Early Rounds
It's that time of the year again-the Wimbledon fornight is in full swing and certainly a few talking points thus far:
Whilst most of the established players going strong it is the young guns who have been making the headlines, we've had Zverev ,Tsitipas and Thiem faltering even if they did have challengers early on. Querrey v Thiem was one of the first round picks (Thiem French Open finalist for the past few years, whilst Querrey had big wins on the SW19 grass before putting out Djokovic in 2016 and Murray in 2017. In the initial stages it was very competitive with two breakers, but the American ran away with in the end losing only three games in the last two sets. Once Dom's serve was broken he succumbed to the pressure and the American went from strength to strength. Possibly still a bit flat after the French ,though the grass is a bit of a challenge for Thiem and he really needs to shorten his swings on the surface.
On the other hand 15 year old qualifier Coco Goff has been creating a lot of buzz with her sensational 6-4,6-4 win over Venus Williams in the opening round. She really took it to the former champion with her serve and groundstokes, showing little sign of being phased on a big court, instead she was simply inspired. That being said, Venus has not had a great season and just was not consistent enough on the day with the challenge she was facing. Wonder if we will see her at the Championships for much longer. The no2 seed and double Grand Slam Naomi Osaka needed some of the carefree attitude but instead was shackled and produced quite a few wild errors in a defeat to the canny Russian Putinseva who she has struggled with before in a disappointing 7-6,6-2 defeat. There was also a disapppinting display from Gabrine Muguruza who has dropped to 26 in the rankings and at the moment looking a shadow of her former self.
Disappointment for the British No1 Kyle Edmund as he went down 4-6,4-6,7-6,6-,6-4 to spaniard Fernando Verdasco who admittedly is a tough competitor. However Kyle seems in complete control of the match , leading 3-1 and 40-0 before bad errors put the set in the balance and then the match turned. Edmund did have a unfortunate slip in closing stages of 3rd and leg required treatment (previous injuries this season) so may have been a factor and the strength was lacking, however still frustrating! Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie still in it for now (though think only Evans has much chance of going further and he has 18th seed Basilashvili with Norrie with tough task against Nishikori ). Johanna Konta who done well at French in reaching semis in contention (would play Sloane Stephens mind you in 3rd Round if she wins today who she got better of in Rolland Garros) Young Jay Clark won a round but has to face Federer today . We also lost the 3 times Grand Slam Champion Stan Wawrinka in a lengthy battle with a giant killer (bit of pun there 
) in the shape of 21 year old American Reilly Opelka. The blockbuster match today Thursday is Rafael Nadal (12 times French champion and double Wimbledon champion though last success in 2010) v the mercurial Australian Nick Kygrios . The Aussie certainly can play an exciting brand of tennis but can also have strange performances and lose the plot,several times when he's lacked application. Still he tends to perform better when playing the big names and they share the honours in their 6 matches. Kygrios won their first meeting at Wimbledon in 2014 and the last one in Alcupulco this February,whilst two of Rafa's three wins have been crushing ones.
Andy Murray returning to action in doubles, partnerng Herbert in Men's and now confirmed that he will team up with Serena Williams in The Mixed. He could also face Jamie if they both progress to 3rd Round of Men's (Jamie only recently started new partnership with Neal Skupski) He is akso in Mixed with Bethanie Mattek Sands,though they are in other half of draw.
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2019-07-02/memorable_moments_day_2.html
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2019-07-03/edmund_sunk_by_dramatic_comeback.html
https://www.offtheball.com/sport/wawrinka-crashes-wimbledon-878561
Women's Semi Finals/Doubles Round Up
General consensus was that Simona Halep v Elina Svitolina was the best match up and the early exchanges provided some entertainment. A few pulsating baseline rallies saw the players go head to toe with impressive court coverage, in the first game there were two 23 stroke rallies and the first two games took 20 minutes but Halep took both of them. Even though she lost the advantage in the next game as the set progressed Simona was stronger on serve but Elina's was easier to attack and Halep's flat heavy hitting and effective use of angles put Svitolina under pressure. Soon the 7th seed had the first set 6-1, even if that was possibly a bit misleading. Svitolina had more weapons at the start of the 2nd but Halep got the crucial break for 4-3 and win the two final games. Power, touch,accuracy and speed were supperior to her opponent's who was appearing in her first slam final and did not have her best performance.
In the second semi Serena Williams proved far too strong for Barbora Strycova who was also appearing in her first slam semi at the age of 33. It did not take Williams long to get a handle on her serve, whilst her own powerful delivery and baseline play allowed her to dominate. When Strycova missed the first serve she was put her severe pressure and went for too much on key points. She did not get much chance to use her variety effectively, was pinned to the back of the court too often and having to do a lot of running to stay in the points. Once Williams broke for 2-1 was more or less in complete control. At 5-1 the czech player was able to hit few good shots to get her to 40-0 on Serena's serve but the American simply upped the pace on her serve and offered Strycova little chance of staying in the set. The 2nd set followed a similar pattern, Strycova got a few more first serves initially and led 2-1 but once Serena's blasted more winners to break for 3-2 she would not relinquish control. She was through to her 11th Wimbledon final 6-1,6-2 in just under an hour. Williams had knee problems this season but seems healthy right now and big improvement in form from the early rounds, even if not a great test today. Whilst disappointing both semis were fairly short, we did see two players in form.
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2019-07-11/williams_serene_ahead_of_final.html
The Men's Doubles final line up was decided and will be between the French pair Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin and the Columbian team Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.
A straight sets win for Mahut/Roger Vasselin , though needed twoTie Breaks to get the better of Dodig/Polasek. The key to the win was 70% of first serves compared to their opponents 61 and saving all 5 Break points. Cabal/Farah's victory was built on strong serving, volleying and some blistering returns. 73% of first serves went in compared to Klassen/Venus' (finalists last year) 61 and created 18 break point opportunities , even if converting on 20% of them. Did have a blip in the 3rd when lost break and performed relatively poorly in breaker, however regrouped to advance 6-4, 7-6 6-7,6-4. Proceedings were halted dfor short time early in 4th when Klassen was hit by ball and had an ear bleed! However after patching was ok to continue.
The Last Brits in senior competition Hoyt/Silva went down to the 8th seeds Dodig/Chan 7-5,7-6(7-5) in Mixed Quarter. However Evan/Eden had their chances being up a break in each set and also 4-0 in the Breaker. However Eden's 2nd serve proved a bit of a weakness and the 8th seeds had more winners on the big points. The top seeds Soares/Melichar who put out Andy/Serena were surprisingly beaten 6-4,6-3 by unseeded pair Middelkoop/Yang at same stage.
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2019-07-11/french_delight_at_doubles_switch.html
Some entertaining moments from Wimbledon throughout the years 
Men's Final/Doubles Round Up
Much anticipation for this final between the top two seeds, both showing impressive , Djokovic certainly the favourite but Federer had Played very well in the semi finals-question was could he maintain it.
Think few would have predicted the drama that unfolded. Will not detail all the sub plots but the main talking points. A few ups and downs but amazing tennis displayed. Federer tended to dictate play with his attacking game, whilst Djokovic's defence was often remarkable and would come up with killer blows when the opportunity arose. In the first set breaker Roger counter attacked from 1-3 to 5-3 but four backhand errors cost him the set. Djokovic though had a lapse at the start of the 2nd with some uncharacteristic errors whilst Federer was strong, a decisive 6-1 set for the former champion. Novak is often considered to be the best returner and in the 3rd started to connect more often but still could not find a breakthrough. Roger actually had set point but this was saved and the Switz star won a 26 stroke rally with a backhand down the line but we still in another breaker. A few unfortunate errors but Djokovic in the driving seat here as he took it 7-4. In the 4th Djokovic's intensity dropped just a bit and Federer took advantage stepping in on anything short. Novak got one break back but Federer won the set 6-4 with a forehand drive volley.
The deciding set was one of the most exciting ever known. Djokovic blazing on returns and with backhand doing the damage came up with a winning pass for 4-2 lead. However Federer used his backhand slice, pushing Djokovic around the court and a forehand error put them back on level terms. At 4 all Djokovic had a chance for double break point but a forehand hit the net cord and landed wide. An inriguing passage of play developed, at 7 all Djokovic's forehand broke down and Federer ripped a forehand down the line to give him chance to serve for the title. Roger reached 40-15 , however he pushed a forehand wide ,Djokovic had a forehand cross court winner and found a way to break back as a bit tension crept into Federer's play. Still at 11 all Federer had another break point but saved by an approach shot that Roger was unable to handle.
Soon we were into the new 12 all Tie Breaker, a volley error gave Djokovic the mini break which he would not relinquish. At 3-6 Federer still could have put Novak under pressure but on the defensive a mi***** mis hit (see if accepted ) put paid to his chances. In a tussle lasting 4 hours 57 minutes Djokovic had retained his title, for Federer it was a case of so near but so far. Incredible metal fortiitude from Novak to finally come through (he saved match points against Federer previously in Us Open semis) but a bitter blow for Roger,he would later say not sure how he lost it. Sue Barker said it was a final we will all remember, Roger quipped "I will try to forget it" Whilst giving it his all could not come up with enough winners in the crucial moments, even if overall it may seem like he was the better player. His stats were more impressive, 94 winners to 62 unforced errors whilst Djokovic had 54 winners and 52 unforced. Federer actually won 218 points to 204, however Tennis matches are decided by games sets and not total points.
The 8th seeds Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan were firmly in control in the Mixed Doubles Final which had been moved to Court 1, their unseeded opponents Robert Lindstedt who is 42 and 22 year old partner Jelena Ostapenko were always on the back foot. The Croatian and Chinese Taipei partnership were far stronger on serveeee, returns and net play. Ostapenko in particular could not find the form of previous rounds which included an upset of the 4th seeds peers and Zhang. Whilst the Swede and Lativan partnership found better form in the 2nd and stayed with the favoured team till 3 all, once Jelena dropped her serve at 3-4 there was no way back. Lindstedt had previously lost 3 Men's Doubles Finals but won Australian in 2014 ,whilst Ostapenko won the French Open singles in 2017 (upsetting Halep) and reached the top 5 but ranking has slumped this season.
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2019-07-14/chan_and_dodig_double_up_in_doubles.html
In the Women's Doubles it was a straight sets win for 3rd seeds Hsieh/Strtcova. winners by Hsieh led to an early lead for her team, breaking Dabrowski’s serve at love to go up 3-2. The player from Chinese Taipei continued to some beautiful shots, coming up multiple lob winners to hold her own serve and consolidate for a 4-2 advantage. Strycova returning then helped the duo achieve the double break, this time when Xu was serving, to go up 5-2. A Hsieh backhand winner and two aces put the czech/Taipei team firmly in control. The second set was a bit closer and a break a piece early on Dabrowski/Xu's serves were more vulnerable and soon a decisive 2nd break was achieved. The canadian/chinese Pair had break points at 4 all but could not advantage. . Serving for the match at 5-4, Hsieh sent a lob long on the first championship point, but an overhead error into the net and long return by Dabrowski gave Hsieh and Strycova the Wimbledon title.
In the wheelchair events success for Britain's Andy Lapthorne in Quad Doubles, though routed 6-0,6-2 by his partner in the singles final https://paralympics.org.uk/articles/lapthorne-makes-wimbledon-history-with-quad-doubles-triumph
Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett could not win 4th Wimbledon title going down 6-4, 6-2 to Gerard and Olsson https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/48975021
In the invitational events success for some old favourites,Martina Navratilova along with Cara Black beat Marion Bartoli/Daniella Hantuchova 6-0, 3-6,10-8 to take title. Jonas Bjorkman and Todd Woodbridge got the better of Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis 4-6,6-3, 10-6 for the honours.
Championship Dinner Photos
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