Williams Sisters Training at Eastbourne
Here is a great video of the Williams sisters training at Eastbourne in the lead up to Wimbledon.
Archive for: wimbledon
Free Live Streaming of Wimbledon 2011
If you are looking for somewhere to watch Wimbledon live streamed on your computer, well look no further than ESPN3.com. ESPN3.com will have free live streaming for the whole of the championships.
Wimbledon 2011 TV Schedule
Here is the TV Schedule for Wimbledon 2011 in the USA.
*All times Eastern
Mon, June 20
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 1 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Tues, June 21
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 2 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Wednes, June 22
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 3 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Thurs, June 23
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 4 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Fri, June 24
7am – 5pm: Wimbledon Early Rounds Day 5 – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Sat, June 25
7am – 1pm: Early Rounds Day 6 – ESPN2 - LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Sun, June 26
*NBC WIMBLEDON BROADCAST TBD
5pm – 8pm: Week One Highlights – ESPN2 – Taped
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
11:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Mon, June 27
7am – 10am: Round of 16 – ESPN2 – LIVE
1pm – 6pm: Round of 16 – ESPN2 – LIVE
12:00am Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Tues, June 28
7am – 10am: Ladies’ Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
1pm – 5pm: Ladies’ Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
12:00am Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Wed, June 29
7pm – 10am: Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
1pm – 5pm: Gentlemen’s Quarterfinals – ESPN2 – LIVE
7:00pm Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
12:00am Wimbledon Primetime – The Tennis Channel
Thur, June 30
7am – Noon: Ladies’ Semifinal #1 + #2- ESPN2 – LIVE
8pm – 10pm: Ladies’ Semifinals Highlights – EPSN2
Fri, July 1
7am – Noon: Gentlemen’s Semifinal #1 + #2 – ESPN2 – LIVE
8pm – 11pm: Gentlemen’s Semifinals Highlights
Sat, July 2
*WOMEN’S FINAL NBC BROADCAST TBD
2pm – 3pm: SportsCenter at Wimbledon – ESPN2
Sun, July 3
*MEN’S FINAL NBC BROADCAST TBD
2pm – 3pm: SportsCenter at Wimbledon – ESPN2
Mon, July 4
7am – 9am: Ladies’ Final – ESPN3D – ReAir
9am – Noon: Gentlemen’s Final – ESPN3D – ReAir
Noon – 3pm: Gentlemen’s Semifinal #1 – ESPN3D – ReAir
3pm – 6pm: Gentlemen’s Semifinal #2 – ESPN3D – ReAir
6pm – 8pm: Ladies’ Final – ESPN3D – ReAir
8pm – 11pm: Gentlemen’s Final – ESPN3D – ReAir
Serena Williams Returns to Tennis Today in Eastbourne
Serena Williams is scheduled to make her return to professional tennis today. Williams will compete in the Eastbourne tournament and is amazingly happy to be back playing tennis after her illness layoff.
Expect both Williams sisters to be strong contenders again at this years Wimbledon that starts next week.
Andy Murray and Andy Roddick Preparing for Queens Club and Wimbledon
Andy Murray and Andy Roddick are getting ready for the Queens Club tournament next week. Both players have had some injuries during the clay court season, but they are both very keen and looking forward to Queens and Wimbledon.
Serena Williams Will Be Back for Wimbledon 2011
Serena Williams will be back and fit for Wimbledon starting in a few weeks time. Serena will be playing Eastbourne and then on to Wimbledon.
“I am so excited to be healthy enough to compete again. These past 12 months have been extremely tough and character building.
I have so much to be grateful for. I’m thankful to my family, friends, and fans for all of their support. Serena’s back!”
Wimbledon Semi Finals and Finals to Be Aired in 3D
This year the Wimbledon men’s semifinals and men’s and women’s finals will be aired live in 3D.
I dont really know why this is a big deal, because most people are yet to have a 3D enabled tv set (me included).
The deal was announced Monday as part of the Wimbledon’s multiyear partnership with Sony.
All England Club chief executive Ian Ritchie says “Wimbledon is renowned for its heritage and sense of tradition. At the same time we are always looking for ways to improve the presentation of the championships by successfully blending that tradition with innovation.”
British Tennis With the Same Old Story: Right Direction but Give Us Time
This morning I read a very interesting article over on the BBC website about the state of British tennis. I thought I would embed the whole article here for everyone to read. It would be great to hear your thoughts on the matter, and is this only happening in British tennis or are their other countries also not performing?
Another year, another £60m outlay. More promises, more plans.
And the usual answers to the standard questions: “We’re heading in the right direction… give us time…”
Groundhog day at the National Tennis Centre, the unfailingly spotless home of the Lawn Tennis Association, where the annual accounts of the governing body were revealed on Wednesday accompanied by the annual plea for patience.
£59m was earned during 2010, up almost £3m on last year, with the majority coming, as usual, from the generous folk up the road at Wimbledon.
At 17, Bolton’s George Morgan is among the crop of current British hopefuls
Expenditure included £10m on business support, £3m on commercial, £16m on competitions and events, £13m on growth and development and another £13m on talent. £60m in total, a loss of just under £1m.The LTA, defending the expenditure, says definite progress is being made.
The number of adults playing weekly is up above 500,000 for the first time, the number of juniors regularly competing is above 41,000 and the number of juniors “on track” for a professional career is also up (31 in 2010 compared with 26 last year).
There are new sponsorship deals, more indoor courts, and the long-awaited surge of tennis equipment and educational tools into primary schools.
A healthy crop of junior talent – “more depth than before” according to chief executive Roger Draper – backs up a successful year for several British women, especially the inspiring Elena Baltacha, 55 in the world, and the promising Heather Watson whose transition from the junior ranks appears to be going impressively to plan (175 in the world already).
But the ranking figures on the men’s side continue to let the side down. If progress is being made in so many areas (and it clearly is) how can this simple rankings fact be explained: In 2006, there were nine British men inside the top 300 and three inside the top 100. In 2010 there are only three inside 300 and just Andy Murray inside 100?
Over four years, since the arrival of the current regime at the top of the LTA, men’s tennis – including the Davis Cup team – has unquestionably gone backwards.
April’s Davis Cup defeat in Lithuania was an all-time low – the lack of talent beneath Andy Murray cruelly exposed – and led to the “departure” of captain John Lloyd. It also signalled the end for coach Paul Annacone, who finally left the organisation in September to coach Roger Federer. The era of celebrity coaches at the NTC had come to an end.
Like Brad Gilbert and Peter Lundgren before them, Lloyd and Annacone were on extremely healthy contracts. A vast amount of money has left British tennis in the past three years to resolve these deals. Money well spent? Yes, says Draper, brushing aside the rankings history.
But how many indoor courts could have been built with just a fraction of the cash dished to the celebrity quartet?
Unsurprisingly, this matter wasn’t discussed during the speeches at the AGM. Contract pay-offs must appear somewhere within the balance sheet, we just don’t know where. Perhaps under “developing and supporting talent”.
As the speeches continued, and they tend to drone on at these kind of functions, I decided to escape to the indoor courts. On the way, a pit stop at the canteen for a famous LTA coffee and a hello to a few familiar faces.
James Ward, the British number two, had just come off court with his coach, and fellow Arsenal fanatic, Greg Rusedski.
Ward, 201 in the world, will probably be the number one player in the Davis Cup team when Tunisia visit in March so this is a big season ahead for the Londoner.
He’s got a wild card into the Sydney International at the start of the year – a great chance to win a couple of matches at ATP level and take that ranking upwards!
Good to see Jamie Baker too. More injury trouble in 2010 for the unluckiest man in British tennis but he keeps at it, keeps believing. He’s back at futures level for the time being so good luck to him as he grinds his way back.
And so to the courts where, I must confess, I watched some tennis to back up the optimism of the men in suits.
Seventeen-year-old George Morgan from Bolton, fresh from winning the prestigious Orange Bowl in Florida last week, was playing Nottingham 15-year-old Luke Bambridge. I’m told they’re among the hardest workers in the British junior ranks. The coaches love their attitude.
What impressed me most about their session, supervised by coaches Colin Beecher and Magnus Tideman, was the general positivity of the play. Always aggressive, always with an eye for stepping in, moving through the ball and up the court.
This was refreshing to see. Most of the junior tennis I’ve seen at the NTC over the years has been “up and down” – solid baseline stuff, nothing spectacular, a distinct shortage of collective “weapons”.
Morgan has a monster backhand and Bambridge does damage with his forehand; a couple of useful serves too; good feel for an approach shot.
As Davis Cup captain Leon Smith looked on, I couldn’t help wondering whether this was a sign of a new attacking ethos. Smith pointed out that for all the talk of slower courts and lack of net play in the modern game, rallies still only last an average of 4-6 shots. It’s all about taking opportunities and pouncing on chances when they appear. Good to hear.
Smith now heads up the coaching team on the men’s side and, along with Beecher and other committed LTA staffers, has seen the celebrity coaching era come and go. Now is the time to invest in British coaches, the bedrock of the sport in this country.
As Tony Nadal said on 5 Live the other night, there is no miracle cure or proven scientific solution to coaching tennis players. Whatever people may say, Smith and Beecher have as good a shot as Gilbert and Annacone of producing champions. And they’re a damn sight cheaper.
Tideman, the Swede, will be coaching Morgan this season as he takes the first few steps out of the junior ranks and into the big wide world of the senior game. A big job.
This crucial transition period can make or break a player but the LTA are keener than ever not to rush these kids. Patience will be the key. At least with Kyle Edmund, Liam Broady and Oliver Golding, Morgan spearheads an impressive crop of British juniors. Good luck to them all next season.
On the adjacent courts, a few 10-year-olds from the Aegon Future Stars programme were merrily hitting away.
I love the innocence of these kids. The racquets always look way too big, the angle of the serve makes it look trigonometrically impossible to clear to the net.
Good luck to them (keep at it!), although this radio commentator politely invites a colleague to take over before little Boris makes his Wimbledon debut!
They may not make it, they may not even be playing in a couple of years, but it’s always invigorating to watch young kids playing sport. And, make no mistake, there were some classy touches from Cameron Kerr (Renfrewshire), Kai Maxted (Sussex) and Boris Ivanyuzhenkov (London).
Serena Williams Graces the Cover of Sports Illustrated
After capturing her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam, it appears that Serena Williams is getting a lot of attention.
Here is the latest promo is the cover of Sports Illustrated. Take a look at the image below and let us know what you think, either about the cover or Serena’s Wimbledon win.
Venus and Serena Williams Fined Because They Are Bad Losers
Both Serena and Venus Williams have been fined $4,000 each for not turning up to a Wimbledon news conference after their doubles quarterfinal loss. Bad losers!
Serena said Thursday she is “shocked to hear” about the penalty, adding she and her sister rarely speak to the media after Grand Slam doubles matches other than finals.
Serena and Venus were the doubles top seeds at Wimbledon. They lost to Russians Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina in three sets Wednesday, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Marton Fucsovics Defeats Ben Mitchell in Wimbledon Junior Final
Marton Fucsovics is the Wimbledon Junior Boys Singles champion for 2010. Fucsovics defeated Ben Mitchell 6-4 6-4 in the final (I used to play tennis with Mitchell’s older brother, and remember Ben was he was only 12. Damm Im getting old now).
Fucsovics, the 13th seed, beat the unseeded Mitchell on the 11,400-seater Court One while Rafael Nadal was securing his second Wimbledon men’s title on Centre Court. The first Australian to reach the boys’ title decider since Chris Guccione lost the 2003 final, Mitchell had been hoping to join tennis legends Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg and Stefan Edberg on the champions’ honour board.
The Hungarian Fucsovics said that win had given him the confidence to beat the 17-year-old again in the Wimbledon final.
“I felt that I would win this match in the beginning, but he was playing very well. I already played against him in Australia, and now he was playing much better,” the champion said.
“I feel very happy. I was playing very good, and I hope I can play like this all year.
“I was very nervous in the match. In the whole match I was very nervous, even when I was on the match point.
“I didn’t know what to do when I won the last point. I was really happy.”
Fucsovics won the US Open doubles last year, and scored another first for Hungarian tennis by claiming the singles title here.
“Hungarian tennis is not so big yet. I hope I can be the first very good player,” he said.
Even in defeat, Mitchell finds himself in pretty good company.
Ashley Cooper (1954), Rod Laver (1956), John Frawley (1983), Jason Stoltenberg (1987), Todd Woodbridge (1989) and Mark Philippoussis (1994) have also made the final.
Cooper, Laver and Cash all went on to win the men’s title at the All England Club, while Stoltenberg and Woodbridge reached the semi-finals and Philippoussis was runner-up to Federer in 2003.
David Beckham Spotted at Wimbledon Watching Andy Murray
Everyone seemed to enjoy Wimbledon this year, even though it isnt the largest sporting event happening at the moment (World Cup Football). Anyways this year saw the Queen attend Wimbledon and that never happens. Towards the end of the 2nd week we also the King of Football attend Wimbledon.
David and Brooklyn Beckham attended the mens Semi final between Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal 2010 Wimbledon Champion
Congratulations to Rafael Nadal who is Wimbledon Mens Singles champion for 2010!
Rafael Nadal is again the Mens singles champion at Wimbledon. Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych 6-3 7-5 6-4. Nadal played some very solid tennis today, but Berdych just looked a little over-awed and didn’t play his best tennis today.
Nadal is now tied with Fred Perry, Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi on the all-time Grand Slam list with his eight major titles. However, if I was a betting man I would put my money on Nadal to move to nine Grand Slam titles at this years US Open.
Roger Federer Out at Wimbledon by Tomas Berdych
Roger Federer was outed at Wimbledon yesterday by Tomas Berdych 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The 6 time champion Federer just had no answers for the big serving of the Czech player.
After the match Federer had this to say in the interview.
Q. You beat him almost every time you played him. Was he any different?
ROGER FEDERER: Like I said, I think he was a bit more consistent than in the past. I lost to him in Miami this year, where it was a really tight match as well. But from my end, obviously, you know, I’m unhappy with the way I’m playing. I couldn’t play the way I wanted to play. You know, I am struggling with a little bit of a back and a leg issue. That just doesn’t quite allow me to play the way I would like to play. So it’s frustrating, to say the least. Looking forward to some rest anyway.
Q. How do those physical things affect you the most?
ROGER FEDERER: Well, when you’re hurting, it’s just a combination of many things. You know, you just don’t feel as comfortable. You can’t concentrate on each and every point because you do feel the pain sometimes. And, uhm, yeah, then you tend to play differently than the way you want to play. Under the circumstances I think I played a decent match, you know. But I’ve been feeling bad for the last two, three matches now. It’s just not good and healthy to play under these kind of conditions, you know. So if there’s anything good about this it’s I’m gonna get some rest, that’s for sure.
Rafael Nadal Fined $2,000 for Coaching at Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal has been fined $2,000 by Wimbledon officials for receiving coaching during his third-round match. The match was against Philipp Petzschner in which Nadal was down 2 sets to 1. Typical!
Nadal was given a code violation by French umpire Cedric Mourier for allegedly receiving advice from his coach, uncle Toni Nadal, during his five-set win over Philipp Petzschener on Saturday.
Both Nadals said Toni had only been giving the player encouragement. The fine was announced Monday. Nadal said, “The rules are the rules.”
Novak Djokovic is No Andrew Ilie! Not Even Strong Enough to Rip His Own Shirt
I remember back in the day when Andrew Ilie used to play on the pro tour and whenever he won a game at the Australia Open he used to rip his shirt off. It seems like Novak Djokovic tried to do that the other day, but without any luck. Maybe you should head back to the gym Novak!
Yen-Hsun Lu Makes Asian Tennis History by Defeating Andy Roddick
Today is a great day for Asian tennis. Yen-Hsun Lu from Chinese Taipei is the first ever player from that country to make the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event. Lu had an amazing win by knocking out Andy Roddick 4-6 7-6 7-6 6-7 9-7.
Lu is currently ranked 82nd in the world, but today he played some controlled tennis and didnt lose his cool under a lot of pressure. He also became the first Asian man to make the last eight at the Wimbledon since Japan’s Shuzo Masuoka back in 1995!
Lu will now face Novak Djokovic on Wednesday.
Svetlana Kuznetsova Refuses to Shake Hands with Anastasia Rodionova after Wimbledon Match
After losing her second round match at Wimbledon, Svetlana Kuznetsova refused to shake hands with Anastasia Rodionova. Radionova who is now an Australian citizen defeated Kuznetsova 6-2 2-6 6-4.
Radionova is known for on-court theatrics and tactics. During the match Radionova questioned a huge amount of line calls and even went for a medical break due to a back injury. I think the back injury was just a load of crap! Back in 2007 in Cincinnati she was defaulted from a match for unsportsmanlike conduct in a similar situation. Seems like most players on tour havent forgot about this just yet!
Anastasia Rodionova’s comments on the match:
I don’t know what happened, I guess Svetlana was disappointed. It doesn’t really bother me. I go out there and try my best, every single match that I play.
I’m happy that I won the match and I’m looking forward to my next round. I played really well and I served really well. I felt really good on the court. It can’t even compare to my first round.
And what about suggestions the injury was not as severe as she claimed?
I strained a muscle a bit on my hip at the beginning of the second set. I’m fine. I have a bit of history there and I wanted to make sure it was nothing serious.
Bethanie Mattek-Sands Looking Terrible at Wimbledon
The New York Times recently did a story about Bethanie Mattek-Sands dressing herself up in soccer-like garb every four years for the World Cup. I think it might also be a bit of a coincidence that Bethanie has been playing terrible tennis and even looking a bit sick, since she got married!
Longest Tennis Match in History: Nicolas Mahut and John Isner Wimbledon 2010
The longest tennis match ever played is still going and scheduled to continue today at 3:30pm. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut are set to continue their titanic battle on court 18 later today with the score standing at 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-7 59-59.
It’s already the longest match in tennis history at 10 hours but the 7 hour, 6 minute fifth set alone was enough to break the old record of 6 hours, 33 minutes set at the 2004 French Open. The on-court scoreboard (above) even broke down while the online Slam Tracker reset itself to 0-0 once the score hit 50-50.
The comment on DTL said it the best:
So what was it like watching every minute of this battle of attrition live on TV? Well, I can only compare the experience to what it’s like staring at a JJ outfit: I desperately wanted to look away but I kept being drawn back to the insanity of it all.
We also wrote about Mahut and his epic marathon in the qualifying event. Mahut defeated Alex Bogdanovic 24-22 in the third set and final round of qualifying. Has he played the most games ever at Wimbledon in a single year?
