image: Zuma Press

Although, it was later revealed that Roddick had suffered an injury during the match, it was clearly a historic day for tennis since Federer became the great men’s champion ever by capturing his 15th Grand Slam title (edging out Pete Sampras who sat in the stands cheering him on).

If you missed it, or you just want to watch it over and over again, you can pick up the Wimbledon 2009 Mens Final – Federer vs Roddick DVD of the full match which includes BBC TV commentary.  It’s a great purchase for tennis lovers, as well as fans of Federer and Roddick!

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Wimbledon 2009 Mens Final on DVD

USA Today quotes Roddick as saying the following: “I was heartbroken.  But I know not a lot of   people get a chance to play at that level. Ten seconds after the final, I still realized it’s a pretty special thing.  At Wimbledon, adrenaline helped a great deal with the injury.  Physically, I feel great. I didn’t want to come back to tennis until I felt better.”

He has had a hard time recently.  Since the end of last year, he dropped in the world rankings but has been on the rise since he changed coaches.  He said that he has fought back from injuries and disappointments by playing tennis and focusing on nutrition and fitness (he’s lost 15 pounds since hiring coach Larry Stefanki).

I sincerely hope that Roddick continues to improve and I’d really love to see him get another chance at winning Wimbledon.

image: TSN

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Roddick Puts Pain, Wimbledon Behind Him

Despite her dislike for playing on the grass, top-ranked Russian, Dinara Safina, beat Germany’s Sabine Lisicki 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court which marks the first time she has advanced to the Wimbledon semifinal.

Safina was the runner-up at the French Open and the Australian Open and she played like a true champion on the hot day in London, although she did lose her cool at one point –she slammed her racquet down after committing her seventh double-fault.  Still, she managed to compose herself, regain her focus and beat Lisicki, who had to have her trainer ice her legs as she lay down on the court during the seventh set.

The Williams sisters have both made it to the semifinals which has led me to wonder if we are going to see a repeat of last year’s results with Venus winning over Serena in the finals.

Venus Williams easily secured her spot in the semifinals by beating Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2 in just 68 minutes.  It’s not surprising considering the American’s incredible record.  She has won 33 straight sets at Wimbledon since 2007.  That’s almost inhuman!  She’s now 67-9 all-time on grass

Meanwhile, Serena Williams played a clean match against Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and walked away with a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Centre Court in 1 hour, 13 minutes.  This marks the sixth time that she has made it to the Wimbledon semifinal.  Serena is a two-time champion at the All England Club.  She battled her sister for both victories in 2002 and 2003.

Russia’s Elena Dementieva routed Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-2 on Court 1 in just 66 minutes.  It wasn’t the cleanest match for the reigning Olympic gold medalist who incurred nine double faults but she managed to finish strong with a victory.

The semifinals take place on Thursday, July 2, 2009 with the following pairings:

• Dinara Safina vs. Venus Williams (Venus is 2-1 in the three times they have met before)
• Serena Williams vs. Elena Dementieva (Elena is 3-1 in the four times they have met but Serena won their most recent battle at the Australian Open)

The women’s semifinals are definitely going to be interesting.

images: Zuma Press

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Williams Sisters, Safina Make Semis

image: TSN

Federer, who is now 69-1 in his last 70 matches on grass, defeated Soderling 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) at the All England Club.  “Today was hard to get through a really dangerous match,” Federer said. “Not many rallies, so maybe not as much fun for the people. But I stayed calm, waited for my chance.”  Federer will face Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.  Should be an interesting match since Karlovic has a massive serve and is 6’10” – I’d be terrified!

Andy Murray and Andy Roddick also advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych respectively.

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Federer Advances to Wimbledon Quarterfinals

image: Zuma Press

The end of the match was predictable – Melzer and Roddick have battled nine times in the past and the Austrian has lost every single time.  Since Roddick has been the runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in both 2004 and 2005, I’m sure his mind is beginning to wonder if history will repeat itself.  Roddick will play Czech Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.

Andy Murray has also advanced to the fourth round and I’m sure the British player’s hopes have been boistered by yesterday’s 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Serb Viktor Troicki on the Centre Court at the All England Club.  The victory only took 1 hour, 36 minutes during which Murray served 17 aces.  He is hoping to become the first male British champion at Wimbledon since Fred Perry won in 1936.  He will face Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, unseeded Lleyton Hewitt beat Germany’s Philipp Petzschner 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3.   Hewitt, who won the Wimbledon title in 2002, will face Czech Radek Stepanek in the fourth round.

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Murray, Roddick and Hewitt Advance

image: Zuma Press

Venus Williams beat her opponent, Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-4.  The straight-set victory has brought her a little closer to winning her third consecutive Wimbledon title.  Williams played like she was seeking to avenge herself after losing to Suarez in the second round at this year’s Australian Open.  Williams will next battle 13th-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic in a fourth-round match.

Here’s a rundown of the other women’s results from Wimbledon:

• Fifth-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova was knocked out by unseeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-2, 7-5.
• Ninth-seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki reached the fourth round for the first time by beating No. 20 Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain.
• Former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo beat 15th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-3.

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Oudin Upsets Jankovic at Wimbledon

Indeed, Day 3 was unkind to Sharapova who was eliminated by Argentina’s Gisela Dulko 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 on Centre Court in 2 hours, 13 minutes.  I’m sure Sharapova is beyond disappointed and frustrated with her performances recently (she’s lost three of her last five matches) but she was out with a shoulder injury for 10 months.  Maybe she just needs a little more time.

Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champ (2002 and 2003 and was runner-up to Sharapova’s 2004 victory), Serena Williams, sailed to an easy victory after punishing Australia’s Jarmila Groth 6-2, 6-1 in 58 minutes on Court 1 at the All England Club.  At least it was over quickly!

Some of the other results from the third day include Belarussian Victoria Azarenka’s 6-0, 6-0 victory over Romanian Ioana Raluca Olaru.

image: Zuma Press

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Williams Wins, Sharapova Ousted

image: Zuma Press

I’m sure most people could have predicted the victory but I’m not sure what to expect from the rest of the tournament.  I think that, like the 2009 French Open, it might be easier for Federer to take the top prize since rival, Rafael Nadal, bowed out with knee problems.  Nadal upset the former No. 1 at Wimbledon last year in a stunning match that ended Federer’s 40-match winning streak.

If you missed today’s match, you might like seeing this great shot by Federer.  He really is amazing.

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Federer Wins Opening Round at Wimbledon

image: Zuma Press

This announcement comes amid reports that Nadal will be testing out his injured knees at two exhibition matches the Hurlingham Club (grass court) in London this week.  Nadal exited the French Open earlier than expected and had to withdraw from the pre-Winbeldon tuneup at Queen’s Club.

The top six spots in the men’s list as as follows:

1. Rafael Nadal
2. Roger Federer
3. Andy Murray
4. Novak Djokovic
5. Juan Martin Del Porto
6. Andy Roddick

The top six spots in the women’s list as as follows:

1. Dinara Safina
2. Serena Williams
3. Venus Williams
4. Elena Dementieva
5. Svetlana Kuznetsova
6. Jelena Janković

The 2009 Wimbledon Championships will take place from June 22, 2009 – July 5, 2009.

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Nadal and Safina Top Seeds for Wimbledon

Ferrer was having an inconsistent serving game and Nadal used that for his advantage.

The four-time defending French Open champion goes into the Rome Masters on a 25-match unbeaten run with only three defeats in his last 133 matches on clay.

Nadal and Ferrer traded breaks in the first two games before Ferrer’s service game became erratic—he hit four double faults—and Nadal broke him twice more to take a 5-1 lead.

Nadal rifled an ace down the middle to take the set. Ferrer managed only four winners alongside 16 of his 41 unforced errors.

I imagine Nadal has put some fear into the men of tennis. He seems unbeatable right now.

In other Rafael Nadal news, he has given the new roof at Wimbledon the thumbs-up. He had no problem with the club’s decision to introduce the covering for the event this year.

"I saw a picture and it looks good," said Nadal. "I think it’s a good option but I hope we don’t need to use it."

He went on to talk about his final in Barcelona and Wimbledon.

"I didn’t have any tough games except the final in Barcelona," said Nadal. "So I’m not tired. I hope I can continue to play well two weeks in a row.

"I love this tournament, I won it three times in the past and I would love to win it again.

"I’m going to try my best every day knowing that (Roger) Federer, (Andy) Murray and Novak Djokovic are also good on clay."

Source: Press Association

Image Credit: Newscom

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Nadal Wins Fifth Straight Barcelona Title