Wimbledon 2020- Cannot Rain On The Parade!

[JAMES4578]

Some of you may wonder what I am on about  with Wimbledon being cancelled this year due to Covid-19, however all will be revealed.    Quiet Please!

Some classic matches will still be available to view across various platforms,  The BBC will have around 50 hours of coverage with  a 3 hours highlights programme in the Afternoons, whilst Sue Barker will present an hours show The Best Of The Championships on weekday evenings with a few guests  stars (whether at the Wimbledon grounds or via link).

on 4-5 July there will be an Andy Murray weekend, featuring big wins at Wimbledon including maiden win over Djokovic,Olympics - 2012 over Federer stands out and Davis Cup. whilst on 11-12 on what would have been the climax the best finals will be highlighted. All these shows will also be available to view on iplayer.

BBC-Wimbledon 

The wimbledon website will be doing it slighly differently and recreating the feel of The Championships - three matches will be available on Demand each day from 11 am   in the sequence we would have had  in live play (therefore 1st Round matches from across the ages first few days)    Older matches will be digitally enhanced for a better experience as obviously technology has moved on across the decades.   I would imagine they will be available for a little while.

So if you are a big Wimbledon fan like myself at least it is something, perhaps even casual fans may be interested in the odd match.

techradar.com/uk/news/wimbledon-2020-turns-back-clock-unorthodox-new-format 

Wimbledon Recreated 

Matches on Wimbledon Website 

Available from  11 Monday, Venus Williams v Cori Gauff, Djokovic V Rochus and Henman v Kafelnikov.     Highlights on BBC  throughout fortnight include  2008 Final Federer v Nadal, 1978 Navratilova v Evert, Borg v McEnroe 1980,Goolagong v Evert 1980 ,1992 Agassi v Ivanišević, 2001 Ivanišević v Rafter   Becker V Curran 1985, Graf v Novotna Graf v Sanchez Vicario 1995. Federer  v Roddick 2009, Ashe V Conors 1975, Wade v Stove 1977,  Lendl V Cash 1987, v Williams v Davenport 2005, Federer v Djokovic 2019, Sampras v Rafter 2000, S williams v Radwanska 2012.

[JAMES4578]

At the moment the tours are intending to resume in August but cetainly initially behind closed doors,with the Us Open scheduled to start 31 August. Exhibitions have taken place and the Adria tour organised by Djokovic which did  allow up to 4,000 fans had adverse publicity after a number of positive Covid-19 results including the word no1.   Though as far aware only Grigor Dimitrov thus far has been ill.  The German Sacha Zverev has now come under fire for apparently partying with a large gathering in France last weekend  after saying he would self isolate (had negative result).

This  link will be ok to post publicly, some were not!  if interested sure you can find out more.

kyrgios-hits-out-at-zverev-over-partying 

[JAMES4578]

A few artcles on some of the Wimbledon  upsets which have been aired or on the schedule.

Rafael Nadal  suffered a few shocks on the grass after winning twice and reaching five finals.   The defeat against Lucas Rosol was particularly memorable as the czech player ranked 100 at the time came out with all guns blazing and Rafa was uncertain.  The spaniard looked like he may turn it around when he took it to a 5th set but due to the light the roof was closed and on resumption it was Rosol who made a blistering start and he confidently served it out.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/jun/29/rafael-nadal-wimbledon-lukas-rosol 

They  met again in 2014 and it was another tough encounter but this time Nadal rebounded  and did not let Rosol get into his head so much.   https://www.si.com/tennis/2014/06/26/rafael-nadal-lukas-rosol-bottles-wimbledon 

Steffi Graf was trying for a 4th consecutive title in 1994 and some may have thought her first round would be relativly smooth.  However she actually had quite a tricky opponent in Lori MacNeil who had won their previous meeting on hard courts and had grass court skills. In those days only 16 seeds and the American  was one of the toughest draws, however still few expected what was about to unfold. In a match broken by rain delays, Graf found it difficult to maintain a real rhythm and Lori generally served well and put the German under pressure in the forecourt with a confident display.   McNeil went on to reach the semis that year losing 3-6,6-2,10-8 to Conchita Martinez who went on take the title surprising many when she denied Martina Navratilova a 10th title winning 6-3 in the 3rd.

https://www.tennismajors.com/our-features/on-this-day/june-21-1994-the-day-lori-mcneil-stunned-steff... 

Boris Becker astounded the tennis world when he took his first Wimbledon title at the age of 17 in 1985 , abeit  Kevin Curren had knocked out McEnroe and Connors  but it was still  a big achievement. To prove it was no flash in the pan Boris won again in 1986 in the final over Ivan Lendl and it was clear he was a real talent with his big game and booming serve. In the 2nd Round in 1987 the Aussie Peter Doohan did not seem much of a threat  but he played the match of his life for the upset in 4 sets  against a below par Becker who was perhaps overconfident.  Still having viewed again some amazing returns from Doohan who at times read the German's game so well.  Later Boris would say he  lost a match out there, he did not lose a war.   Unfortunately Doohan passed away in 2017, having developed an aggressive form of motor neurone disease. 

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-22/peter-doohan-becker-wrecker-dies-aged-56 

As far Becker possibly some amazement when he was declared Bankrupt not so long ago.  insidesport.co/becker-to-sell-trophies-memorabilia-to-clear-debt/ 

tennis-becker/beckers-bankruptcy-restrictions-extended-to-2031 

[JAMES4578]

Some short Wimbledon highlights here on the website, might be worth a look!  wimbledon.com/en_GB/video/highlights 

From  Youtube:  Shots of The Decade- Men's Singles

Shots of The Decade- Women's Singles :

Funniest Momemts: 

[JAMES4578]

A few reports on some dramatic 3rd Round matches involving Brits  Tim Henman involved in some nail bitting moments throughout his career (leading 2 sets to 1 2001 semi  before rain delay against Ivaniesvic in 2001 was the closest he got)  however this one in 1997 on People's Sunday set pulses racing!   https://www.independent.co.uk/news/henman-makes-a-perfect-peoples-day  

A more recent one from 20215  and some would say amazing effort from Heather Watson but still seems one that got away,  at one point she was two breaks up on Serena Williams in the final set and also served for match at 5-4.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jul/03/heather-watson-serena-williams-wimbledon 

[JAMES4578]

A few last 16 matches that were  newsworthy!  Roger  Federer only met Pete Sampras once in her career  and it took place on the lawns of Wimbledon  in 2001.   Whilst Federer at 19 was a bit away from the finished article  there was a lot of talk about him then,  Federer was still the clear favourite.   They produced a mighty match and seeing this again was certainly intriguing. Both players generally served and volleyed well, though Sampras a bit stronger in the forecourt but the opposite in the baseline points.   Anyway a long and see sawying match but it was Roger who stepped up in the crunch moments taking the 5th 7-5.  At the time we wondered of this could be the changing of the guard and it was the beginning of it.  Whilst Federer lost in the Quarters to Tim Henman he  won his first  Wimbledon and slam 2 years later. Meanwhile Sampras never featured in the 2nd week again.  He had a somewhat lacklustre display the following year and exited to George Bastl in the 2nd Round, never to return again.   

Sampras did have a last hurrah  beating Andre Agassi in the US Open final  that year but that would prove to be his last match, though it was some time before he announced his retirement.

[JAMES4578]

Any time Serena Williams did not make the Quarters was quite an upset and in 2013  she faced qute a tough opponent in German Sabine Lisicki. However Serena had won  34 consecutive matches and whilst Sabine put under pressure with a bg serve and strong returning she seems to have turned it around when easily taking 2nd and 3-0 up in the decider.    Lisick though really dud deep with the Champion  not finding top form in the key moments. A great victory for the German 6-4 in the 3rd and she went on to win a thrilling semi 9-7 in 3rd over Aga Radwanska.   The final did not go to plan though  as she was tight and emotional at one point in the 2nd as Marion Bartoli took the title in straight sets.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/-serena-williams-upset-by-sabine-lisicki-at-2013-wimbledon 

Serena thus far taken another 2 Wimbledon titles since then, though not since 2016.   Sabine did reach the semis in 2015 , losing out to Kerber .  Since 2017 she has been out of top 100  and unfortunately failed to qualify for Wimbledon in her last two attempts.

[JAMES4578]

Whilst this did not feature in the Wimbledon Replays  this time round, the Andy Murray Richard Gasquet  2008 match was uploaded  to You Tube in May on The Wimbledon Channel and we also seen a  bit of it on Andy Murray's Greatest Hits last weekend.  I enjoyed the Greatest Hits and if you are a fan and not viewed, may be worth a look.   Thought mind you that footage of the 2016 Wimbledon final was a bit short, though there was a lot to fit in and the Olympic final that year was tighter and more entertaining.

Whether it was quite a career defining moment or not debateable, however  think was certainly significant.    The first set was pretty tight but once Gasquet took that 7-5 gained the upper hand and his all court game and flair looked like it may be too much for the young star.   Gasquet served for the match at 5-4 but could not find the killer blow and Murray found some inspiration roared on by the crowd to give himself a fighting chance.  once he took the breaker Andy was more consistent and had bigger weapons overall for a magnificent comeback.    Whilst was not there for that one I did see the Quarter against Rafael Nadal live and whilst not the closest contest it was entertaining.

Andy went on to reach his first Slam final at the US Open that year losing to Federer, having beaten Nadal over 2 days in a rain delayed semi.    Gasquet has reached 3 slam semis (2 at Wimbledon), however has not reached the heights many expected and is not the same force these days.  Some also labelled him a bit of a "choker" in key matches.

https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/wimbledon/2008/gasquet-crowd-played-part 

[JAMES4578]

Onto some iconic quarters now.  In 1990 16 year old Monica Seles seemed out the crest of a wave after winning the French Open and though Wimbledon a stiffer challenge , few believed it would be so tough and dramatic with Zina Garrison. However the American  had some grass court pedigree and despite losing the first set  and down at one point in 3rd he volleying and guile kept her in contest and she found a way through 9-7 in the 3rd. https://www.latimes.com/archives/1990       Garrison also upset Graf in semis 6-4 in 3rd  but could stop Martina Navratilova winning a record 9th title 6-4,6-1.        Seles went on to win 9 Grand slam titles but never Wimbledon , losing to Graf in 1992. Likely she would have had a lot more success were it not for the awful stabbing on court by  spectator in 1993.  Whilst the injury was not too severe, the physcological effect was far greater. It was late 1995 before she returned to the tour and despite some success  (1 slam and further 3 finals  after resumption) was never really the same force,

A shift in the game became apparent when Venus Williams had her first win over Martina Hingis at Wimbledon in 2000. A tight affair in the end but it was becoming clear the American's power game was yielding dividends and in this contest and others Hingis was finding it tougher to counteract.   Her variety and guile some would say more appealing  and this time was still effective but could stop Venus taking this and later on her first Wimbledon.  Martina would not win another major in singles, injuries forced retirement at 22 and whilst she came back  in singles for a period it was in Doubles where she found greater success in later years.

Venus meanwhile stil playing singles to this  day (or at least was before the tour was interrupted)

https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1686068/serena-salutes-venus-first-slam-my-big-sister-wimbledon-champ... 

Going further back to 1980 an intriguing line up between the holder Navratilova and 5th seed and 6 times champion Billie Jean King. In this match a lot of serve and volleying from both players, some deft touches but also moments of tension.  Match started in fairly dark conditions and King was more  affected by the drizzle, had a 5-1 lead in breaker but failed to capitalise losing it 8-6.  The next day though Billie Jean started strongly whilst Martina was a bit out of sorts. 2nd set to King 6-1,Martina had early break in 3rd but was cancelled out and King broke again to serve for the match at 6-5. However whilst she got first serves in the made volleying errors and handed initiative back.  Martina finally prevailed 10-8, however did not make final this time  going down to Chris Evert 4-6,6-4,6-2.  Billie Jean meanwhile made the semis in 1982(beating Austin)  and 1983 ( heavily defeated by Jaeger)   before retiring.

[JAMES4578]

Whether a tennis fan or not think practically everyone knows Andy Murray is a Wimbledon champion, however the first time he took the title in 2013 it was certainly was not plain sailing on the way to the final.  A significant moment happened in the quarter with the left hander Fernando Verdasco who whilst had fallen in the rankings  can play explosive tennis.  A tight first set but inexplicably Andy serve let him down at the end, however normal service seemed resumed at break up in 2nd but poor shotmaking and relative weakness on the delivery put him under real pressure.  Murray did recover and sets 3 and 4 he was in control but still had to dig deep in the 5th at 4-5 down and then great return game put him in pole position.  He did get an uplift from the crowd to play some inspired tennis when it mattered.

theguardian.com/sport/2013/jul/03/andy-murray-wimbledon-fernando-verdasco