Eurosport - Sun, 28 Jun 15:32:00 2009
Eurosport-Yahoo! blogger Simon Reed believes that despite great form from the younger players, no-one can stop an all Williams final at Wimbledon.
There were two huge upsets in the women's draw with teenagers Sabine Lisicki and Melanie Oudin ousting established stars Svetlana Kuznetsova and Jelena Jankovic.
Lisicki is someone who I have liked for a long time and I know the German public have a lot of high hopes for her. She played very well and could be a challenger in the years to come.
As for Oudin, her win over Jankovic was great to see and her fairytale run continues.
I have been unsure about Jankovic for a long time now, she was off rhythm and just did not look right, and that was before she began struggling with stomach cramps and pains in her feet.
The 17-year-old American is having the absolute time of her life right now. This time last year she was beaten by Laura Robson in the juniors and she did well just to be here, coming through three rounds of qualifying, and facing match points in one of those qualifiers. To make it to the second week is a great achievement and her match against Agnieszka Radwanska should be intriguing.
Lisicki, Oudin, Radwanska and the Dane, Caroline Wozniacki, are four excellent players and it has been great to see their run at SW19 this week. But for these teenagers, their runs at the title will be cut short.
The problem for these younger players is that they need to beat Venus Williams to get to the final. I think Wozniacki will get the furthest, and will be beaten by Venus in the semi-final.
On the other side of the draw, there is no one who can really challenge Serena and you would be a fool to bet against the Williams sisters making it a fourth all-Williams final.
It is not just the younger players who are having good runs.
It has been nice to see Amelie Mauresmo battling her way through. It was really now or never for her, and I think if she crashed out then she would have retired. But she has shaken things up and is working well with her new coach, Hugo Lecoq. She meets Dinara Safina in the next round and I would not at all be surprised if she denies Safina the chance of a Grand Slam title.
On the men's side of things, I saw Tomas Berdych defeat Nikolay Davydenko and he looked very good doing so. He has all the ingredients to challenge the top players and is playing unbeatable tennis right now. He matches up well with his fourth round opponent, Andy Roddick, and I think he will take the lead. But Roddick is playing some great tennis and I think the American will ultimately be too strong for him.
The middle Saturday of Wimbledon is always a special day of the year. There was a huge crowd packed in and they left happy with Andy Murray's win. The guy is just in unbelievable form.
Comment 23 - 42 of 102
It appears that Andy has had an easy draw but that's because he made it look easy. Federer does the same. Double faults are caused often because his opponent is too good at returning. Andy has been serving incredibly well as all his opponents have said. He mixes up his ground strokes preventing his opponent from getting any rhythm. Not only, he's able to hit the ball from the base line exactly where he wants it to go.Perhaps you should read what Troicki said in his after match interview. Why do you all think that Lleyton will be tired? He may be 28 but he hasn't lost a set yet.
Simon don't forget Dinara. She may have learned to control her nerves but anyway an all Williams final would be great to watch.
the final will go on for ever cos it will be 1-0 1-1 2-1 2-2 3-2 etc. and when they reach the tiebreaker it will be the same as the games in a set, and if it keeps goin onm it will get boring
Williams sisters in the final again....... YAWN
you can purchase my womens singles final tickets or swap for champagne Lunch tkts
if these two fill final again
rafascrackingup...............What are you trying to suggest about the Williams?
IVANOVIC will beat venus so it wont be an all williams final.
If you don't like a all Williams final, go jump into the ocean. They are simply the best.
All Williams final = enjoyful tennis.
Prue
BOTH WILLIAMS SISTERS WOULD BE A FANTASTIC FINAL
rafascrackingup
serranos,
looks like I have forgotten the verbal whiplash you gave me last time i messed with you and how, true to my spineless disposition, i disappeared promptly into the rat hole i came from.
looks like i asking for more now.
and my memory is as shortlived as my steroidal heros short lived reign at the top.
after the hammering at roland garros i and my brethren had gone into a state of suspended animation, now trying to start my antics again ain't i?
aaditya (THE APE) - stinky rotten colcatta
BOTH WILLIAMS BROTHERS WOULD BE A BORING FINAL
The women's tour at the moment is terrible. Number ones who have never won a major, then they have a fit of pique and spiral out. What is the matter with these players? Must we be subjected to the Williams crunch-winner-crunch-dud brand of tennis. We need players like Graf and Henin who have great technique and strong wills to come in. I can see why Kim Clijsters wants to resume again - she has some fortitude and willpower an should do well.
Williams are the best. They cant please everyone, but their pleasin me, their fans, family an themselves. Esp in their late 20s. Much credit to them for not quittin lamely and keepin womens tennis entertainin. The Star Attractions.
All Williams final = dreadful tennis.
go Hantuchova!
Yes, Nikhil S, that's just it!
while i could have understood the dislike of the williams sisters (or at least Serena) game 5 to 10 years ago i dont undestand it now. They are far more annoying 'grunters' out in the womens game now. Also the quality and variety shown by a loyt of the younger players is pretty poor. It just like they all try and 'ape' the williams sisters to a greater or lesser extent but unfortunately usaully only know how to play one way. None can compare to henin or even have the variety of clijsters. While an all williams final would be 'same ol' same ol' i cant see it being as dull as roland garras was this year.
as for Murray, he's played no-one great up to now but neither has roddick, Federer, Verdasco, Rodredo, Andreev, or Simon. Im more annoyed had the players that should have challenged him and went for early showers, del porto, gonzalez safin. But hey we've only had 3 rounds which are just to weed out the lower rankings really. Now the tourney starts for the top seeds. Its a pity that Safin and Gonzalez went out quickly as i thought they might cause an upset but you can't blame Andy for them not performing. Wawrinka will be a test. Then Simon (if its Ferrero yuo'd expect a repeat of the AEGON). followed by Roddick maybe(again should have been del porto). Not as tough as it should have been but then thats what happens when you have a top seed, look at federer's competition in the French, Del Porto and ... There again he seems to make every match look easy!
Dont people realise that the reason why Murray gets easy players is because he is number 3 seed? And how did he get there? By playing brilliantly.
If the Williams sisters reach the final I'm absolutely certain that Serena WILL win . It is her TURN !!
It's time to get some new blood in there. Bring in some new girls like Melanie and the german girl. To me they resemble conservative values like Miss Court (margaret) and Miss Everet (crissy). Michael C.
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