Murray: I'll bounce back with a slam

Andy Murray defiantly insisted his grand slam prospects are better than ever after Andy Roddick ended his Wimbledon run.

The British number one was a hot favourite to beat his American rival and go on to face Roger Federer in the final, but Roddick produced one of the best performances of his life to triumph 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5) in the semi-finals.

Murray was playing in his first Wimbledon semi-final and hoping to reach his second grand slam final, after losing to Federer at the US Open last autumn, and he put a brave face on the defeat - making this summer's US Open his next target for glory.

The 22-year-old said: "The way that I played this year it was very, very close to getting to the final.

"If I give myself those sort of opportunities and keep playing well, and my consistency in the grand slams the last year or so has been much, much better - a final, a semi and a quarter - I'm going to give myself opportunities to do it.

"I believe I can win a grand slam, whether it's Wimbledon or US Open or Australia or whatever, I'm going to give myself chances.

"I'll come back next year and try to do better."

Murray, who had beaten Roddick in six of their eight previous meetings, was happy with his performance and praised his opponent for a brilliant display.

The sixth seed's first-serve percentage was 75% - compared to only 52% for Murray - while the Scot could only take advantage of two of his seven break points in the three-hour match.

"I thought I played well," said Murray.

"If you look at the stats, I hit more winners, less unforced errors, more aces.

"I'm sure the points that we won were very, very similar. It just came down to a few points here or there on his serve.

"And he served really, really well. Hitting at that pace, at such a high percentage, sometimes there's not a whole lot you can do with that.

"The last few slams that I've lost, I've come up against some guys that have played great, great tennis.

"Mentally, for me, I've got much better at it, understanding that guys can do that against you. That's happened to me a few times now in slams.

"I need to keep making sure I bring my best game to the court in every match."

Murray has a break of five weeks until his next tournament and he insisted he will have no problem getting over today's loss.

"I'll move on very, very quickly and go and work on my game and improve and come back stronger," he said.

"That's a pathetic attitude to have, if you lose one match and you go away and let it ruin your year.

"I've had a very good year so far. I'm very close to the top of the game. The US Open I've always said is my best surface, my best chance to win a slam, and I'll give it my best shot there."

Venus is from another planet

On one side the power and the glory. On the other utter humiliation.

Rarely can a Wimbledon semi-final have illustrated those two contrasting emotions so starkly as Venus Williams' 6-1 6-0 demolition of Russia's Dinara Safina.

It lasted 51 minutes, the second shortest women's semi-final in the open era.

And when the horror show was over for the 23-year-old Russian and Venus was through to her eighth Wimbledon singles final, the fourth against sister Serena, there was one obvious, if bewildering, question hanging in the air over SW19.

How can the world number one be so devastatingly eclipsed in a grand slam semi-final by the number three seed?

Two reasons.

First, Venus has taken power and precision to a new level this Wimbledon, aided by the hot weather, the fast courts and a desire to lift the Venus Rosewater dish for the sixth time.

Second, the world rankings matter not a jot. They reward quantity over quality which allows Safina to trawl the world amassing a sackful of ranking points while the Williamses focus on grand slams.

At the last count they have 17 of those to their name with another to come on Sunday, while Safina has none, having lost in three finals.

Not that Venus was about to pile any more humiliation on the Russian.

"I respect Dinara Safina. I think women's tennis is fantastic," was all Venus would say to questions about the ranking system.

"The score showed my level of play. I was dictating on every point and there was a lot of pressure on her. I am really pleased with my form playing against the number one. My experience on grass helped me a lot.

"Dinara tried 100 per cent until the match was over. I didn't take anything for granted. She just tried for too much."

Safina, meanwhile, pointed out that she had been in the final of the other two grand slams this year, the French and Australian Opens, and admitted that she struggled on grass.

Safina said of her opponent: "She's too good on grass. It's not my favourite surface and it is her favourite.

"It was disappointing but I have to accept it. Reaching the semi this year means maybe I can change my mentality on grass and come back with more expectations. She gave me a pretty good lesson but it would be different on clay."

Perhaps, but Williams would never have gone down so abjectly on any surface. This semi-final was over almost as soon as it began, Venus winning the first nine points.

Safina knew her only chance was to trade fire with fire but her groundstrokes carried nowhere near the heat, nor accuracy, of her opponent while her serve was distinctly lukewarm by comparison.

One Williams ace in the third game clocked in at 124mph, the fastest serve so far in the women's tournament and one many of the men would have been delighted with.

The placement and spin were also superior which is why even Serena could struggle to live with her big sister if she takes her form this fortnight into Saturday's final.

Safina, by contrast, simply went into meltdown, not an unusual occurrence for members of the Safin family, and she won just eight points in the second set. Not so much a competitor as a spectator to Williams' superiority.

The final will be closer if only because as Venus pointed out: "We both play a similar game. We have the same teacher."

So how do they separate their relationship as sisters and as rivals?

"Well, it's real easy when you get a serve at about 127mph and it comes back as a winner," said Venus. "You soon realise you're playing against an awesome player and you really better get on your toes.

"I'm happy for her to be in the final and I don't necessarily want her to lose, but I want to win. I need to get my titles too and I'm the big sister."

Their head-to-head record is tied at 10-10 but in terms of Wimbledon, Venus is leading that particular tally by five titles to two.

The only thing for sure once more is that the power and the glory once more will be with the family Williams.

Quotes of the day - 03 July 2009

Serena Williams attacks the net during her semi-final match in the Ladies Doubles.

“Are you ready to get out of here (laughter)?” With just two days ago until the end of Wimbledon 2009, Serena Williams has clearly had enough of press conferences. “What would my advice be? I won't be giving them any advice because I'll be heading home tonight.” Andy, if you are looking for tips about how to contend with Roger Federer, beaten semi-finalist Tommy Haas is probably not the best man to go to. “Trying to achieve the fifth straight Wimbledon, equaling Borg's record. For some reason that meant the world to me. I was like in a bubble for two weeks, just trying to achieve it.” We are glad Roger Federer was able to burst that bubble in time to come back and try and win a sixth Wimbledon title. “I think it's been very good. I did better than I ever had before. I had some very good matches. And, you know, I thought I played good tennis.” Andy Murray gives a summary of his Wimbledon 2009 “I believe I can win a Grand Slam, whether it's Wimbledon or US Open or Australia or whatever, I'm going to give myself chances.” And a dose of positivity thrown in for good measure too. See you next year Andy Murray. “She didn't really know much about tennis, so she thought I was playing real great (laughter). She thought I looked cute in the shorts.” Andy Roddick gives an insight into wife Brooklyn Decker's world of tennis. “I've developed a little bit of rapport with the fans. Maybe you guys helping me by asking me a bunch of goofy questions and me giving a bunch of goofy answers.” Why does Rick Astley come to mind?

Road to the final - Andy Roddick

Roddick Scrambles 1st Round: Roddick serves up strong start Andy Roddick d. Jeremy Chardy (FRA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-3 Andy Roddick’s reputation as one of the strongest and fastest servers in the game was underlined yet again as he powered down 21 aces during a four set win over France’s Jeremy Chardy. Roddick lays low and stays focused 2nd Round: Powerful Roddick too strong for Kunitsyn Andy Roddick d. Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 There were no fancy jackets, no monogrammed shirts or waistcoats and very little by way of fanfare but nevertheless, Andy Roddick stated his intent at The Championships with another four-set win, this time over Igor Kunitsyn, to reach the third round. 3rd Round: Roddick too good for Melzer Andy Roddick d. Jurgen Melzer (26) (AUT) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3 Eight times before today they have met, and eight times the American has triumphed. This match was no exception to the rule, the number six seed securing his place in Monday’s last 16 with a comprehensive win over the Austrian. Quick-witted Roddick raises a smile 4th Round: Roddick serves his way past Berdych Andy Roddick d. Tomas Berdych (20) (CZE) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3 Roddick turned Berdych’s form upside down in his win. Berdych had come into the last 16 without dropping a set, something he had not achieved in a Grand Slam since 2007. Roddick praises next opponent Hewitt Quarter-final: Ace Roddick surges past Hewitt Andy Roddick d. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) 6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-4 Andy Roddick called himself just an “old married dude” but he gave his younger semi-final opponent Andy Murray plenty to think about with his five-set victory over Lleyton Hewitt. High-five for Roddick ahead of semi Semi-Final Preview: Murray v Roddick Semi-final: Roddick blasts past Murray Andy Roddick d. Andy Murray (3) (GBR) 6-4, 4-6, 4-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) Three years after his last appearance in a Grand Slam final, Andy Roddick broke the hearts of the Centre Court crowd by defeating home favourite Andy Murray in a tremendous display of intelligent tennis.

Roddick blasts past Murray

Andy Roddick is caught in mid-air during his semi-final as he returns the ball to Andy Murray

Three years after his last appearance in a Grand Slam final, Andy Roddick broke the hearts of the Centre Court crowd by defeating the home favourite Andy Murray in a tremendous display of intelligent tennis. Murray, not at his best, could not find a way to break down Roddick’s serve, and the American won through to the third Wimbledon final of his career 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) in three hours and seven minutes. He will face the five-times champion Roger Federer, to whom he lost the finals of 2004 and 2005. Roddick laid down his marker in the first set. He played with great discipline, attacking only at the right moments. Displaying an almost contradictory brand of patient aggression, he permitted Murray very little to work with. Of course the number six seed’s game was also peppered with the regulation number of aces, and serves in the neighbourhood of 140mph. At 5-4 with the set on serve, he pounced with an attacking rally to bring up 30-all, and then a beautifully judged dropshot. It was not only the first break point of the match, but set point to boot. No wonder his new coach Larry Stefanki showed his delight with enthusiastic applause. A long rally followed, with Roddick forcing the error from Murray. The set belonged to the American, and never mind that he had produced barely half as many outright winners as Murray. Both men left the Centre Court for that most useful of tennis pauses, the comfort break. But not for nothing did Murray come into this match leading Roddick 6-2 in their career encounters, including all of the last three, along with their only previous Wimbledon meeting in 2006. He was bidding to become the first British man to make the final here since 1938, and if he was frustrated by the outcome of the opening set, then it showed at once when Roddick served at the start of the second. With the first point Murray produced a thunderous crosscourt shot. Next came a narrow angled running forehand as he sprinted to reach a Roddick dropshot, to take him to 0-30 for the first time on Roddick’s serve. Then it was a backhand down the line to leave Roddick stranded, and finally a forced error to break the American to love. At 4-3 Murray almost wobbled but would not permit Roddick to convert the threat, and screamed at himself to keep it going. He did. At the start of the third it seemed Murray would repeat that early break of the second. In no time he was at 0-40 on Roddick’s serve. But crucially Roddick saved all three, the third with a great diving backhand volley that Murray could not reach. Roddick, sweat dripping from his cap, pushed on hard in the next game, threatening to bring up break point without quite managing. At 2-1 Roddick capitalised on Murray’s weak second serve, and this game soon had the feel of one that was vital for the Scot to hold on to. But he could not, although Roddick required four break points before he could finally breach Murray’s defences for 3-1. Murray was livid with himself, and became further irritated in the next game when umpire Pascal Maria gave him a warning for an audible obscenity that no one else at courtside heard. Typically of someone already irritated by other matters, Murray debated the point too long with Maria, continuing the argument during the changeover. It felt very much as if Roddick was suddenly in control, and he upped the pace even more at 5-2, pushing to break so that he could start the fourth on his own serve. Murray managed to stop that – and then out of nowhere, as Roddick was serving for the set he tightened up. Two errors and a fabulous crosscourt pass gave the Scot three break points; another error did the job and Murray punched the air, shouting: “Yes!” The set went on to a tiebreak, but Murray alternated between outrageous winners and pressured mistakes. The two traded set points before Roddick forced the mistake from Murray that gave him the set. Murray, occasionally feeling his right knee, was clearly not serving as well as he had in previous rounds. He was hanging on, but there was no getting away from the fact that Roddick was playing exceptionally well. A break point for Murray at 4-3 went by. Come the tiebreak and Roddick’s brilliant serving allowed no way through. A Murray backhand floated wide to give Roddick two match points. A fabulous passing shot form Murray saved the first but he could not rescue the second. Roddick sank to his knees, as if unable to believe events, and then generously applauded the Centre Court crowd. Centre Court - Gentlemen's Singles - Semifinals Andy Roddick USA (6) 6 4 79 77 Andy Murray GBR (3) 4 6 67 65

Stats team have fingers on pulse

Match stats being collected on Centre Court. The crowd is silent as Serena Williams gently tosses a ball into the air. Like a mini glowing sun, it momentarily hovers above her head before it starts its rapid descent towards earth. Whack! In the blink of an eye the ball deforms, looking more like a miniature rugby ball as it absorbs kinetic energy from Williams' racket before it rockets over the net towards a waiting Elena Dementieva. The first ladies' semi-final has begun, and milliseconds later, millions of screens around the world reveal that the service speed was 96mph as Serena goes up 15-0 with an ace. Technology has changed the way we look at the world, and tennis, like any other sport, is no different. As the match progresses, the spectators are blissfully unaware of the array of information logged and disseminated worldwide every time a point is won or lost. The process relies on the collection of raw data, and until laser scanners, GPS tennis balls and rackets with motion sensors grace the courts, most of this is collected using a manual entry process. In the name of research, I find myself alongside three of IBM's data collectors, peering down on Serena and Elena from the fifth floor of Centre Court. The data collectors are all accomplished tennis players. It turns out it is easier to teach a tennis player how to do data entry than the other way round. A requirement of the job is to be rated 3 or better on the International Tennis Number scale, which officially classifies them as "advanced players". All six of the show courts have three data collectors monitoring the action. The outside courts have just one, unless the match is televised live, when two are used for good measure. As Williams and Dementieva rise from their changeover, the room goes silent as one of the statisticians, an expert in categorising serves, presses a button to power up the radar gun in anticipation of the next delivery. "Wide in, Forehand In, Point to Williams, Backhand drive winner, Baseline, Thirty Love", calls out one of them as the other two frantically enter the details. This is not a job for the faint-hearted for, as soon as they press the enter button, the numbers are beamed out to glowing screens worldwide. All of the data traverses a complicated path of copper and optical fibre, through numerous routers and patch panels, all at the speed of light until they arrive at IBM's onsite statistics office. The figures are stored on redundant databases where they are readied to be released to the world. The live scores pages on www.wimbledon.org are just one of the places these stats are destined for. At the end of every match, the figures are collated and made available for viewing via a match statistics link. IBM also produce graphics overlays for television broadcasters to place over the pictures they use. When a point is challenged by a player, the stats team, in the name of speed, fill out the details in advance based on their own prediction of where the ball landed. If they are correct, the alteration only requires a press of the magic enter key. That is when the Wimbledon's stats experts go head to head with Hawk-Eye.

Federer and Graf ahead in champions' poll

Roger Federer Figures released today reveal the current standing in the public vote on the greatest Wimbledon champion of all time, with Roger Federer and Steffi Graf leading the men’s and women’s divisions respectively. The HSBC Champions of Wimbledon poll was launched earlier this month and tennis fans across the world have been voting in their tens of thousands on the Wimbledon website (www.wimbledon.org/hsbcchampions). Nearly 60,000 combined votes for the men’s and women’s champions have been cast and Federer has amassed an incredible 74 per cent of the men’s vote. The voting remains open until midnight on 3 July so there is still time for all the Sampras and Borg fans to turn the tables. It’s proving harder to pick a clear winner in the women’s vote, with Graf edging just ahead of Martina Navratilova. The current women’s Wimbledon Champion, Venus Williams, is not far behind either and a strong performance in this year’s Championships might attract enough votes to take top spot. Nine-times Wimbledon champion and HSBC ambassador Martina Navratilova is a strong believer in the statistics, saying “numbers don’t lie”. With voting open until the end of the week, time will tell if this is reflected in the voting.

Lemoine squeezes out Robson

Robson power Laura Robson's defence of her girls singles title ended in the third round as the unseeded Quirine Lemoine of the Netherlands won a hard-fought victory 6-2, 4-6, 8-6. Robson struggled throughout the match with a niggling back injury that required the attention of the physiotherapist after just three games, but still put on a spirited display in front of an animated home crowd. “We don’t know exactly what the problem is yet but hopefully we will find out in the next couple of days, it was a bit of a spasm but I expect it will get better,” admitted Robson. “It gradually got worse throughout the match so it was difficult for me to play and it felt like I couldn’t hit the ball very hard especially on my serve so it was difficult but I just wanted to keep playing.” “I thought I could have done a lot of things better but I was very limited because of my back and there are still a lot of things that could be improved.” The number two seed was slow out of the blocks and could have had no complaints when all the opening exchanges went the way of Lemoine, who surged into a three game lead after breaking Robson’s serve twice. The SW19 crowd, more accustomed to seeing Robson on top after last year’s triumph, was stunned into silence as their young heroine struggled in the sweltering heat. Then the mystery of Robson’s faltering start was uncovered as the 15-year-old called for the physio to treat a lower back injury. After a brief interval Robson returned to the court and immediately hit back, winning two consecutive games to put her back in contention for the set. However, that proved to be the extent of Robson’s mini-revival as her opponent regained the initiative to comfortably take the opening set. With the physio now nowhere to be seen and her injury worries seemingly behind her, Robson returned for the second set with a level of confidence that had been absent during the opening set. The two girls patiently held serve until Robson raced through the gears to make the decisive breakthrough and level the match at one set all. The third set began as a mirror image to the first with Lemoine making an instant break. But despite signs of her injury distresses beginning to resurface, Robson bravely broke back at the first opportunity. But the British girl promptly conceded another service game to Lemoine at 3-3. The Dutch girl took the opportunity and came within one service game of victory before Robson’s battling spirit returned in full bloom. The defending champion showed great determination to force a crucial break to extend the third set. But the impressive Lemoine continued to push for the win and finally extinguished the Robson resistance to clinch the decisive set and the match. Despite the loss, Robson was still able to take some positives from the match. She said: “It’s really disappointing and it is a bit frustrating as well but you can only learn from it. I thought that my first two matches in the juniors were pretty good and against Hantuchova I was really proud of myself so it has been a good two weeks. It is just disappointing it had to end this way.” Court 18 - Girls' Singles - 3rd Round Quirine Lemoine NED 6 4 8 Laura Robson GBR (2) 2 6 6

Hewitt looks ahead to Stepanek

Hewitt on a high Lleyton Hewitt has been in the round of 16 at Wimbledon before. He has been here every year since 2002, with the exception of 2003 when he lost in the first round. He will play Radek Stepanek, who he beat at the Australian and US Open in 2003. "He mixes in the serve volley, chip charge. He comes in. He's a good all court player," Hewitt said. "He's dangerous from the back of the court as well. Sort of flashy from the back of the court, similar to Petzschner a little bit: an all court player, moves extremely well. He's very comfortable on this surface, as well." Stepanek twisted his knee in his third round match against David Ferrer, although he as fit enough to sustain five sets and he hopes to be fit enough for his second appearance in the fourth round. "If you're not 100% fit, then he's gonna make you run like a horse. So I rather try to do everything possible to be 100% ready for the match," the Czech says. "I think Lleyton is playing great tennis right now, especially here in Wimbledon. He won it here, so definitely he's got his best experiences. It's gonna be a tough match. He's a great returner. He's passing great. So it will be an exciting match." Hewitt knows a thing or two about playing with pain. A hip injury forced him to undergo surgery last year and a painful period of rehabilitation that cost him his place among the game's elite. “I guess when you're at the top of your game and you're number one in the world, you kind of take it for granted, Round of 16s of Slams. 2002, I only lost two sets for the entire tournament, and they were both to Schalken in the quarter-finals. Apart from that, I didn't drop a set, so obviously I played pretty clean tennis that year. “It's important to play clean tennis to obviously save energy. At the end of the day, you've got to just find a way to get through the first week, as well. You can't win these tournaments in the first week, but you can obviously be knocked out." Hewitt reached the fourth round with a convincing win over Philipp Petzschner. He has not dropped a set but this time he is the world No.56 and is less than a year back from hip surgery. “When you're unseeded, it's not always that easy to get the easy draw to come through the Round of 16 and make the second week of these kind of majors. That's what's pleasing this week, is to come through and do it against worthy opponents. “When I look at the guys in the top five, top 10 in the world, I still feel like I'm good enough to be up there. I think that's probably the motivation.” “Growing up, these are the places you want to play at. I've been fortunate enough to play well at a lot of these big tournaments. The passion and hunger's still there obviously. The day that that's not there, it is time to hang up the rackets.”

Jankovic blames defeat on dizzy spell

Jelena Jankovic during her hard fought match with Melanie Oudin. At the start of the 2009 season, Serbia's Jelena Jankovic stood at the summit of women's tennis. Never mind that Serena Williams, who she had replaced as world number one in October 2008, had pointed out rather tartly that Jankovic had still to win a Grand Slam title. Since then, the 24-year-old from Belgrade, who makes her home in Bradenton, Florida, has slipped from that summit to sixth in the rankings and at Wimbledon today that slip turned into a tumble when she was knocked out in the third round by a 17-year-old American qualifier, Melanie Oudin. Today's humiliation is the low point of a depressing season, but Jankovic, who received lengthy on-court treatment after winning the first set on the tiebreak, put it down to what she called "some woman problems", adding: "It's not easy being a woman sometimes." She explained that after the first set she started to feel dizzy. "I thought I was gonna end up in hospital," she said. “I started to shake, I was losing consciousness. I was like a ghost, white in the face, I didn't know where I was. It was a really strange feeling and I started to cry." Afterwards, she claimed, she lacked the energy to go after her opponent's shots. "No power. I wasn't the same player." Three years ago this very weekend at the 2006 Championships marked the turn-around point of Jankovic's career. Having lost 10 successive matches earlier in the year and contemplated giving up tennis, she defeated the reigning champion Venus Williams in the third round. She ended that year 12th best in the women's game and 12 months later was ranked third. Last August, Jankovic became the 18th player in the history of the women's tour to ascend to number one. She was displaced a week later by her compatriot, Ana Ivanovic, who then ceded the position to Serena Williams until the first week of October, when Jankovic took over for the rest of the year. Jankovic has not been in that form for much of this year. "My goal was to start 2009 even better than 2008, to be fitter, to be stronger, to bring my tennis game to the next level,” she said. “But I started the year in a very bad way, I felt so slow. "I added some muscle, maybe seven kilos more than I have now, and it didn't really give me results. I didn't feel comfortable on the court. When you don't move well you don't have the balance to hit the ball, it's difficult to stay in the game, which has become much, much stronger than before . "So then the confidence goes down a little bit as well. I also had some personal problems. When you add all these things together, it doesn't give good results. But I'm just trying to stay positive, trying to get back to the position where I can play good tennis and compete and have fun out there."

Venus steps up pace to reach last 16

Venus Williams stretches for a shot from her Spanish opponent Carla Suarez Navarro. As the opening week of the 2009 Championhips drew to a close, Venus Williams visibly upped the pace of her challenge for a sixth women's singles title here. Despite paying the penalty for taking her foot off the accelerator in the second set, the 29-year-old third seed motored past the tiny Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-4 in one hour 21 minutes and had a cheery, positive wave for her Centre Court admirers afterwards. When these two met on the only previous occasion, at the Australian Open six months ago, it was the 5ft 4in Suarez Navarro who inflicted a shock defeat on Williams in their second round match by proving the more durable in the rallies, especially when she was able to bring her potent single-handed backhand into play. Today the roles were emphatically reversed, with Venus assuming the control her reputation at Wimbledon merits, especially in the 33-minute first set. And a strange set it was too, with the Spaniard's failure to win a game by no means a fair reflection of her share of play. Williams was untouchable on serve, conceding just two points, while each of Suarez Navarro's service games was a long deuce affair, especially the opening game, which went on for five minutes. Clearly, Venus was tiring of all this when, at set point, she settled it with an ace. The fact that Venus had her left knee heavily bandaged was matched in the injury precaution stakes by the 20-year-old Suarez Navarro, born in the Canary Islands but now living in Barcelona, whose right knee was similarly swathed. It was the Venus the Bandaged Left Knee who was first to assert control in the second set as she had in the first. Venus opened with a service break (prolonged by the Spaniard once more to deuce) before moving briskly into a 2-0 lead with her second ace. Perhaps the fact that she had won eight straight games persuaded Venus that the match was as good as over, but errors and a little carelessness crept into her play and Suarez Navarro was not slow to spot the opportunity. To a huge cheer, she finally held serve with her first, and only, ace and the subsequent cheers were almost matched by gasps as she then broke the Williams serve, courtesy of three errors from Venus. At the conclusion of a bright spell that saw her capture four games out of five, Suarez Navarro led 4-3 and the prospect of a third set loomed. At this point Venus remembered who she was and where she was. Despite a double fault, she held serve and then capitalised on three woeful Spanish errors as Suarez Navarro faltered at a crucial stage. Required simply to serve out for the match, Venus delivered another double fault, her third, but was ushered home by another flurry of Spanish errors in response to heavy Williams hitting. Centre Court - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round Venus Williams USA (3) 6 6 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 0 4

Improving Ivanovic downs Stosur

Ana Ivanovic celebrates another winner against Samantha Stosur in their third round match. Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the 13th seed, finished the first week at Wimbledon far more confidently than she started it. Her 7-5, 6-2 victory over Samantha Stosur of Australia in the mid-day heat on No.2 Court was ample proof that she is ready for the quarter-finals where Venus Williams will be her opponent. Stosur received the usual Australian support from group of yellow-shirted, noisy fans chanting her names but she did little to justify their backing Ivanovic dominated most of the important points in the sunshine. For Stosur to try to out rally Ivanovic was a lost cause in the fast conditions and the shorter ball that might have caused the Serbian a few mobility problems was rarely utilised. Ivanovic has been building her confidence through the first week after being match points down in her opening contest and this match was a further example of her improvement. She took the Australian’s serve in the first game and served three aces in the second to lead 2-0, although she was pulled back to 4-4 in a loose game. Ivanovic’s next break of serve was more significant . Stosur fell behind 6-5 after being beaten by the best backhand drive of the day and then served two double faults. After 37 minutes, the match was virtually over because Stosur’s resistance and confidence faltered as she fell behind 4-0 in the second set. Ivanovic missed a match point at 5-1 but seized her the chance to serve out for victory, hitting four winners in a row. It was a sound and solid display by the Serbian. Nowshe has to go up a gear or two. Court 2 - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round Samantha Stosur AUS (18) 5 2 Ana Ivanovic SRB (13) 7 6

Solid Safina into second week

Safina backhand Top seed Dinara Safina overcame spirited early resistance from Belgian outsider Kirsten Flipkens to win 7-5, 6-1 and book her place in the fourth round for the first time at Wimbledon. While her serve was not always reliable, she dug deep to save four break points, and her returning by the end of the match was simply stunning. Flipkens ousted No.30 seed Agnes Szavay in the first round, and with Nicole Vaidisova also going out in her opener, it meant that world number one and top seed Safina has faced opponents of descending rank as the first week has worn on. The Belgian had only won seven tour-level singles matches in her career – two of them this week – and the match was seen more of a guide to Safina’s mental fortitude as opposed to a real test. Flipkens elected to serve and held the opener despite facing a raft of break points, and then the focus moved on to the Safina serve. The first double fault came as early as the second point, neither attempt threatening the net cord, let alone the service box, but after that she settled into a better rhythm for the first half of the set. Her left knee is troubling her and requiring regular doses of pain-killers, and she is unable to push off from it as she would like on service, but this has led to her sacrificing a little raw power – a quality she has in abundance – in favour of more subtlety. That, along with a dose of plain old confidence, is what has prevented her from securing her first major. The Belgian rode her punchy, serve and occasional volley-style throughout the first set and her deep, powerful returns even saw her carve out a break point in the eighth game, which Safina saved with a kicking second serve into the body, before serving out with an ace. She had a second bite of the cherry two games later as the Russian’s radar went badly awry on the first service, but again she was unable to capitalise and missed the chance to pocket the set. A tiebreak looked on the cards until Safina did what a top seed should, upping her game at the right time. Two wonderful backhands – one down the line, one cross-court – sandwiched a double fault and the Muscovite went from 30-40 to a break up at 6-5. The onus was then on her to serve out, and when Flipkens missed a volley with the court at her mercy that would have made it 0-30 in her favour, Dinara could even afford herself a rare wry smile. Safina was on a roll, and took four games in a row to seal the first set 7-5 and pull away 2-0 in the second, helped in no small part by two double faults from Flipkens. A sea-change was never too far away, however, and she again faced a break point at 2-1. Her first point kicked up chalk-dust but on the wrong line, and after a wait for the Hawkeye challenge, she showed incredible fortitude in then firing an ace at 105 mph straight down the middle. More deuces ensued. Dinara cursed, while her coach Zelkjo Krajan remained impassive. Flipkens ran around forehands and painted the corners with returns but Safina finally held to lead 3-1 with a volley at the net that seemed long but just clipped the baseline. Half-an-inch the other way and who knows how the set might have panned out, but now Dinara was brimming with confidence. She broke to love, held serve at a canter and then sealed the match with another break to give the score line a flattering look. She will now face Amelie Mauresmo in the fourth round – a woman who, like Safina, ascended to the top of the rankings before winning a Slam. It will be a battle between the old and the new guard, between Dinara’s booming forehands and Amelie’s sliced backhands. An intriguing tie awaits. Court 2 - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round Dinara Safina RUS (1) 7 6 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 5 1

Wozniacki whizzes into week two

Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki’s wonderful spell on grass continued as she swept aside Anabel Medina Garrigues in scorching conditions to ensure she will be part of the second-week shake-up in the ladies' singles. The Danish 9th seed, who came into the tournament fresh from winning the pre-Wimbledon tournament at Eastbourne, produced a sizzling display to claim a 6-2, 6-2 victory and earn a fourth round Wimbledon spot for the first time in her career. At the start of the match she gave herself and the camp a scare by looking decidedly rusty and lost her opening service game. However, it turned out to be a minor hiccup as she found her feet to break straight back. Much is said of the 18-year-old’s forehand – which is similar to Steffi Graf’s when she strikes the ball - but it was her backhand that did the talking, with Wozniacki whipping up winners all over the court. The Spaniard, who sported neon pink knee tape on both knees, darted about the turf to little avail. Soon the set belonged to the teenager who broke into the top 10 on May 18, becoming the first Danish woman to reach those heights. As the temperature began to soar, Medina Garrigues appared to melt and in the blink of an eye Wozniacki was in possession of a 3-0 lead. Out came the umbrellas and ice packs at the change of ends, in a bid to keep the players cool, but it did little to help the world number 20. The 2006 Wimbledon junior champion was on fire. Her powerful baseline strokes proved to be the undoing of Medina Garrigues, who managed to defend two match points on serve, but was not so fortunate on the third, netting a volley to hand Wozniacki the match. Court 4 - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9) 6 6 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (20) 2 2

Mauresmo survives tough test

Mauresmo Amelie Mauresmo of France, Wimbledon champion two years ago, beat Italy’s Flavia Penetta 7-5 6-3 to reach the fourth round after a fiercely contested match that reflected their close rivalry. Mauresmo was warned by the umpire after firing a ball into the crowd in the last game when the Italian was trying desperately to stay in the match. The warning came at 15-all after Mauresmo had double faulted but the French girl regained her composure to win the next two points to set up two match points. She double faulted on the first, her eighth. But a service winner saw her through to the last 16 in one hour and 30 minutes. On paper, Mauresmo, the 17th seed, and Pennetta, the 15th, were closely matched, each having won two of their previous matches. But they had never played on grass where Mauresmo was certain to feel more at home. Pennetta gave Mauresmo plenty to think about from the start. The French girl had to save five break points in her first service game, before winning what was a six-deuce game. Pennetta certainly looked up for the challenge, hitting back immediately afer losing her serve in the fourth game. But after the Italian failed to convert two break points against Mauresmo’s serve at 5-5 she disastrously lost her serve to love in the following game to lose the set 7-5 in 57 minutes. The hard hitting continued but Mauresmo began to look more in charge midway through the second set and the pressure began to swing on to the Italian. When Mauresmo saved a break point in the seventh game with a service winner, it was a crucial blow and she went on to close out the set 6-3. This was Pennetta’s seventh Wimbledon and the first time she has been in the third round. Mauresmo showed her it was a match too far. Court 3 - Ladies' Singles - 3rd Round Amelie Mauresmo FRA (17) 7 6 Flavia Pennetta ITA (15) 5 3

Superb Murray wastes no time in win

Viktor Troicki reaches for a volley during his third round defeat by Britain's Andy Murray. Andy Murray's Wimbledon bandwagon gathered massive momentum as he cruised into the last 16 by crushing Serbia's Viktor Troicki 6-2 6-3 6-4 in 96 minutes. Just as he did in his second round victory over Ernests Gulbis, Murray established immediate ascendancy over the 23-year-old Troicki and rapidly stepped that up to crushing superiority. Troicki, who had suffered two embarrassing defeats previously at the hands of Murray, made his Centre Court debut clearly with the intention of blasting the Scot off the court where he has so far been so comfortable. If the Serb's first serve failed, the second one was also an attempt at a blaster. It was a tactic which brought inevitable double faults, two of which led to a service break which put Murray 4-2 ahead in the first set. Murray cannily also refused to offer Troicki any pace off which he could feed, which further confused the Serb. This, combined with Murray's superior court craft, made for a one-sided match which was only extended by Murray's occasional, and understandable, inclination to indulge in a spot of showboating to offer the Centre Court their money's worth. The danger here was that the hovering clouds might unleash the contents before the job was complete, forcing the closing of the roof with its inevitable long delay. It was a close-run thing as Trocki fought back bravely in the third set but, as the ground staff gathered at courtside Murray finished the job in brilliantly professional style. Having gone one set up in 27 minutes, Murray cleaned up the second one in exactly half an hour. At times Troicki glanced towards the skies. Whether he was looking for heavenly assistance or the intervention of the weather was unclear - perhaps it was both. But on this evening there was nothing that could save him from a hammering. The harder he tried the more errors he made and when he attempted to match Murray for subtlety he was even more outclassed. Murray went 5-2 ahead in the second set by delivering three successive aces, followed by a delicate drop shot and closed out the set with his 12th ace. But he saved his greatest moments for the sixth game of the final set. Leading 3-2, Murray started with an inch-perfect drop shot, followed it with an ace, then executed an unbelievable cross-court winner with his back to the net and won perhaps the most glorious game he had ever played with a cross-court forehand. You could have forgiven Troicki if he had burst into tears at the frustration of opposing this sort of stuff. After that, the end was not long in coming as Murray wrapped it up with another brace of aces, 17 in all. Next up for Murray on Monday is Stanislas Wawrinka, the 19th seed. Between now and then, expect all the talk, hype and expectation about Britain gaining their first Wimbledon men's champion since Fred Perry 73 years ago to reach new levels. Centre Court - Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round Andy Murray GBR (3) 6 6 6 Viktor Troicki SRB (30) 2 3 4

Hewitt edges past Petzschner

Lleyton Hewitt enjoying life on Court 2 during his third round match against Philipp Petzschner. Only one place in the world rankings separates Lleyton Hewitt and Philipp Petzschner, and little separated the players for much of their third round match, which Hewitt won 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. But Hewitt, the world No. 56, is a former Wimbledon and US Open Champion who came into this match with a career Grand Slam record of 122-40. Petzschner, the world No.55, has won just the single title and before this match his Grand Slam record was 5-4, and that was all the difference. Hewitt was returning at his belligerent best. For Petzschner, it must have felt that he was hitting against a brick wall, and brick walls do not make unforced errors. They certainly do not make unforced errors at key moments in the game, unlike the German. Hewitt was in his element. He must have thought he was playing in Australia, given the heat on court and a small but vocal crowd of gold-wearing supporters who sang songs during each change of end and left Petzschner in no doubt that this crowd was partisan. The 2002 Wimbledon Champion did not give his opponent a break point opportunity until the third set but credit was due to Petzschner for staying with Hewitt for as long as he did. He was just one service game away from a tiebreak in the first set when he was broken for the first time, after he hit his shot into the net. In the second set, Petzschner took Hewitt to a tiebreak, where he was his own worst enemy. At 5-2 down, Petzschner put a simple volley into the net and, in frustration, whacked a ball out of the stadium to earn a ball violation. It summed up his day really. In the third set, the match opened up and Petzschner got his first chance to break Hewitt’s serve and gain a toe-hold in the match. In fact, he had three chances to break Hewitt's serve in the Australian’s first two service games. He could not break Hewitt and that left him broken. Hewitt closed out the match with two breaks of serve, as consistent as he had been at the start while his opponent was flustered and fluffing shots. For him, it had been what Australians call “hard yakka”. Court 2 - Gentlemen's Singles - 3rd Round Lleyton Hewitt AUS 7 77 6 Philipp Petzschner GER 5 63 3

wimbledon day 4 results ladies

Centre Court - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round

	Caroline Wozniacki DEN (9)					6		6
	Maria Kirilenko RUS					0		4

Match Statistics

Serve Statistics

Court 1 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Venus Williams USA (3) 6 6 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 3 2 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 2 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Dinara Safina RUS (1) 6 7 Rossana De Los Rios PAR 3 5 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 2 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Iveta Benesova CZE 2 4 Jelena Jankovic SRB (6) 6 6 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 3 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Amelie Mauresmo FRA (17) 6 6 Kristina Kucova SVK 3 3 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 3 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Pauline Parmentier FRA 1 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS (5) 6 6 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 4 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Elena Baltacha GBR 5 1 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 7 6 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 6 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Melanie Oudin USA 3 6 6 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6 2 4 Match Statistics

Court 7 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Tathiana Garbin ITA 65 3 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP (20) 77 6 Match Statistics

Court 7 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Ekaterina Makarova RUS 5 6 1 Carla Suarez Navarro ESP 7 4 6 Match Statistics

Court 7 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Olga Govortsova BLR 4 2 Na Li CHN (19) 6 6 Match Statistics

Court 12 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Sabine Lisicki GER 6 6 Patricia Mayr AUT 2 4 Match Statistics

Court 14 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Agnieszka Radwanska POL (11) 6 66 9 Shuai Peng CHN 2 78 7 Match Statistics

Court 18 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Vania King USA 2 2 Flavia Pennetta ITA (15) 6 6 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 18 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round Samantha Stosur AUS (18) 4 78 6 Tatjana Malek GER 6 66 4 Match Statistics Serve Statistics

Court 18 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round

	Sara Errani ITA					5		1
	Ana Ivanovic SRB (13)					7		6