WTA June 20-July 3: Wimbledon The Championships Wimbledon, GBR Grand Slam Prize$: £14,600,000 (all events) 128 players - outdoor: grass Free Live Video (popup) matches: statistics Live Scores - OOP - results draws: W sing, pdf - mix doub women's: qualif. - singles - doub men's: qualif. - singles - doub pics: DL - Y! sport - news| WTA TV Sched: US - Australia Wimbledon wallpaper Radio Wimbledon - Video Gallery BBC Radio: Five Live text: news - interviews - history tourney sched - venue - website map London: radar - forecast - news #1 C Wozniacki, #3 V Zvonareva #4 Na Li, #5 V Azarenka

tourney archive: previous tourney page     next tourney page Wimbledon: #8 Petra Kvitova 6'0" 154lb LH 2H-BH Wimbledon: #6 Maria Sharapova 6' 2" 130lb RH 2H-BH Wimbledon: 1st Grand Slam Title 5th WTA Singles Title

On Saturday in London, in the final of the 2011 Championships at Wimbledon, this year's champion at Madrid, 21-year-old 8th seeded #8 (career high: #8) Petra Kvitova from Fulnek, Czech Republic, defeated the 2011 Rome (and 2004 Wimbledon) champion, 24 year old 5th seeded #6 (former #1) Maria Sharapova of Russia (res: Manhattan Beach, CA & Bradenton, FL), 6-3, 6-4 (match photos shown, and Petra with the "Venus Rosewater Dish" afterward).     Petra struck 19 winners (including 1 ace, on match point) with 13 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) while scoring on 5 of the 9 break points she reached against Maria and totaling 70 points in the match. Maria hit 10 winners (3 aces), with 12 errors (6 DFs) while converting 3 of her 5 break point opportunities against Petra and scoring 58 points in the match. match stats - AELTC game by game - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"

    Petra's prize is £1,100,000 (about $1,781,229 US); Maria's prize is £550,000 (about $890,615 US). Petra will rise to a career high of #7 in Monday's WTA rankings; Maria will move up to #5.

    Petra said: "It was about the serve, for sure, and the return. I know that [Maria can] return very well, but I know that I can return her serve also. I knew that she make some double-fault." AP story - WTA story

    Maria said: "[Petra is] a Grand Slam champion. She has a tremendous amount of potential to go even further and achieve many great things. If she keeps playing like that and keeps her level up, absolutely. She has a great game for it." Tennis.com Ticker

    Petra and Maria had met only once before, last year on an indoor hardcourt in the semifinals at Memphis, when Maria defeated Petra 6-4, 6-3.

    2011 Madrid, Brisbane & Paris Indoor champ Petra was playing in her first Grand Slam singles final; she is now 5-2 in WTA singles finals. She also reached the pre-Wimbledon Eastbourne grass court final this year, losing there to Marion Bartoli. Petra has a 43-8 singles match record in 2011.

    3-time grand slam tourney champion Maria is now 23-13 in WTA singles finals; she won this year at Rome. Maria is now 3-2 in Grand Slam singles finals, winning at Wimbledon in 2004, Flushing Meadows in 2006, and Melbourne in 2008. Due to right shoulder rotator cuff tendon tears, Maria played only one match (a doubles match) between August, 2008, and May, 2009. In 2010, Maria incurred a right elbow bone bruise at Indian Wells in March, and that kept her sidelined until May. This year, respiratory illness caused Maria to withdraw from three tournaments in February. Despite the setbacks, Maria has a 32-8 match record this season.

Men's final: #2 (#1 on Monday) Novak Djokovic SRB d #1 Rafael Nadal ESP 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3

◄ click for women's singles draw in the video frame   2011 Major Skirmishes, Top Half italics=advanced by upset 4th Round: #24 Dominika Cibulkova d #1 Caroline Wozniacki 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 #6 Maria Sharapova d #20 Shuai Peng 6-4, 6-2 #9 Marion Bartoli d #26 Serena Williams 6-3, 7-6(6) #62 Sabine Lisicki d #80 Petra Cetkovska 7-6(3), 6-1 Quarterfinals: #6 Maria Sharapova d #24 Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-1 #62 Sabine Lisicki d #9 Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6(4)-7, 6-1 Semifinal: #6 Maria Sharapova d #62 Sabine Lisicki 6-4, 6-3   2011 Major Skirmishes, Bottom Half italics=advanced by upset 4th Round: #5 Victoria Azarenka d #37 Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-2 #8 Petra Kvitova d #19 Yanina Wickmayer 6-0, 6-2 #34 Tsvetana Pironkova d #32 Venus Williams 6-2, 6-3 #84 Tamira Paszek d #89 Ksenia Pervak 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Quarterfinals: #5 Victoria Azarenka d #84 Tamira Paszek 6-3, 6-1 #8 Petra Kvitova d #34 Tsvetana Pironkova 6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-2 Semifinal: #8 Petra Kvitova d #5 Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 3-6, 6-2

    2011 prize money is listed below; most prizes in pounds have increased, and the pound has rebounded against the dollar, so prizes in US currency show a healthy increase (2011 1£=$1.62; 2010 1£=$1.46; 2009 1£=$1.97).

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"? prizes in US $ are at Jun 17 conversion rate The Championships,  Wimbledon, London, England   tourney time:        = GMT +1 hours        = US EDT +5 hours        = US PDT +8 hours London News - England News - UK News Weather Forecast | Weather Maps | Weather Radar     The Championships at Wimbledon have 32 seeds, with no 1st-round byes. There are 12 qualifiers and 8 wild cards in the main draw. Qualifying finals are on Thursday. Early round play begins at noon local time, QFs & SFs at 1pm, and the Final at 2pm on Saturday.   click for broader view All England Club Latitude: 51.434113 Longitude: -0.214491 goto link for World Wind | venue map, .pdf All England Lawn Tennis Club address: London SW19, England, UK 2011: On Thursday, June 16 at Kensington Roof Gardens in London, darned good looking healthy young ladies at the WTA player party included 2004 Wimbledon champ Maria Sharapova, Brits Laura Robson, Heather Watson, and Anne Keothavong, Elena Vesnina, row 2: The BBC's Sonali Shah with 2010 semifinalist Tsvetana Pironkova, 2011 Birmingham champ Sabine Lisicki, WTA #1 Caroline Wozniacki, Alizé Cornet, Jelena Jankovic... 2011: row 3: Andrea Petkovic, 2010 Roland Garros champ Francesca Schiavone, 2011 Roland Garros champ Li Na, current British #1 Elena Baltacha, Rebecca Marino, row 4: Hostess Holly Branson, daughter of Sir Richard (shown at the same venue on June 10, a better photo), Ana Ivanovic with Sonali Shah (standing on a box this time), Sorana Cirstea, Sania Mirza, and 2002, '03, '09 & 2010 champ Serena Williams... 2011: row 5: Maria Sharapova found time to practice at Wimbledon on Saturday, as did 2000, '01, '05 '07 & '08 SW19 champion Venus Williams and Caro Wozniacki between the rain showers on Sunday... also on Sunday, Li Na was named a "global ambassador" for Mercedes-Benz, and Serena Williams did the Meet the Press thing... row 5: Rain on Thursday gave Laura Robson time to take the lead in her "planking" competition versus Anne Keothavong, and on Friday Laura extended her lead— Anne tweeted: "I am going to really struggle to beat Laura's plank. She beat me to Sue Barker's table in the [BBC] studio. Too good!"

Wimbledon, 1st Round Mon-Tue Jun 20-21 noon Mon AFP story loser's prize: £11,500 = US $18,622; points: 5 Monday: rain has stopped play on all courts but Centre Wednesday: rain delayed start of play Fans like Brooklyn Decker checked the clouds on Monday; rain did arrive, and the roof was closed on Centre Court as play was suspended elsewhere... #1 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #107 Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP 6-2, 6-1 Tue Caroline serving, Arantxa and Caroline driving forehand and backhand, and Caro after match point     Caroline said: "The wind was blowing everywhere and I was throwing the ball up quite a few times, but I thought I actually served pretty well. There was also one point where I hit the ball and it almost didn't go over, and then I hit the next one and it just flew. I just tried to adapt as well as I could today." WTA story - postmatch interview #3 s2 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #118 Alison Riske USA 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 Mon Vera about to serve, Alison and Vera driving backhands, and Vera after match point     Vera struck 22 winners (including 6 aces) with only 15 unforced errors (including 2 double faults) while scoring on 5 of the 9 break points she reached against Alison and totaling 80 points in the match. Alison hit 24 winners (5 aces) with 24 errors (7 DFs), and converted 2 of the 4 break points she reached against Vera while scoring 66 points in the match. match stats     Vera said: "[Alison] played some good tennis, but I tried to stay focused. I had some ups and downs, but I'm really happy I was able to pull it off in the end. I lost my concentration for a bit but I always fight for every point, and I was able to pick it up in the third set." #4 s3 Na Li CHN d #70 Alla Kudryavtseva RUS 6-3, 6-3 Tue Alla and Na driving forehand and backhand, and Alla congratulating Na after match point     2011 Roland Garros champion Na said: "[Alla] has huge, big serve, and also in grass she was playing more flat. So I have to rally every second. And of course I never know what happens, which shot she'll hit next one..."     "French Open is much different than Wimbledon, different surface [smiling.] And also I think French is over. So I would like to do same like before, what I'm doing: come to next tournament, focus on tournament." postmatch interview #5 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #66 Magdalena Rybarikova SVK 6-4, 3-2 retired—left knee injury Mon-rain-Tue Magdalena and Victoria driving forehand and backhand on Monday, Magda injured on the first point on Tuesday, and Vika telling Magda she hopes she will be OK soon #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS d #50 Anna Chakvetadze RUS 6-2, 6-1 Tue Maria serving, Anna driving a forehand, Maria following a backhand, and after match point     Maria struck 24 winners (including 2 aces) with only 11 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) while scoring on 6 of the 13 break points she reached against Anna and totaling 65 points in the match. Anna hit only 6 winners (2 aces) with 8 errors (no DFs), and converted 1 of the 4 break points she reached against Maria while scoring 39 points in the match. match stats     Maria said: "It was great to be back on Centre Court, considering that I didn't play a warmup tournament. I felt like I had to be ready from the first point. I played against an opponent that's been in the top 10 before [Anna is a former #5 in WTA singles]. Hasn't had the best results this year. But you don't quite know what to expect... I thought she played a really good match, and I really had to step it up. I thought I did a good job of that." postmatch interview #7 s6 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #59 Jelena Dokic AUS 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Mon Francesca and Jelena driving forehands, Francesca launching a backhand, and launching herself after match point     Francesca said: "The rain delay was fantastic, because at the start of the third set I couldn't understand why [Jelena] was playing so aggressively and I couldn't move her. Something wasn't working. When they were putting the roof up, I went back to the locker room and spoke with [coach] Barazzutti. He told me something very important, to move her around more, so I came back and was playing better...     "I was not surprised how tough it was today. She can come back to the top. She can play really well. But tennis is a very special sport. You have to play every tournament at a high level for years and years. She might need more time. For example, today in the third set she had opportunities and she didn't catch them." WTA story - postmatch interview     Jelena said: "I have to learn a lot from this match. It's very disappointing. Very, very disappointing. But I have to get over it quickly. I did lose some momentum with the change in conditions, and she did a few things differently she didn't do until that point. But I lose momentum on my serve a little bit and that made quite a big difference. But I felt I was playing better before the rain." postmatch interview #8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #175 q Alexa Glatch USA 6-2, 6-2 ppd-Tue #9 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA d #229 q Kristyna Pliskova CZE 6-0, 6-2 Tue Kristyna serving, and Marion smashing a return *#262 sr72 Melinda Czink HUN d #10 s10 Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 6-4 Tue Melinda driving a backhand, Samantha fielding a drop shot, and Melinda after match point #11 s11 Andrea Petkovic GER d #139 LL Stephanie Foretz Gacon FRA 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Tue Stephanie following a forehand, and Andrea driving one #12 s12 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #85 Shuai Zhang CHN 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Mon Svetlana following a forehand, Shuai driving one, and Sveta after winning a point #13 s13 Agnieszka Radwanska POL d #103 Olga Govortsova BLR 6-0, 3-0 retired—left ankle injury ppd-Wed Agnieszka ready to swat a backhand #14 s14 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS d #141 q Lesia Tsurenko UKR 6-4, 7-6(3) ppd-Tue #72 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP d #15 s15 Jelena Jankovic SRB 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 ppd-Tue Maria Jose and Jelena driving backhands, and Maria Jose after match point #16 s16 Julia Goerges GER d #43 Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP 6-3, 6-0 ppd-Wed Julia driving a forehand, and Anabel following one *#35 Sara Errani ITA d #17 s17 Kaia Kanepi EST 6-1, 6-4 Mon Sara's backhand drive #18 s18 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #87 Melanie Oudin USA 6-0, 6-1 Tue Ana driving a forehand, Melanie following a backhand, Ana driving one, and after match point #19 s19 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #86 Varvara Lepchenko USA 7-5, 6-3 Mon #20 s20 Shuai Peng CHN d #110 Kirsten Flipkens BEL 6-0, 6-4 Tue #21 s21 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #79 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2 ppd-Wed Flavia driving a backhand *#89 Ksenia Pervak RUS d #22 s22 Shahar Peer ISR 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 Mon Shahar reaching for a backhand, and Ksenia driving a forehand #23 s24 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #91 Mirjana Lucic CRO 3-6, 6-3, 8-6 ppd-Wed Dominika's forehand drive #25 s25 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #170 q Vitalia Diatchenko RUS 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 ppd-Tue Daniela running down a backhand, and Vitalia serving #26 s7 Serena Williams USA d #56 Aravane Rezai FRA 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 Tue Serena following a forehand, Aravane and Serena driving backhands, and Serena after match point     Serena struck 24 winners (including 13 aces) with 18 unforced errors (including 3 double faults) while scoring on 4 of the 5 break points she reached against Aravane and totaling 83 points in the match. Aravane hit 22 winners (4 aces) with 22 errors (8 DFs) while converting 2 of her 5 break point opportunities against Serena and scoring 64 points in the match. match stats     Before last week at Eastbourne, Serena had been sidelined for almost a year, first by a cut tendon in her foot she incurred by stepping on broken glass in a restaurant, then by a blood clot in her lungs.     Serena said: "It has been so hard. I never dreamt I'd be here right now. I just wanted to win at least one match here, seeing as I'm not playing doubles. It's been a disaster year but I just kept praying. I love tennis and wanted to be able to play Wimbledon... Aravane's a really good player. She has won huge tournaments before and has beaten Venus. I knew it wouldn't be easy." WTA story - postmatch interview #27 s26 Maria Kirilenko RUS d #55 Alberta Brianti ITA 6-2, 6-1 Tue Maria volleying a forehand #28 s27 Jarmila Gajdosova AUS d #105 Alona Bondarenko UKR 7-5, 6-3 ppd-Wed Jarmila driving a backhand *#74 Christina McHale USA d #29 s28 Ekaterina Makarova RUS 2-6, 6-1, 8-6 Mon Christina and Ekaterina driving backhand and forehand, and Christina after match point #30 s29 Roberta Vinci ITA d #48 Vera Dushevina RUS 7-5, 6-2 ppd-Tue *#133 q Misaki Doi JPN d #31 s30 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 ppd-Wed Misaki's backhand drive #32 s31 Lucie Safarova CZE d #41 Lucie Hradecka CZE 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 Tue #33 s23 Venus Williams USA d #99 Akgul Amanmuradova UZB 6-3, 6-1 Mon Venus and Akgul driving forehands, Venus following a backhand, and after match point     Venus was in fine form, striking 23 winners (including 7 aces) with only 5 unforced errors (including 1 double fault) while scoring on 4 of the 5 break points she reached against Akgul and totaling 59 points in the match. Akgul hit 12 winners (1 ace) with 13 errors (3 DFs), but did not reach a break point against Venus, and scored only 34 points in the match. match stats     Venus was sidelined for most of the first half of this year due to a hip injury. Venus said: "Coming into any major there is a bit of tension and because I haven't played a lot I think that adds a little pressure on me. But it's always great to be back. I think playing a few matches at Eastbourne helped me feel comfortable here. I was happy to be playing at all after missing so much of the year. That was a big plus for me today." AFP story - postmatch interview     About playing Kimiko Date-Krumm in the 2nd round, Venus said: "This has always been a really good surface for [Kimiko], especially with the game she plays. So I definitely won't be taking anything for granted, because she has taken out a lot of top players since coming back." WTA story #34 s32 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #172 q Camila Giorgi ITA 6-2, 6-1 ppd-Tue #36 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU d #106 Jill Craybas USA 6-2, 6-4 Mon #37 Nadia Petrova RUS d #97 Vesna Dolonts RUS 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Tue #38 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #247 wc Emily Webley-Smith GBR 6-3, 5-7, 8-6 Tue #39 Elena Vesnina RUS d #90 Laura Pous Tio ESP 6-4, 6-3 Mon *#84 Tamira Paszek AUT d #42 Ayumi Morita JPN 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 Mon-rain-Tue #44 Rebecca Marino CAN d #115 Patricia Mayr-Achleitner AUT 6-3, 7-6(5) ppd-Tue #46 Monica Niculescu ROU d #144 Sybille Bammer 6-1, 6-1 Mon #49 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP d #82 Romina Oprandi ITA 6-0, 6-1 Tue #51 Iveta Benesova CZE d #108 Sandra Zahlavova CZE 3-6, 6-3, 8-6 Mon-rain-Tue *#62 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #52 Anastasija Sevastova LAT 6-1, 6-1 ppd-Wed Sabine following a forehand *#57 Simona Halep ROU d #53 Bojana Jovanovski SRB 6-1, 6-2 Tue #54 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE d #171 q Aleksandra Wozniak CAN 7-6(7), 6-4 ppd-Tue #58 Polona Hercog SLO d #71 Johanna Larsson SWE 6(3)-7, 6-3, 6-4 ppd-Wed *#98 Virginie Razzano FRA d #60 Sania Mirza IND 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 Tue     Virginie will play #1 Caroline Wozniacki in the 2nd round. Virginie said: "I don't change my tennis for to play Wozniacki... I try to enjoy this match and to start with the aggressivity at the first game of the first set." postmatch interview #61 Elena Baltacha GBR d #117 q Mona Barthel GER 6-2, 6-4 Tue Elena after match point     Elena said: "I thought [Mona] started quite tight. She did start quite nervous... I did feel like I just kind of dominated and just stayed much cooler than what she did. Then second set, she definitely got better. I just felt I was in control the whole match. I just felt like, even if it got really close, I felt like I kind of had the better game today." postmatch interview #63 Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN d #218 wc Katie O'Brien GBR 6-0, 7-5 Mon     About playing Venus Williams in the 2nd round Kimiko said: "Venus is, of course, a great player, especially on grass... I have nothing to lose. Now I'm feeling better than I did in the clay court season, so I'll just try to continue to play like I did today." #64 Mathilde Johansson FRA d #93 wc Heather Watson GBR 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 ppd-Wed Heather and Mathilde driving forehands     Heather said: "On one serve. I just felt my elbow go, something in the middle. I could only feel it on my serve, not on my groundstrokes... I could feel it for a couple more games, and then it went away. I got given something to get rid of the pain. And it helped. I couldn't feel it towards the end... I'm seeing the trainer after this." postmatch interview *#126 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #68 Alize Cornet FRA 7-5, 6-2 Mon-rain-Tue *#102 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR d #69 Sofia Arvidsson SWE 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 Tue     Possibly the funniest player on Twitter, Sofia tweeted: "I tried and tried but things didn't go my way today. Disappointing, but at least I managed to steal two towels... #Positive." Sofia Arvidsson on Twitter *#80 Petra Cetkovska CZE d #73 Kristina Barrois GER 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 ppd-Wed #75 Pauline Parmentier FRA d #81 Sorana Cirstea ROU 6-1, 6-3 Mon *#101 Andrea Hlavackova CZE d #76 Anastasia Rodionova AUS 6-1, 6-2 ppd-Wed *#257 wc Laura Robson GBR d #77 Angelique Kerber GER 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 ppd-Wed Laura and Angelique driving backhand and forehand, and Laura after match point     Laura struck 53 winners (including 4 aces) with only 30 unforced errors (including 4 double faults) while scoring on 5 of the 9 break points she reached against Angelique and totaling 103 points in the match. Angelique hit 29 winners (6 aces) with 15 errors (4 DFs), and converted 5 of the 7 break points she reached against Laura while scoring 96 points in the match. match stats     Laura tweeted: "I'm so happy! Absolutely amaaaazing atmosphere on court. Thank you all! Can't wait to play Sharapova tomorrow!" Laura Robson at Twitter     Laura said: "I thought I didn't really play my best tennis in the first set, so in the second set I just tried to pump myself up a bit more. I just tried to hang in there, like keep holding serve and everything. Things just went my way after that." postmatch interview #78 Jie Zheng CHN d #112 Zuzana Ondraskova CZE 7-5, 6-0 ppd-Wed Jie's forehand drive #83 Evgeniya Rodina RUS d #94 Chanelle Scheepers RSA 6-3, 7-5 ppd-Wed #100 Petra Martic CRO d #92 Vania King USA 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 ppd-Tue *#123 wc Eleni Daniilidou GRE d #96 Coco Vandeweghe USA 6-4, 6-4 Tue #109 q Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #116 Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ 6-2, 6-3 Tue #113 Anne Keothavong GBR d #216 wc Naomi Broady GBR 6-2, 6-4 ppd-Tue Naomi driving a forehand, Anne about to swat one, and after match point     Naomi said: "It was my first match at Wimbledon ever in the singles main draw... I just made way too many errors today. Just didn't put my game on the court." postmatch interview     Anne said: "It wasn't an easy match out there. You're playing another British player. It was a match where really she had nothing to lose and I was the one who was expected to win. All the pressure's on me...     "I played [Naomi] a few weeks ago. She has got a very big first serve... After the match we were kind of laughing. I was kind of laughing anyway, because some of the serves I hit, I didn't really want to look at the speed gun. It was a bit embarrassing." postmatch interview *#120 Anna Tatishvili GEO d #114 Anastasia Pivovarova RUS 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 Mon *#124 LL Stephanie Dubois CAN d #111 q Irina Falconi USA 6-2, 6-2 ppd-Tue *#145 q Marina Erakovic NZL d #136 q Kai-Chen Chang TPE 6-4, 6-2 ppd-Tue

Wimbledon, 2nd Round Wed-Thu Jun 22-23 noon loser's prize: £20,125 = US $32,588; points: 100 Wednesday: rain delayed start; Thu: rain delays #1 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #98 Virginie Razzano FRA 6-1, 6-3 ppd-Fri Caroline serving, Virgine and Caroline driving forehands, and Caro after match point     Caroline said: "I've been playing very well my two matches here and hopefully I can keep it up. I'm serving well, I'm moving well, and I'm moving the ball around well. I won the junior title here in 2006 and Eastbourne two years ago. Hardcourt is my best surface, but grass is good for me as well." WTA story - postmatch interview #3 s2 Vera Zvonareva RUS d #39 Elena Vesnina RUS 6-1, 7-6(5) Wed Elena tossing the ball for her serve, and Vera running down a forehand *#62 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #4 s3 Na Li CHN 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 Thu Sabine serving, Na driving a backhand, Sabine running down a forehand, and after match point     Sabine struck 32 winners (including 17 aces) with 21 unforced errors (including 5 double faults) while scoring on 5 of the 11 break points she reached against Na and totaling 102 points in the match. Na hit 24 winners (4 aces) with 20 errors (4 DFs), and converted 4 of the 11 break points she reached against Sabine while scoring 99 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Sabine hit the fastest serve yet this year by any WTA player during the match, at 124 miles per hour, and in the 8th game of the 3rd set hit serves of 120, 122, 123, 124 (ace) and 122 (ace) mph.     Sabine's ranking dropped last year when she missed five months due to a bad ankle injury. Sabine said: "It was very, very hard. I really had to start from zero after being on crutches for seven weeks, so it just means so much to me, winning the title in Birmingham and getting the wild card here. I appreciate it so much, to be back in Wimbledon. It’s just a place that I love so much." AP story - postmatch interview     Na said: "After lose the match, tough match, of course was a little bit sad. But I think both players today played great match on the court. Only I can say is unlucky for me... Both player was play unbelievable. Nothing wrong. Just unlucky." postmatch interview #5 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #51 Iveta Benesova CZE 6-0, 6-3 Wed Vika following a forehand #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS d #257 wc Laura Robson GBR 7-6(4), 6-3 ppd-Fri Maria serving, Laura and Maria driving forehand and backhand, and Laura congratulating Maria after match point     Maria struck 32 winners (including 6 aces) with 15 unforced errors (including 6 double faults) while scoring on 4 of the 9 break points she reached against Laura and totaling 82 points in the match. Laura hit 22 winners (1 ace) with 20 errors (7 DFs), and converted 3 of the 8 break points she reached against Maria while scoring 72 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Maria said: "I think [Laura] has great potential. I think for everyone it's a really long road. There will be many tournaments and many losses and many wins. I think it will just be important to learn from the situations. Obviously it's great and it's important to play in front of thousands of people with the support of the British crowd.     "I also feel as you develop your game, it's just as important to play the lower tournaments where there's a little amount of people watching and you're in the third set and you have to win those matches, because that ultimately leads to experience. You learn a lot from those matches. She'll get that experience behind her back and she'll be a better player." Tennis.com Ticker - postmatch interview     Laura said: "I'm definitely really, really disappointed. You know, I even thought I could have played better at some points, especially the big points. I think that's where [Maria's] experience definitely showed. I mean, every time she sort of stepped up a little bit. And it's a good learning experience for me. It's good to know that I can definitely play sort of just as well as the top girls." postmatch interview     In the 3rd round on Saturday, Maria will play #38 Klara Zakopalova. Klara and Maria have met only once before, on a Rebound Ace hardcourt in the 1st round of the 2003 Australian Open, when then #113 Klara defeated 15 year old qualifier #183 Maria 6-4, 7-6(6).     Klara will remember that match, because two days later she defeated a girl named Monica Seles (then #7), 6(6)-7, 7-5, 6-3. #7 s6 Francesca Schiavone ITA d #54 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE 7-5, 6-3 ppd-Thu Francesca and Barbora driving forehands     Francesca said: "Was okay match. I didn't play so good. But was not easy because she doesn't give you [the same ball twice]. So I had to mix it up—me too: to push with the serve and go to the net. Was not easy. But at the end, I think in the most important moment, I played better than the rest." postmatch interview #8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #113 Anne Keothavong GBR 6-2, 6-1 Wed Petra and Anne driving backhand and forehand     Anne said: "I thought Petra played a really good match today. She's definitely one of the in form players and a favourite for this tournament. But I felt like the first couple of games were good. First set was good. I just didn't take the opportunities that I had, and she kind of ran away with it." postmatch interview #9 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA d #49 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 ppd-Fri Lourdes and Marion driving forehands #11 s11 Andrea Petkovic GER d #124 LL Stephanie Dubois CAN 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 Wed Stephanie about to swat a forehand, Andrea driving one, and after match point #12 s12 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS d #36 Alexandra Dulgheru ROU 6-0, 6-2 ppd-Thu *#80 Petra Cetkovska CZE d #13 s13 Agnieszka Radwanska POL 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 ppd-Thu Agnieszka and Petra driving backhand and forehand *#37 Nadia Petrova RUS d #14 s14 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS 6-3, 6-3 ppd-Thu #16 s16 Julia Goerges GER d #64 Mathilde Johansson FRA 7-6(10), 6-2 Thu Julia driving a forehand #18 s18 Ana Ivanovic SRB d #123 wc Eleni Daniilidou GRE 6-3, 6-0 Thu Ana after winning a point     Ana said: "It's really nice because I did put lot of work. To see that work giving results finally, I feel like I know what I'm doing and I know why I'm playing well. That's very important thing to realize." postmatch interview #19 s19 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #120 Anna Tatishvili GEO 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 ppd-Thu #20 s20 Shuai Peng CHN d #61 Elena Baltacha GBR 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 ppd-Fri Elena driving a forehand, Shuai fielding a drop shot, and after match point     Elena said: "From the first point, we were going for it, and it was a really good match. And I had an opportunity. But that's the way it is sometimes. But there's just so many positives, because for me the most exciting thing has been that I've been performing better and better on a week to week basis. So for me, playing good tennis like today, it didn't feel like a surprise. It felt like, 'Okay, things are becoming to feel a bit more normal now, because I am performing solidly week after week.'" postmatch interview #21 s21 Flavia Pennetta ITA d #83 Evgeniya Rodina RUS 6-4, 6-2 Thu Evgeniya about to swat a forehand, and Flavia driving one #23 s24 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #58 Polona Hercog SLO 6-1, 6-2 Thu #25 s25 Daniela Hantuchova SVK d #145 q Marina Erakovic NZL 6-3, 6-1 Wed Marina and Daniela driving forehands #26 s7 Serena Williams USA d #57 Simona Halep ROU 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 Thu Simona serving, Serena reaching for a forehand, and after match point     Serena struck 34 winners (including 7 aces) with 19 unforced errors (including 2 double faults) while scoring on 4 of the 10 break points she reached against Simona and totaling 82 points in the match. Simona hit 11 winners (2 aces) with 7 errors (4 DFs) while converting her only break point opportunity against Serena and scoring 64 points in the match. match stats     About 5' 6" Simona, Serena said: "Usually players that height don't serve as well—she has so much power on her serve, that's actually really awesome.     "I feel like I started slowly today, but I was actually really, really trying to start out fast. That obviously didn't happen. I got a little tight out there and I just need to relax.     "I'm just playing my way into match condition. That's all I can do." WTA story - AP story - postmatch interview     About her 3rd round opponent, Maria Kirilenko, Serena said: "[Maria] moves well and hits hard. Boy, she runs well. She does everything well. And she's always looking to improve. It will be tough." #27 s26 Maria Kirilenko RUS v #109 q Tamarine Tanasugarn THA 7-5, 7-5 Thu Maria driving a backhand #28 s27 Jarmila Gajdosova AUS d #101 Andrea Hlavackova CZE 7-6(1), 6-3 Thu Andrea and Jarmila fielding backhands     Jarmila said: "[Andrea] was very dangerous, obviously, the way she played, so any free point or any lose concentration, that one is going to cost you a lot. And she's been playing very well, until like 5-2, and making balls that I didn't thought they were going to go in, but they did. She was making a lot winners, so I didn't think I did that much wrong.     "I had to wait for the chances; I got one, and took it as soon as I could." postmatch interview #30 s29 Roberta Vinci ITA d #44 Rebecca Marino CAN 7-6(3), 6-2 Wed Roberta's forehand drive *#38 Klara Zakopalova CZE d #32 s31 Lucie Safarova CZE 6-0, 6(3)-7, 6-4 Thu Klara driving a backhand #33 s23 Venus Williams USA d #63 Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN 6-7(6), 6-3, 8-6 Wed Kimiko and Venus fielding forehands on the fly     Venus struck 45 winners (including 12 aces) with 24 unforced errors (including 2 double faults) while scoring on 7 of the 20 break points she reached against Kimiko and totaling 132 points in the 2 hour, 56 minute match. Kimiko hit 46 winners (1 ace) with 31 errors (3 DFs) while converting 4 of her 9 break point opportunities against Venus and scoring 122 points in the match. match stats     Venus said: "She came out and I couldn't seem to get a game. She plays so well—every ball hits the line, the baseline. She was so aggressive. Coming so close to winning the first set was so frustrating... I give her a lot of credit and I'm just glad to come through. Right until the end she was attacking, even the last point, I hit a great approach and she almost got the passing shot." WTA story - postmatch interview     Kimiko said: "Of course, very, very disappointed. It was very close. But most important, I played it's my tennis and then I can fight with Venus also. She's a five time champion here. Then she's a great player. So I can fight with her. So it was very, very good match for me.." postmatch interview #34 s32 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #100 Petra Martic CRO 6-1, 6-4 Wed *#126 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR d #35 Sara Errani ITA 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 ppd-Thu *#72 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP d #46 Monica Niculescu ROU 6-3, 6-0 Wed *#84 Tamira Paszek AUT d #74 Christina McHale USA 6-4, 6-1 ppd-Thu Christina and Tamira driving forehand and backhand *#89 Ksenia Pervak RUS d #75 Pauline Parmentier FRA 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 Wed *#133 q Misaki Doi JPN d #78 Jie Zheng CHN 6-3, 6-1 Thu Jie ready to swat a forehand, Misaki driving one, and after match point *#262 sr72 Melinda Czink HUN d #102 Anastasiya Yakimova BLR 7-5, 6-3 ppd-Thu

Wimbledon, 3rd Round Fri-Sat Jun 24-25 noon Sat WTA story loser's prize: £34,375 = US $55,663; points: 160 Friday: rain delays #1 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN d #28 s27 Jarmila Gajdosova AUS 6-3, 6-2 Sat Jarmila serving, Caroline pursuing a forehand, and after match point     Although she played in no grass court tourney this year prior to Wimbledon, Caroline said: "I think I had great preparation. I came here a week early. I enjoy Wimbledon and I enjoy being here. Of course there are always things you can improve on, but I've been playing well this week. It's not a surface we play on that often, but when we do, I always look forward to it."     About her next opponent, Dominika Cibulkova, Caroline said: "We grew up playing against each other in the juniors, so we know each other pretty well. She's not a tall player, but she takes the ball early and tries to be aggressive. I need to keep my serve up, get a lot of balls back, try to take the initiative, and make her run." *#34 s32 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #3 s2 Vera Zvonareva RUS 6-2, 6-3 Fri Tsvetana driving a forehand, Vera and Tsvetana driving backhands, and Tsveti after match point     Tsvetana struck 16 winners (including 2 aces) with only 5 unforced errors (including 1 double fault) while scoring on 4 of the 5 break points she reached against Vera and totaling 64 points in the match. Vera also hit 16 winners (1 ace), but with 18 errors (1 DF) while converting only 1 of her 7 break point opportunities against Tsvetana and scoring 40 points in the match. match stats     Tsvetana will play the 2000, '01, '05 '07 & '08 Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams, in the 4th round on Monday. Tsvetana leads Venus 2-1 in career matches. Venus won their first meeting, on red clay in the semifinals at Istanbul in 2005, 6-1, 6-3. The following year, on a Rebound Ace hardcourt in the 1st round of the 2006 Australian Open, then #95 Tsvetana won the biggest victory of her career by defeating then #10 Venus 2-6, 6-0, 9-7.     Last year, then #82 Tsveti surprisingly repeated the feat on grass, defeating then #2 Venus 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. #5 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #25 s25 Daniela Hantuchova SVK 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 Fri Victoria and Daniela driving forehand and backhand, and Vika after match point #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS d #38 Klara Zakopalova CZE 6-2, 6-3 Sat Klara and Maria driving forehands, and Maria after match point     Maria said: "I was put in tough positions in the match and was able to come through—I was down a break in the second set and found a way to win it. I was quite pleased.     "There's no doubt you have to improve with the second week coming. The opponents get tougher, especially at a Grand Slam, so raising your level is what it's all about in the second week."     About her next opponent, Shuai Peng, Maria said: "I think she has a great game for grass. She hits really flat, stays quite low and her balls come pretty deep. The last time we played was in Palm Springs earlier this year and it was a tough match. She's playing some of the best tennis of her career—no doubt she'll be out there playing loose and good tennis, so I'll have to be ready." *#84 Tamira Paszek AUT d #7 s6 Francesca Schiavone ITA 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 Fri-rain-Sat Francesca and Tamira driving forehands, and Tamira after match point #8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #30 s29 Roberta Vinci ITA 6-3, 6-3 Fri Petra volleying a forehand #9 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA d #21 s21 Flavia Pennetta ITA 5-7, 6-4, 9-7 Sat Flavia and Marion driving forehand and backhand, and Marion after match point *#89 Ksenia Pervak RUS d #11 s11 Andrea Petkovic GER 6-4 7-6(2) Fri Andrea and Ksenia driving forehand and backhand     Andrea said: "I just had a black day. I didn't feel the ball at all and didn't move well. And when I started waking up, [Ksenia] played better in the important moments. I felt like the match would turn, but she played better than me." WTA story *#19 s19 Yanina Wickmayer BEL d #12 s12 Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Fri Yanina and Svetlana driving forehand and backhand *#23 s24 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #16 s16 Julia Goerges GER 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 Sat Julia driving a forehand, Dominika following a backhand, and after match point     Julia said: "When I was up, I was always stopping my game. That's where I have to learn to get better. I gave it back to her a little bit. I tried everything, but when I led, I gave it away." *#80 Petra Cetkovska CZE d #18 s18 Ana Ivanovic SRB 6-2, 7-6(0) Sat Ana following a backhand, Petra about to swat a forehand, and after match point #20 s20 Shuai Peng CHN d #262 sr72 Melinda Czink HUN 6-2, 7-6(5) Sat Shuai after match point #26 s7 Serena Williams USA d #27 s26 Maria Kirilenko RUS 6-3, 6-2 Sat Maria serving, Serena driving a backhand, and Maria congratulating Serena after match point     Serena said: "The matches are getting better, my serve is getting better, so it’s just getting the rhythm that I’ve been missing a little bit, and it’s good. I just want to continue to serve better like I did today, and just hold on out there and just move, and just really more than anything enjoy myself and stay focused." AP story #33 s23 Venus Williams USA d #72 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP 6-0, 6-2 Fri Maria Jose and Venus driving backhand and forehand, and Venus after match point     About playing Tsvetana Pironkova (who defeated Venus last year in the quarterfinals) in the 4th round on Monday, Venus said: "Last year I wasn't on my best game, but this year I'm going to look forward to playing a bit better than I did last time." AFP story - postmatch interview #37 Nadia Petrova RUS d #126 Kateryna Bondarenko UKR 6-3, 6-2 Fri Nadia's backhand drive #62 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #133 q Misaki Doi JPN 6-4, 6-2 Sat Sabine driving a forehand, Misaki following one, and Sabine after match point

Wimbledon, 4th Round, Mon Jun 27 noon loser's prize: £68,750 = US $111,327; points: 280 *#23 s24 Dominika Cibulkova SVK d #1 s1 Caroline Wozniacki DEN 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 Dominika serving, Caroline and Dominika driving backhand and forehand, and Domi after match point     Dominika struck 44 winners (including 1 ace) with 31 unforced errors (including 10 double faults) while scoring on 3 of the 10 break points she reached against Caroline and totaling 107 points in the match. Caroline hit 33 winners (10 aces), with 16 errors (5 DFs) while converting 4 of her 10 break point opportunities against Dominika and scoring 114 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Dominika said: "Wozniacki is the best in defending - she's just waiting and waiting and then takes her chance. So today I had to take all or nothing. I had to go for my shots 100% or I had no chance. I was really going for everything and I played really well today.     "This is one of my top 5 victories, because it's a big tournament and it's not the first or second round. It's already the fourth round to go to the quarterfinals, so it's a really big win. It was a really great match. I would rank it in my top 5 wins." WTA story     Caroline said: "[Dominika] goes for everything. She doesn't hold back. If it goes in, it's tough. But we had a lot of long rallies and a lot of good points, and unfortunately I didn't win today. She played well—I just have to give credit to her.     "I just need to look forward and go back to the practice court. I still have Bastad before I take a little break and get ready for the hardcourt season." #5 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #37 Nadia Petrova RUS 6-2, 6-2 Victoria serving, Nadia driving a backhand, Vika following a forehand, and after match point #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS d #20 s20 Shuai Peng CHN 6-4, 6-2 Maria serving, Shuai following a backhand, Maria driving a forehand, and after match point     Maria said: "Last year I lost in the fourth round to Serena, and this year I find myself in the quarterfinals, and I'm giving myself an opportunity to go even in further so I'm quite happy about that. I have to be a little realistic about the fact that I haven't gotten past the fourth round in a few years. This is a step forward." AP story #8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #19 s19 Yanina Wickmayer BEL 6-0, 6-2 Yanina and Petra driving forehand and backhand, and Petra after match point #9 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA d #26 s7 Serena Williams USA 6-3, 7-6(6) Marion serving, Serena lining up a forehand, Marion driving her 2-handed forehand with backhand grip, and after match point     Marion struck 21 winners (including 10 aces) with 17 unforced errors (including 5 double faults) while scoring on 2 of the 6 break points she reached against Serena and totaling 82 points in the match. Serena hit 29 winners (8 aces) with 20 errors (1 DF) while converting only 1 of her 5 break point opportunities against Marion and scoring 71 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Marion said: "It's definitely my biggest win. Beating Serena Williams is almost like a dream come true. Even though she didn't play for almost a year, she's one of the greatest champions in the Open Era. I had lots of chances but she kept coming up with amazing shots. After losing the 6-5 game, to win was amazing. I did it and I'm very happy." WTA story     Serena said: "I never came here thinking I would lose. That’s my attitude. You win some and you lose some. Today just happened to be the one that slipped under me...     “I think I did really well just being able to come back and play and win some matches, and just really play tough. Even today I lost, but I was able to kind of hang in there and play tough. And I can only get better." AP story *#34 s32 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL d #33 s23 Venus Williams USA 6-2, 6-3 Tsvetana serving, Venus and Tsvetana driving backhand and forehand, and Tsvetana after match point     Tsvetana struck 10 winners (including 2 aces) with 9 unforced errors (including 3 double faults) while scoring on 4 of the 7 break points she reached against Venus and totaling 63 points in the match. Venus hit 20 winners (3 aces), with 16 errors (3 DFs) while converting only 1 of her 4 break point opportunities against Tsvetana and scoring 43 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Tsvetana now leads Venus 3-1 in career matches. Venus won their first meeting, on red clay in the semifinals at Istanbul in 2005, 6-1, 6-3. The following year, on a Rebound Ace hardcourt in the 1st round of the 2006 Australian Open, then #95 Tsvetana won the biggest victory of her career by defeating then #10 Venus 2-6, 6-0, 9-7. Last year, then #82 Tsveti surprisingly repeated the feat on grass, defeating then #2 Venus 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.     Tsvetana said: "I beat [Venus] two times, two consecutive years—it feels amazing to play such a champion on this legendary court. When I come here I just feel so relaxed. I really like the atmosphere here."     Venus said: "I didn't seem to get the ball in; [Tsvetana] took her opportunities. I just didn't put the ball in the court. Simple as that. Unfortunately, I seem not to have my good days against her. It's kind of inexplicable why I manage to play some of my worst tennis against her. It's not like I'm intimidated at all by anybody on tour. I'm not sure why I don't play my best against her. She runs down a lot of balls. She's very consistent off the ground. I had some chances in the second set, but I just kept making errors. Shots that I thought normally would land in kept going a little longer or wider. I think it just went a little bit too fast." Wimbledon story #62 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #80 Petra Cetkovska CZE 7-6(3), 6-1 Sabine serving, Petra and Sabine driving backhands, and Petra congratulating Sabine after match point #84 Tamira Paszek AUT d #89 Ksenia Pervak RUS 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 Tamira driving a forehand, Ksenia following a backhand, and Tamira ready to swat another forehand     Tamira said: "Grass is one of my favorite surfaces, along with hardcourts, and I had great preparation on grass—I think I got 11 matches on grass before Wimbledon. I think my game is suited to grass because it suits my aggressive groundstrokes, and I like stepping into the court and finishing the points early. What has kept me going at Wimbledon this year also was my will and the mental side of my game.     "It will be amazing to play the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. Victoria [Azarenka] is such a great player. She plays so solid and has had some amazing results in the past few years. She's a Top 10 player so she's the favorite—I'll just go out there and try to play my game, and just try to enjoy every moment." WTA story

Wimbledon, QFs, Tue Jun 28 1pm loser's prize: £137,500 = US $222,654; points: 500 Tuesday: rain delays (except Center Court) #5 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR d #84 Tamira Paszek AUT 6-3, 6-1 Victoria serving, Tamira following a forehand, Vika driving a backhand, and after match point     Victoria struck 30 winners (including 1 ace) with only 8 unforced errors (including 2 double faults) while scoring on 5 of the 9 break points she reached against Tamira and totaling 66 points in the match. Tamira hit 11 winners (2 aces), with 7 errors (1 DF) while converting her one break point opportunity against Victoria and scoring 41 points in the match. match stats     The win put Victoria into the first Grand Slam singles semifinal of her career. Victoria said: "Looking at the rankings, everybody says I should have been in the semifinals already. It was important I got through this match. I'm very happy to be in the semifinals, and I'm looking forward to working even harder." WTA story - postmatch interview #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS d #23 s24 Dominika Cibulkova SVK 6-1, 6-1 Maria serving, Dominika driving a forehand, Maria following a backhand, and 5' 3" Domi congratulating 6' 2" Maria after match point     Maria struck 23 winners (including 5 aces) with 10 unforced errors (including 1 double fault) while scoring on 6 of the 10 break points she reached against Dominika and totaling 60 points in the match. Dominika hit only 3 winners (no aces), with 11 errors (3 DFs) while converting 1 of her 4 break point opportunities against Maria and scoring 32 points in the match. match stats     Maria said: "I was playing someone I lost to a little over a month ago on clay in two sets, so I knew she was capable of playing some really good tennis. A few years ago I also lost to [Dominika] at the French Open, at the same stage as today. I thought I played really solid and did the right things to win this time." WTA story - AP story - postmatch interview     About her semifinal opponent, Sabine Lisicki, Maria said: "Sabine hits very hard. She has probably one of the hardest serves on the tour, and that's very beneficial. She has used that very well on grass and it'll be challenging. I'm really looking forward to the match." #8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #34 s32 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL 6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-2 Petra serving, Tsvetana and Petra driving backhand and forehand, and Tsveti congratulating Petra after match point     Petra struck 54 winners (including 9 aces) with 24 unforced errors (including 5 double faults) while scoring on 6 of the 10 break points she reached against Tsvetana and totaling 104 points in the match. Tsvetana hit 10 winners (1 ace), with 18 errors (3 DFs) while converting 2 of her 3 break point opportunities against Petra and scoring 80 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Petra said: "At the beginning I was better and played like my matches before, but then I got a little nervous. I made some easy mistakes. I was so happy I won the first game in the third set, that I broke her. It got better from there." postmatch interview #62 wc Sabine Lisicki GER d #9 s9 Marion Bartoli FRA 6-4, 6(4)-7, 6-1 Sabine serving, Marion launching a forehand on the run, Sabine driving a backhand, and after match point     Sabine walloped 52 winners (including 9 aces) with 24 unforced errors (including 2 double faults) while scoring on 6 of the 10 break points she reached against Marion and totaling 111 points in the match. Marion hit only 12 winners (1 ace) with 17 errors (5 DFs) while converting 3 of her 4 break point opportunities against Sabine and scoring 90 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     The win made Sabine the first German to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Steffi Graf in 1999. Sabine said: "It was a really tough match against Marion. She likes to play on grass and she plays well on it. I was disappointed I wasn't going for my shots at the end of the second set. I started to get tentative. But I was going to fight—there was nothing else I was thinking of. I just really wanted to win. I gave it all I had. I was fighting for each point and didn't want it to slip away." WTA story - postmatch interview     Marion was slowed by fatigue from long matches in the three previous rounds. Marion said: "My mind was trying extremely hard, but my body just couldn't do anything anymore. I still fought very hard, especially in that second set—I was down match points. But Sabine was playing very well, of course. I have no regrets... I just have to take the good things I've done in the last month and move forward." postmatch interview     Sabine Lisicki will play Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon semifinals on Thursday. They have met only once before, on a Laykold hardcourt this year in the 3rd round at Miami, when Maria defeated Sabine 6-2, 6-0. It is not likely to be so easy this time.     Sabine said: "[Maria is] a great champion and has been playing well recently. I have absolutely nothing to lose. I just enjoy myself out there on the court so much. It's just so great, and I'm so thankful to be out there again."

Wimbledon, SFs, Thu Jun 30 1pm loser's prize: £275,000 = US $445,307; points: 900 *#8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #5 s4 Victoria Azarenka BLR 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 Petra serving, Victoria and Petra driving backhands, and Petra after match point     Petra struck 40 winners (including 9 aces) with 14 unforced errors (including 2 double faults) while scoring on 4 of the 8 break points she reached against Victoria and totaling 85 points in the match. Victoria hit 9 winners (1 ace), with 7 errors (2 DFs) while converting only 1 of her 8 break point opportunities against Petra and scoring 71 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Petra said: "At the beginning it was so close, the first three games, but when I broke [Victoria] I started playing even better, and she was a little bit down, I think. She started playing very well again in the second set and it was tough after." WTA story - postmatch interview     Victoria said: "[Petra] really played very well on her service game. Was a little bit of a bad luck, I think. She was just going for every single shot today. When my balls were going a little bit out like this, her balls were going into the line." postmatch interview     Petra now leads Vika 3-2 in career matches. Vika won their first two meetings, Petra won the last three. Their only prior meeting on a chlorophyll court was last year in the 3rd round at Wimbledon, when Petra defeated Victoria 7-5, 6-0. #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS d #62 wc Sabine Lisicki GER 6-4, 6-3 Sabine serving, Maria following a backhand, Maria serving, Sabine elevating for a forehand, Maria ready to swat one, and after match point     The match was sloppy. Maria struck 14 winners (including 2 aces) with 18 unforced errors (including 13 double faults) while scoring on 6 of the 10 break points she reached against Sabine and totaling 65 points in the match. Sabine hit 18 winners (no aces), with 14 errors (4 DFs) while converting 3 of her 6 break point opportunities against Maria and scoring 56 points in the match. match stats - Tennis.com "Racquet Reaction"     Maria the match on the strength of her return of Sabine's high speed serves (today's fastest: 121mph; peaked at 124mph in the tourney). Leaving out double faults, Maria won 26 of 51 receiving points against Sabine (51%), while Sabine won only 18 of 53 recieving points against Maria (34%). Sabine finished the tourney with 44 aces, though she had none in this match.     Maria trailed 0-3 in the 1st set, her serve broken on a double fault. Maria said: "I felt like I was just rushing things, my first serve. [Sabine is] someone that has pretty big swings and likes to take charge and hit the ball. I didn’t really want to give her too many looks on second serves. I think maybe I overthought it too much. She played really well and I did quite the opposite. It was tough. I just had to stay focused. I got back on track and just remained really focused throughout the rest of the match." AP story - WTA story - postmatch interview     Sabine said: "I had my chances but I didn't take them. I think that was the biggest difference. [Maria] took her chances; I didn't. I was up 3-0 and I had chances to go up 4-0 or 4-1. In the end it's just little points that make a huge difference. I didn't make them, unfortunately. But, you know, I still learned a lot out of that match. The last time she beat me quite easily, and now was pretty close. I'm really looking forward to the next one." postmatch interview     Sabine and Maria had met only once before, on a Laykold hardcourt this year in the 3rd round at Miami, when Maria defeated Sabine 6-2, 6-0.

Wimbledon, Final, Sat Jul 2 2pm loser's prize: £550,000 = US $890,615; points: 1400 winner's prize: £1,100,000 = US $1,781,229; points: 2000 #8 s8 Petra Kvitova CZE d #6 s5 Maria Sharapova RUS 6-3, 6-4 Maria serving, Petra driving a backhand on the run, Maria about to swat a forehand, Petra serving, Maria and Petra driving forehand and backhand, and Petra after match point

Wimbledon, Doubles Final, Sat Jul 2 losers' prize: £125,000 = US $202,412 winners' prize: £250,000 = US $404,824 s2 Kveta Peschke CZE & Katarina Srebotnik SLO d Sabine Lisicki GER & Samantha Stosur AUS 6-3, 6-1 Kveta and Katarina Wimbledon, Mixed Doubles Final, Sun Jul 3 losers' prize: £46,000 = US $74,488 winners' prize: £92,000 = US $148,976 *Iveta Benesova CZE & Jurgen Melzer AUT d s4 Elena Vesnina RUS & M Bhupathi IND 6-3, 6-2 Wimbledon, Girls' Singles Final, Sun Jul 3 s12 Ashleigh Barty AUS d s3 Irina Khromacheva RUS 7-5, 7-6(3) Ashleigh Wimbledon, Girls' Doubles Final, Sun Jul 3 s2 Eugenie Bouchard CAN & Grace Min USA d Demi Schuurs NED & Hao Chen Tang CHN 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 Eugenie & Grace Wimbledon, Invitation Doubles Final, Sun Jul 3 losers' prize: £14,500 = US $23,480 winners' prize: £17,500 = US $28,338 Martina Hingis SUI & Lindsay Davenport USA d Martina Navratilova USA & Jana Novotna CZE 6-4, 6-4 Lindsay and Martina Wimbledon, Qualifying Finals at Roehampton, Thu Jun 16 11am, Fri-Sat 10:30am Q1st loser's prize: £1,750 = US $2,834; 2 points Q2nd loser's prize: £3,500 = US $5,668; 15 points Qfinal loser's prize: £7,000 = US $11,335; 25 points Thu: rain delays; most matches PPD-Fri     Fri: rain delays; some matches PPD-Sat Saturday: rain delayed start of play #109 Tamarine Tanasugarn THA d #139 S Foretz Gacon FRA 6-3, 6-3 Thu #111 Irina Falconi USA d #132 Junri Namigata JPN 6-3, 6-2 Thu #117 Mona Barthel GER d #235 Estrella Cabeza Candela ESP 6-2, 6-2 Thu-rain-Fri *#170 Vitalia Diatchenko RUS d #124 Stephanie Dubois CAN 6-3, 6-2 ppd-Sat #133 Misaki Doi JPN d #163 Ekaterina Ivanova RUS 7-5, 6-4 ppd-Sat #136 Kai-Chen Chang TPE d #143 Zuzana Kucova SVK 6-3, 7-6(3) ppd-Fri-rain-Sat *#145 Marina Erakovic NZL d #140 Silvia Soler-Espinosa ESP 2-0 retired #141 Lesia Tsurenko UKR d #193 Tetiana Luzhanska UKR 6-4, 7-5 ppd-Sat *#171 Aleksandra Wozniak CAN d #148 N Bratchikova RUS 3-6 6-4 6-2 Thu-rain-Fri #172 Camila Giorgi ITA d #233 Lindsay Lee-Waters USA 6-1, 6-4 Thu #175 Alexa Glatch USA d #185 Galina Voskoboeva KAZ 3-6, 7-6(2), 12-10 ppd-Sat *#229 Kristyna Pliskova CZE d #211 Ar. Rodionova RUS 4-6 6-3 6-2 Thu-rain-Fri Wimbledon, Withdrawals/Non-entries #2 Kim Clijsters BEL right foot injury #24 Alisa Kleybanova RUS illness #40 Gisela Dulko ARG 2cm left thigh adductor tear at Roland Garros #45 Agnes Szavay HUN spine injury #47 Greta Arn HUN knee injury #65 Dinara Safina RUS low back injury #67 Timea Bacsinszky SUI #NR Patty Schnyder SUI retired from WTA Tour

The 64 doubles teams, arranged in drawsheet order; teams in red have been eliminated:
TOP HALF s1 Vania King USA & Yaroslava Shvedova KAZ r2 Simona Halep ROU & Varvara Lepchenko USA r1 Sabine Lisicki GER & Samantha Stosur AUS F Jelena Jankovic SRB & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova RUS r1 Jocelyn Rae GBR & Heather Watson GBR r1 Sophie Lefevre FRA & Evgeniya Rodina RUS r2 Sorana Cirstea ROU & Ayumi Morita JPN r3 s15 Chia-Jung Chuang TPE & Su-Wei Hsieh TPE r1 s11 Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez ESP & Anabel Medina Garrigues ESP r2 Sofia Arvidsson SWE & Andreja Klepac SLO r1 Vitalia Diatchenko RUS & Maria Kondratieva RUS r1 Vera Dushevina RUS & Ekaterina Makarova RUS r3 Kai-Chen Chang TPE & Jill Craybas USA r1 Ana Ivanovic SRB & Andrea Petkovic GER r2 Irina-Camelia Begu ROU & Melinda Czink HUN r1 s6 Nadia Petrova RUS & Anastasia Rodionova AUS QF s3 Liezel Huber USA & Lisa Raymond USA QF Jelena Dokic AUS & Bojana Jovanovski SRB r1 Michaella Krajicek NED & Lucie Safarova CZE r1 q Urszula Radwanska POL & Arina Rodionova RUS r2 Angelique Kerber GER & Christina McHale USA r3 Noppawan Lertcheewakarn THA & Jessica Moore AUS r1 Anne Keothavong GBR & Laura Robson GBR r1 s16 Olga Govortsova BLR & Alla Kudryavtseva RUS r2 s10 Iveta Benesova CZE & Barbora Zahlavova Strycova CZE r3 Dominika Cibulkova SVK & Petra Kvitova CZE r1 Kristina Barrois GER & Anna-Lena Groenefeld GER r2 Casey Dellacqua AUS & Rennae Stubbs AUS r1 q Lindsay Lee-Waters USA & Megan Moulton-Levy USA r1 Marina Erakovic NZL & Tamarine Tanasugarn THA SF Klaudia Jans POL & Alicja Rosolska POL r2 s7 Andrea Hlavackova CZE & Lucie Hradecka CZE r1		BOTTOM HALF s5 Bethanie Mattek-Sands USA & Meghann Shaughnessy USA r2 Lourdes Dominguez Lino ESP & Laura Pous-Tio ESP r1 Nuria Llagostera Vives ESP & Arantxa Parra Santonja ESP QF Olga Savchuk UKR & Anastasija Sevastova LAT r1 Sara Errani ITA & Roberta Vinci ITA r3 q Shuko Aoyama JPN & Rika Fujiwara JPN r1 Tsvetana Pironkova BUL & Chanelle Scheepers RSA r2 s9 Julia Goerges GER & Maria Kirilenko RUS r1 s13 Daniela Hantuchova SVK & Agnieszka Radwanska POL r3 Sandra Klemenschits AUT & Tamira Paszek AUT r1 Rebecca Marino CAN & Ipek Senoglu TUR r1 Natalie Grandin RSA & Vladimira Uhlirova CZE r2 Naomi Broady GBR & Emily Webley-Smith GBR r1 Renata Voracova CZE & Galina Voskoboeva KAZ r2 Anna Chakvetadze RUS & Melanie Oudin USA r1 s4 Sania Mirza IND & Elena Vesnina RUS SF s8 Shuai Peng CHN & Jie Zheng CHN QF Akgul Amanmuradova UZB & Alexandra Panova RUS r1 Mariya Koryttseva UKR & Tatiana Poutchek BLR r2 Alize Cornet FRA & Aravane Rezai FRA r1 Flavia Pennetta ITA & Francesca Schiavone ITA r1 Kimiko Date-Krumm JPN & Shuai Zhang CHN r3 Alberta Brianti ITA & Eleni Daniilidou GRE r1 s12 Yung-Jan Chan TPE & Monica Niculescu ROU r2 s14 Cara Black ZIM & Shahar Peer ISR r3 Sarah Borwell GBR & Melanie South GBR r1 Johanna Larsson SWE & Jasmin Woehr GER r1 Raquel Kops-Jones USA & Abigail Spears USA r2 Jarmila Gajdosova AUS & Klara Zakopalova CZE r2 Mathilde Johansson FRA & Pauline Parmentier FRA r1 q Vesna Dolonts RUS & Katalin Marosi HUN r1 s2 Kveta Peschke CZE & Katarina Srebotnik SLO

doubles withdrawals: Greta Arn HUN & Polona Hercog SLO; Alexandra Dulgheru ROU & Magdalena Rybarikova SVK; Svetlana Kuznetsova RUS & Vera Zvonareva RUS

    (Jun 15, 2011) WTA #2 Kim Clijsters withdrew from Wimbledon on Wednesday. Kim tweeted: "Hey guys, bad news... No Wimbledon for me this year. Injured my ankle during yesterday's match [against Romina Oprandi at Eastbourne]. I feel very upset and disappointed." Kim Clijsters at Twitter

    (Jun 6, 2011) Former WTA #1 and 2010 Wimbledon champion Serena Williams has announced she will play at Wimbledon this year (tourney start: June 20th), and also will accept a wild card entry into next week's warm-up tourney at Eastbourne. Serena has been sidelined for almost a year, first by a cut tendon in her foot after stepped on broken glass in a restaurant, then by a blood clot in her lungs. In a statement, Serena said: "I am so excited to be healthy enough to compete again. These past 12 months have been extremely tough and character building." NYT story

The first Ladies Championships at Wimbledon were held in 1884; the drawsheet is at left (photo from Virginia Wade's indispensable book Ladies of the Court).     The "silver flower basket" valued at 20 guineas awarded to champion Maud Watson is now used as the championship trophy at Birmingham, and is known as the Maude Watson Trophy. The 20 guinea valuation seems too high; the cup is not very large, and 20 guineas then would be well over $2000 US today.     The entry fee of 10 shillings and a sixpence equaled about $2.52 US at the time-- which, adjusted for inflation, would be around $56.60 today.     The other "Miss Watson" whom Maude defeated in the final, 6-8, 6-3, 6-3, was her older sister Lillian. Maude would win the title again in 1885, defeating 1884 semifinalist Blanche Bingley.     Blanche, later Mrs. George Hillyard, would win the title six times, a feat matched only by Dorothea K. Douglass Lambert Chambers (7 titles), Suzanne Lenglen (6), Helen Wills (8), Billie Jean King (6), Martina Navratilova (9), and Steffi Graf (7).

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 that 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.

from Lawn Tennis for Ladies (1910) by 7-time Wimbledon champion Dorothea K. Douglass Lambert Chambers, p.111-112     I once overheard a lady who was watching a match in the centre court at Wimbledon remark, "There, that's the very first time that man has hit the net with the ball, and he has had hundreds of tries!..."     Another lady at Eastbourne, whom I had noticed because she never left her seat, bringing her lunch with her so as not to lose a moment's play, asked me at the end of the week, while watching a double, whether the partners were side by side or opposite, as in bridge!

    (May 23, 2007) The AELTC has installed Hawkeye instant replay gear on Centre Court and Court 1. At Wimbledon in 2007, players on these courts will be allowed three incorrect challenge-video replays in each set, after which they can no longer challenge calls in that set. The US and Australian Opens both utilize the Hawkeye instant replay system on show courts, and allow players to challenge calls and request replays until they lose two challenges in each set. Roland Garros does not yet have any form of instant replay gear installed for French Open call challenges--of course, on clay courts, ball marks are generally used to judge questionable calls. AP story

    (Jan 6, 2004 revised) Wimbledon will have a new retractable roof for Centre Court in place in 2009, officials announced. Construction will begin after The Championships in July, 2006. The 2007 Championships will be played with no roof at all (the current partial roof removed), a new fixed partial roof will be in place in 2008, and the retractable roof completed in 2009. The roof will take 10 minutes to deploy, so Centre Court rain delays of up to 30 minutes will still be possible, but the roof is being installed to assure TV networks of almost continuous coverage, even if it rains. The arena's capacity will also be increased from 13,800 to 15,000. AELTC Long-Term Plan - original BBC story.

    The article on equal pay for women in pro tennis, the Slims Tour, and the formation of the WTA, formerly reproduced here, is permanently archived on the Wimbledon 2007 page.

See also: QuickShop: Sporting Goods - Martina Hingis - Anna Kournikova

Current WTA Results & Tennis News (tennis home page) - 2011 WTA Schedule with links & photos

Link to many postmatch interview & match highlight videos of WTA players at the 2009 WTA Player Videos page.

WTA PhotoRankings: the current top 20 Women's Tennis rankings with player photos, links, and bio info.