Martina Hingis/Lindsay Davenport win another Wimbledon doubles Legends title

Tennis - Among all the serious stuff that was going on in the men's singles and women's singles draw, many did not notice that there was some fun doubles going on at Wimbledon as well featuring the retired stars of the game, many of them former Wimbledon champions themselves.

Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis beat Jana Novotna and Barbara Schett 6-2, 6-2 to win the Ladies’ Invitation Doubles Championship while Aussies Pat Cash and Mark Woodforde beat Jeremy Bates, of Britain, and Sweden’s Anders Jarryd 6-3, 6-3 to win the Seniors Invitation Doubles.

Swede Thomas Enqvist and Aussie Mark Philippoussis beat Greg Rusedski and Fabrice Santoro 7-6, 6-3 to win the Gentlemen’s Invitation Doubles Championship.

tennisworldusa.org

Is it me or do they win a LOT of these together ?. Makes you wonder whether or not Martina should give doubles another shot.

Martina Hingis at Wimbledon

Both Martina's arriving for the ladies final at Wimbledon

Martina Hingis arriving at day 1 Wimbledon June 23rd 2013

Martina at the 2013 Wimbledon Champions Ball

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Kristen Flipkens grateful to Kim Clijsters after quarter final win at Wimbledon

Nobody was happier than Kim Clijsters after Kirsten Flipkens pulled off a stunning quarter-final victory at Wimbledon 2013 on Tuesday.

Clijsters has known Flipkens throughout her career and after her retirement at the 2012 US Open, she has been helping her friend since December. And after Flipkens clinched a 4-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Petra Kvitova in her Centre Court debut, Clijsters could barely contain her emotions.

Flipkens was equally teary eyed in her press conference when describing the difference Clijsters has made to her career.

"It means so much to me," she told reporters.

"She's in America, but she's been there for me through the good and through the bad times. Of course, I have to thank her for still believing in me. I'm practicing at her academy. [Also] winning on my mom's birthday makes it even more special."

Flipkens has gone through plenty of tough times throughout her time on the circuit and it's incredible that she's still playing after suffering a near career-ending back injury in her first year on the professional tour.

"All doctors said my career would have been over normally," she added.

"But I'm just the kind of person that doesn't like to break, and I keep on fighting back every time."

crunchsports.com

Could she be the next great Belgian in the making?.  Hope she pulls through to the final.

Roger Federer shares his thoughts on devastating 2nd round loss at Wimbledon

“What do you do after something like this?” 

It’s a question Roger Federer posed on Wednesday after being ousted by Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round of Wimbledon to suffer his earliest exit at a major tournament in more than 10 years. After taking a second to compile his thoughts, Federer’s response was firm.

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“You don't panic at this point, that's clear,” Federer stated. 

“You just go back to work and come back stronger really. It’s somewhat simple. It’s hard to do sometimes. But usually, I do turnarounds pretty good.  I'm looking forward to what's to come. I hope I can play a good summer, a good end to the season. This is clearly not what I was hoping for here today at this tournament.”

Federer’s loss ended one of the most impressive streaks in sports. Entering The Championships at SW19, Federer had made 36 successive trips to the quarter-finals or better at the four major tournaments, which began nine years ago at the All England Club. Though now in territory he hasn’t been in during the pinnacle of his career, Federer declared that his time is far from up.

“I still have plans to play for many more years to come. It's normal that after all of a sudden losing early after being in the quarters 36 times, people feel it's different,” said Federer. “You guys hyped it up so much: me playing Rafa, and we're both out. So there's a letdown clearly. Maybe it's also somewhat a bit disrespectful to the other opponents who are in the draw still. I think it sends a message to you guys as well that maybe you shouldn't do that so often next time around.”

While he denied that it was the end of an era, Federer was pragmatic about the implications of his defeat. Wimbledon had been a place Federer relied on to find inspiration or jump start his results. Last year, after narrowly avoiding an early loss to Julien Benneteau in the third round, Federer went on to defeat Andy Murray in the final to reclaim the No. 1 Emirates ATP Ranking.

“Right now, this is a setback, a disappointment, whatever you want to call it,” Federer said. “But then overall, I think I played great eight months ago at the Barclays World Tour Finals, I played great at the Australian Open. You know, if things would have gone my way, maybe I could have done a bit more. 

“Overall, I think I've been playing actually not so bad, like some have portrayed it.  Season's not over here.  Only just in the middle.  Still have a lot of tennis left.  That's what I try to use for a good end to the season.”

The 31-year-old Federer also credited his opponent for executing a game plan that he fully expected. 

“I knew he was going to do that. He does it regularly. So he's comfortable doing it,” said Federer. “I believe it is a tactic you can use, if you play it the right way, if you have a big enough serve, you move good enough.

“Clearly you also got to be good enough from the baseline on the return because you need a break once in a while. That's exactly what he was able to do today. I was impressed. I don't think from this point on I'm going to start serve volleying, but hopefully other players will in the future.”

Coming into the match, Stahkovsky had been 0-20 against Top 10 opponents. Federer believes experienced players, like Stakhovsky, have become more confident playing on the grand stages against the game’s elite, in comparison to year's past.

“I think there was a time where some players didn't believe they could beat the top guys. So maybe there's a little bit of a thing happening at the moment,” said Federer. “I'm happy about that, that players believe they can beat the best on the biggest courts in the biggest matches. 

“I think that belief is very important. We're missing the teenagers overall, so it's up to other guys to do it like we've seen this week, at other places as well. All we can do is give it all we have, be a professional, train hard, do all the right things, what you're supposed to be doing. I hope they are also doing it if they're lower in the rankings.”

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Having just shared my own thoughts and feelings on the subject I thought it would be a good contrast to post views from the man himself. 

And although this loss will take quite a while to get over I agree with him wholeheartedly.  Onward to the U.S. Open!.

My thoughts on Roger Federer's shocking loss in 2nd round of Wimbledon

I debated on whether or not to post the usual match summery via reputable news source but that seemed a bit lazy and I decided it's best I share my personal opnion on the subject.

And also as part of my therapy to try to get over this crushing loss I needed to put my feelings out into the interwebs.

If my thoughts seem jumbled it's because as I write this I am still trying to get over the shock of it all.

The sports journalists will undoubtedly say things like Federer's age is finally catching up to him, or simply that his younger opponent was just too good. I won't be surprised if retirement rumors start rearing their ugly head again.

As for myself I honestly don't know how to summarize this loss, it certainly will be categorized as Federer's worst loss in what is an illustrious 15 year career.

I could say that indeed the journalists are right and Federer is finally showing some signs of decline with age, or give full credit to his opponent (because it certainly is not easy to beat someone like Roger). But I think the simple truth is that Roger like many elite athletes just had a bad day.

Having said that as an admirer of the man for many years I couldn't help but hope that despite squandering important chances to break his opponent in the 3rd and especially the 4th set, he would turn on that extra gear and pull through in the end.

After all we've seen him have bad days like this countless times in recent past, but being Roger Federer he always found a way to shake it off just at the right moment and achieve the impossible.  Last year's 4th round against Benneteau  being the perfect example.

But instead I along with the rest of the tennis world got a sad and perhaps sobering reminder  that despite how super human he may seem sometimes he is in fact a fallible human being who simply wasn't good enough on this day.

I think the hardest part of this loss as a fan is accepting the unrealized potential chance of  Roger grabbing his 8th Wimbledon title (which no other man has ever done). Thus equaling Nadal's 8 French Open titles

Those chances were greatly improved with Nadal going out on the first day of the tournament. That disappointment of failing to capitalize on it is the one thing that I think will take me and many of his fans the longest to get over.

On a day that seemed to be cursed with injuries and withdraws (7 in total) there's one thing I know for certain June 26th is officially my least favourite day of this calendar year.

Roger Federer through in routine fashion on to 2nd round at Wimbledon

Not really digging the outfit but love the shoes

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World No. 3 Roger Federer opened his campaign for an unprecedented eighth Wimbledon title on Monday at the All England Club with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-0 victory over Romania’s Victor Hanescu. 

“I thought overall I played a good match, no hiccups on the serve,” said Federer. “I returned good, sometimes aggressive, sometimes with the chip, the way I usually do it on the grass. Then I was moving pretty well even though I thought it was quite slippery, because it is opening Monday. I think I handled that well. [There] was just a bit of a breeze and it was cold. I'm happy to get out of there early and quickly. So it was a perfect day.”

This Swiss is looking to make history on the 10th anniversary of his first Wimbledon win in 2003 (d. Philippoussis), having won a record-equalling seventh crown last year with victory over Andy Murray. He took the first step in what is projected to be a very testing draw, with the possibility of Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, Murray in the semi-finals and top seed Novak Djokovic in the final. 

The 31-year-old Federer came into The Championships having won his first ATP World Tour title of the season eight days ago at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle (d. Youzhny). He improved to a 67-7 record at the All England Club and to a perfect 6-0 FedEx ATP Head2Head mark against the No. 47-ranked Hanescu as he swept through his opener in 69 minutes

Federer goes on to face Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky, who was the day’s first winner with a 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 victory over Rogerio Dutra Silva. Federer won his one previous meeting with the No. 116-ranked Stakhovsky, two years ago in the Dubai quarter-finals.

atpworldtour.com

With Nadal out in first round things are looking a little brighter for Mr. Federer.  

Having to beat Murray & Djokovic is more doable then having to beat all three. 

But of course we're so far from that (one match at a time).  

Sadly Nadal just never really showed up for the match today but all credit to his opponent 135 ranked Belgian Steve Darcis who knew?!.  

Breathing a huge sigh of relief nonetheless.  Go Roger!.

Roger Federer remembers 10 years of Wimbledon triumphs

Roger Federer gets the draw from hell at Wimbledon

Roger Federer could potentially have to beat Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic if he is to retain his crown at The Championships. The Swiss was drawn in the same half as Murray and the same quarter as Nadal on Friday at the All England Club, Wimbledon.

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World No. 1 Djokovic will begin his quest for a second Wimbledon title against Florian Mayer. Djokovic is guaranteed to remain at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after Wimbledon. Djokovic could face No. 13 seed Tommy Haas or No. 19 seed Gilles Simon in the fourth round, followed by a potential clash against 2010 runner-up and No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych or ninth seed Richard Gasquet in the quarter-finals. Fourth seed David Ferrer, who takes on Martin Alund, joins Djokovic in the top half of the draw.

Third seed Federer starts his bid for a record eighth crown against Victor Hanescu on Centre Court. He could potentially meet fifth seed Nadal in the quarter-finals. They came face to face in the 2006-2008 Wimbledon finals. Last year, Federer equalled the Wimbledon titles record of Pete Sampras and William Renshaw when he lifted his seventh trophy at the All England Club. He leads the FedEx ATP Reliability Index with a 121-17 (.877) record on grass courts.

Fifth seed Nadal, who captured the Wimbledon title in 2008 (d. Federer) and 2010 (d. Berdych), has been drawn to meet Steve Darcis in the first round. He could face Igor Andreev or Lukasz Kubot in the second round. Since returning from a seven-month injury lay-off in February, Nadal has won seven titles from nine finals. He arrives at SW19, where he lost to Lukas Rosol in the 2012 second round, on a 22-match winning streak. Nadal recently won his eighth Roland Garros crown.

Second seed Murray, the first British runner-up since Bunny Austin in 1938, first plays Benjamin Becker and could challenge sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight. Tsonga plays David Goffin in the first round. Murray, who is looking to become the first British male Wimbledon champion in 77 years, beat both Becker and Tsonga last week en route to his third Aegon Championships crown.

Djokovic, Murray, Federer and Nadal are competing together at a Grand Slam championship for the first time in 12 months.

There are four stellar first-round match-ups, including former World No. 1 and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt versus No. 11 seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who is competing this week at the Topshelf Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Marin Cilic, the No. 10 seed and runner-up at The Queen’s Club, takes on Marcos Baghdatis, while No. 14 seed Janko Tipsarevic takes on fellow Serbian Victor Troicki. The winner could potentially meet Murray in the fourth round. Simon meets Feliciano Lopezin his opener.

The last time a player seeded outside of the Top 4 won the Wimbledon title was No. 125th-ranked Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 (d. Rafter). 

atpworldtour.com

Wimbledon & French Open to use Twitter Magic Mirror function at this year's championships

This year, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships is upping the ante by featuring Twitter’s ‘Magic Mirror’ at the tournament.  This will give fans exclusive access to live photos from within, powered by the Mirror. Tweets will be posted through Wimbledon’s official Twitter account, accompanied by the hashtags #TwitterMirror and #Wimbledon.

The Mirror first launched at the Oscars this year where celebrities could automatically tweet photos through the official Oscars Twitter account, simply by posing in front of the mirror. The Indian Premier League (IPL) then followed suit by featuring the Mirror throughout the entire tournament. The application travelled with teams across the country, giving fans exclusive snapshots of players through the @IPL account.

Now tennis fans can look forward to the same during the first few days of Wimbledon, which runs from June 24th to July 7th. The Mirror will be placed where only players can access it, assuring the best photos will make their way through, and give fans an exclusive look behind the scenes.

Alexandra Willis, who manages Wimbledon’s digital and social platforms, spoke about the campaign:

“We’re delighted to be working closely with Twitter and bringing the Twitter Mirror to Wimbledon. We hope the players will enjoy using it and giving an insight into their life at Wimbledon for their fans and ours.”

No other tennis tournaments have featured the Mirror so far, though it is expected to make an appearance at the French Open, which starts this weekend and runs to June 9th. It’s fantastic to see such close relationships emerging between Twitter and live sports events, where the content from these events is beautifully combined with the speed and reach of Twitter.

simplyzesty.com