WIMBLEDON 2016

bizarre argument on twitter over whether you'd rather be in Venus or Kasatkina's shoes right now. like, clearly Venus's!

Very good timing for what is presumably the final rain of the day from Djokovic's PoV. Two sets down. Moore gave Kuznetsova a hell of a match.

yeah Moore played so well, loved how she kept on laughing throughout!

Stephens/Minella was one of the most dire matches I've ever watched by contrast.

Serena/McHale was like a reprise of Serena/Watson.

Can't believe Djokovic here. Even if you hate ND, which a lot of people (not here) do, why anyone would want him to lose to Querrey I don't know.

Enjoyed the Wawrinka/Del Potro match, some absolutely beautiful forehands and smart switching up, even the slice is developing into a weapon (hey, how many Wimbledons did Steffi win slicing nearly exclusively? A LOT), but it has to be said that Stan was super-sloppy in that second set and the start of the third. Could have been over in 3! Glad it wasn't!

I just watched the replay of the first two sets of Querry/Djokovic and I have no idea what was going on. Djokovic was making Querry look like a tennis god in that second set.

When my brother told me my first q "is he injured?"

Pretty sure ND would have been out in straight sets last night if they'd played on until 8:45 or so. Now I'd make him the favourite. I can't recall the last time he played badly two days in a row.

hope querrey wins because the tour could use some excitement

Querrey not known for providing it though. Up for Djokovic losing to Herbert in R4 though.

BBC2 literally cut away from Kerber/Witthoeft at 6-6 in the TB to show Djokovic walking on to court. Like seriously...you've got time to finish the TB at least, have some respect.

(Querrey so dull that even at this stage I'm not bothering to watch)

ND up 4-0 before the rain came again. Querrey's best hope is probably to serve himself into a 4th set t/b. Wasn't it middle Saturday last year when Djoko came from 0-2 vs Anderson? I seem to recall traipsing around West End shops looking for a laptop with two very bored children, catching the odd point on display TVs. I'll be out again this afternoon for the inevitable comeback win.

Weather confusing things again, but are some players going to have to double up today, in order to get the 3rd round done? Is Stephens-Kuznetsova & Bacsinsky-Pavlyuchenkova now pencilled in for the late afternoon? Kvitova-Makarova didn't even restart though, nor did the last of the men's r2 stragglers, Youzhny-Zverev.

BBC2 literally cut away from Kerber/Witthoeft at 6-6 in the TB to show Djokovic walking on to court. Like seriously...you've got time to finish the TB at least, have some respect.

It's pretty dreadful, this kind of programming. The day I decided I *had* to get a Freeview box was when BBC left the Agassi-Philippoussis fifth set at a crucial moment to show Tim Fucking Henman knocking up on Centre. This was 13 years ago, before the advent of multiple streaming options, when the Red Button on Freeview was the only way to see what the main channel wasn't covering.

I assume the players who still had to play their R2s today will have their R3s on the Middle Sunday schedule

the Henman years were so dreadful for BBC coverage, the wealth of courts at our fingertips is obviously luxurious in comparison but it's still frustrating that the BBC fucks up so egregiously when the technology means it doesn't even need to, even if it prioritises its own stupid "better to see a famous/British player not playing than anyone else actually playing" philosophy

So we are going to have Middle Sunday? There has been a decision?

yes we are - details to be given later I believe..

Tickets all to be sold online from Ticketmaster at 3pm, schedule I guess dependent on what isn't finished today? They're still aiming to get all the R4s done on Manic Monday so assuming Kvitova and Zverev get their R2s done today, it's all the leftover R3s. If Kvitova and Zverev don't finish today they're fucked

xps not wanting someone to dominate every slam ever =/= hating them

query 4 bps at 3-2 up on the 4th..D dug himself out, wonder if query's chance is gone

serving 'em up to keep a lead on serve

surely now novak

breaks and now to serve for the 4th. but really novak on the brink for a cpl of mins

fuck me

thrash volley - break back

querrey's incompetence is pretty amusing

and yet if he breaks novak..

I'd consider retiring now instead of losing to this thrash

omg rain

lol this match
this blessed rain
this engerland

oh my god.

rip novak

lmao this is amazing

querrey

http://blog.mytennislessons.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/screen-shot-2015-03-09-at-11-10-24-am.png

so who fucked Novak's mind? there has got to be another explanation for this

I mean sure the slam but you might think a loss in a 2nd week - and not to this?!

Finding Makarova's black socks weirdly jarring

Petra making error after error: not jarring in the least, obv

Shades of Curren vs Connors, '83.

the funny thing about the Querrey loss is that Querrey was choking for his LIFE. I really didn't see much of it before the closing stages but the last set was atrocious quality from both. Even the MP, Querrey tentative on every stroke before Djokovic hits an error for no reason.

After the immense pressure of finally winning RG/holding 4 in a row was lifted I don't think much further explanation is needed. We saw how hard 4 in a row was, 5 in a row is unfathomable. Just one of those situations where you couldn't imagine who exactly would do it, and tbh Djokovic wobbled against Ward and Mannarino so...

No such excuses for Kvitova who seems to have finally changed her career's frustration "85% flopping, 15% peaking" ratio to "100% flopping". Easy money, cheers Kate M.

Can't believe this is Mahut's first Slam second week! Thrilled with Doi's first week 2 too, exciting that she gets a chance to avenge her loss from MP up to Kerber at the AO. Halep/Keys and Radwanska/Cibulkova are popcorn R4s, Aga was incredible against Siniakova.

Why are there so many #hormones among the men this tournament? So many tantrums and fights. Kyrgios, Paire, Troicki, Delpo v Pouille (this was a great match otherwise), Fognini v Lopez...I don't want to hear any ATP player talk about WTA emotions again. Even Cornet has been an oasis of calm in comparison.

I scored No 1 Court tkts for tomorrow! I get to see the Kyrgios circus in person.

Djokovic seriously made Querry look like a tennis god in the second set. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life.

Sloane's collapse against Sveta was highly entertaining.

Feeling sad about Delpo again though. What happened between him and Pouille yesterday? I missed the whole drama.

Isner-Tsonga BBC commentator will not shut up about Isner-Mahut, at least ten references, starting in the 4th set. Well, you've willed your marathon set into being now, let it go.

Roz - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/02/wimbledon-del-potro-pouille-mens-singles

Thank god Tsonga put a stop to the Isner marathon stuff before it got silly again.

Got No 1 Court tickets for yesterday, Middle Sunday is so much fun! Kuznetsova/Stephens was a thriller, Sweta just threw everything at her towards the end. Didn't feel like a Sloane choke because there was never any momentum in the match...both players had patches of awful errors that seemed to come at random (ditto their winners).

Lopez was clearly just a bit too fatigued to push Kyrgios like yesterday, he didn't roll over but he was chuntering away to his box from the first game. Ultimately a Lopez without a first serve and volleys isn't a pretty sight (unlike his ass in those obscenely tight shorts). Kyrgios hit a few astonishing BH crosscourt passes.

Vesely/Sousa...by the second set I looked around and literally 10 people in my immediate vicinity were on their phones. Sousa was absolutely atrocious, could barely hit a groundstroke.

Saw some incredible junior drama at the end of the day. First saw 15yo Iga Swiatek when I went to Les Petits As for work last year (biggest U14 tournament in the world, she reached the SF iirc) and she was playing against Usue Maitane Arconada, three years older and basically outhitting her on every point. Came back from 1-5 in the final set but just couldn't get it done, lost 9-7 in the third and was in floods of tears even before she got to the handshake. Sad to see but she's one to watch and will def be winning this sort of match next year.

your last 16s for Manic Monday! I got 10/16 each, not bad, quite happy I picked Doi and Johnson in particular.

(1) Serena Williams vs. (13) Svetlana Kuznetsova
(21) Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. (27) Coco Vandeweghe
(3) Agnieszka Radwanska vs. (19) Dominika Cibulkova
Ekaterina Makarova vs. Elena Vesnina
(5) Simona Halep vs. (9) Madison Keys
Misaki Doi vs. (4) Angelique Kerber
(8) Venus Williams vs. (12) Carla Suárez Navarro
Yaroslava Shvedova vs. (28) Lucie Safarova

(28) Sam Querrey vs. Nicolas Mahut
(11) David Goffin vs. (6) Milos Raonic
(3) Roger Federer vs. Steve Johnson
(9) Marin Cilic vs. (5) Kei Nishikori
Jiri Vesely vs. (10) Tomas Berdych
(19) Bernard Tomic vs. (32) Lucas Pouille
(7) Richard Gasquet vs. (12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(15) Nick Kyrgios vs. (2) Andy Murray

And Kerber is yr first QF-ist.

Hey, A-Rad/Domi has just got good! Domi was so strong on the important points, helped by Aga missing some putaways, often hitting it back to her. The game where Domi tried to serve it out at 5-4 in the second was terrific in places, the really long rally at... deuce? It ended on a sad error but was terrific moving and punching. Aga's retrieved from 3-5 to take the second 7-5.

These two have such a great rivalry right now! Hard to believe Aga once double bageled her in the final at Sydney once. So, so happy to have Domi back as a threat!

I put a fiver on A-Rad at the start of the tournament. Hopefully I can cash that out if she survives this.

However, more smartly, I put a fiver on Cilic when Djokovic lost!

Aga/Domi is another nailbiter.

Holy shit that game at 5-5. I love both of these women so much.

srsly he has been great

good one! unbelievable some of the serves that Murray returned today. like, how the hell do you even do it?

He did the business for sure.

this dude who always chats up the ball kids as he walks out to present the plaque always creeps me out

lol

not always an on-court interviewee throws a little simile out there

raonic seems like a nice kid tho

yeah, surprising

yeah i feel bad when people get slammed for not showing emotion or having fun or whatever when all they must be thinking inside their head is: AHHHHHHHHHHHH I'M IN THE FINALS AT WIMBLEDON HOLY SHIT! i mean you need to keep it together.

Raonic is such a clunky, one-dimensional player. Murray tight as a drum yet it was NID at every point. Raonic lumbering into net was so exactly what Murray needed today! Really glad he took the opportunity, he's put together a much better career than every other two-slam champion.

Watson's mixed doubles win was nice too :)