Saturday, July 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Federer opens with easy victory
Roger Federer got his bid for a sixth Wimbledon title off to a solid start with a straight-sets first-round win over Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei.
The Swiss star opened proceedings on Centre Court in the absence of injured defending champion Rafael Nadal.
And despite dropping serve early on, the world number two came through 7-5 6-3 6-2 in one hour 44 minutes.
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic had a much tougher time against Julien Bennteau, winning 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-1) 6-2 6-4.
Federer, who is trying to win a record 15th Grand Slam title, will play Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in round two.
With the disappointment of Nadal's withdrawal still fresh, it was down to second seed Federer to take on the job traditionally reserved for the defending men's champion and open play on Centre Court.
Roger Federer
Highlights - Federer breaks Lu to take opening set
It is not an unfamiliar role for the 27-year-old, who dominated at the All England Club with five successive titles from 2003 before his run ended in last year's dramatic five-set final against Nadal.
On his first return to the scene of that defeat, the newly-crowned French Open champion made a surprisingly edgy start, missing a couple of break-point chances in game four and then netting a forehand to slip a break down in game five.
There was little time for the world number 127 to enjoy his lead though, as Federer broke back immediately before taking the set in game 12, and breaking to love again for 2-0 in the second.
That proved enough to seal the second set for Federer and the Swiss eased through the third with two more breaks as his forehand in particular clicked into gear.
I'm very happy with my first round, I thought it was a very solid performance
Roger Federer
"It's very special and it will always remain that way," he said of being first up on Centre Court for the sixth successive year.
"It's a very privileged spot, Monday 1pm, so of course I feel honoured. I know that Rafa deserves it obviously more than I do this year but somebody had to do it, so I'm very happy that they chose me, of course. Gets your heart beating, that's for sure."
He added: "(Rafa) wouldn't have a problem handling it but it's still something he might obviously regret as well a little bit. That made his decision so difficult, I'm sure, as well."
Federer was pleased with his form having chosen to skip the warm-up event in Halle after his draining run to a first French Open title.
606: DEBATE
Will Federer win a sixth title?
"I actually didn't even think about it I didn't have a grass-court match yet this year," he said. "It's something I completely forgot about. I just felt good in practice the last few days.
"I had some good practice matches with Safin and Youzhny and Wawrinka. Some good quality players. I felt like I was in good shape for my first round. That's what I remembered, not if I did play a tournament or not before.
"But actually I'm very happy with my first round. I thought it was a very solid performance, because that's what it took today against Lu."
Djokovic came into the tournament saying he was not among the favourites despite being the third-highest ranked player in the draw.
Benneteau, the world number 81, made that prediction look pretty sound when he held his nerve in a tense opening tie-break, and the match remained desperately tight until Djokovic levelled by racing through a second tie-break.
Novak Djokovic
Highlights - Djokovic survives Benneteau test
The Serb dominated the third set before converting his third match point in the fourth, moments after a lengthy injury timeout when Benneteau slipped and twisted his knee.
The former Australian Open winner was pleased to to finish off his victory, saying: "I wasn't trying to think whether he was going to carry on or not, I was trying to focus myself on that point.
"For him to retire on match point would not be a great thing to do though, so I knew he was going to continue.
"Then it was quite tricky for me, but I thought I played the next points aggressively which was good."
Djokovic was pleased with the way he negotiated his opening match, adding: "I knew that I would have to work for most of the points throughout the match, because I was aware of the quality of my opponent today.
"I was really happy physically with the way I was handling things. And this is a big advantage in these big tournaments, in grand slams.
"When you play a best-of-five, it's really important to be physically fit and convincing and confident in yourself so you can rely on your strength throughout the matches.
"I think I was quite fresh, even though we played over three hours.
"It was certainly not a great draw for the first round, but I'm happy to get through."
Wimbledon 2009 Schedule Of Play
Wimbledon 2009 Schedule Of Play
Wimbledon : Uncovered
Wimbledon Tickets 2009
Wimbledon Street Map
This chart can only provisional because the weather at Wimbledon is never predictable and of course the schedule can change in the event of rain delays.
Play is scheduled to begin at 1.00 p.m. on Centre and No. 1 Courts on all days except for the final Saturday and Sunday where play will begin at 2.00 p.m. Play will begin at 12.00 p.m. on all other courts.
No tickets, including final Sunday, are valid except for the date shown, they are not valid for any other day for any reason whatsoever.
Monday 22 June - Sunday 5 July
Date
Description
Monday 22 June
Reigning Men's Singles Champion opens play on Centre Court *
First round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
Tuesday 23 June
Reigning Ladies' Singles Champion opens play on Centre Court *
First round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
Wednesday 24 June
Second round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
First round matches - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
Thursday 25 June
Second round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
First round matches - Mixed Doubles
Friday 26 June
Third round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
Second round matches - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
First round matches - Mixed Doubles
Saturday 27 June
Third round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
Second round matches - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
First round matches - Mixed Doubles
Boys' and Girls' Championships begin
Men's and Ladies' over 35's & over 45's Championships begin
Sunday 28 June
Rest Day - No Tennis Played
Monday 29 June
Fourth round matches - Men's and Ladies' Singles
Third round matches - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
Second round matches - Mixed Doubles
Tuesday 30 July
Quarter-Finals - Ladies' Singles
Fourth round matches - Men's Singles
Third round matches - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
Third round matches - Mixed Doubles
Wednesday 1 July
Quarter-Finals - Men's Singles
Quarter-Finals - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
Third round matches - Mixed Doubles
Thursday 2 July
Semi-Finals - Ladies' Singles *
Semi-Finals - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
Quarter-Finals - Mixed Doubles
Friday 3 July
Semi-Finals - Men's Singles *
Semi-Finals - Men's and Ladies' Doubles
Quarter-Finals - Mixed Doubles
Saturday 4 July
Final - Ladies' Singles *
Final - Men's Doubles
Final - Mixed Doubles
Sunday 5 July
Final - Men's Singles *
Final - Ladies' Doubles
* These matches are scheduled for play on Centre Court
Friday, June 19, 2009
Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal has announced he will not defend his Wimbledon title.
The world number one and top seed had said after the French Open that he would not play Wimbledon if he was not 100% and so it has come to pass.
"I’m here and I'm just not 100%. I'm better than what I was a couple of weeks ago but I don’t feel right," Nadal told a packed press conference on Friday evening at the All England Club.
"To not play Wimbledon is one of the toughest decisions of my career."
After suffering a shock defeat in the French Open to Robin Soderling, Nadal received treatment on his knees in Barcelona and skipped the traditional Wimbledon warm-up at Queen’s in an effort to be fit for The Championships. He was diagnosed with tendinitis in both quadriceps tendons as well as a small amount of fluid on the kneecaps.
"I tried everything. I didn't feel terrible but also not close to my best. When I enter a tournament my goal is winning and my feeling right now is I'm not ready to win.
"It's very painful for me but I can't play at the tournament this year. It's tough but it is what it is."
Nadal's absence will cause a reshuffle in the men’s singles draw. Number five seed Juan Martin Del Potro replaces Nadal at the top of the draw. The 17th seed James Blake moves to line 65 to take Del Potro's position. Nicolas Kiefer moves to line 56 to take Blake's position and lucky loser Thiago Alves takes Kiefer's position on line 61.
Nadal revealed that he had been playing with considerable pain and he didn't know how long he would be out of tennis. But he said he expected to fully recover from his knee problems and that he would have a "long career".
"I played with some problems on the knee for the last few months. I've been making efforts to play week after week. The truth is that sportsmen always play with pain and don't know where the limit is, where you can get to. I think I reached that limit now.
"I will work very hard to comeback as soon as possible. One of the problems is I’m thinking more about the knees than what is happening on court and it’s very difficult to play like that."
When Nadal was asked about his many fans and how disappointed they would be that he was not appearing at Wimbledon, the 23-year-old replied: "no more than me".
Nadal also said he was not concerned that his absence would open the door for Roger Federer to reclaim the number one world ranking. "If I lose the number one ranking I’m going to accept it like the four years I was number two and work hard to improve and recover."
