The Official Tennis Thread

[zempt]

Hewitt rolling back the years leading Soderling by two sets, nice to see Fernando Gonzalez getting a win over Dolgopolov yesterday after his many injury setbacks.

[Passenger]

Wimbledon: Serena Williams backed by WTA in court row

Page last updated at 06:59 GMT, Friday, 24 June 2011 07:59 UK

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Williams has won 13 Grand Slam titles Serena Williams has been backed by the head of the women's tour after complaining about being forced to play on Court Two at Wimbledon.
The defending champion, 29, expressed her feelings after she beat Romanian Simona Halep 3-6 6-2 6-1.
"Serena is a four-time champion and defending champion at Wimbledon - I share her disappointment," said WTA chief Stacey Allaster.
Serena Williams major titles

Continue reading the main story

• Aus Open (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010)
• French Open (2002)
• Wimbledon (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010)
• US Open (1999, 2002, 2008)

The All England Club denied there was any bias against Williams.
"There is certainly no intention to favour any player or players," said a statement from the organisation that runs Wimbledon.
The seventh seed believes that both herself and her sister Venus, who played on Court Two for her opener, have not been treated in the same way as the men's elite.
The top four of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray have played their matches exclusively on Centre and Court One so far.
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Williams given a first-set scare by Halep

"Yeah, they're never moved across," said Serena, who will play Russian 26th seed Maria Kirilenko in the third round.
"Venus and I have won more Wimbledons together than a lot of the players, or by ourselves in doubles even.
"They like to put us on Court Two, me and Venus, for whatever reason. I haven't figured it out yet. Maybe one day we'll figure it out. I don't know."
Serena has recently returned to the tour following a 49-week absence caused by a foot injury and a blood clot. She won her first Wimbledon title in 2002 and has 13 Grand Slam titles in total. She has also won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles with sister Venus.
Serena is also only the fifth woman in history to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously.






I get her disappointment because she's still in good form despite her illness... but come on, she's currently ranked as #25 in the world. Venus is #30. Putting her on centre would move players like Wozniacki, Zvonareva, Na Li, etc to other courts. Schiavone (#7) played on court 3 yesterday and didn't complain. IMO it really isn't fair play from Serena despite her being the reigning champion. And the WTA didn't back her up but stated they share her sentiment; NOT that she's right. But well... I'm probably the only one with this opinion. *lol*

[rudy_o]

I was hoping that Halep had won

And Li Na was really, really disappointing. But Lisicki played very well, she deserved to win.

I'm hoping for more upsets though

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by zempt;4837486
Hewitt rolling back the years leading Soderling by two sets, nice to see Fernando Gonzalez getting a win over Dolgopolov yesterday after his many injury setbacks.

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But I'm afraid in the end, Hewitt blew it................................

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Originally Posted by Passenger;4839292


I get her disappointment because she's still in good form despite her illness... but come on, she's currently ranked as #25 in the world. Venus is #30. Putting her on centre would move players like Wozniacki, Zvonareva, Na Li, etc to other courts. Schiavone (#7) played on court 3 yesterday and didn't complain. It really isn't fair play from Serena. And the WTA didn't back her up but stated they share her sentiment; NOT that she's right.

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Much as I detest her as a player, she does have a point in that she's the defending champion. If she weren't, I would say she didn't have a leg to stand on.
As Venus is neither one of the top seeds nor the defending champion, I would say it's a different matter as far as she's concerned.

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by rudy_o;4839296
I was hoping that Halep had won

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Same here.

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Originally Posted by rudy_o;4839296
And Li Na was really, really disappointing. But Lisicki played very well, she deserved to win.

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Li was always going to find it tough to repeat her success at the French. However, Lisicki played an excellent match.

[Passenger]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mc_squared;4839299

Much as I detest her as a player, she does have a point in that she's the defending champion. If she weren't, I would say she didn't have a leg to stand on.

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tickets for court 2 are still more expensive and people are willing to pay for it in order to see the best players. that's not a disgrace for the defending champion.

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by Passenger;4839308
tickets for court 2 are still more expensive and people are willing to pay for it in order to see the best players. that's not a disgrace for the defending champion.

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I know that, but she does have a point in that neither Nadal nor Federer (who isn't defending champion or world number one either) would find themselves playing on that court.
Saying that, she does tend to complain quite a bit, and should therefore be renamed Serena Whingiams!

[rudy_o]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mc_squared;4839301
Same here.

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I'm looking forward to see any upset involving the Williams

[mc_squared]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rudy_o;4839317
I'm looking forward to see any upset involving the Williams

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Same here. It's a pity Date Krumm couldn't see off Venus in the end. That would have been hilarious!

[Passenger]

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Originally Posted by mc_squared;4839315
I know that, but she does have a point in that neither Nadal nor Federer (who isn't defending champion or world number one either) would find themselves playing on that court.

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Agreed, that's probably right. Seeing that Roddick is allowed to play on centre court again today whilst Wozniacki is on court 2 (she's the #1 nonetheless despite the lack of grand slam titles), I understand the frustration.
I guess the nicer way of doing it would have been to keep quiet and complain about it internally afterwards. However, I guess she'll get her way now i.e. quite an effective strategy to get on centre court. lol

[Passenger]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rudy_o;4839296


I'm hoping for more upsets though

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Actually the ladies faced quite a few upsets apart from Na Li. For example, Cetkovska beating Radwanska and Petrova winning over Pavlyuchenkova. And Stosur was out after the first round.

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by Passenger;4839326
Agreed, that's probably right. Seeing that Roddick is allowed to play on centre court again today whilst Wozniacki is on court 2 (she's the #1 nonetheless despite the lack of grand slam titles), I understand the frustration.

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Well if Wozniacki (the world number one) has been put on court two as well, it kind of balances it out a bit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Passenger;4839326
I guess the nicer way of doing it would have been to keep quiet and complain about it internally afterwards. However, I guess she'll get her way now i.e. quite an effective strategy to get on centre court. lol

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If I had a ticket for centre court, I'd much rather see Roddick or Wozniacki any day, anyway!

[mc_squared]

Even though she eventually lost, I loved the way Laura Robson played and fought till the very end against Sharapova.
I reckon she has a very bright future in the game!
Baltacha fought well too, but didn't quite have enough in the end.
A-Rod out in straight sets!

[rudy_o]

Zvonareva got beaten out just in 77 minutes

[mc_squared]

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Originally Posted by rudy_o;4840022
Zvonareva got beaten out just in 77 minutes

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I'm not that surprised. She can be a bit brittle at times.