Iga Swiatek opened the Olympic Tennis Event at Tokyo 2020 with champion’s poise, defeating Germany’s Mona Barthel 6-2 6-2 to reach the second round on her Games debut.
The 20-year-old's victory saw her become just the third Polish player to win an Olympic singles match after Agnieszka and Urszula Radwanska, and came while facing the pressure of top billing as she kicked off the tournament on Centre Court at Ariake Tennis Park.
Swiatek, who was initially expecting to open Court 1, benefitted from a schedule re-shuffle to account for Naomi Osaka’s starring role at the Opening Ceremony – and she was delighted to produce a performance worthy of the stage.
“It was amazing,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting that. I know that they changed the schedule yesterday, but it was a special moment for me. I know that right now I really feel the Olympic vibe.”
Swiatek may be making her Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, but she has plenty of history in the Games. She secured a doubles gold medal alongside Kaja Juvan at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in 2018 and her father, Tomasz, was an Olympian, competing in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
“My Dad’s told me a lot about the Olympics,” said Swiatek. “I couldn’t actually imagine it properly, but for sure it’s a special event. It’s different than any other tournament. I’m trying to give myself the opportunity to get used to it and focus on playing.”
Swiatek proved ruthless in the face of the oppressive humidity on Saturday. She raced into a 5-0 lead in 26 minutes, though her German opponent managed to put more pressure on her serve than the scoreline suggests.
A momentarily lapse in concentration - a double fault - when serving for the opening set gave Barthel a break, and a glimmer of hope of finding a foothold in the match, but the Pole held her nerve and got off court, and out of the heat, after just 67 minutes.
“It is humid,” admitted last year's French Open champion. “I’m not used to it. My perfect weather is in Great Britain or maybe [the weather] at 2020 Roland Garros!
“It’s hard to get used to it, but we gave myself time, we came to Takasaki [about 100km north of Tokyo] before going to the Olympic village to get used to the jetlag, humidity, and right now it’s much, much easier [than when I arrived].
“But still, when the stress comes and all the different factors that you have on that match, it’s different. I’m happy I’m in the second round and I can just get the experience.”
Swiatek, who will face either Paula Badosa or Kristina Mladenovic in round two, was quick to acknowledge another 'special moment' at the start of these Games; Osaka representing Japan - and tennis - on Friday night.
"It’s amazing," she said of Osaka lighting the Olympic Cauldron. "I think she deserves it with all the great results that she had. She’s dealing with a lot of stuff, so it’s good that she had the honour and opportunity to do that.
"It’s a pretty special moment so I hope she’s going to remember that."
itftennis.com
Friday, July 23, 2021
Thursday, July 08, 2021
Roger Federer to reassess after straight sets Wimbledon quarterfinal loss to Hurkacz, but goal is to play
Roger Federer was delighted with the ovation he received as he walked off Centre Court at the end of his 22nd Wimbledon campaign on Wednesday, but the soon-to-be 40-year-old isn’t going to retire anytime soon.
“[The] crowds were amazing,” said Federer, after a 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0 quarter-final loss to Polish 14th seed Hubert Hurkacz. “The ovation was fantastic. I loved it. That's why I play. That's why I still play now… I'm super grateful for all the support I've gotten here over the years. Today again was special.
“I'm actually very happy I made it as far as I did here, and I actually was able to play Wimbledon at the level that I did, after everything I went through. Of course, I would like to play it again, but at my age you're just never sure what's around the corner.”
Federer underwent two arthroscopic right knee surgeries in February and May last year, but the Swiss was clearly happy to have returned to the All England Club, the scene of his eight Wimbledon triumphs, over the past fortnight.
“I was able to make it this year, which I'm really happy about,” said Federer, who was contesting just his fifth tournament of 2021. “I’ve got to take a few days. Obviously, we're going to speak a little bit tonight, depending on how I feel, then the next couple of days as well. Then we go from there. Just see, ‘Okay, what do I need to do to get in better shape so I can be more competitive?’
“I'm not sure if it's necessarily matches, to be honest, because the body actually overall feels fine from the matches. I'm happy I went through all the process of taking losses and trying to play in Paris, Geneva, Doha and Halle, getting myself into match toughness and fitness here in Wimbledon. I definitely need to be a better player if I want to be more competitive at the highest of levels. I knew that coming in.”
The Swiss superstar, who has won a record-equalling 20 Grand Slam trophies, will now regroup with Ivan Ljubicic and Severin Luthi and plan his next tournaments.
“You know you need a goal when you're going through rehab with what I did,” said Federer. “You can't think of the entire mountain to climb as once. You got to go in steps. Wimbledon was the initial first super step, if you like.
“Now that that's over, you just got to reassess everything. You got to sit down, talk about it, what went well, what didn't go so well, where is the body, where is the knee, where is the mind? The goal is to play, of course.”
After his first straight sets loss at Wimbledon since 2002, when he fell as a 20-year-old to Mario Ancic 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 in the first round, Federer went on to admit, “Clearly, there's still a lot of things missing in my game that maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago were very simple and very normal for me to do. Nowadays, they don't happen naturally anymore. I got to always put in the extra effort mentally to remind myself, ‘Remember to do this’ or ‘Do that’. I have a lot of ideas on the court, but sometimes I can't do what I want to do.
“I felt very disappointed in the moment itself. I still am. At the same time there's always a weight that falls off your shoulders when a tournament is over, when a huge goal is made or missed. It doesn't matter actually. You feel the weight is gone and you're exhausted. I feel horribly exhausted. I could go for a nap right now. That's how I feel.
“The past 18 months have been long and hard. Then again, if I take perspective, I'm always very happy about a lot of things that happened [in the past few weeks, the past few months. I know [I] will be upbeat again shortly. I know how I am in these situations. I feel like I go maybe very hard on myself, I get very sad, and then a few days go by…. Then I'll be totally fine again and be my old self.
atptour.com
I waited to post this because I needed time to process. It's been about a day and I'm honestly still gathering my thoughts on everything. Being Polish my heart was soaring for one guy and hurting for the other all at once.
It was hard not rooting for my countryman and equally as hard not rooting for Roger Federer knowing what he's been through the past year and a half and simply because it's Roger.
In the end all I could think was please don't let this match be my last memory of Roger Federer at the All England Club. I don't think it will be, but it's hard not to think it factoring in everything.
Even though I went into this Wimbledon with very low expectations, as always the more Roger won the more my hope grew. The man has always managed to defy the odds and do the impossible.
His 2017 Aussie Open comeback and triumph being the epitome of that. He has managed to defy father time with what often seems like superhuman abilities. This match was a bit of a realization that perhaps he is human after all.
And despite all the impossible feats it was too much to expect him to play the way he always does, the way he did before 2 knee surgeries and the pandemic. The reality is that he hasn't played many matches this year and is returning from a long injury lay off . It is going to take patience and time for him to get back to what he was before all that. It's unfair of us as fans to expect him to perform miracle at this stage.
I have no doubt that his love for the game will drive him to continue to try and be better (perhaps even for the hard courts). I wish him all the best, and though I'm sad his journey was cut short this year, I'm thankful for all the memories he's given his fans at SW19 over the past 20 years.
I'm looking forward to more of them at the U.S. Open. As long as he's playing I will always have hope, and will always be happy to see him regardless whether he wins or loses.
A quarter final here is still a great result, it may not have been the one he or his fans wanted. But we're all grateful just to have him back.
It was not Roger's day, he was not able to bring the level needed to win. Hubert Hurkacz on the other hand was fantastic no question about it. He played his game and handled himself exceptionally. By winning he created some history along the way.
He is now the 2nd Polish man to reach a Wimbledon semi final. And the first man in about 19 years to beat Roger Federer in straight sets at Wimbledon and also the first time he's ever lost a set to love. That is quite an accomplishment.
I really hope he can back up his win tomorrow and reach the final vs Matteo Barretini. That would redeem the entire tournament for me.
Who knows maybe we'll end up with a Canadian (Shapovalov) playing a Pole, thus making it harder for me to decide who to root for again. Yep, that would be something to celebrate.
Tuesday, July 06, 2021
Roger Federer flies into his 18th Wimbledon quarter final
Hold the back page: Roger Federer is through to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. By getting there for the 18th time, he has beaten the record set by… oh, wait a minute: he has beaten the record he set the last time he reached the last eight in 2019.
That year he broke the record he set in 2018. And that was the year he broke the record he set in 2017. You can sense a theme building here. Jimmy Connors is the next name on the last eight achievement list – he got that far 14 times.
This is Federer’s 22nd competitive trip to the All England Club and in all that time, he has only failed to get to the quarter-finals (or better) three times. So when Lorenzo Sonego set up his meeting with the Swiss, there was a general feeling that the day would not end well for him. It didn’t: Federer won 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
“I’m extremely happy,” Federer said. “Again, tricky conditions – inside and outside – against Lorenzo who is always dangerous but I felt that after that first set, I was able to control things. It was a great match and I couldn’t be more excited to be in the quarter-finals. It’s a big moment and I’m very, very happy.”
There was a telling moment in the clubhouse just moments before the match. The two men were waiting to walk out on to Centre Court and were being given their last minute instructions by Dan Bloxham, the master of ceremonies and the head coach at the All England Club. Sonego was to walk out first but he had not been here before; Centre Court was all new to him.
Given their cue to go, Bloxham sent the Italian on his way. But which way? All Sonego could see in front of him was a doorway and then a wall. “Left; turn left… that way…” Bloxham instructed. Poor Sonego was like the lucky traveller who had been given his first upgrade from economy class to business. He had never stepped through the door and turned left before in his life.
A few paces behind him was Federer, a member of the club since 2003 when he won his first title here; he is chasing his ninth Wimbledon trophy and his 21st Grand Slam trophy in all. There is no place outside of Switzerland where he feels more at home than Centre Court. And he is very used to turning left whenever he boards a plane.
Still, once he had stowed his hand luggage, got his drinks sorted and perused the snacks menu (bananas, power bars and the like), Sonego began to relax and settle in. His grass court record may look a little thin compared to Federer’s (whose doesn’t?) but he did reach the Eastbourne final a little over a week ago and he did win the Antalya title in 2019. He is not unused to life on a grass court.
What he is unused to is life on a grass court with Federer. They had met once before but that was on a clay court at Roland Garros two years ago; Federer brushed past him in straight sets. On Monday, Sonego kept pace with the former champion for the first quarter of an hour or so and then things started to get tricky.
Federer started to apply a bit of pressure; he had a break point – and then another and another. As the game wore on, Sonego managed to extricate himself from the situation, but only just. It had taken nearly 10 minutes but his serve was secure. And then Federer held to love and broke to 15. Just like that. Seven of eight points won. Simples.
But this is not the Federer of old; this is not vintage Fed. He is playing and feeling a good deal better than he did a week ago when The Championships began but he is still a work in progress. No player can bounce back from two bouts of knee surgery and 13 months off and just pick up where he left off. Doing it at the age of 39 increases the degree of difficulty massively. So, having broken, Federer promptly dropped serve to love. We were back where we started.
As Sonego fought tooth and nail to hang on to his serve in the 11th game – seven deuces, four break points – the rain stopped them in their tracks. They had been trying to resolve this game for more than 13 minutes and Sonego was serving to stave off that fourth break point, but the elements did not care.
Play was suspended for the usual 17 minutes or thereabouts as the roof was closed and the lights switched on and out they came again (Sonego needing no directions this time). Unsurprisingly, after all the disruption, the Italian was not at his sparkling best as he double faulted to hand his serve to Federer but, then again, neither was Federer. He needed to save three break points before he could finally wrap up the set. It had all been alarmingly messy for the Swiss and his many, many followers.
But when Federer found himself in a similar position in the second set – breaking for a 3-2 lead – there were no blips, no fluffs and no dramas. The eight-time champion powered through the second set and ran away with the third. This was more like the champion of old.
As Federer prepared for his landing in the last eight, Sonego was putting his seat in the upright position and stowing away his tray table. It might be a while before he gets to turn left with Federer on Centre Court again. Doors to manual and cross check…
Finally a nice mostly stress free match for Federer. His next opponent was expected to be Medvedev. But we got the surprise of Hubert Hurkacz instead. So once again my Polish heart feels conflicted. This will by no means be an easy ride for Fed.
Hurkacz has played him once before so he won't be intimidated. If he doesn't get to overwhelmed by the occasion he could make it into quite a match especially given the way he serves. But if Federer plays clean and solid pulling out his bag of tricks it could also be one way. Really looking forward to this one.
Saturday, July 03, 2021
Roger Federer battles into week 2 of Wimbledon for the 18th time
The sign held up by a member of the Centre Court crowd stated flatly: “Federer Is Forever.” But the lady proffering it was a tad diffident, as if acknowledging that the great man is not the player of yesteryear. She needn’t have worried.
Her idol fought past his third round opponent Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. It wasn’t easy, but he proved that reports of his own death have been greatly exaggerated.
One month shy of his 40th birthday, Roger Federer is alive, kicking, and into the second week at Wimbledon for the 18th occasion in his astonishing career. Anyone would think the eight-time champion knows what he’s doing.
“I’m very, very pleased and super-relieved – that was a tough battle,” said Federer. “He deserved that third set. He played excellent. I felt I was able to keep a high level of play and can be very happy with how I played.
"It’s nice to hear it will be my 69th Grand Slam fourth round. I’ve loved every minute and I hope there’s a little bit more left in me. It’s an absolute pleasure still playing right now, and this is special as it’s my last Slam before I hit the big 40. It’s all a bonus, and we’ll see how far it can go.”
The longer this third round match went on, the more resourceful Norrie became. Just as well, then, that all the movement and timing which were so grimly absent from Federer’s first round display against Adrian Mannarino were back in abundance here. No need this time to rely on the slings, arrows and slippery grass of outrageous fortune to seal his passage into the next round.
So the Swiss-British axis remains unchanged. No British man has beaten Federer at a Grand Slam since Andy Murray saw him off at the Australian Open eight years ago.
As for a domestic win over the great man on the lawns of SW19 – for that, we must peer back through the mists of time to 2001, when Tim Henman managed the feat two years before Federer lifted the gentlemen’s trophy for the first time.
Still, left-handed gun Norrie has made great strides this year, reaching three finals including Queen’s. This is the third successive Grand Slam where the 25-year-old has reached the third round, thus justifying his first-time seeding of No.29.
But the fates have dictated a duff draw in the last 32 for him each time – he met Nadal in both Australia and at Roland-Garros, and here at Wimbledon… well, you know the rest. Moreover, for all those big strides this year, he has yet to defeat a top ten player in any Grand Slam. If Norrie is to reach the last 16 of a Slam for the first time, he will need to get himself into the big matches earlier than he did here.
Having walked on to the Centre Court with a confident wave, his opening service game featured three double faults, and he held it only when Federer obliged with mistakes of his own. But Norrie’s first serve had gone walkabout, and at 3-3 he put too much mustard on a forehand to offer Federer a whole trio of break points.
The No.6 seed duly gobbled up the first in the middle of a 12-point streak. The Federer who could barely manage to win 50 per cent of his first serves against Mannarino was now banking dangerously near a full house.
It was only at the start of the second set that Norrie was able to exert pressure on that Federer serve for the first time. But the Swiss swatted away two break points with the stonewall style of yesteryear, and shortly afterwards it was Norrie who was behind once more, making mistakes which seemed to bemuse even him.
He stayed in touch, but could do no more. Even in his best moments in the third set, it felt like he was hanging on. So it came like a thunderbolt from nowhere when he broke to love at the death, to take the match into a fourth set.
The rallies were longer now, testing the 15 years Federer was giving his opponent, and exposing his lack of matches since the start of 2020. But there was none of the negative attitude (his own description) which crowded his mindset during his shock last 16 defeat to Felix Auger-Aliassime last month on the grass of Halle, where the Swiss had previously amassed ten trophies. Norrie was like sticky tape on Federer’s fingers, coming back from a break down and saving more break points thereafter. But the Swiss broke again, and this time it was fatal
So Federer goes through. A place in the last eight hinges on his fourth round meeting with the No.23 seed Lorenzo Sonego, runner-up at Eastbourne last month, whom Federer beat in their only previous encounter, on clay.
Wimbledon’s favourite son has at least one more chapter in him this Fortnight. Gather round, children, and listen closely as the tale unfolds. There’s life in the old legend yet.
Friday, July 02, 2021
Iga Swiatek breezes into 2nd week at Wimbledon sets up clash with Jabeur in last 16
Iga Swiatek epitomises the humble champion – polite to all-comers, gracious in victory and magnanimous in defeat.
Following her victory over 2010 ladies’ finalist Vera Zvonareva at The Championships two days ago, the Pole’s good manners were on full display when she respectfully explained to a fan why she was unable to hand over her player towel, given these Covid times and all.
Swiatek hit peak politeness, however, on Day 1 when she inadvertently ploughed into a camera mounted on the umpire’s chair, before she promptly turned and instinctively said sorry. Yes, to a camera.
The 20-year-old, though, makes no apologies for how she sees off the over-thirties on court of late. First up at Wimbledon this year it was 35-year-old Hsieh Su-wei, next the 36-year-old Zvonareva, and on Friday world No.79 Irina-Camelia Begu,
Her ruthless 6-1, 6-0 routing of the Romanian in just 57 minutes made it her ninth straight victory over this cohort and sealed her place in the round of 16.
In only her 10th main draw appearance at this level, Swiatek has now reached the fourth round or better at three of the four Grand Slams.
“I feel like I'm playing better and better every match, and I'm actually getting more confidence because I have been on a grass court for some time now… I just feel the surface much, much better than at the beginning of the tournament, and during [the] tournament in Eastbourne,” Swiatek said.
“It's easier to implement all the tactics that I wasn't able to implement when I wasn't feeling comfortable. It's just easier to lead for me and to be aggressive on court and stay focused all the time.” Begu had done a wondrous job to equal her best Wimbledon showing at 30, taking down the No.26 seed Petra Martic in the second round for good measure. But against the No.7 seed she had no answers.
It was all slipping away far too quickly for the Romanian’s liking as Swiatek reeled off 10 points to leap to a 5-0 advantage in just 15 minutes.
Across the grounds on No.2 Court, the No.8 seed Karolina Pliskova and Tereza Martincova had not even made it through their first two games.
Begu needed no neighbouring court’s scoreline comparison to know how rapidly this was unravelling.
She finally stopped the rot to get her name on the board and looked to have brought up her first break points of the set only for the Pole to pull off an exquisite running backhand lob.
It set off an almighty to and fro before the Pole was finally able to wriggle free and serve out the opening set.
It was a blink and you’d miss it outing. A double break for 3-0 was quickly registered while Pliskova and Martincova still stood at 3-2 in their opening set.
The finish line was approaching fast and a shanked forehand summed up the Romanian’s day as for the second time this match, Swiatek stood within a game of delivering a Begu bagel.
It came four points later, the duel done and dusted in just 57 minutes, while over on No.2 Court it was Pliskova who eventually prevailed.
Swiatek had developed into a vastly superior player in the two short years since she bowed to Viktorija Golubic at the first hurdle on debut.
“I didn't actually have [any] idea on how to play on grass. This time it's much, much better, so I just developed overall,” Swiatek said.
“My skills are just better and it's easier to adjust to any surface when you're just a better tennis player. I grew up, so also mentally I can handle all the challenges.”
If ever last year’s Roland-Garros champion needed an omen to buoy her outlook for the second week, a look back at Garbiñe Muguruza’s and Simona Halep’s records were a good start.
Both landed their first Grand Slam trophy in Paris before they stood triumphant at the All England Club a year later.
The No.7 seed could meet the Spaniard next, but won’t have any qualms politely declining a look at the draw beyond – good omens or not.
! Jabeur next won't be easy but not impossible. It'll come down to who handles their nerves better at the end I think. Jazda Iga Thursday, July 01, 2021
Roger Federer looking more comfortable as he moves to round 3 at Wimbledon
The tennis player formerly known as 'Baby Federer' is himself now 35 years old. Richard Gasquet's vintage was yet another illustration of Roger Federer's astonishing longevity on a sun-buttered evening when the Swiss, just a month short of his 40th birthday, became the oldest man to reach the third round of The Championships since the 1970s.
One more indication of Federer's elegant resistance against the ageing process is that he hasn't dropped a set against Gasquet in a decade, a run of dominance against the Frenchman that started when Coco Gauff was seven years old.
With their single-handed backhands and free-flowing creativity, Federer and Gasquet both play lawn tennis that is close to being an art form. And when Gasquet ripped one exquisite, 102mph backhand down the line, in response to Federer's overhead, that might just be the best shot you'll see all Fortnight.
But while Gasquet had his moments, it was Federer, a winner of eight Wimbledon titles and the oldest man in the gentlemen's singles, who took control of the Centre Court grass.
"It's always a pleasure playing against Richard," Federer said after his 7-6(1), 6-1, 6-4 victory as he became the oldest man since Ken Rosewall in 1975 to make the last 32. "I'm really happy with my level. Today was special."
The Fed-Head super-fan with the 'RF' tattoo, and every other Federer enthusiast inside Centre Court, would have been encouraged by the way that the Swiss played for most of this match, taking him through to play Britain's Cameron Norrie on Saturday.
Federer wouldn't be here in London if he didn't feel as though he had it in him to emulate Martina Navratilova by winning a ninth Wimbledon, and also to land what would be his 21st Grand Slam singles title.
This straight-sets win didn't just extend Federer's one-sided history over Gasquet, but also took his streak against French opponents to 18 consecutive wins.
While Federer felt as though he had got a little lucky in his opening round against another Frenchman, Adrian Mannarino - who retired through injury at two sets all - there was no good fortune involved in his victory over Gasquet. As soon as Federer took the opening set on a tie-break, he started to play looser and more aggressive tennis, even winning the next five games in a row.
This was the third time that Federer had faced Gasquet at the All England Club - after a first-round match at the 2006 Championships, and a semi-final in 2007 - and every time he has gone through without dropping a set.
Breathing a tiny sigh of relief.
A much better match.
Getting better and better with more time on court.
Also happy Roger is wearing his RF logo hat. Took a while for him to get that back :).
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