WTA June 20-July 3 The Championships Wimbledon GBR Grand Slam 128 players - stats - outdoor: grass Prize$: £4,302,300 (women's) - sched IBM Real-Time Scoreboard - Netcam Live Match Reports show court singles Matches: order - current - completed event ticker singles only - website map Draws: WTA, .pdf - ladies singles, .pdf Ladies': qual - singles - doub - XD Men's: qual - singles - doub photos - news - interviews - venue map Yahoo! news photos: US - UK Wimbledon Audio: Main - Centre Court BBC videos - Wimbledon wallpaper UK radar - London: forecast - map # 1 L Davenport, # 2 M Sharapova # 3 A Mauresmo, # 4 S Williams WTA Photo Gallery: Wimbledon

tourney archive: previous tourney page     next tourney page Wimbledon: #13 Venus Williams 6' 1", 160 lbs, RH, 2H-BH Wimbledon: 5th Grand Slam & 3rd Wimbledon singles title

On Saturday at Wimbledon, in the Ladies' Singles Final of the 2005 Championships, the 2000 & 2001 Wimbledon winner, 25-year-old 14th-seeded # 16 Venus Williams from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA, defeated the 1999 Wimbledon champ, 29-year-old top-seeded # 1 Lindsay Davenport from Laguna Beach, California, USA, 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7 (Venus is shown during the match, and holding the trophy, which, just by coincidence, is called the "Venus Rosewater Dish").     s14 Venus became the lowest-seeded ladies' singles champ in Wimbledon history.

    At 2 hours and 45 minutes, the match was also the longest women's singles final in Wimbledon history. Both ladies played very well, but Venus, playing very aggressively, hit more errors than Lindsay, who seemed more likely to win until she took a medical time out for a back injury after the 7th game of the 3rd set.

    Lindsay won the toss, and for some reason elected to receive serve first. After both players held service, Lindsay broke Venus in the 3rd game, during which Venus hit the first 2 of 10 double faults she would hit in the match. Now Venus looked vulnerable.
    They held to 4-2, then Lindsay broke Venus again, and by this time a few of the forehand errors that have led players to attack Venus on that side had begun to show up.
    Venus broke back immediately, but she was still down a break, and they held serve until Venus had lost the set to Lindsay, 4-6.

    At the start the 2nd set, Venus and Lindsay held serve fairly easily. Lindsay had a chance in the 5th game, when Venus hit her 5th and 6th double faults, but she was unable to convert 2 break points.
    In the 9th game, tied 4-4, Venus hit a serve that was clearly out, and was ruled good. Lindsay complained vehemently to chair umpire Gerry Armstrong, but he would not overrule the call. Venus held at love, and Lindsay held in the 10th game, although it went to deuce.
    With the score 4-6, 5-5, Venus fell behind to 0-40 on her serve, hitting her 7th double fault in the process. Lindsay could not convert the first break point, but on the second Venus fell to the turf. Lindsay was able to put the ball away easily, and Venus trailed 5-6.
    As had happened late in the 1st set, Venus broke back immediately. This forced the tiebreaker, in which Venus took a 5-1 lead, then won 7-4. The score was now 4-6, 7-6(4).

    In the 3rd set, Lindsay served first. Both players held serve until the sixth game, when a string of errors by Venus led to her being broken at 15. She now trailed 2-4. Once again, Venus broke back immediately, this time apparently assisted a bit by a low back injury to Lindsay. Attempts to treat the injury during the changeover were unsuccessful, so Lindsay went to the locker room for treatment. She was not moving well when she returned to the court.
    It seemed like Lindsay might now lose in a hurry, because she was moving very awkwardly. But after a few points she seemed to loosen up again (after the match Lindsay said the back injury was not a factor in her loss). In the 10th game, Venus, trailing 4-5, hit her 9th double fault to go to 30-40, giving Lindsay a championship point. But Lindsay could not convert. Lindsay converted 4 of 12 break points in the match; Venus 4 of 8.
    There are no final set tiebreaks at Wimbledon. Both players held serve to 7-7, then Venus secured the crucial break with 2 forehand winners in the 15th game. Serving for the match, Venus took a 40-0 lead, double faulted, then won her 3rd Wimbledon singles title, 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7, when Lindsay put the ball into the net. match stats
BBC videos: women's final highlights - Venus Williams talks to Sue Barker

    Venus said: "The whole match, it was so tough. The first set, I got down two breaks. That second set, more breaks. Finally I made it happen. I was able just to last a little bit longer than her. It was just great." interview
    Venus also said: "There were so many times when I was just trying to stay in the match. Really I couldn't have asked to play a better player today to bring my level up." AP story

    Lindsay said her back injury occurred when she led 3-2 in the 3rd set. Lindsay said: "All of a sudden I went to go down to return, and I kind of always kind of bend over, kind of just tightened up all of a sudden on me. It's tight now, but I was really, really thankful that it never got worse and it didn't detract from my tennis. I was a little nervous there that one ball it might completely lock up. But towards the end of the match, it wasn't really a factor. I don't feel it cost me to lose the match...
    "...A first serve, I'd get it back, [and Venus would] hit a winner. I felt like when it was close she wasn't giving me any really free points, and wasn't really missing the forehand, and wasn't hitting a lot of second serves. She was really, really tough out there." interview

    Lindsay still leads Venus 14-13 in career matches.
    Lindsay has never defeated Venus on a chlorophyll court: Venus also defeated Lindsay at Wimbledon in the 2000 final, the 2001 semis, and the 2003 quarterfinals.
    Lindsay had won all 4 of their matches since that 2003 Wimbledon QF: 3 on hardcourts last summer, 1 on green clay this past spring at Amelia Island.

    Venus Williams, when not travelling on the WTA Tour, resides at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. This was her 5th title in her 11th Grand Slam tourney singles final; she won both The Championships and the US Open in 2000 and 2001. Venus is now 33-20 in WTA singles finals.
    This year Venus has been hitting more errors off her forehand, and players have been attacking her there. These errors were not seen during the semifinal on Thursday, although they did crop up again during the final on Saturday. Venus is fleet of foot as well as hitting hard and deep; her serve was once clocked at 126 mph, which was the women's record until her sister Serena hit one at 127 mph at Wimbledon in 2004.
    Venus wears Reebok garb and chops with a Wilson axe, a new nCode model called the N4 OS which is due to reach the stores in the summer of 2005 (her previous bat was the Hammer H4). The N4 OS, with a 111 sq" head, is 27.5" long, weighs 9.4 oz strung, and is balanced 4/5" head heavy. Venus reportedly has her bats strung with Wilson 16-gauge Natural Gut. She is coached by her father, Richard Williams.
Venus Williams career record - Venus & Serena Williams Wallpaper

    Californian Lindsay Davenport has won 47 WTA singles titles (2 this year) in 82 finals, including 3 Grand Slam tourneys (Wimbledon in 1999) and the 1996 Olympic title. Before the ascent of the Williams sisters, Tracy Austin was quoted as rating Lindsay's serve as the best in the WTA. Lindsay hits the ball hard and deep, but she is not as mobile as some players.
    Lindsay wears Nike and hits with a Wilson "nCode" bat, the "nTour" model, a control racket 27.25" long, available with either a 95 or 105 sq." head, 10.8 or 10.4 ounces strung, balanced 1 point head-heavy, with a stiffness rating of about 61. They run about $200.
    Lindsay, who was trained in her youth by Robert Lansdorp, has been coached by Adam Peterson since March, 2003.
Davenport career record - Lindsay Davenport Wallpaper

    On Sunday, July 3, 2nd-seeded (top-seeded) Cara Black from Harare, Zimbabwe & Liezel Huber of South Africa (res.: Houston, Texas, USA) defeated unseeded Svetlana Kuznetsova & Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 6-2 to win the doubles title. It was Cara's 2nd straight Wimbledon doubles title; she won in 2004 partnered with Rennae Stubbs, and won the 2004 mixed as well, partnered with her brother Wayne. Cara has 22 WTA doubles titles. It was Liezel's 1st Grand Slam doubles title; she has 12 WTA doubles titles.
    The top seeds in doubles, French Open champs Virginia Ruano Pascual & Paola Suarez, had withdrawn due to a hip injury suffered by Paola, who also withdrew from singles. Due to the entry rules, "Vivi" (Virginia) could not simply pick up another partner and play, so she missed a chance at winning half of the $388,208 doubles champs' prize money. Emmanuelle Gagliardi & Els Callens were made 17th seeds in doubles, and placed in the empty # 1 seed spot at the top of the draw.


Men's singles final: s1 Roger Federer d s2 Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-4
doubles: Stephen Huss & Wesley Moodie d s2 Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan 7-6(4), 6-3, 6(2)-7, 6-3

    London (daylight savings) time is GMT (UCT, ZULU) + 1 hour (US PDT +8, EDT +5).

The Championships stringing team worked round the clock to string a total of 2,150 rackets comprising 55% for men, 45% for women. In total, this adds up to nearly 39 miles of string. Roughly 65 % hybrid (gut and synthetic), 20% synthetic gut and 15% gut. The racket stringers had a record number of rackets handed in to be strung on the first Tuesday - 262. Wimbledon.org Facts & Figures

WTA SCOREBOARD: The Championships at Wimbledon s=seed, #=rank, *=upset, LL=lucky loser ranks are for the previous week How do players get into the "draw"? Maria Sharapova is shown leaving her pre-tourney press conference on Sunday, June 19. Meanwhile, Venus & Serena Williams were working out how they would get past each other, Justine-Henin Hardenne, Maria, and Kim Clisters or whomever to take another title. Probable answer: play the ball, not the opponent.

Wimbledon, 1st Round Mon-Tues Jun 20-21 noon loser's prize: $14,444 US; points: 2 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d #78 Alina Jidkova RUS 6-0, 6-2 Mon Lindsay Davenport     Lindsay said: "I played great. I'm really happy with the way I played... I served well, hit the ball cleanly and was able to get out of there pretty quickly. I'm feeling pretty strong. On grass it's most important to hopefully not get injured and, second, try and get off the rally to a good start, whether serving well or returning well. I've been concentrating on those things and I'm just going to keep trying to do those well." interview     About her 2nd round opponent, Jamea Jackson, Lindsay said: "She's a good young player... I know she came through the qualifying. Obviously she's been playing well on grass. I watched a little of her play today on like the monitor. I don't know tons about her. Anyone who's kind of fought their way through Roehampton and through the first round must be playing well." #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #36 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP 6-2, 6-2 Tue Maria Sharapova     Maria averaged 103 mph on her 1st serve (fastest: 109 mph), and although she got only 52% of them in (6 of them aces), she had no double faults. This she managed despite averaging 91 mph on her 2nd serve (Maria's 2nd serve is one of the fastest, on average, on the WTA Tour). match stats     Asked about her serve, Maria said: "I don't think my serve is as powerful as I would like it to get yet... It's also very important to mix up the serve, and to place it well. And I think I do a better job of that, rather than have a huge serve... I think I still need to work on the consistency. But I think it's always been about placement for me rather than a lot of power." interview #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #133 LL Melinda Czink HUN 6-3, 6-2 Mon Amelie Mauresmo #4 s4 Serena Williams USA d #103 Angela Haynes USA 6(12)-7, 6-4, 6-2 Tue Serena Williams     Serena said: "I think Angela played extremely well. I think she was serving really good. She was really focused. I think she played actually unbelievable... I felt really rusty... like I was feeling my way around. I felt that I made some errors that shouldn't have been made, but it was just kind of getting back in the rhythm of things... as the match went on, I got a little bit better with everything." interview     Asked how often she breaks racquets when she gets angry, Serena said: "Just two this week, which is good for me. Usually I'm at five. I have a really short temper..."     Angela said: "I was excited. It's a privilege to be able to come out first time at Wimbledon and play a champion like Serena. Plus it would let me see like where my game was at, things that I need to work on, like things Serena would exploit. I think I'm right around the corner, just a couple points here and there and I had the match... I never thought about winning. That could destroy everything, you get too far ahead of yourself. I've done that a lot of times and never really came out with the win. So again, just one point at a time. I was focusing a lot on my serve. I wanted to go into her body. I knew where the serve would come back to. I knew she really didn't like the body serve, so it worked out well." interview #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #460 wc Rebecca Llewellyn GBR 6-0, 6-1 Mon #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #52 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-2, 6-3 Mon Elena after match point *#73 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #7 s7 Justine Henin-Hardenne BEL 7-6(8), 2-6, 7-5 Tue Eleni chasing down a forehand, and after match point     Justine only got 48% of her 1st serves in (Eleni: 71%), and hit 11 double faults, 7 in the 1st set. Justine also hit 48 unforced errors (Eleni: 15). Justine's last double fault came on match point for Eleni. match stats     Eleni said: "I feel pretty good and pretty confident on grass. It's my surface... Justine is a great player, a great talent. Everyone can see she deserve to win French Open... I think she hurt also little bit her back. That's what I saw little bit in her face... I think today I was better in the close situation than her." interview     Justine has been troubled by back pain for the past two months. Justine said: "I didn't have the best preparation for coming here. That was the worst draw I could get. So I'm not going to be positive today, and I have no excuse... I never felt the good rhythm, and I missed some opportunities in the third set... I think my [back] injury got worse because of the grass. You have to be very low all the time. So it's going to be my main thing in the next few weeks to treat my injury, get better and get ready for the hard court." interview #8 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS d #87 Virginia Ruano Pascual ESP 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 Tue #10 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #147 q Katerina Bohmova CZE 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 Mon Anastasia Myskina     Although Anastasia has not blamed her recent losses on the right shoulder pain that has troubled her (to varying degrees) for years, she took two medical timeouts in the 2nd set to have her shoulder massaged by the physio.     The match was played on Court 2, known as "The Graveyard of Champions," and the same court where last year Anastasia lost to Amy Frazier in the 3rd round.     Anastasia said: "I was down a set and 4-1, and then 3-Love in the third. I'm happy that I got through the match like this. And I think maybe if I play more matches like this, then it's easier for me to come back and play my best tennis... I don't know if [Katerina is] playing like this all the time, but I think she played pretty good match. I'm really happy that I fought back, and that was happy end for me." AP story *#82 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #11 s10 Patty Schnyder SUI 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-3 Mon Antonella after match point of her first ever win over a top-20 player #12 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #154 Marlene Weingartner GER 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 Tue Vera Zvonareva #13 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #80 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-3, 6-4 Tue #15 s13 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #57 Anna Smashnova ISR 6-2, 6-2 Mon Elena Likhovtseva #16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #112 LL Eva Birnerova CZE 6-2, 6-4 Tue Venus Williams     Venus said: "It was a good match. I got to hit a lot of balls. It was sunny. That was nice... Today was a little strange because [Eva] was always playing me up the middle. Then the ball's kind of bouncing strange. I have long arms and legs. When it gets close to me, you know, I'm not able to move forward because I have to get out of my own way. So I felt like that a lot today. I was kind of getting out of my way." interview #17 s15 Kim Clijsters BEL d #317 wc Katie O'Brien GBR 6-2, 6-3 Mon Kim Clijsters     Kim said: "I did not know who [Katie] was until I saw her on court. But she doesn't give you a lot of rhythm... I still feel I've got a lot of improvement to make. My groundstrokes are not as I'd like them to be and my return can get better. There are some very good patches in my matches but I still need to be more consistent." interview     About the condition of her right knee, in which she suffered a strained medial ligament at the German Open in Berlin on May 6, Kim said: "...it's almost back to normal. I just came from the gym. I did my exercises. That's something that I'll have to do for the rest of my career to make sure that it's stable. [To make sure] all the muscles around it are very strong and they protect the knee, the medial ligaments. So that's something I'll probably have to do with the wrist [also-- Kim's left wrist was badly injured twice in 2004]. But it feels good to be playing without the tape, as well." Kim played at Roland Garros last month with her knee heavily taped to prevent further injury. interview     BBC: Kim Clijsters' Wimbledon Diary, June 20 #18 s16 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #68 Maria Elena Camerin ITA 7-6(1), 6-1 Tue Nathalie Dechy #19 s17 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #43 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-4, 6-2 Mon Jelena Jankovic *#89 Alyona Bondarenko UKR d #20 s18 Tatiana Golovin FRA 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 Tue #21 s19 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #54 Vera Douchevina RUS 6-4, 6-3 Tue #22 s20 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #39 Evgenia Linetskaya RUS 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 Tue Daniela Hantuchova *#67 Kristina Brandi PUR d #23 s21 Francesca Schiavone ITA 6-3, 3-6, 9-7 Tue Kristina Brandi #24 s22 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #79 Martina Sucha SVK 6-4, 6-2 Mon Silvia Farina Elia *#111 Roberta Vinci ITA d #25 s23 Ai Sugiyama JPN 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 Mon Roberta after match point     Ai was was treated for low back trouble during the match. Ai said: "...it's just my left side a little bit painful, starting my ankle and knee and lower back, everything the left side. It's so hard to move well when I have something sore or painful.. had massage treatment, and I thought should be fine, but it's bothering a little bit." interview *#38 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #26 s24 Shinobu Asagoe JPN 6-2, 7-6(6) Mon Maggie Maleeva *#66 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #28 s25 Karolina Sprem CRO 6-2, 6-2 Mon Tammy Tanasugarn #29 s26 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #74 Emmanuelle Gagliardi SUI 6-1, 6-2 Tue #30 s27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #60 Jelena Kostanic CRO 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Mon Nicole asks the grass why that Kostanic girl is so tough *#59 Mashona Washington USA d #31 s28 Amy Frazier USA 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Mon Mashona Washington #32 s29 Marion Bartoli FRA d #97 Rika Fujiwara JPN 6-2, 6-2 Tue #33 s30 Dinara Safina RUS d #86 Sanda Mamic CRO 6-3, 6-4 Mon *#58 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #34 s31 A Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-3 Tue #35 s32 Virginie Razzano FRA d #77 Catalina Castano COL 7-6(8), 6-3, 6-4 Tue Virginie Razzano #37 Gisela Dulko ARG d #94 Yuliana Fedak UKR 6-2, 6-4 Tue *#229 wc Jane O'Donoghue GBR d #40 Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tue Jane after winning a point     Jane said: "That was the best win of my career... My coach, Phil Farlow, has just been fantastic... I think the start of the second set, I started just going for my shots and I started to dictate [to Anna-Lena] instead of her dictating me. In the first set she served very well, hit the ball heavy. But then the start of the second set, I had nothing to lose then. I thought, 'It can't possibly get much worse. Let's start to pick it up a few gears.'" interview *#63 Laura Granville USA d #41 Klara Koukalova CZE 6-1, 6-2 Tue *#61 Kveta Peschke CZE d #46 Dally Randriantefy MAD 7-5, 6-1 Tue #47 Conchita Martinez ESP d #234 q Katerina Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 7-6(4) Tue *#88 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP d #48 Marta Domachowska POL 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 Mon Maria Antonia Sanchez Lorenzo *#104 Michaela Pastikova CZE d #49 Samantha Stosur AUS 7-6(1), 6-4 Mon *#93 Tatiana Panova RUS d #50 Lisa Raymond USA 7-5, 6-3 Tue #51 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL d #221 wc Amanda Janes GBR 7-5, 6(6)-7, 7-5 Tue Sesil Karatantcheva #53 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #165 q Els Callens BEL 6-2, 7-6(3) Mon No oncourt photos were available of Maria on Monday, so here she is arriving at the player's party in London on Saturday, June 18 #55 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN d #116 Milagros Sequera VEN 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 Mon #62 Shahar Peer ISR d #153 q Meilen Tu USA 6-3, 6-3 Tue *#72 Sania Mirza IND d #64 Akiko Morigami JPN 6-3, 3-6, 8-6 Mon     Incredibly, no 1st round photos could be found of Sania, who has the attention of about a billion Indians around the world.     Sania said: "I'm happy about the way I played. Maybe a bit patchy sometimes. But [Akiko] played a great match and it could have gone any way till the end. I expected a tough match...     "I like playing on grass because it's a fast surface, it's the fastest surface, and I like fast surfaces. I really like playing on grass... I prefer hard to grass, but I would prefer grass to any other surface...     "I'm really looking forward for [my 2nd round] match against [Svetlana] Kuznetsova. Obviously, people back home, since I've beaten her once, expect me to win this also. But I have nothing to lose and, you know, it's Wimbledon. I'm in the second round. That was my aim, to clear the first round over here. Playing her, I'm really excited." interview *#106 Anne Kremer LUX d #69 Abigail Spears USA 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 Mon #70 Meghann Shaughnessy USA d #90 Julia Schruff GER 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 Mon Meghann Shaughnessy *#117 Stephanie Foretz FRA d #71 Denisa Chladkova CZE 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 Tue *#164 wc Cara Black ZIM d #75 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 6-3, 6-3 Tue #76 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG d #238 wc Anne Keothavong GBR 6-3, 6-4 Mon *#84 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR d #81 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-3, 6-3 Tue Yoon Jeong Cho #83 Jill Craybas USA d #204 q Ashley Harkleroad USA 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 Tue *#124 Nicole Pratt AUS d #85 Ludmila Cervanova SVK 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 Tue #91 Marissa Irvin USA d #151 q Saori Obata JPN 7-6(4), 6-3 Mon Marissa Irvin #92 Aiko Nakamura JPN d #102 Evie Dominikovic AUS 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 Mon Aiko Nakamura *#223 q Julia Vakulenko UKR d #95 Tathiana Garbin ITA 6-2, 6-4 Tue *#110 Selima Sfar TUN d #96 Emilie Loit FRA 6-2, 4-6, 9-7 Mon *#114 Barbora Strycova CZE d #101 Lilia Osterloh USA 6-3, 7-5 Mon #108 q Jamea Jackson USA d #126 Marta Marrero ESP 6-2, 6-3 Mon #118 LL Severine Beltrame FRA d #162 Claudine Schaul LUX 6-2, 6-1 Tue *#140 q Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #119 Tatiana Perebiynis UKR 6-3, 7-6(5) Mon *#179 q Sabine Klaschka GER d #121 wc Elena Baltacha GBR 6-3, 6-2 Mon Sabine Klaschka     Elena said: "I'm disappointed with my performance today. I felt that from the first point [Sabine] played very well. She returned my serve unbelievable today. And I made far too many unforced errors. But I knew the kind of style player that she was, and I knew that I had to keep being aggressive because just putting the ball in court was not going to win me the match today. So although I was making so many unforced errors, I thought 'You have to stick to it and somehow just maybe it will change, maybe it will get better.' And it didn't..." #127 q Mara Santangelo ITA d #218 q Tatiana Poutchek BLR 6-3, 6-2 Tue #150 Shenay Perry USA d #317 wc Sarah Borwell GBR 7-6(11), 6-3 Mon

Serious tennis fans visited their haberdasher before attending Wednesday's matches Wimbledon, 2nd Round Weds-Thurs Jun 22-23 noon loser's prize: $23,596 US; points: 32 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d #108 q Jamea Jackson USA 6-0, 6-3 Wed Lindsay Davenport     Lindsay said: "The first set was easy. The second set was not. It was tough. I was down 3-1. I think [Jamea] had a point for 4-1. A couple other games went to deuce. So definitely had some close games there in the second set...     [Jamea is] obviously a great athlete. I thought she moved very well. I thought in the beginning I was overpowering her on some tough balls. A lot of that is the grass and hitting some balls late. I think when she got a little more confident in the second set, she started to hit the ball a little bit better. I'd like to see her work on just trying to be more aggressive. And I know that's tough to do against certain players. So maybe it's not a true indicator today. But I thought if she could just step into the court a little bit more on her chances. Coming through quallies and winning a first round here, that's a great first step for her." interview #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #51 Sesil Karatantcheva BUL 6-0, 6-1 Thu Maria wallops a return, and wins a point     Maria said: "I focused really well. Returning and serving was a big key today. It's always a big key on grass, but I think I did that really well... I knew [Sesil had reached] the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam [last month at Roland Garros]. Obviously, grass is totally different. I don't think she's had as much experience on it as she would have liked. But it's normal for someone that's 15 years old. I think she still has a lot to develop in her game." interview #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #88 Maria Sanchez Lorenzo ESP 6-1, 6-3 Wed Amelie Mauresmo     Amelie had been upset a week ago by Vera Douchevina in the 2nd round at Eastbourne (after a 1st round bye). Amelie said: "I'm feeling much better, as the rhythm is coming. It was still good for me to go to Eastbourne because I really got to practice on the grass, which is a very special surface and different from what we play on all year long... After that loss last week, I kept working for the last few days and had a pretty good first round and obviously a very good second round... Everything was working very well. Not only of course my service games, but also I was returning pretty well, doing many things on [Maria's] returning games. Really controlling the match very well. It's also easier, when you're ahead, to start doing different things. Once you have the break it makes it a little easier... I've been serving very well, following that serve, coming in, especially on the first serve, and being very effective on the second serve as well." interview #4 s4 Serena Williams USA d #127 q Mara Santangelo ITA 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 Thu Serena Williams     Serena's stats look better than the score. She got 72% of her 1st serves in (top speed 113 mph, avg 101 mph), winning the point on 76% of them. Serena also hit 32 winners (Mara: 20) with only 14 unforced errors (Mara: 23). Despite this substantial numeric superiority, Serena won the match by getting only one more break than Mara in the 2nd set. match stats     Serena was troubled by pain from her left ankle, which she sprained at Amelia Island 2 months ago. When asked if it was a slight fracture, Serena said: "That's what the radiologist report was."     Serena said: "I was feeling a little problems in my left leg in the beginning, so it was kind of just getting the feeling, getting used to it... Right now I'm working on playing through the pain and just seeing how it goes... I think with fractures you have to let it heal with time and let it go... It's weird. Because with me, some days it feels good and in general, as long as I tape it, it's okay. Then some days it gets a little cold maybe and it gets a little strange feeling. But I have to have pretty heavy taping on it." interview #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #72 Sania Mirza IND 6-4, 6(4)-7, 6-4 Wed Sania came close, but Svetlana prevailed     Svetlana hit 38 winners (Sania hit 35) while hitting 30 unforced errors (Sania: 37). 7 of Svetlana's unforced errors were double faults, while Sania missed the box twice 8 times. match stats     Svetlana said: "Today wasn't my day at all. As professional player, I ask myself to play through it. I couldn't play at all. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move. I was so tense that my nerves just get me today. I just couldn't think properly...     "Sania, she is good player... She has great future. She has very good shots. But if I play my game, I should have won much easier... My game is to hit my forehand, is to go for my shots. I was doing all different today. I was serving. When I serve well, I wasn't expecting her to receive well, and she was doing it very well. She was keeping me back in baseline. I was trying to hit my backhands harder than my forehands. This is not my game.     "She was playing well because I've been letting her go. I just was tense. I didn't know what to do. I pushed the ball up and she just hit it as hard as she could. This is her game. This is the way she play, and not my game. It was my worst against her best... Something came in my mind and I had to do serve and volley last game. This really helped me out." interview     It was the first time either had ever played on the All England Club's Centre Court. Sania said: "I think it's everyone's dream to play on Centre Court. First time Wimbledon, playing on Centre, I loved it. It was great...     "I think what separated us today was that volley [Svetlana] made at breakpoint at 5-4. That was one amazing volley she made...     "I gave what I had out there today. I was on top of every ball. Everything I could do, I tried to do... After that volley she deserved to win. She got that volley out at such a point, that I couldn't do anything about it." interview #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #179 q Sabine Klaschka GER 2-6, 6-3, 8-6 Wed Elena Dementieva #8 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS d #118 LL Severine Beltrame FRA 6-1, 6-2 Thu Nadia lines up a slice #10 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #92 Aiko Nakamura JPN 6-4, 6-3 Wed Anastasia Myskina *#61 Kveta Peschke CZE d #12 s11 Vera Zvonareva RUS 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 Thu Kveta Peschke #13 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #223 q Julia Vakulenko UKR 4-6, 7-6(7), 9-7 Thu Mary replenishes her precious bodily fluids during a changeover     Mary said: "It was definitely a great match. Matches on grass are tough anyway... I didn't start off too well. My focus, my concentration wasn't completely there. And Julia's a really good friend of mine, so that's tough, to play against a friend as well. She started off fantastic. She was really serving well, throughout the whole match it was difficult to read her serve. She got a little bit tired and started making some errors. I just hung in there." BBC interview video #15 s13 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #70 Meghann Shaughnessy USA 6-3, 7-6(4) Wed #16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #124 Nicole Pratt AUS 7-5, 6-3 Thu Venus Williams     Venus said: "I was up in the first set, but then I felt like I couldn't control my backhand that much... I just wanted to win one point at a time and take my time. I just felt like I was probably rushing a little bit because she was retrieving a lot of balls, not really making too many errors. So I felt like I needed to take my time and try to move forward... I feel like I was coming in a lot today, sometimes getting passed a few times. That's all right. I even felt like serve and volleying, but not on the sunny side. It was kind of hard to recover after looking in the sun, so I needed to stay at the baseline to have extra time to adjust my eyes." interview #17 s15 Kim Clijsters BEL d #91 Marissa Irvin USA 6-1, 6-1 Wed Kim Clijsters     Kim said: "This is the best I felt for a long time. I'm very, very happy with this win... I think on a scale of 10, I would give myself an 8... I was moving a lot better. I was moving a lot lower. I was bending down a lot more through my legs, and I felt like I was seeing the ball well. It's been a long time since I felt like this, that I was seeing the ball really well. It's a very good feeling to have because, since Paris, I haven't really felt close to the way I felt the ball today.     "I think my serve has been probably the most consistent shot over the last two, three weeks. My serve has been the shot that's been winning me matches... My serve was the the shot that kept me up, and gave me a lot of easy mistakes from the opponent, and a lot of easy shots to go for winners." interview     About her 3rd round opponent, Roberta Vinci, Kim said: She's definitely a girl who plays a really good grass court game. She comes in, she mixes her game up a lot, and she hits a good slice, great volleys. So I think I'll be running a lot to the net because she uses a dropshot quite a lot. It's going to be a completely different game than what I played today. It's a challenge to play against those kind of girls who just mix it up so much." #18 s16 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #229 wc Jane O'Donoghue GBR 6-2, 6-1 Thu Nathalie Dechy     Jane said: "I thought off the ground, ground stroke-wise, I played pretty good and played some good points, but I just needed a bit more composure on my serve. These girls make you force your serve, because you have to get your percentages high against them, or else they're gonna kill you...     "But off the ground, I felt I could really match [Nathalie], and this girl is Top 20 in the world. Probably 12 months ago I would not have even been able to match her at all off the ground. So I've got to take a lot of confidence from that, and take it on to the challenger tour now next week and build from it." interview #19 s17 Jelena Jankovic SCG d #76 Mariana Diaz-Oliva ARG 6-3, 7-5 Wed Jelena Jankovic #21 s19 Ana Ivanovic SCG d #117 Stephanie Foretz FRA 6-4, 6-3 Thu Ana Ivanovic #22 s20 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #62 Shahar Peer ISR 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Thu Daniela after match point #24 s22 Silvia Farina Elia ITA d #55 Maria Vento-Kabchi VEN 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 Wed Silvia Farina Elia #29 s26 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #37 Gisela Dulko ARG 6-2, 6-4 Thu Flavia after match point #30 s27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE d #104 Michaela Pastikova CZE 7-5, 6-3 Wed Nicole after match point *#83 Jill Craybas USA d #32 s29 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-1, 6-4 Thu Jill Craybas #33 s30 Dinara Safina RUS d #114 Barbora Strycova CZE 6-2, 6-2 Wed *#164 wc Cara Black ZIM d #35 s32 Virginie Razzano FRA 7-6(5), 6-4 Thu Doubles virtuoso Cara Black reached a career-high singles rank of # 31 in 1999 #38 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #53 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-2, 6-3 Wed #47 Conchita Martinez ESP d #67 Kristina Brandi PUR 6-2, 6-3 Thu #58 Katarina Srebotnik SLO d #84 Yoon Jeong Cho KOR 7-5, 6-4 Thu #59 Mashona Washington USA d #110 Selima Sfar TUN 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 Wed *#73 Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #63 Laura Granville USA 6-2, 6-0 Thu *#150 Shenay Perry USA d #66 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 7-6(1), 6-2 Wed #82 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA d #140 q Sofia Arvidsson SWE 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 Wed Antonella Serra Zanetti #89 Alyona Bondarenko UKR d #93 Tatiana Panova RUS 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 Thu *#111 Roberta Vinci ITA d #106 Anne Kremer LUX 6-3, 6-2 Wed

20-year-old Anna-Lena Groenefeld & 48-year-old Martina Navratilova won their 1st round doubles match on Wednesday, defeating Saori Obata & Rika Fujiwara 6-3, 6-3

Wimbledon, 3rd Round Fri-Sat Jun 24-25 noon loser's prize: $38,976 US; points: 56 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d 33 s30 Dinara Safina RUS 6-2, 6-1 rain-Sat Lindsay's serve, Dinara's backhand     Lindsay said: "It's probably going to be just a little bit tougher from here on out. I've always felt like on grass, if you play well and are aggressive, there's a lot of girls that don't like to play on grass, you can try and take advantage of that. Feel like the grass helps the pace of my shots a lot... "     Asked about the first time she ever played on grass, and in The Championships, Lindsay said: "Quallies, '92... I lost first round [smiling]... Jennifer Santrock. Left-handed girl. It's tough. I mean, '93, I came and got to the third round here. But other than that, I never saw a grass court and struggled quite a lot until around '98 when I finally felt like I was able to handle it better... I think that my coach, Robert [Lansdorp], at the time helped me a lot by talking to me about grass, and telling me, especially women's tennis, girls do not like grass, you hit hard, if you can get your timing. Just really kind of talking me through. '96 and '97, I lost really early both years and wasn't really all that excited coming back in '98. You know, spending some time on it at home helped a little bit, too...     "Here at Wimbledon they make it so great, because it's almost like a really fast hard court. Obviously these are the best grass courts anywhere. That's a reason why I don't necessarily go to a lot of other tournaments beforehand. The courts there are not like the courts here at Wimbledon. If you get used to moving on grass a little bit, these are like a hard court most of the time...     "I feel a lot better than I did at the French when I was barely winning matches and sets. That's a positive. And I've played three opponents that I've been able to take control of the match and dominate. So it's been nice that I've been able to step up and do that.     "Monday's going to be a lot different story. Kim [Clijsters is] not going to let me do that so easily, and will get more balls back, and will really press me a lot more than I've pressed so far...     "I've got an interesting summer coming up, a lot of tournaments that I love to play, but did well in last year. You know, it's inevitable that I'm going to fall in the rankings. Any mathematician can figure that out. I think I'm just going to worry about trying to play well, and really worry about the preparation for the US Open, and hopefully can play as well as I did last summer."     About The Championships in 2006, Lindsay said: "I hope to be here and playing and everything. I don't really have any 'for sure' plans at this moment. I'm definitely going to finish this year out and hopefully stay healthy. If I'm playing well and healthy, I really think I'll be back next year. There's no reason why I won't. I think the most important thing is how my body responds." interview #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #58 Katarina Srebotnik SLO 6-2, 6-4 Sat Maria places a forehand volley, Katarina bats one back at her, and Maria celebrates winning a point     Maria only got 55% of her 1st serves in, but won 70% of her 1st serve points (Katarina: 54%). And Maria won 49% of points while receiving serve (Katarina: 37%). Maria scored on 11 of 14 trips to the net (Katarina: 3 of 8). match stats     Maria said: "The score doesn't say much about the match. It was a lot tougher than it seemed. Even though I was up in the first set, thought that [Katarina] was able to come up with some good shots, and put me in difficult situations. But I was able to serve well when I needed to, even though I wasn't serving quite well throughout the whole match.     "But even in the second set, she had the opportunity to come back into the match. She had four breakpoints at the end of the match. I was able to hit really good first serves." interview     Katarina said: "I think [Maria] played very good... I thought I played a very good match also. I served pretty well, and she was just returning unbelievable. And in first couple of games, I think only in the fourth game she gave me one unforced error... She was making no mistakes and she was playing very fast, very deep... she knew probably that I'm a tough competitor. I've been playing well lately also. Had some good wins on the grass, and I was going confident into the match.     "She was just too good. She had to fight for it, and that's what I'm happy about it, that I made her work for it." interview #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #150 Shenay Perry USA 6-0, 6-2 Fri Amelie's slice backhand     Amelie said: "When my serve is there, I think it's pretty effective on grass, coming in, you know, the slice backhand also. Not a lot of girls are using these weapons. I think with the rebounds here being very low, it can help. Being able to mix it up. Not a lot of girls do that." interview *#83 Jill Craybas USA d #4 s4 Serena Williams USA 6-3, 7-6(5) Sat Jill launching a backhand, and after match point as she prepares to leave Court 2, "The Graveyard of Champions," surrounded by photographers and reporters     Jill said: "It feels great. I'm not sure if it's hit me yet, but it feels really good... I felt calm during the entire match, even at close points, that I felt like maybe I could have stepped up a little bit more. I pretty much felt calm and confident the whole time... I think I'm a really different player from when I played her two years ago in Wimbledon, and Miami last year... the two previous meetings when I played her, I don't think I believed that I could actually win the match, no matter how well I was playing. Because even if you're playing great, if you don't believe it, then it's usually doesn't happen. That's changed a lot for me." interview     Serena said: "The words that I can only use are all foul. It wouldn't be proper for me to use those words... I guess I had a lot of rust. I just didn't play well today. I mean, the other days I kind of played through it and the second and third set I got better. But today I didn't do anything right... I think I was better off staying home... [Jill] she didn't have to do anything exceptionally well today. She just pretty much had to show up... I couldn't win a service game in the first set. Then it was just downhill." interview     Asked if the slight fracture in her left ankle affected her play, Serena said: "No, it didn't at all." #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #30 s27 Nicole Vaidisova CZE 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2 Fri Nicole's forehand, Svetlana's backhand #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS d #59 Mashona Washington USA 7-5, 6-1 Fri Elena Dementieva     Elena played cleanly, hitting 16 winners with only 13 unforced errors (to 12 and 28 for Mashona). And Elena had only 4 double faults, unusually few for her, while getting 64% of her 1st serves in the box. match stats     Elena began working on her serve with retired ATP pro Richard Krajicek last week in Holland. Elena said: "Finally I've got my confidence on my serve... I was working with him last week and here as well, and he helped me a lot with my serve. I was very pleased that he was working with me because I think he had the best serve on the tour. It looks so simple when he does it. He left already, unfortunately for me, but I'm always thinking what he told me to do on the court, and I hope to work with him again." interview     Elena will play her friend Anastasia Myskina in the 4th round. About her loss to Anastasia in the 2004 French Open final, Elena said: "I think that was the most incredible moment of my tennis career. I would never forget this moment. At the end of the tournament I was so tired, my leg was injured and I wasn't satisfied with the way I played that match, but it was still the best moment in my career. I'd never forget it. I look at my runner's-up trophy very often when I'm at home and this reminds me how good this tournament was for me."     After that final in Paris, Elena went out to celebrate-- with Anastasia. Elena said: "We were just celebrating this final, and people, when they saw us they were like 'Oh, it's Myskina and, oooh, it's Dementieva and they are together.' They couldn't believe their eyes, they thought we wouldn't be speaking to each other. When we were younger, if I lost to her I wouldn't talk to her for a couple of days, but now I play against Russian players almost every week, so I'm kind of used to it." story #8 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS d #164 wc Cara Black ZIM 6-4, 6-3 Sat Nadia Petrova #10 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #19 s17 Jelena Jankovic SCG 6-0, 5-7, 10-8 Fri Anastasia on the run, and after match point     Anastasia held 2 match points at 5-3 in the 2nd set, but could not convert. Jelena fired a 2nd serve ace on one of the match points. It then took Anastasia 22 more games to finish the match. She was so upset after dropping the 2nd set that she fell behind 1-5 in the 3rd. Then she won 4 straight games to reach 5-5.     Anastasia said: "When sometimes you lose one, two, three matchpoints, then you kind of start thinking a lot, and it's not a good thing... I was thinking that, 'Why she serve ace on second serve?' I mean, this really was in my mind. I think that was really wrong to think about this serve for the rest of couple games... the whole third set almost I was thinking what I did wrong. But then after [trailing] 5-1, I realized that I'm playing third set so maybe it's something new I should do to finally win.     "[Jelena is] a great player... it was a really good match. She holds rallies, she play really fast, she serve pretty good. I think it was a good match." interview     Anastasia's right shoulder has been hurting, and this is probably why she averaged only 92 mph on her 1st serve, and 76 mph on her 2nd. But she had only 2 double faults in 128 service points (Jelena had 10 DFs while serving 147 points). 'Nastya also hit 52 winners (to 37 for Jelena) and although she had 55 unforced errors, Jelena had 63 (8 more DFs making the difference). match stats     Distracted by the shoulder injury, and her mother being seriously ill (her mother's health has recently improved), Anastasia had not won three matches in a row since October, 2004-- until this week. She has also won her 1st round matches in both doubles and mixed doubles.     Anastasia Myskina will play Elena Dementieva in the 4th round on Monday. They have been friends since childhood, when they both trained together at Moscow's Spartak Academy. 'Nastya leads Elena 7-4 in career matches, and has won their last 3 meetings, all in straight sets, dating back to last year's French Open final.     About playing her friend Elena, Anastasia said: "I know her weakness, I know what she can do her best, and she knows me as well... I know her serve is not that great. Even though she's improving her serve every day, maybe that's my advantage, and I have to take it." #13 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #21 s19 Ana Ivanovic SCG 6-1, 6-4 Sat Ana lining up a backhand, and Mary after match point     Mary said: "I'm just enjoying being here and every day. Last year I lost first round, so I'm definitely doing a lot better than last year. I just feel like I'm improving with every match I'm playing on grass. I hope that it keeps continuing in that manner. Just see what happens just match by match... I think I'm able to know more my game and my opponent's game. If I need to, to adapt while I'm playing. I try to be an all-court kind of player, be able to do everything on the court." interview #15 s13 Elena Likhovtseva RUS d #24 s22 Silvia Farina Elia ITA 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 Fri Elena appears to be hitting a 2-handed slice backhand, an unusual shot (biomechanics make it easier to hit a slice backhand 1-handed) #16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #22 s20 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 7-5, 6-3 Sat Venus Williams     Venus said: "It was a good day, for sure. Definitely a good day. I think the first set was definitely close. In the second set, I think I just maybe lost focus a little bit and missed a few shots, but I was able to regain it, which is the important part... I played good today. But I definitely feel like I can pick it up." interview #17 s15 Kim Clijsters BEL d #111 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 6-4 rain-Sat Kim showing the Slazenger her Pure Drive, and after match point     Kim hit only 8 unforced errors in the match (Roberta: 19) while hitting 24 winners (Roberta: 17). Kim won 82% of her 1st serve points. Kim won despite converting only 3 of 10 break points, while Roberta converted only 1 of 3 break points against Kim. match stats     Kim said: "So far all my strokes are feeling pretty good. I feel like my serve has definitely been the strength, the most consistent shot so far on the grass court tournaments that I've played, in Eastbourne and here as well... My ground strokes have started to improve. I feel more and more control now. I feel like I'm moving well and that's important. But I still feel like everything has to be a little bit better if I want to be able to beat Lindsay [Davenport in the 4th round] on Monday." interview     About playing # 1 Lindsay Davenport in the 4th round on Monday, Kim said: "When you play Lindsay, you have to try to get to read her serve during the match... so you could actually start to tell where she's serving. And that's something that you have to adjust to first... She hits the ball so powerful, she hits the ball so deep, it's very hard to [make] her move, especially on grass. From the first shot I'll have to be aggressive and try to dominate the points. If you don't, against her, she's going to just put you under pressure, and then you're going to have a lot of pressure on your own serve game. So you have to keep putting the pressure on her, and try to make her move from the first shot you hit." #18 s16 Nathalie Dechy FRA d #89 Alyona Bondarenko UKR 6-1, 6-4 Sat Alyona ready to wallop a forehand, and Nathalie after match point #29 s26 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #73 Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-4, 6-3 Sat Flavia after match point #38 Magdalena Maleeva BUL d #82 Antonella Serra Zanetti ITA 6-3, 6-2 Fri Maggie Maleeva *#61 Kveta Peschke CZE d #47 Conchita Martinez ESP 6-4, 6-1 Sat Kveta keeping 1994 champ Conchita running

Wimbledon, Rd4, Mon Jun 27 noon loser's prize: $71,609 US; points: 90 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d #17 s15 Kim Clijsters BEL 6-3, 6(4)-7, 6-3    career matches Kim leads 9-8 Kim chasing a forehand, Lindsay launching a backhand     Lindsay said: "I thought I was hitting the ball well. It's very tough to gauge on grass. But I was going after shots, making some errors, but holding serve, getting close to breaking a few times. I was happy with the way I played. I finished the second set not very well in the tiebreak. Made a lot of just bad errors there. But was able to come back in the third and really just kind of calm down and play a little bit cleaner again."     Asked about playing to Kim's forehand, which has an extra-large backswing, and off which she has been hitting more errors, Lindsay said: "I was really surprised at the French, at the end of that match, exactly what happened with her forehand. I was trying to keep that in mind with my serves and on the bigger points. Sometimes it backfired a little bit maybe playing it, missing some balls trying to go there. I did know about her backswing. I did know that she did miss a few in Paris. I was going to try and go there a little bit more. So that was part of plan going in."     Kim hit 3 double faults in the final game, the last DF coming on match point. Kim said: "Because [Lindsay] was returning so well in my service games before, I really had to put a little bit more into my serves, and especially on the second serves. But that was probably wrong. It was. She puts you under so much pressure. From the moment you hit a second serve, you have to start running. I think I tried to do a little bit too much, especially when I went out wide, which was probably not a smart decision. But, you know, it's happened and you learn from it. Next time I won't do it...     "She served and returned a lot better than I did, a lot more aggressive and a lot more precise. Her strokes, especially on grass, it's so tough against her because she hits the ball so deep, very precise, close to the lines. She puts you under pressure straightaway. I think she did that really well...     "I think if you compare it to on a hard court, it's a lot tougher to move on the grass, obviously. Because I feel like if I can move around on hard court, it's a lot easier for me, because her strokes are not as dominant on hard court." interview #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #18 s16 Nathalie Dechy FRA 6-4, 6-2    career matches Maria leads 2-0 Maria's forehand, Nathalie's backhand, and Maria after match point     Maria hit aces on 6 of her 51 1st serves (76% of which were good). Although she hit more errors than Nathalie (18-12), she also hit more winners (22-8). Nathalie did not hold a single break point against Maria in the match. match stats     Maria said: "[Nathalie] was playing really well the first probably six games, and I was making a few errors when I shouldn't have, but still felt like I was in it, still felt pretty confident on my serve. I felt like if I could put some pressure on her return, then I'd get a break, serve it out. That's exactly what I did. Second set, I just didn't make as many errors and was getting better and better... As the match went on, I think I played better and better. I played a different opponent than the round before, a little bit different- not as big of a serve, but more consistent." interview     Maria will play Nadia Petrova in a quarterfinal on Tuesday. Maria and Nadia have played only once before, on a hard court in the 2nd round at Los Angeles in 2003, when then-16-year-old Maria won, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.     Maria said: "I played her a long time ago. Big game, big serve. You know, obviously it's going to be another tough match. I'm looking forward to it." #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #15 s13 Elena Likhovtseva RUS 6-4, 6-0    career matches Amelie leads 5-1 Amelie's forehand, Elena's backhand     Amelie said: "I think the beginning of the match was a little bit tough for me. I couldn't really find my rhythm. I was staying a little bit too far from the baseline for being able to really produce an aggressive game. And my serve wasn't working pretty well, so I had to adjust to that a little bit at the end of that first set to make sure I put the first serve in. I was making way too many double faults, giving her the opportunities on second serves. I had to adjust a little to that. Maybe the two days off were a little bit too much. I had to probably get back into the rhythm in that first set.     "In the second set was much better. I was more aggressive, finding my game, my rhythm, getting in, reading the ball pretty well. Even when I was staying back, I felt I was pretty strong at the baseline, because the court being so slow [compared to past years at Wimbledon], you still have to play some points from the baseline and go into maybe some long rallies sometimes. But I was feeling pretty comfortable in the second set on this part of the game. The most important thing I think is the way I finished, the way I really found my rhythm in that second set. Also at the end of the first set, I was able to make the difference. I'm pretty satisfied about today's match, even though the beginning wasn't my best tennis." interview #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #38 Magdalena Maleeva BUL 6-4, 6-3    career matches Svetlana leads 2-0 Svetlana awaits serve, Maggie runs down a forehand *#10 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS d #6 s6 Elena Dementieva RUS 1-6, 7-6(9), 7-5    career matches Anastasia leads 8-4 Anastasia after winning a point while behind, Elena's backhand, and Anastasia after match point     Elena, usually plagued by service trouble, put 79% of her 1st serves in, and had only 3 double faults while serving 127 times. However, Elena accomplished this by averaging a very low 83 mph on her 1st serve, and 79 mph on her 2nd serve. Anastasia, on the other hand, got only 55% of her 1st serves in (although at a higher velocity, averaging 94 mph), and double faulted 7 times. Anastasia also suffered from 52 unforced errors (45 plus the 7 DFs) in the 219 points played, while Elena had only 34. But in the 3rd set, Anastasia won 71% of her 1st serve points, and 60% of her receiving points, while hitting 12 winners and keeping her errors down to 10 (Elena: 11 and 11). match stats     Anastasia said: "Today I was really nervous at the beginning, because we have really lot of matches against each other and we know each other really well, so I was thinking a lot during the point. I didn't know what really to do with the ball because the [Elena's] serve was too slow. I didn't really expect that. Then I just get used to it for the rhythm, for the game, and realize that it's really nothing really special. I just have to play my game...     "One point and maybe I would be loser today. But I was really calm in tiebreak. I was exactly know what I have to do at some points, even though she had some match points. But I knew I had to return to her backhand. Even that her backhand improve a lot, but still it's the weaker side, I think.     "[Elena's] serve, it's really weak. Everybody knows that. Besides this, she's really good on baseline. She's moving really, really well. But even that I lost my serve, I still knew I that I can take advantage on her serve. If I can handle it my serve, then it's going to be easy. That's what happened after 3-love (in the 2nd set, when Anastasia trailed 1-6, 0-3, down 2 breaks). To her serve, I hold my one, then was for me, you know, two games and then easy to play. I believe in myself again, and just try to keep rallies and play her." interview     Anastasia will play Amelie Mauresmo in a quarterfinal on Tuesday. Amelie leads Anastasia 5-1 in career matches, but most of the matches were close.     Anastasia said: "Amelie, great player. And I think she played pretty good today. I watched couple of games. I think she's really want to win here because she didn't really do well in Eastbourne. So I think she going to play really good tomorrow, and I have to do the same... I lost to her already here here couple years ago... (in 2002; Amelie defeated Anastasia 6-4, 6-2 in the 3rd round). Amelie really good player because she's coming to the net, she's serving pretty well. Her slice really good. So maybe if I put pressure on her with my return, I will keep her moving, then maybe I can win the match." #8 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS d #61 Kveta Peschke CZE 6-5(7), 7-6(7), 6-3    career matches Nadia leads 1-0 Nadia issuing instructions to her racket (the latest Babolat technology), Kveta's backhand, and Nadia at net #13 s12 Mary Pierce FRA d #29 s26 Flavia Pennetta ITA 6-3, 6-1    career matches tied 1-1 Mary launching a backhand, and Flavia congratulating-Mary consoling after match point     Mary said: "I'm working really hard. Finally I'm able to work hard. I've always worked hard. Just when I had my injuries, I wasn't obviously able to. I had to take time off. Then coming back from that took quite a long time until I was able to train normally for me. So now I've been able to do that for almost a year. I feel really good. I definitely feel the difference. I see the difference. I feel that I'm on the right path. I feel like I'm actually improving every day... Being injured, not being able to be physically fit and in shape to play my game was very difficult for me. And now I'm able to do that. So I'm very, very happy with that...     About playing Venus Williams in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Mary said: "I think the last time that Venus and I played was at the Olympics last year, and I won. It was on hard court. We've played so many times. She's beaten me; I've beaten her. Every match on grass is not easy. They're all difficult. Venus is an excellent player. Definitely on grass, it's a good surface for her with the fast pace. We know each other's games really well. I've seen her play. Obviously she's playing well to be here in the quarterfinals. I'm just going to do my usual thing, just play my game, see how it goes." interview #16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #83 Jill Craybas USA 6-0, 6-2    career matches Venus leads 1-0 Venus delivering a backhand, and Jill congratulating-Venus consoling after match point     Venus said: "It's probably a really big challenge mentally to play both Serena and I in a row. So I guess I had a good position to be second sister [smiling]. [Jill] did hit some good shots. But my plan was to just break and hold again. And I felt very in control... She's a very good player. This is a good surface for her. She's a very good retriever. And when she has the opportunity, she definitely tries to take it and move forward. So I knew I would definitely have to play well." interview     Jill said: "I think [Venus] was really fired up today and I think she played great. She came up with some really great shots at key moments, and she just kept the pressure on the whole time.... she didn't give away any free points." interview

Wimbledon, QFs, Tue Jun 28 1pm loser's prize: $140,831 US; points: 162 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d #5 s5 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 7-6(1), 6-3    career matches Lindsay leads 2-1 Svetlana's slice serve, Lindsay's forehand return, and Lindsay after winning a point late in the match     Lindsay said: "It was really important for me to try and come back and kind of consolidate this great win I had yesterday, and not have a letdown, and try and continue to do the best I can. I figured I'd be a little bit tired. But I thought I handled it pretty well. Most importantly I feel healthy at this point. I have a day off. Hopefully everything will keep going the way it's been going...     "It was hard. I didn't feel at any point of the match that I really had any rhythm. The points were pretty short. We were both kind of making errors, some big serves. So it was just a totally different match in that regard. I don't think I got nearly as many returns in today as I was able to do yesterday, and really work my way into points. So I felt in that regard that it was a much more erratic match, where the points were just going fast, didn't know quite what was going to happen.     "Sometimes that's grass court tennis for you. Yesterday I played really well. Today maybe not as well. But did well enough...     "As I went into the tiebreak, I was wondering why we were in a tiebreak because I just served for the first set... I think [Svetlana is] a really great player. She goes for a lot of shots. I knew she'd come up with some fantastic winners, and I knew she'd give me some errors. The first few points of the tiebreak, I thought I played pretty solidly and was able to build a good lead, and that really helped.     "But she does go for a lot. Especially on grass when it's so quick, you get some bad bounces, I definitely got a lot of free points out there." interview #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS d #8 s8 Nadia Petrova RUS 7-6(6), 6-3    career matches Maria leads 2-0 Two of the strongest Russian servers, Maria and Nadia, showing cannonball and slice, Maria fetching a drop shot from Nadia, and Maria after match point     This match was very well played by both Maria & Nadia, with only 1 break of serve. Nadia hit only 16 unforced errors, and Maria only 13. Both players won over three quarters of their 1st serve points, but Maria got 73% of her 1st serves in the box, while Nadia made only 59% of hers good. Maria made only 4 trips to the net in the match, scoring on 3 of them, while Nadia was 10 of 13 in this department. match stats BBC game-by-game     Maria won 2 important points on net cords in the final game of the match. The first negated a break point for Nadia, the second gave Maria match point. Maria said: "When I was down a breakpoint, I told the ball to hit the net and roll over. That's what comes with experience [laughter]... I thanked the fairy for taking the ball and bringing it over the net. You know, this is tennis, and that's what happens. Sometimes it will go over and sometimes not, and you end up losing the match. Today it went into my favor." interview     Maria will play Venus in a semifinal on Thursday. Maria won both of their previous meetings, in the quarterfinals in Zurich on an indoor hard court in 2004, 6-3, 6-4, and earlier this year in the semifinals of the NASDAQ-100 in Miami, also on a hard court, 6-4, 6-3.     Maria said: [Venus] has a big game, is a great fighter... every opponent is so different. You just go out. It's hard to focus on your opponent. I only played her a few times. I think the main thing is she's a good athlete, she gets a lot of balls back and she's very tough... you've got to be ready for an extra ball." #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA d #10 s9 Anastasia Myskina RUS 6-3, 6-4    career matches Amelie leads 6-1 Amelie serving, Anastasia, with a leg sprain ("its okay") flying after a forehand, and Amelie after match point     Amelie said: "Not only on my serve, but also on the returning games, I was very aggressive. I knew I would have more opportunities on [Anastasia's] second serve especially. I really decided to put the pressure on her right from the first game, and make her play as many shots as I could-- especially to pass me. Much more comfortable on the court, much more in my rhythm, and really enjoying the game... I also mixed it up pretty well. Again, I think the way the courts are, you have to really mix it up-- come in but also stay back. Sometimes it's tough to come in. You really have to choose the right ball. I'm very satisfied about that, and was really able to choose the right ones to come in, so that was good." interview     Anastasia said: "[Amelie] played a little bit different than she used to play. She come a lot to the net. I think that was good for her because from the baseline, I felt much stronger, and a lot of rallies I won from the baseline. That's the only one thing that she should do is come to the net, and she did really well today."     Anastasia did not mention her chronic right shoulder injury, or the left leg sprain which she dismissed on Monday, saying, "it's okay". Anastasia played 141 games and 2 tiebreakers in her 5 singles matches, plus 2 doubles matches and 1 mixed doubles match. She was oncourt over 9 hours. Anastasia said: "I think I'm improved since even last year on grass. I'm a little bit tired from last week. I guess that should happen. I'm really happy with my game right now... I feel the ball much better. I'm more confident right now from baseline. Like I said, even today I felt stronger from the baseline when there was long rallies. So I'm really happy." interview *#16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #13 s12 Mary Pierce FRA 6-0, 7-6(10)    career matches Venus leads 7-3 Mary's twist serve, Venus running down a backhand, and Venus after match point     Venus made 84% of her 1st serves good, one of the best performances of the entire tourney (Mary: 59%). Venus also won 79% of her 1st serve points (Mary: 67%), with 3 aces and only 1 double fault (Mary: 1 and 5). Mary did not hold a break point against Venus during the match. match stats     Venus said: "It was a tough tiebreak, it really was. It was a tough second set. I played really well in the first set. I think [Mary] played well, too, but maybe she just wasn't expecting me to play as well as I did. I had quite a few set points against me. To pull that out and not have to go to the third is really good. And, plus, she was playing unbelievable. I mean that could have been a final match, how well she played." interview     About Thursday's semifinal, Venus said: "I think [today's qf against Mary Pierce] was definitely a good match for me going into [the semi against Maria Sharapova] because they're both hard-hitters. And I think that was good preparation... [Maria] definitely strikes the ball well, is a very determined player. Just a good player all around."     Mary said: "I had a difficult time getting going today in the beginning of the match. It took me a little while I think to get used to the elements and the environment. I hadn't played on that court in I think it's about five years. Usually we get to practise on the court sometimes before we can play on it, and I didn't get a chance to do that. So it took me a little bit just to get used to the environment.     "Venus played very well from the very beginning, was hitting very hard and very deep. I've already felt like last couple days that I was having a little bit of trouble getting going. My legs didn't feel totally powerful, dynamic today. If you're a little slow against someone who is going to be hitting very hard and aggressive and deep, it shows a lot more.     "Second set, I started to feel better and started to play better. I was making a lot of unforced errors, as well. That was my legs, just not moving. Second set, I started playing better. I still missed some shots that could have made a difference in maybe me winning the second set. If I win the second set, it's a totally different match.     "I try to learn some thing from every situation. I'll definitely watch the tape of this match. I was a little bit tired, and that played a big factor in that match today. And also Venus played great." interview

Wimbledon, SFs, Thu-Fri Jun 30-31 1pm loser's prize: $278,356 US; points: 292 #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA d #3 s3 Amelie Mauresmo FRA 6(5)-7, 7-6(4), 6-4    Thu-rain-Fri career matches Lindsay leads 9-3 Amelie during the 1st set tiebreak, and Lindsay checking out the sky on Thursday; Lindsay serving to finish the match and after match point on Friday     Due to rain on Thursday, this match moved from Centre Court to Court 1, where it did not begin until about 5:20pm. The rain resumed and stopped play at 7:32pm local time, before the match could be completed. When play was stopped, Lindsay led Amelie 6(5)-7, 7-6(4), 5-3 0-15, with Amelie serving. On Friday, the match was quickly completed (before the rain set in again).     Lindsay said: "I have a lot of experience with matches being stopped-- I don't think right when you're about to serve for the finals of Wimbledon. But it was such a tough 24 hours. I mean, I was here at 10, 10:30 yesterday warming up. Got on the court at around I think 5:30, got out of here at 9:30. To come back in that situation, it was brutal.     "I finally felt like in the third set I gained this momentum. I think I went on the biggest run of games I'd won, I think, you know, from 3-2 down, up 5-3. I was thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, this is not going to happen,' because right then the rain came...     "I thought that she had returned my serve pretty well, like as the match wore on. So the one thing I thought, 'Well, maybe she won't have as much feel if we go back out there. If I can serve a good game, it's just one game, I can get by.'" interview     Amelie said: "I really felt I would have been able to really win this match. But [Lindsay] was able to come back with great returning games at the key moments and also some good serving in the third set-- not only today, but also last night.     "It is very disappointing. Obviously I played well. I think I played a good tennis, very aggressive. That's really what I wanted to do against her, and that's what I did throughout the match, whether I was serving or returning." interview #16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #2 s2 Maria Sharapova RUS 7-6(2), 6-1 Thu    career matches Maria leads 2-1 Maria serving, Venus after swatting a forehand, Maria's backhand, and Venus after match point     Maria did not play badly, but Venus played very, very well. Venus won 65% of her 1st serve points (she got 70% of her 1st serves in), and while Maria put 74% of her 1st serves in the box, she won only 51% of those points. Maria converted only 1 of 7 break points against Venus, while Venus converted 4 of 9 against Maria. And Venus hit 23 winners (and 21 unforced errors), while Maria managed only 13 winners (with 24 unforced errors). match stats     Venus said: "My game has been improving step by step. Those other matches that we played, [Maria] played well, but I felt like I didn't play my best. I knew that obviously it would be important for me to play a little bit better. But I just wanted to be relaxed out there more than anything." interview     Maria said: "I thought we played a really good match. Today it went to the better person... I don't think I played my best tennis. But credit to [Venus] for not [letting] me play my best. She had a lot of deep balls-- hard, deep balls. She was serving consistently big." interview

Wimbledon, Final, Sat Jul 2 2pm loser's prize: $573,181 US; points: 456 winner's prize: $1,146,362 US; points: 650 *#16 s14 Venus Williams USA d #1 s1 Lindsay Davenport USA 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7    career matches Lindsay leads 14-13 Lindsay launching a cannonball at Venus, Venus chasing a backhand, and Venus & Lindsay with the hardware after the match

Wimbledon, Doubles Final, Sun Jul 3 noon losers' prize: $193,598 US winners' prize: $388,208 US cdr7 s2 Cara Black & Liezel Huber d cdr167 Svetlana Kuznetsova & Amelie Mauresmo 6-1, 6-2 Cara Black fires a backhand volley with Liezel Huber backing her up Wimbledon, Mixed Doubles Final, Sun Jul 3 losers' prize: $85,850 US winners' prize: $171,900 US Mary Pierce & Mahesh Bhupathi d Tatiana Perebiynis & Paul Hanley 6-4, 6-2 Mahesh Bhupathi & Mary Pierce interview Wimbledon, Girls Singles Final, Sat Jul 2 j41 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d j34 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-3, 6-4 Tamira Paszek & Agnieszka Radwanska Wimbledon, Girls Doubles Final, Sun Jul 3 s1 Viktoria Azarenka BLR & Agnes Szavay HUN d s2 Marina Erakovic NZL & Monica Niculescu ROM 6(5)-7, 6-2, 6-0 Agnes Szavay & Viktoria Azarenka Wimbledon, Ladies 35+ Doubles Final, Sat Jul 2 Tracy Austin USA & Jana Novotna CZE d Katrina Adams USA & Rosalyn Nideffer USA 6-2, 6-4 Tracy Austin & Jana Novotna tracking a lob in an earlier round match against Jo Durie & Nathalie Tauziat, and with the hardware after the final Wimbledon, Qualifying Finals Thu Jun 16 loser's prize: $8,786 US #108 Jamea Jackson USA d #174 Viktoria Kutuzova UKR 7-5, 6-2 *#151 Saori Obata JPN d #112 Eva Birnerova CZE 6-4, 4-6, 6-2    Birnerova is a Lucky Loser *#179 Sabine Klaschka GER d #118 Severine Beltrame FRA 3-6, 6-4, 6-3    Beltrame is a Lucky Loser #127 Mara Santangelo ITA d #802 Jana Kandarr GER 6-3, 6-3 *#218 Tatiana Poutchek BLR d #133 Melinda Czink HUN 6-3, 6-2    Czink is a Lucky Loser *#223 Julia Vakulenko UKR d #134 Tzvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6-3 #140 Sofia Arvidsson SWE d #226 Frederica Piedade POR 6-0, 6-1 #147 Katerina Bohmova CZE d #224 Michelle Gerards NED 7-6(7), 6-0 #153 Meilen Tu USA d #167 Clarisa Fernandez ARG 6-2, 6-2 #165 Els Callens BEL d #212 Seiko Okamoto JPN 7-6(2), 6-4 #234 Katerina Bondarenko UKR d #166 Vilmarie Castellvi PUR 7-5, 6-2 *#204 Ashley Harkleroad USA d #191 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 7-5, 6-2 Ashley Harkleroad during the 2nd round of qualifying on Wednesday, June 15     20-year-old # 204 Ashley Harkleroad "retired" last year after she had gotten married to ATP player Alex Bogomolov, and saw her ranking fall from # 47 due to injuries. Ashley's "retirement" lasted from August 2004 until April, 2005. Since April, Ashley has played in 7 ITF tourneys, reaching the semifinals in 2 of them. Ashley Harkleroad record Wimbledon, Withdrawals/Non-entries #9 Alicia Molik AUS inner ear infection #14 Elena Bovina RUS shoulder #27 Jennifer Capriati USA r shoulder #42 Na Li CHN in Chinese Nat'ls #44 Fabiola Zuluaga COL dislikes grass #45 Shuai Peng CHN in Chinese Nat'ls #56 Paola Suarez ARG hip injury #65 Jie Zheng CHN in Chinese Nat'ls #99 wc Michaella Krajicek NED right knee The Venus Rosewater Dish, the ladies singles trophy since 1886, has the winners' names engraved around the perimeter-- visible are 1963 Margaret Smith (Court), 1964 Maria Bueno, 1983 & 1984 Martina Navratilova, 2004 Maria Sharapova, & 2005 Venus Williams

2005 BBC Wimbledon Diaries:
    Kim Clijsters, June 20 - Nicole Vaidisova, June 22
    Ana Ivanovic, June 24 - Amelie Mauresmo, June 25

    (June 16, 2005) On Thursday, in the quarterfinals at 's-Hertogenbosch, 16-year-old wild card # 99 Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands was hauled off the court with a serious knee injury. Michaella had reached the QFs with solid wins over Ludmilla Cervanova & Anabel Medina Garrigues.
    A scan showed that Michaella has a torn meniscus (cartilage) in her right knee. 2004 US Open Juniors champ Michaella had been granted a wild card into the main draw at Wimbledon, and had also been granted a wild card into the mixed doubles draw to play alongside her half-brother Richard (the 1996 Wimbledon men's singles champ, since retired). Now Michaella has to withdraw; she will have surgery next week instead, and will probably be out for at least a month.
    Michaella said: "I went over a little on my ankle and when I tried to catch myself I did something to my right knee... This is the worst day of my life... Nobody died and worse things happen, but my [Wimbledon] dream is over." WTA story - Reuters story

    (June 15, 2005) # 9 Alicia Molik of Australia withdrew from Wimbledon and Eastbourne on Wednesday. Alicia has suffered from impaired balance and vision since April due to a viral infection of the middle and inner ear called "vestibular neuronitis." Alicia lost her 1st round match at Birmingham last week, and decided to withdraw after feeling ill while losing her 1st round doubles match at Eastbourne on Tuesday. Alicia said: "I've realized I'm not fully recovered yet... The condition affects my balance, perception and vision and I haven't been able to play my usual serve-and-volley game as a result. It also makes me tired, so it's a number of things. I don't want to compete if I'm not feeling 100%, and at the moment I'm feeling around 70%... I've been told the recovery period for this condition can be up to six months, and it's only been two-and-a-half months for me. I think this is the best decision at this point. I'm not giving myself a time frame for my comeback this time... this time I'm going to take as long as I need."
    # 14 Elena Bovina of Russia has also withdrawn, due to an unspecified shoulder problem.

    (June 14, 2005) Former WTA # 6 Chanda Rubin, who has a chronic left knee injury which has caused her to play very little this year while her rank has fallen to # 129, was scheduled to play in qualifying, but withdrew at the last moment due to her knee troubles.

    (June 14, 2005) Former WTA # 4 and current # 378 Jelena Dokic, who had been awarded a wild card into qualifying, decided not to play. Jelena has said she might enter ITF tourneys to get back into the swing of things, but she has not entered any, and has not played in any tourneys in over a month. Jelena Dokic record

    (May 26, 2005) New Balls: For the past 10 years or so, Wimbledon employees have been opening all the cans of balls for the tourney beforehand. On Wednesday, serve & volleyer Tim Henman explained: "Wimbledon said they open all the balls 'about' a week before the tournament... I think that might have a part to play in why you feel like you're using flat balls after four or five games. It's obviously one of the most bizarre things I've ever heard of...you can imagine, by the time you get through to the second week...they look nice and new, and then they're basically flat." # 1 British player Henman complained that this was hurting his game in particular. On Thursday, the All England Club announced they had decided to heretofore adopt the practice of the other 3 Grand Slams: the cans of balls will be opened on the court before each match. Reuters story

    (Apr 26, 2005) This year's total Wimbledon prize money will be £10,085,510, over £10 million for the first time. Ladies singles prizes have been increased by 5.9% over 2004 prizes. The ladies are being paid 85.5% as much as the men overall (only the US & Australian Opens pay the women equal prize money), but 1st-round losing ladies will get only 80% of what the men get, and that is who would need the money most (ladies $14,444, men $18,050). The "scoreboard" above shows the amounts in US dollars, at the June 10 conversion rate of £ 1 = $1.91:
    Ladies doubles 1st round teams will split £ 3,920 ($7,487); the ladies doubles champs will split £ 203,250 ($388,208). The mixed doubles 1st round teams will split £ 1,180 ($2,254); the mixed doubles champs will split £ 90,000 ($171,900).
    At the April 26 rate of exchange, 1 Euro = $1.297, French Open 1st round ladies singles players received more than they will at Wimbledon, $15,287, while the ladies singles champ (who would not need the money so much) got a bit less, $1,124,194.
2005 French Open prize money, .pdf

from Ladies of the Court by Michael Mewshaw, (pages 122-123):     Years ago the Competitor's Lounge at Wimbledon had, in theory, been the sacrosanct preserve of players and their guests. But, in practice, it had always been a throbbing hive of hustlers, racquet dealers, clothing reps, agents, tournament directors, assorted groupies, gofers, and camp followers. Now journalists had access to this sanctuary. Flashing a special forty-five minute permit, I passed the guard at the door and, during yet another rain delay, climbed the stairs to the third floor and stopped at the Prize Money Office, where a woman cheerfully explained her job.     Once a player lost, he or she popped in here to pick up a check. A player's agent or manager could collect prize money, but only with written permission. "Even though we know, for example, that Ion Tiriac is Boris Becker's manager, we have to have it in writing before we'll hand over Becker's money," the woman said.     "What if the players want cash?" I asked.     "Then they carry the check to the bank here on the grounds."     "Do you deduct U.K. taxes?"     Indeed she did. Foreigners paid a flat 25% on their winnings, but they received a £150 per diem exclusion before British taxes bit into their purse. The Prize Money Office also deducted WTA dues and fines for code violations. Although it sounded complicated, she assured me that "because of computers, we can get a player in and out in thirty or forty seconds. That's a lot different from the old days." She smiled sweetly. "Now I'm afraid I can't say anything else."     "Do you ever get any strange requests?"     The smile never faltered. "Lots, but I'm not allowed to tell you."

from Hard Courts by John Feinstein (page 306):     Wimbledon's qualifying tournament is not played at Wimbledon, it is played at the Bank of England tennis club, at Roehampton, about eight miles from the All England Club.     Everyone who has played there--and almost everyone has at some point--will tell you that the toughest tennis tournament in the world is the one at Roehampton. "There is nothing in the world farther from Wimbledon than Roehampton," John McEnroe once said. "You survive there, you're a hell of a tennis player."     ...There are sixteen courts at Roehampton. Unlike the pampered, protected courts at Wimbledon, they are in constant use--and it shows. There are brown patches everywhere--or, to be accurate, green patches on the brown--and after it rains, players would be well advised to show up wearing cleats rather than sneakers.     ...When the players arrive at Roehampton, they report to the referee's tent to sign in; then they await court assignments. Waiting for their matches to be called, most kill the time sitting on a large, grassy knoll serves as both the players' and the umpires' lounge. The P.A. system is the focal point of all life at Roehampton. Announcements calling players and umpires to their courts, paging people to the telephone, seeking drivers to take players back to hotels, or updating schedules can be heard around the grounds all day long.     The P.A. is just one of a number of distractions players must deal with while they are playing. Admission to Roehampton is free; there are no ushers and no security...     ...the atmosphere is not the kind tennis players are accustomed to--people talking and laughing while strolling past the courts... if one wants to qualify for Wimbledon, one has to earn it.     Roehampton is both a launching pad and a graveyard...

from Hard Courts by John Feinstein (page 306):     Nothing in tennis can match the tension of day one at Wimbledon.     Everyone is tight, nervous, and ready to explode with pent-up energy. The other Grand Slams are very important; Wimbledon is history... Only at Wimbledon does Centre Court stay empty from the day of the final until the Saturday before the tournament begins the next year.     Only at Wimbledon do you walk underneath the huge sign over the door leading to Centre Court, which quotes Rudyard Kipling: "If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat these two imposters the same."...     ...The weather in England is almost always rotten. Rain cuts practice time, as does a lack of practice courts. At Wimbledon, practice time on the sixteen outside courts is limited to thirty minutes at a time--unless two seeded players are practicing together. Then, they can get an hour. The adjacent practice courts at Aorangi Park (so named because the land was once owned by the government of New Zealand) are not as tight, but still tough to come by. By the time the tournament begins, people are a little tired, a little homesick, frequently frustrated, and very, very nervous.

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