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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Wimbledon, England; grass; Grand Slam)
================= http://championships.wimbledon.org/
Contents
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1. Women's Singles: First-round results
2. Men's Singles: First-round results
3. First-round scoreboard-report: Zvonarėva v Nakamura
4. First-round TV-report: Santoro v Murray

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1. Women's Singles: First-round results
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Nice winners, nice losers:
+ VERA ZVONARĖVA [13,EF] d. Aiko Nakamura [S], 6-1 6-7 (3/7) 6-1
+ MARION BARTOLI [11,DF,S] d. Sabine Katharin Lisicki, 6-2 6-4
+ Monica Niculescu [S] d. Magdaléna Rybįrikovį [Q,DF], 1-6 6-3 6-4
+ Peng,Shuai [S] d. Viktoriya Kutuzova [Q], 6-3 6-4

A real shame that one of Marion and Sabine had to lose in the first
round - and without televisation on Freeview BBCi.

Poor Magda! She led *4-2 in the third when play was suspended on
Monday night, but lost the last four games on the resumption on
Tuesday.

Not so nice:
- Yan,Zi [S] lt. Anabel Medina Garrigues, 3-6 0-6

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2. Men's Singles: First-round results
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+ Ilia Bozoljac [Q,S] d. Chris Guccione, 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3
- Fabrice Santoro [S] lt. ANDY MURRAY [12], 3-6 4-6 6-7 (5/7)

How Ilia qualified for Wimbledon:
1q + Nicholas Monroe, 6-0 6-2
2q + Robert Smeets, 3-6 7-6 (7/2) 6-3
3q + Stefano Galvani, 6-3 0-6 1-6 6-2 6-4

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3. First-round scoreboard-report: Zvonarėva v Nakamura
(Tuesday 24th June)
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+ VERA ZVONARĖVA [13,EF] d. Aiko Nakamura [S], 6-1 6-7 (3/7) 6-1

Vera made short work of the first set, but struggled through the
second, which Aiko served for at 5-3. Vera fought back to 5-5*, but
wasted a 0/30 opening in that game, and lost the last six points of
the set after leading 3/1* in the tiebreak.

But Vera breezed through the third set with a no-nonsense approach to
complete an emotional victory on her return to Wimbledon after
missing last year's Championships with a serious wrist-injury.


The match started much later than I expected, as they inserted the
resumption of Paszek v Schiavone before this match on Court 3.
I'm grateful to Tamira Paszek for extending Schiavone to 10-8 in the
third (having resumed at 3-6 4-4), because it meant I didn't have to
follow live scores of this match at the same time as watching Maria
Sharapova's match on TV!

So the match was third on Court 3, started at 17:02 BST, and I
followed live scores at www.wimbledon.org.


First set
---------
ZVONARĖV *@*@ @* 6
NAKAMURA ____@__ 1

Vera serving 0-0: 30/15. 40/30. Held.
Aiko serving 0-1: 15/0. 15/40. 30/40. Broken.
Vera serving 2-0: 15/15. 15/30. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Vera. Held.

A dicy last game for Vera, but she pulls clear in this first set.

Aiko serving 0-3: 0/40. Broken.

Okay, try not to lose 6-0 6-0.

Vera serving 4-0: 15/30. 15/40. Broken.

Good for Aiko, but I don't like that Vera lost her serve - that's
like a personal affront.

Aiko serving 1-4: 0/15. 15/15. 15/40. Broken.
Vera serving 5-1: 0/15. 15/15. 40/15 (SP #1). Vera won the first set
6-1 at 17:24 (22 minutes).

Looks like a great start for Vera - where was that form when I
watched her at Eastbourne last week?


Second set
----------
ZVONARĖV __@* *__@* *_ 6(3)
NAKAMURA *@__* *@__* T 7(7)

Aiko serving 0-0: 30/0 to 30/30. 40/30. Held.

Aiko's first hold of the match.

Vera serving 0-1: 15/0. 15/15. 15/30... broken.

And the first time Vera's been in any real trouble.

Aiko serving 2-0: 30/0. 30/15. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Aiko. Deuce #2.
Ad Aiko. Deuce #3. Ad Vera (BP). Broken.

Vera had to fight hard to avoid a *0-3 deficit!

Vera serving 1-2: 0/15. 30/15... held.
Aiko serving 2-2: 15/0. 30/15... held.

The scoreboard keeps freezing at 30/15!

Vera serving 2-3: 30/0. 30/15. 40/15. Held.
Aiko serving 3-3: 15/15. 40/15 to 40/40. Ad Aiko. Held.

Well pegged back, but now the pressure's on Vera; she doesn't want to
see Aiko serving for the second set at 5-3.

Vera serving 3-4: 15/30. 30/40. Broken.

Aiko serving 5-3: 15/0. 15/15. 30/15. 30/30. 30/40. Broken.
Vera serving 4-5: 40/0. Held.

Good fightback from Vera. I don't fancy a third set, with the risk of
losing Vera in the first round.

Aiko serving 5-5: 0/30 to 40/30. 40/40. Ad Aiko. Held.

If Vera goes on to lose this, that's the game she will look back on -
really let Aiko off the hook from 0/30.

Vera serving 5-6: 15/0... held.

6-6 tiebreak (all scores Zvonarėva/Nakamura): 0/0*. *1/0. *1/1. 2/1*.
3/1*. *3/2. *3/3. 3/4*. 3/5*. *3/6. Aiko won the second set 7-6 (7/3)
at 18:17 (second set 53m, match so far 1h15m).


Third set
---------
ZVONARĖV *@* *@* 6
NAKAMURA ___*___ 1

Vera serving 0-0: 15/0. 15/15. 30/15... held.
Aiko serving 0-1: 0/40. 15/40.
Vera serving 2-0: 15/0. 30/30. 30/40. 40/40. Ad Vera. Held.

Aiko serving 0-3: 15/0. 15/15. 30/15. 30/40. 40/40. Ad Aiko.
Deuce #2. Ad Aiko. Held.
Vera serving 3-1: 0/15. 15/30. 40/30. 40/40. Ad Vera. Held.

Aiko serving 1-4: 15/15. 15/30. 30/30. I saw this point in a BBCi
court-circular: a big serve forced a defensive lob-return, which Aiko
dispatched with a high forehand drive-volley winner down the line.
40/30. Aiko tried to serve & volley, but netted a high forehand drive-
volley. 40/40. Ad Vera (BP). Broken.

Vera serving 5-1: 40/0 (MP #1). 40/15 (MP #2).
Vera won 6-1 6-7 (3/7) 6-1 at 18:50 (third set 33m, match 1h48m).

I saw the last point on BBC 2: Vera hit a shallow forehand down the
line; Aiko hit a penetrating backhand down the line, forcing a short,
weak forehand from Vera, but Aiko hit an off-forehand wide & just
long. Vera clenched her left fist: there was a plaster on her thumb.
Her face looked quite emotional: almost a little teary!

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4. First-round TV-report: Santoro v Murray (Tuesday 24th June)
------------------------------------------

- Fabrice Santoro [S] lt. ANDY MURRAY [12], 3-6 4-6 6-7 (5/7)

I couldn't watch this match properly at the time, because I was busy
following live scores for members of my Eternal Fanship - three at a
time during the second set! But I look forward to watching it when I
reach it in my video-archives in early 2010 or whenever!

I already picked up that it was a flairsome match with some amazing
rallies, featuring Fabrice's Selesian groundstrokes, slices and junk-
shots against the more conventional but very resourceful Murray.

John McEnroe said Murray should just play Fabrice like a lefty,
because Fabrice slices every forehand, and comes over the backhand.

Andrew Castle claimed there was just one other Selesian in this
year's Men's Singles at Wimbledon: Ilia Bozoljac. I know of no
others, so either they're a dying breed, or I'm losing touch with
men's tennis more than I realise.

35-year-old Fabrice actually wrote to the All-England Club, asking
them if he could finally play a singles-match on Centre Court after
all these years, so he was very pleased to draw Murray!

This could well be Fabrice's final year before retirement, although
he wouldn't confirm it. He told BBC Sport's Garry Richardson he would
love to carry on playing tennis, but it will be very tough after this
year. [Edit: Fabrice has since announced that he will retire in 2009 -
see Message 266.]


First set
---------

I watched the match on BBC 1 - only casually at first, as I was
following live scores of Zvonarėva v Nakamura at the same time.

They started with comfortable holds for 1-1. Fabrice's game-plan
seems to include dropshots and forays to the net.

Fabrice serving 1-1: After a long, deucy game, Murray broke for *2-1
with a terrific down-the-line forehand lob-winner that Fabrice - try
as he did - couldn't run down. Also in that game, Murray hit a down-
the-line backhand passing-shot that made Fabrice's cap fall off as he
ran for it.

Fabrice serving 1-3: He held by running down a dropshot and flicking
a ONE-HANDED forehand winner crosscourt.

Fabrice broke back - I was distracted not only by the Zvonarėva v
Nakamura scores, but also by the ten-minute transition from BBC 1 to
BBC 2 (17:50 to 18:00), and then it was 3-3.

Murray broke for 4-3 (with the help of a backhand volley-winner down
the line at 3-3: 40/40), and held to love for 5-3 as they continued
to play some delightful flairsome rallies. Murray smashed Fabrice off
the court to break for the first set: 6-3.


Second set
----------

My distractions tripled in the second set, as Zvonarėva v Nakamura
went to a third set, and Daniela Hantuchovį and Lucie Šafįrovį's
matches both started, so I could barely raise my eyes from the online
scoreboard on my laptop to my TV.

Fabrice broke in the opening game, and led 3-1*. Murray broke back,
and at 4-4*, there was an amazing rally in which Fabrice hit a
skyscraper-lob onto the baseline, only for Murray to run around it
and hit a dipping pass at Fabrice's feet.


Third set
---------

Murray, serving at 4-4 (15/30), hit a very short forehand dropshot-
winner.

Murray had match-point at 6-6 (*6/5): Fabrice chipped & charged with
a deep sliced backhand just inside the baseline, picked off Murray's
pass with a forehand drop-volley, but Murray ran it down and hit a
pinpoint off-backhand pass-winner onto the sideline.

--
Dr. Andrew Broad
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/seles/
http://geocities.com/andrewbroad/tennis/seles/selesians.html