Men and Women Update – Wimbledon

Written by: Staff on 5th July 2013

Men and Women Update - Wimbledon |

Wimbledon

Singles – Semifinal: (1) N Djokovic def. (8) J del Potro 7-5 4-6 7-6(7-2) 6-7(6-8) 6-3

There was a lot of rain earlier in this tournament, but it’s clear the ground is dry by now. Had there been any spots on the court with even the slightest muddiness, the artillery these two were firing would have left marks. It was an extraordinary display of power; there was no sign that Juan Martin del Potro was playing on bad legs. He even managed to come back from a minibreak down in the fourth set tiebreak, saving two match points along the way. There were only five breaks in the entire match. But Novak Djokovic had three of them, and that was enough. He strengthens his grip on #1, and leaves del Potro still at #7; Tomas Berdych will keep the #6 spot.

It is reported to have been the longest semifinal in Wimbledon history; the two were on the court for four hours and 43 minutes.

Singles – Semifinal: (2) A Murray def. (24) J Janowicz 6-7(2-7) 6-4 6-4 6-3

It took Andy Murray a set to catch up with Jerzy Janowicz’s serve. For the first dozen games or so, Janowicz was putting in the power, Murray was just barely getting the ball back, and Janowicz was able to use his surprising touch to win points. But once Murray started getting his returns in, it was pretty one-sided. Not even a delay caused by darkness could slow him down. Not much else to say about it, except that, for the second straight year, the British will get to cheer Murray in a final. It won’t make any real difference; Murray will be #2 when this is over, and Novak Djokovic #1. But if Murray wins, he’ll at least have a good chance of staying #2 after the Olympics come off. And, of course, he’ll earn that second Slam….

Jerzy Janowicz appears to be up to a career-high #17. And, one suspects, he isn’t done climbing.

Mixed Doubles – Semifinal: (1) Soares/Raymond def. Rojer/Dushevina 6-4 6-4

Hard to tell what this says about Mixed rankings, since they would have made Soares/Raymond the #2 seeds (behind Cermak/Hradecka). So they were seeded for the final either way. And they will be the favorites in the final. Impressive of Lisa Raymond to make a Slam final at her age.

Mixed Doubles – Semifinal: (8) Nestor/Mladenovic def. (3) Zimonjic/Srebotnik 6-2 6-7(4-7) 11-9

It’s hard to call it a change of generations when Daniel Nestor is in a Slam final, but still, it has been quite a week for young women in doubles: Barty in that women’s doubles final, and here Kristina Mladenovic in the Mixed final. It seems likely that both will be major forces for a long time to come.

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Wimbledon

Doubles – Semifinal: (12) Barty/Dellacqua def. (7) Groenefeld/Peschke 7-6(8-6) 6-2

Australia may be stuck with Samantha Stosur as their only real force in singles, but they definitely are still a doubles powerhouse. That’s two Slam finals this year for Barty/Dellacqua! Barty, #36 coming in, appears ready to hit the Top Twenty; Dellacqua is up to #12. For Anna-Lena Groenefeld, this means no Top Ten ranking, and Kveta Peschke was left with only the poorest chances.

Doubles – Semifinal: (8) Hsieh/Peng def. Aoyama/Scheepers 6-4 6-3

Now we see whose nerves are strongest. Until this year, Casey Dellacqua had never won a doubles title. She still seems to have nerves. But… so does Peng Shuai. She can’t win singles titles. And none of our four finalists has won a Slam. So we have no idea what to expect in the final. We can, however, expect two new names in the Top Ten. If Hsieh/Peng win Wimbledon, then they will be #9 and #10. If Barty/Dellacqua win, then Hsieh is #9 and Dellacqua #10, with Peng #11. As of right now, the Top Twelve looks like this (with Barty, as noted above, around #20; a title would make her #12):

1..(1) ERRANI ………….9355

1..(1) VINCI …………. 9355

3..(3) PETROVA ……….. 7730

4..(5) MAKAROVA ………..6780

5..(8) SREBOTNIK ……… 6745

6..(6) VESNINA ……….. 6631

7..(4) HLAVACKOVA ………6440

8..(7) HRADECKA ………..5886

9.(16) HSIEH …………. 4785*

10.(23) PENG ……………4425*

11.(17) PESCHKE ……….. 4295

12.(29) DELLACQUA ……… 3961*