans tried to lift their man but soon fell silent as Hewitt fell 4-0 behind in the second set.

Two games later, the Australian earned his first break point of the match, only to be thwarted by a ferocious kicking serve.

He stretched the top seed to break points in three successive games but the outcome was the same each time - Federer would come up with the big serves to wipe out any hopes of a Hewitt fightback.

In the third set the Australian slipped behind the baseline and ended up on his knees to surrender his serve and hand Federer a 2-1 advantage.

That was enough for Federer to close out the match and remain on course for a modern-era record of six successive men's titles.

By reaching the quarter-finals without dropping a set in this year's event, the Swiss not only grabbed a 12th successive win over the Australian but also ensured he would keep the world number one ranking when the new list is published next Monday.

- Federer will face another in the next round when he comes up against Croatia's Mario Ancic , the last man to beat the top seed on turf in the first round here in 2002.

Ancic came from two sets down to beat Fernando Verdasco 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 13-11 in a marathon encounter.

Unseeded Croat Ancic, 24, a semi-finalist in 2004, has now reached the quarter-finals three times but missed the tournament last year and was out for nearly six months with glandular fever.

Ancic looked down and out when Verdasco, the number 22 seed, led two sets to one and 4-1 in the fourth, only to fight his way back into a match that lasted three hours and 48 minutes on Court 11.

Ancic, who had beaten Verdasco's fifth-seeded compatriot David Ferrer in the previous round, settled the match after breaking his opponent in the 13th game of the deciding set.

Verdasco saved the first two of three match points before succumbing to an ace.

- Rafael Nadal survived an early scare when he needed treatment to his right calf before beating Mikhail Youznhy 6-3 6-3 6-1.

The second seed, 1-0 up after serving first, slipped and landed badly on his right leg chasing a crosscourt shot and needed a time-out for treatment on the side of court one.

However, it proved a blip and the Spaniard crushed an opponent he needed five sets to overcome at the same stage of Wimbledon a year ago. He next meets Briton Andy Murray in the last eight.

The Russian, seeded 17th, had won the last of their previous 10 meetings by a remarkable 6-0 6-1 in the final at Chennai in January. Their tally is now 7-4 to Nadal.

- Mercurial Russian Marat Safin, his temper in check and his talent to the fore, fought his way into the quarter-finals 6-4 6-3 5-7 6-1 against Swiss 13th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.

The twice Grand Slam winner, who had already knocked out Serbian number three seed Novak Djokovic, won the first nine points of the first set before Wawrinka stopped the rot with an ace and fought back to level the match at 4-4.

But then he lost his serve and Safin, who has so often let his volatile temperament get the better of him, held his for a 1-0 lead.

Safin, who was recording his best Wimbledon result since reaching the quarter-finals in 2001, twice broke Wawrinka in the second set which he won comfortably.

Safin, never a great fan of grass, let slip his advantage in the third set with a lapse of concentration.

But the lanky former world number one then firmly re-established control, swiftly dismissing Wawrinka 6-1 in the fourth set.

- Spaniard Feliciano Lopez saved three match points before outlasting Cypriot number 10 seed Marcos Baghdatis 5-7 6-2 3-6 7-6 8-6.

The 26-year-old left-hander, seeded 31, was staring defeat in the face when serving at 4-5 0-40 down in the final set but saved all three match points, the final one with an ace, to hold.

He then broke Baghdatis, a semi-finalist here two years ago, to seize the initiative and confidently served out for victory.

Lopez, a Wimbledon quarter-finalist in 2005, his best result at a Grand Slam, now takes on Russian Marat Safin

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Never on Sunday: A review of first week of Wimbledon 2008

The first week of Wimbledon 2008 has passed, and it proved to be one of the most exciting weeks in Wimbledon history with a lot of surprises, thrill and excitement. Many seeds survived, many seeds packed. Satisfactory and disappointment co-exist. This review will highlight some important moments of the most prestige tennis tournament in the world.
The outcome of the men's draw promised a showdown of Federer vs. Djokovic and Roddick vs. Nadal. The first and second seeds survived, however, their predicted opponents had already packed their luggage. Let's see how the draw has played down.

In the first small section of the draw involving the Mighty Federer, there are many tough players such as Hrbaty, Soderling, Hewitt, Bolelli and Gonzalez. However, rounds by rounds, he walks pass each opponent in style. In the first three rounds, he committed only 7 rare breakpoints where his opponents convert twice. His toughest test so far will come in fourth round, where he meets Hewitt, the last tennis player before Federer to capture the title, back to 2002. After that, Federer has produced a great run to capture 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles (from 2003 to 2007). He is heading for his six title here.

Lleyton Hewitt, after his first tough round against R. Hasse where he won in five sets, has found his form back, winning the next two matches in straigh sets. The next match against Federer will bring back memories, sweet and sour. Hewitt was always the favourite in their match ups before 2003 when he captured 7 victories out of 9 matches. The coin flipped after that, with Federer to win 11 times later. In an interview two years ago, when Federer was asked who is his favorite choice for an exhibition match, he said Hewitt and explained that Hewitt's style suits his game.

Fernando Gonzalez is one of the seeds that suffered early exit. In his second round again rising Italian Bolelli, he lost in 4 tight sets.

Silently and effectively, Verdasco beat Kohlschreiber, O. Rochus and Berdych to book a place in the fourth round against Mario Ancic, unseeded player, who defeated David Ferrer in third round. The fact that Ancic was not seeded does not reflect enough his quality but bad luck. He struggled with mono and injuries and could not put his impact on court. He is also the last player to beat Federer on grass (Wimbledon 2002).

The biggest disappointment of the tournament comes from Djokovic, the third seed. He lost in straight sets against Safin, who has gained his form lately. No more psychologic talk from the Serbian to boost his confidence and to eliminate the aura of Federer, something he has been doing since 2007. Now he can spend this free time to work on his fitness, again. Wawrinka still proves the great form of late that earn him a place in top ten ranking. He will meet Safin in 4th round match.

Marcos Baghdatis is finding the form that used to take him to the final of Australian Open in 2006. He booked a place in the 4th round with Feliciano Lopez. I still remember Lopez with a great game to break Federer's serve and take the first set in their match at US Open 2007.

The other side of the draw sees another shocking, but predictable loss of Roddick against Serbian Tipsarevic in 2nd round. Tiprasevic is known as a consitent player with great forehand and backhand. Roddick, according to me, is a player relying heavily on his first serve. His forehand and backhand are average. Not like other elite players, once the serve does not work, they still have backup plans with forehand, backhand, volley...

In the third quarter of the draw, no seed survived, while in the fourth quarter, French talent Gasquet will meet England favourite Murray, and Nadal will meet Youzhny. Nadal is the only 2008 Grandslam champion that remains in competition. In both men's and women's draws, Djokovic (Australian Open), Sharapova (Australian Open) and Ivanovic (French Open) had suffered early losses.

My prediction for the quarter finals:
Federer vs. Verdasco
Safin vs. Baghdatis
Tipsarevic vs. Clement
Murray vs. Nadal

Semis:
Federer vs. Safin
Tipsarevic vs. Nadal

Finals:
Federer vs. Nadal

Champion: Federer

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Sharapova In Singapore

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