Wimbledon 2018

[javero]

It's that time of the year.  Plus, we have to atone for paying the French Open dust.  Of course this year's Championships have already been marred by seeding controversies on the women's side thanks to my favorite drama queen Serena and Nole's dad taking pop shots at Nadal in the Serbian press.  Interestingly, Serena and Madison Keys are in the same quarter, Venus and Sloane Stephens are in the same quarter, with all of them in the same half of the draw.  This presents an excellent opportunity for Sloane and Maddy to introduce the Williamses to mid-career planning.

And then there's Nole who's wasting away to nothing.  He was never a big guy before but dude has been getting pushed around out there all year since his comeback from surgery.  I get the crisis in confidence after a break from the tour but the other elite players are simply hitting through him now which not even Nadal could do successfully for 5 sets when Nole was still at the height of his powers.  Of course the rumors of marital problems and the arguably unhealthy influence of his ill-reputed spiritual guru aren't' helping matters.  I'm going to have to comb thru the men's draw later.

Regular play gets underway on Monday.

[yankeefan7]

Wide open tournament on the women's side, going out on a limb but I got Coco Vandeweghe winning it all. 

[javero]

Good catch regarding Coco.  It's her season.  I can see a path to a quarterfinal showdown with Caro if Coco keeps it together out there.  Totally misread the women's draw.  Vika, Serena, Venus, Sloane, and Maddy are all in the top quarter of the bottom half of the draw.  Talk about carnage.  I find it peculiar that so many highly-ranked American women are placed in the bottom half of the draw but I'm not big on conspiracy theories.  Doubt that there will be an All-American final on the women's side.

But, this year's champion will emerge from the top half of the draw.  My pick on the women's side is the hottest player on tour right now, Petra Kvitova, with Sharapova as a dark horse.  Kvitova and Sharapova have a quarterfinal showdown if the seedings hold up.  The winner of their match will claim the title this year.  Both are former champions and excel on grass courts.  It would be hella terrific is Coco has a breakthrough and advances to the finals against either Kvitova or Sharapova.  She's got her work cut out for her though.

I'll get back to you all regarding the men's side later. 

[yankeefan7]

As much as people may want another Federer-Nadal final, I don't see it. Nadal has just not done well in recent years and the French Open/ clay court season for him is a grind. I think it is the time for Zverev to step up and make the final vs Federer. I think Federer wins in again in three sets. On a sad note, Murray withdrew today.

[javero]

I'm certain you're hinting at the younger Zverev bro Sasha but I'd like to point that the older bro Mischa won his first tourney yesterday, Eastbourne.  OMG I feel so old now after recalling both their parents' years on tour.

[WithoutATrace]

Update: Sloane Stephens has been eliminated in Round 1.

[javero]

Update: Coco Vandeweghe was dispatched in 3 sets as well...bummer.  But the news of the day was Stanimal Wawrinka taking out Grigor Dimitrov in 4 tights sets after being blown away in the first.  Stan is a notorious slow starter though.  Taking Dimitrov out really opened up his quarter.  He'll never win Wimbledon but he has to be pleased with the results coming back from potentially career-ending surgery.

[WithoutATrace]

I love Wawrinka and was thrilled to see he won today! Congrats.

[yankeefan7]

"Update: Coco Vandeweghe was dispatched in 3 sets as well...bummer.  But the news of the day was Stanimal Wawrinka taking out Grigor Dimitrov in 4 tights sets after being blown away in the first.  Stan is a notorious slow starter though.  Taking Dimitrov out really opened up his quarter.  He'll never win Wimbledon but he has to be pleased with the results coming back from potentially career-ending surgery."

Really bummed Vandeweghe lost, so much for my bracket - lol. Was glad Wawrinka won, he has such a great backhand. I have seen him play at the US Open twice which was pretty cool.

[uncageg]

Catching up on the Tennis Channel this evening.

[javero]

Love her or hate her, Momma Serena is the last American lady standing at Wimbledon heading into the 3rd round.  On the men's side, there is a potential quarterfinal showdown between Nadal and Djokovic.

ETA: Serena's next opponent is 29-year old mom Evgeniya Rodina of Russia.  How neat is that.  Two moms battling it out on center court.

[yankeefan7]

Amazing that not one of the top 10 seeds made it to the QF (women) which is a first in Grand Slam history.

[javero]

Also amazing is the fact that only 10 players have ever won the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double and that 3 of them are still in contention for the Wimbledon title right now, all over the age of 30.

[yankeefan7]

Incredible men's semi-final matches and a rather surprising routine final win for Kerber.  Besides Venus, Kerber is the only one to ever beat Serena twice in a Grand Slam final.

[javero]

I knew that Kerber was going to collect Serena's scalp as soon as I saw Anna Wintour, Lewis Hamilton, and Tiger Woods in Serena's friends box, along with the presence of the duchesses. When she gets tight out there, the first thing to go is her footwork. Angie rose to the occasion and exploited the situation brilliantly. She played a very clean match while never allowing Serena to settle into her patterns. So, congrats Angelique; took luck Serena.

Poor Anderson got Isnerized in his semi. Wimbledon must move to limiting the number of games played in the deciding set of a match for the sake of the players, scheduling, and spectators alike. Despite Nole's impressive resume, his march to the winner's circle in the men's final was somewhat academic. He only had to keep the ball away from Anderson and to return well enough to win. I'm happy to see Nole return to his winning ways. Anderson acquitted himself well in the fortnight but Nole is King of Wimbledon once again. Nole also returns to the top 10 at the start of the hard court season which he usually rules.

[yankeefan7]

Kerber plays Serena perfectly although I am a bit surprised Serena does not take more advantage of her weak 2nd serve. I am conflicted about having tiebreaker in final set. Part of me likes to see the players gut it out and not have one lucky point in a tie-break decide the match. The bad thing is it can totally destroy a player and we have a depleted player in the next match. Nice to see Djokovic win but I am really waiting for some young guy on the men's side challenge the "Big Four".