WIMBLEDON 2014

He's saved four of 'em

But he has that ace in the locker.

Went for a walk. Got back at 6-1 in that TB. For a second fantasised about Raonic losing it from 5 MPs up but not to be. BOOOOOOOO servebots (especially cheating servebots)

(I refer to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM3KZo61FZ4

)

I stayed through that - feel like I need a prize so I'll be going round the pub and get myself into a punch-up. See you later!

Incident was hilarious - could Raonic concede the point?

ugh totally forgot abt that.

But yes, Raonic could have conceded esp after the replay. I think I said this at the time, but I've often seen Del Potro himself concede points when he thinks his opponents got a bad call, so that incident just made Raonic look like that much more of an asshole.

Yeah, in much the same way players can concede points on wrong line calls...Raonic didn't exactly cover himself in glory talking about it either (a day later his PR team hurried him out to apologise properly iirc). Hard to say he "should" have conceded when it's an umpiring mistake first and foremost but it was such an egregious error, no room for uncertainty about what happened (similarly to that amazing doubles match where Vesnina and Mirza went into hysterics over a blatant Liezel Huber double bounce on MP).

Soooooo your SFs. Two potentially great (though I can imagine them falling flat tbh), two...less likely to be great.

(13) Eugenie Bouchard vs. (3) Simona Halep
(23) Lucie Safarova vs. (6) Petra Kvitova

Halep leads Bouchard 1-0 (at Indian Wells this year, a three-setter)
Kvitova leads Safarova 5-0 (4-0 this year, 1-0 on grass; two of those went to three sets, including a third set TB at Eastbourne, but maaaan that's a steep hill for Lucie to climb)

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (11) Grigor Dimitrov
(4) Roger Federer vs. (8) Milos Raonic

Djokovic leads Dimitrov 3-1 (no matches this year or on grass; Dimitrov's win came on clay, Madrid 2013)
Federer leads Raonic 4-0 (1-0 on grass; Raonic won a set each time except their one Slam meeting, AO 2013)

The Huber controversy, only a tenuous connection but it's always worth rewatching. "But Carlos, it was TWO BOUNCE!!!1111" *takes ball from pocket and bounces it violently on ground*

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLic-eiO5_8

And then Mirza HAMMERING Huber in the throat with the FH, bow down. And then Vesnina's amazing post-match tweets. Peak WTA drama, that was.

"What's wrong with the umpires at the Australian Open?!!!" lmao there -was- a lot of controversial line-calling that year...

Bouchard and Safarova (!) are the only players to have reached the SF without dropping a set. Kvitova has dropped one (to Venus) and Halep one (to Tsurenko). Djokovic has dropped three (one to Stepanek, two to Cilic); Dimitrov two (to Dolgopolov); Federer one (to Wawrinka) and Raonic two (one to Nishikori, one to Kyrgios).

Kvitova expected to win this handily I guess. Been decent stuff so far.

lefty Czech FTW ;)

Kvitova could easily go on a big losing streak here after losing that break, or she could just go into God mode for four games and take the set.

HYURR. Had to go for a run in this weather and it was intense in this heat and now I can slob on the sofa all afternoon guilt-free

Was thinking how strange it is that pretty much every tennis fan is familiar with Safarova and knows her talent and her general deal but for fans who only follow the Slams, there's really no reason for her to have crossed your radar. Astonishing how she's underperformed at Slams since the start of her career.

sweet xcourt fh

SHOT Lucie

her dad looks like Popeye's dad. she is playing well

would accept win for Lucie if it meant people learned how to say her name correctly (including myself lolol)

the previously established pronunciation of her name was one of my favourite to say, gutted by how wrong it is

ha yeah as much as I was amused by people have to say Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova, Safarova's is the most-mangled name on Tour. I've heard it pronounced properly and I don't even think I can approximate it.

money

strong point there

Really feel Safarova has been the braver player out here this set

And yet, you always felt that blink was coming...

whoa

safarova probably sitting there thinking she played that set p much how she would want to

actually may want to up the 1st serve %

really clutch stuff from both, but Petra looking ferocious

Safarova was even transcending her own limitations (movement, RETURN GAME) in that set. She literally just blinked once on that FH at 6-6 in the TB. Petra was the steady one weathering the storm, it felt like!

hope this set isn't a runaway

fought so hard there to no avail

Petra has her eye on the finish line...

been all business today tbf

How much of this can we attribute to her dumping Stepanek and getting back with that foetus of hers from pre-Stepanek?

She got back with her ex?! I didn't know that, lol

haha she's been more animated with every win here than that time she actually won the Slam

The Queen Czech. GET IN!

God I wish we could have Chakvetadze commentating for us, she seems amazing going off Russian tennis twitter. Apparently she just referred to an amazing Errani get as "cockroach defence"!

SI Tennis ‏@SI_Tennis 47s
Breaking news: Li Na has split with coach Carlos Rodriguez. More to come.

!!!!!!!

oh nooooo Halep slipped and jammed her ankle

so much tape it may as well be a cast at this point!

good hold for Halep after letting 0-30 slip in the previous game. still not sure how affected she is by the ankle, but it might force her to be more aggressive?

this match is pretty tense - almost like both are playing 60% of the points really well, and 40% completely random errors

I don't think Halep's movement is anywhere near 100% :/

Halep wins a brilliant rally to take us into the TB. Such smart wrong-footing throughout

best point of the match

And then one rudimentary error from each to start off the TB

Aaaaand someone ill in the crowd, what a time for this