Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you.
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.

If Christina Rossetti were here to watch the U.S. Open, she might add a verse or two:


Who has seen the wind?
Not you, not I, not any.
But if you hit flat balls on Ashe,
The wind will take out many.

Who has seen the wind?
Not you nor I nor they.
But if you're not careful with your toss,
The wind goes Vera's way.

There were definitely three opponents in today's U.S. Open semifinal match featuring 7th seed Vera Zvonareva and 31st seed Kaia Kanepi. The wind gave both players so much trouble, and tennis balls were flying. Zvonareva was even knocked in the head by a stray toss from a ballboy. The Tall One from Tallin became discouraged now and then, but she fought on. In the end, though, after eleven breaks of serve, it was Zvonareva-- playing very carefully and serving as well as she could in windy conditions--who took the 6-3, 7-5 victory. The 7th seed hit only ten winners, but she made less than half the unforced errors her opponent made.

Advancing to the U.S. Open semifinals is the best day-late birthday gift Zvonareva could ask for. She turned 26 yesterday. Zvonareva reached the final at Wimbledon, and will try to repeat that feat when she plays the winner of tonight's match between Carolina Wozniacki and Dominika Cibulkova.

Four women standing on the green clay of Charleston

clockwise, from left: Laura Siegemund, Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Mirjana Lucic-Baroni

(all photos by Daniel Ward)

Quarterfinals are tense affairs, regardless of the circumstances, but when the wind is stopping, starting and swirling, they can be very tense, and especially for players who hit the ball with little or no spin. All eight of today's competitors reported that the conditions were especially tough. Nevertheless, three of the four winners came through in straight sets, and they were undoubtedly relieved to do so.

The first winner of the day was Russia's Daria Kasatkina, who upset 10th seed Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-1. The first set was quite competitive, then Begu faded away. Kasatkina, when she talked with the press, said that she had made a decision to become more aggressive in her play in order to progress on the tour. 

Her upcoming opponent, Laura Siegemund, has noticed. The German player had this to say about Kasatkina:

She's very solid. You know, it's dangerous if people are very solid and very aggressive at the same time, like they're aggressive but they don't miss. So that's a bad combination. For her it's a good combination. For the opponent it's tough. You know, you sometimes have these very aggressive players that also make a lot of errors, and then you have these solid players that don't hurt too much, but they just don't miss. She's kind of a little bit of both. She can step it up any time and that makes her really dangerous. 

In her quarterfinal, Siegemund took the first set off of 8th seed Anastasija Sevastova 6-2, but Sevastova began the second set in a dominating fashion, handling the wind well, and going up 3-0. Siegemund edged up to 2-4, then won four straight games to win the match. Both today and yesterday, the German player had relatively short matches ("Surprise!" she said, when this was pointed out today in her press conference), which she needed after the marathons she had against both Lesia Tsurenko and Venus Williams.

Later in the day, the crowd was thrilled when their hometown player, Shelby Rogers, took the first set off of 11th seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in a tense tiebreak set. Lucic-Baroni hits the ball really flat, which is a real obstacle in the wind. But she turned the match around and won it 6-7, 6-1, 6-1. The Croation star, who made a dramatic run to the 2016 Australian Open semifinals, said that because she hits the ball so flat, she had exceptional trouble with the wind. Lucic-Baroni also said that she "never was on the ball and was hitting the ball clean." 

But with all the difficulty Lucic-Baroni experienced, she was able to win nine straight games and totally dominate Rogers in the last two sets.

The night match featured 5th seed Caroline Wozniacki (the 2011 Charleston champion) and Jelena Ostapenko. But from start to finish, it was really the Ostapenko Show. The 19-year-old from Latvia hit 40 winners and made 26 unforced errors, which is a beautiful statistic. She beat Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4, and while it took her several deuces and a few match points to reach her goal, she was solid throughout the match. 

So dominant was Ostapenko that her opponent commented, after the match: "Everything was going in. She was hitting the lines. Everything that could go her way today was going her way." From Ostapenko: "...I just tried and I think it was not bad."

Ostapenko, who has never played in Charleston before, is a busy woman: She is also still part of the doubles draw.

Here is the semifinal draw:

Laura Siegemund vs. Daria Kasatkina

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (11) vs. Jelena Ostapenko

The Volvo Car Open will have a first-time champion on Sunday, and it's anyone's guess as to who that champion will be. Each woman has played aggressively and has made her mark on the tournament, and each is playing extremely well. I'm expecting two high-quality semifinals on Saturday--perhaps even more exciting than we've seen in a while at this event. I can't stress enough how very competitive these four players have been.

My Wimbledon top 10

You better believe it!

Marketa Vondrousova is a Grand Slam champion! pic.twitter.com/ew3OAn3v3r

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) July 15, 2023

Here are my top 10 Wimbledon occurrences, in ascending order:

10. Who'll Stop the Rain?: It rained and rained, and then it rained some more, and all kinds of matches got backed up. Then there was the wind, which caused the roof to be closed for the women's final. Every tournament has a bit of rain, but this was excessive.

9. Keep Off the Grass: Three players--Venus Williams, Karolina Muchova (of course) and Alizé Cornet--slipped and fell on the grass. Williams hurt her knee, Muchova injured her hip, an Cornet twisted her knee. Both Paula Badosa (who has a history of back problems) and Beatriz Haddad Maia sustained back injuries. Barbora Krejcikova sustained an ankle injury, and Veronika Kudermetova sustained a hip injury. That's a lot of injury, and a lot of suffering for some of the best players on the tour.

8. But What a Streak It Was: Alina Korneeva won the junior Australian Open and the junior French Open. But she was taken down in the Wimbledon semifinals by Nikola Bartunova, who is Czech, and we all know what can happen when a Czech player shows up across the net. But a 16-match win streak in consecutive majors is nevertheless very impressive, especially for a 16-year-old.

7. I'm Still (barely) Standing:  Lesia Tsurenko and Ana Bogdan treated the crowd to a show that probably was anything but a treat for them. Their third round third set tiebreak consisted of 38 points. Both women were constantly bending over and both looked to be in some anguish after slogging through for 3 hours and 40 minutes. Tsurenko won the tiebreak (20-18) and the match, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6. 

6. Veteran Glory: It was a long time coming, but 30-year-old Lyudmyla Kichenok, with her partner, Mate Pavic, won the mixed doubles title, defeating Xu Yifan and Joran Vliegen in the final. This is Kichenok's first major title.

5. Re-Inventing the Wheel: Diede de Groot, aka Diede the Great, won her fifth Wimbledon singles title this past week, which gives her 19 major singles title. And playing with Jiske Griffioen, whom she defeated in the singles final, she won her third Wimbledon doubles title, and her 17th major doubles final. de Groot, who is the protegé of the great Esther Vergeer, is already a legend in her own right.

Also notable is Griffioen's return to the elite ranks of wheelchair tennis. She retired from the sport in 2017, but came back in 2019, and has had to work her way back to the top of the game. This Wimbledon was a showcase for the work that she has done.

4. Farewell Way Too Soon: I've watched Anett Kontaveit for a long time, and have always been impressed by her tennis. But Kontaveit is one of the unlucky ones whose body just wouldn't cooperate with her skills and desires. Sadly, Kontaveit has had to retire from professional tennis because of lumbar disc degeneration. The affable Estonian, who is only 27, reached her highest rank of number 2 in the world only last year. She won six singles titles, and also played for the Estonian Fed Cup team. It looked like things were finally picking up for her, but instead, we got a very sad ending: She played her final match at Wimbledon.

This was also the final Wimbledon for Barbora Strycova, who returned to the tour briefly after having a baby, and it was the final doubles match (she had already retired from singles) for Kirsten Flipkens.

3. Reunited--and It Feels Awesome: Hsieh Su-wei and Barbora Strycova, who won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2019, both took lengthy breaks from the tour. Toward the end of the 2021 season, Hsieh announced that she was taking an extended break so that she could deal with an injury. Earlier in the season, Strycova announced that she was retiring from the sport, but left the door open for one final Wimbledon appearance in 2022. She also announced that she was going to have a baby.

Strycova did not return to Wimbledon in 2022, but she returned this year, with her partner, Hsieh. She made it clear that this would be her final Wimbledon, and she and Hsieh (each of whom is 37 years old) made it count, winning the title by defeating 3rd seeds Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens in the final. Hsieh holds four Wimbledon doubles titles (with four different partners) and two French Open doubles titles.

2. A Comeback for the Ages: Elina Svitolina, who at one time was in the top five, took a year and half off so that she could deal with some back pain, work on behalf of the Ukrainian cause---and have a baby. She returned in April of this year and played in Charleston. Shortly after, she won her 17th WTA title in Strasbourg. But few could have predicted what she had in store for her return to Wimbledon. Svitolina--with a new serve and new aggression--began her campaign by defeating five-time champion Venus Williams, and then she took out Elise Mertens, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka, and top seed and world number 1 Iga Swiatek. She was finally stopped, in the semifinals, by eventual champion Marketa Vondrousova, but she had one of the most dramatic and emotional comeback runs we've seen in a while.

1. No Rain, No Flowers/No Seed, No Worries: One of the tattoos on Marketa Vondrousova's arm reads no rain no flowers. Vondrousova should know about that. Twice, since she made her 2019 run to the French Open final, she has had to have wrist surgery. Last year, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist sat in the Wimbledon stands with a big cast on her arm. 

This year, she got the flowers. Vondrousova served, hit, sliced, and lobbed her way through the draw, taking out several players of note, inlcuding 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova, the especially dangerous Donna Vekic and Marie Bouzkova, 4th seed Jessica Pegula, and an impressively resurgent Elina Svitolina. The Czech player--who had the most break point conversions of any WTA player at the tournament--then handled a nervous Ons Jabeur with what appeared to be relative ease, taking away Jabeur's usual creative shot advantage. And before you could say "lefty Czechs are coming for you again," Marketa Vondrousova was the 2023 Wimbledon champion. 

The generously inked Czech with the Sphinx cat named Frankie (who, according to Vondrousova, will soon be getting some celebratory fish) had won only three grass court matches in her career before she entered the 2023 Wimbledon event. She was ranked number 42 in the world--the lowest ranked woman ever to win in London--and she is the first unseeded woman in history to win the tournament. The new champion summed it all up better than I ever could: "Tennis is crazy."

Mother Nature teams with Timea, and the last Kiki has left the building

"...the magic has been happening for me here always..."@TimeaOfficial's love affair with 🇫🇷 continues. MORE: https://t.co/l4mCo0pagi #RG17 pic.twitter.com/4vqTRlSrvQ

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017

It was tennis's sweetheart pitted against tennis's--shall we say, not-sweetheart. Timea Bacsinszky--the player who decided to drop out of tennis in favor of having a career in the hotel industry, but was lured back in when she gave it a whirl at the French Open four years ago--has become a beloved figure on the tour. She still has to deal with injuries, and has seen her ranking slip during the past year, but her thankful attitude has made her a special kind of star. She can also play some kickass tennis.

Today, with hours of waiting for continuing thunderstorms to come and go, and with swirling wind wreaking havoc on the court, it was Bacsinszky who literally weathered the storm to take out France's great hope (and rightly so), Kiki Mladenovic. The incredibly speedy Bacsinszky looked, at times, to be a cartoon figure, dashing across the court to get back balls that other players would have missed. When she play with the wind, she took care; when she played against it, she hit with might.

Mladenovic did not play badly, though eventually, a lot of errors did appear. She just wasn't up to managing the brutal conditions on Philippe-Chatrier Court. The Frenchwoman had to do some fancy escaping throughout the first week's matches, and there may have been some mental fatigue, especially since an entire country was counting on her to win the event. I certainly considered her a contender, and thought that she would defeat Bacsinszky, but it wasn't to be. The Swiss star took the match 6-4, 6-4.

I was reminded of 2010, when the rain was relentless. What Mladenovic and Bacsinszky had to go through was a bit tame compared to what Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin had to go through seven years ago. They played in the rain--in red mud--in the dark. Officials would not stop play, so they swatted at what they thought was the ball while they sank into the muck that was once a tennis court. It was riveting. Henin won in three sets. In that same event, Nadia Petrova and Aravane Rezai were also forced to play in the rain and in the dark until officials finally stopped play. Petrova won the very close and thrilling match the next morning.

Ostapenko veut sa part du gâteau ! #RG17 https://t.co/NasQoml0Fc pic.twitter.com/PGfGRWylZ9

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017

While Mladenovic and Bacsinszky were playing, waiting, playing, waiting, there was another pair also forced to deal with the continuous delays. Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Ostapenko, meeting on clay for the third time, went to three sets. Wozniacki dominated the first set, and led 5-1, but Ostapenko made a comeback, winning three straight games. It wasn't enough, though, and Wozniacki took the set, 6-4.

That was all Ostapenko was going to stand for. She went up 5-2 in the second set, but then the rain forced the players to leave the court. Upon their return, Ostapenko completed the job and took the set 6-2. This was the Ostapenko we saw play against Wozniacki in Charleston--mugging, muttering, smiling, and smacking winners like she'd been hired to put on a hitting clinic. The Latvian player somehow manages to be businesslike and silly at the same time, and this combination seems to keep her at an even mental keel. All that ballroom dance experience probably helps, too. If you're nimble and rhythmic and have good balance, you can take a lot of physical risks.

Ostapenko won the match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Playing "Kvitova style," she made 50 unforced errors, but also hit 38 winners. Wozniacki, by contrast, made 25 unforced errors and hit six winners.

Now it gets strange. Bacsinszky and Ostapenko--who have never played one another before--will face off in the semifinals on June 8. Bacsinszky has been to the French Open semifinals before; Ostapenko has never even won a WTA title. Also, June 8 is Bacsinszky's birthday. It is also Ostapenko's birthday. I don't know what the deejay will be up to, but no one is going to want to hear "Too Bad on Your Birthday."

Tomorrow, Simona Halep will play Elina Svitolina, a match that feels like it should be a final. I expect it to go to three sets. Also, Caroline Garcia, the last Frenchwoman standing (taking a moment here to spare a thought for Kiki, who may have melted from the heat in her head by now), will play Karolina "what's she still doing here?" Pliskova. The crowd is going to go crazy without having to be orchestrated by anyone on the court. This is Garcia's opportunity to let the Amelie Mauresmo in her head take over.

Too much grass can mess you up

That seems to be what the powers in the WTA and ATP believe, for "grass season" is almost a joke, it's so short. And even though the grass at Wimbledon doesn't play nearly as fast as it used to, it's still grass, and players are just getting off of the slowest surface of all, red clay, right before they compete at the All England Club.

A few players--Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova--can play very well on all surfaces without having too much preparation, but even they need a productive transition from clay to grass. Even as a fan, I'm always a bit disoriented by the sudden appearance of  play at Wimbledon, so soon after the completion of the French Open. Of course, my great affinity for the French Open probably has something to do with this, but I also think that the "transition" just happens really quickly.

Nevertheless, we have arrived at the weekend before the beginning of the only major played on grass. Wimbledon doesn't thrill me the way it thrills some, though last year, I found myself extremely thrilled by Petra Kvitova's championship run.

And that gives me a good, if not happy, starting place for previewing the tournament. Defending champion Kvitova, who ruled the tour last year, has quite obviously misplaced her crown. Kvitova, even in her greatest moments, can be a bit edgy on court, but in 2012, we've seen a kind of all-out-head-case version of the Czech star. The Rock has crumbled. Still, grass is Kvitova's second-best surface, so there's still hope that when she steps onto it, her remarkable game will find her.

Assuming that all goes as expected for her, Kvitova should meet Serena Williams (assuming all goes as expected for her) in the quarterfinals. Potential trouble-makers in that quarter include Zheng Jie and Klara Zakopalova.

But I'm ahead of myself, since that's the third quarter. The first quarter is where world number 1 and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova resides, and--on paper--she's on a collision course with Angelique Kerber. If the Bulgarian's back injury doesn't prove to be her downfall, Tsvetana Pironkova should play Sharapova in the second round. If Pironkova is healthy (unknown at this time), that should be a match of interest, since Wimbledon is the tournament where the easy-going Pironkova likes to show off her tennis. Last year, she made it to the semifinals, then lost to eventual champion Kvitova.

Petra Cetkovska lurks in that quarter, as does Vera Zvonareva, who was a finalist in 2010. 2011 semifinalist Sabine Lisicki and Christina McHale are in that quarter, too, and--as if the layout weren't already strange enough--so are Kim Clijsters and Jelena Jankovic. In fact, Clijsters and Jankovic play each other in the first round: Dangerous Floater meets Dangerous Creator of Cosmic Chaos.

For all practical purposes, it's Sharapova who has the draw from hell, so we should all keep an eye on that quarter.

The second quarter is anchored by Agnieszka Radwanska (who went out to Cetkovska in the second round last year) and Samantha Stosur, either of whom could make a great run or crash out early. In the case of Stosur, crashing out early is even more expected. Radwanska should get Venus Williams, whom she took out of the French Open, in the second round. Williams is much more at home on grass than clay, however. There is some thought that a deep run at Wimbledon might create just enough stress for the five-time champion to kick in the worst of her illness, given that it's an autoimmune disease. This is, unfortunately, a fair assessment

Nadia Petrova and Li Na are in that quarter, as is Melanie Oudin, who made it to the round of 16 a few years ago, and who recently won in Birmingham. Petrova and Oudin will most likely meet in the second round, so one of them will be making too quick of an exit from the tournament. Flavia Pennetta and Maria Kirilenko are in that quarter, too, and either of them is capable of stirring things up a bit.

In the last quarter are Caroline Wozniacki and world number 2 Victoria Azarenka. Wozniacki's first job will be to get rid of that pesky Tamira Paszek. The Austrian player is having some ankle issues, so Wozniacki may be able to take advantage of that. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Roberta Vinci and Ana Ivanovic are in that section of the draw, too, and on a good day, any of them could do damage. And then there's 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli, who tends to find her mojo when she's standing on grass.

If Wozniacki gets past the Eastbourne champion, she'll probably have to face Kuznetsova in the third round, and that could be the end of her Wimbledon run.

Azarenka, I should add, is 8-3 against Bartoli, but they are 1-1 on grass, having each beaten the other in Eastbourne.

Who, realistically, can win Wimbledon this year? Not many, in my opinion. Former champions Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams make the best cases. Sharapova just completed her career slam, and comes in on a cloud of confidence. Williams needs to make a very big comeback statement (not that her other comeback statements have been small), and the place she's the most likely to do it is on Centre Court at Wimbledon. This is the woman who hit 89 aces to win the championship in 2010, and who gave us all a little Sinatra "Fly Me To the Moon" dance after she put the trophy down.

Each woman makes a strong case, yes, but each is vulnerable, to serving problems, wind, tricksters, the luck of the draw.

What about the defending champion? Kvitova's performance last year was brilliant. This year, she has hit a wall every time she's gone for a title. Kvitova certainly can defend her Wimbledon title; her grass game is superb. But something will have to happen in the mental department for that to occur. (Petra, please don't forget to eat a pineapple again every night of the tournament.)

Someone from Balarus may not like all this talk about Maria and Serena and Petra. Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka made a mess of things at Roland Garros, but she just had her braid cut off (this has to be symbolic)--nice haircut, too--and may be almost itching to get going at the season's third major. Azarenka has had a taste of dominance, and it suited her. She can't be counted out.

Finally, permanent "dark horse" Marion Bartoli is the only other player I can even remotely imagine (sorry, players from Poland and Australia) crashing one of tennis's biggest parties. She came close in 2007, but that was a long time ago, and the Frenchwoman isn't having that great a season. She perked up in Eastburne, though, and looked more like the grass-loving Bartoli of old. It will help if she doesn't have to engage in any epic three-hour, nausea-inducing, parent-spanking matches.

So away we go. I know, there's the dreary talk about what I understand are mediocre strawberries, the boasting about mythical greatness, plenty of rain, and the assault to the ears (if you live in the USA) that is Hannah Storm. But there should also be some thrilling tennis.

My French Open top 10

Shining bright in Paris 💫#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/QW5pA5cqgo

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 9, 2024

Here are my top 10 French Open occurrences, in ascending order:

10. Gone too soon: We lost some notable players in the first round of the tournament. 6th seed (and 2020 finalist) Maria Sakkari was defeated by Varvara Gracheva. The 13th seed, the indefatigable Beatriz Haddad Maia, lost to Elisabetta Cocciaretta. And 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova lost to Victorija Golubic.

9. Back in the mix: In 2016, Laura Siegemund won the U.S. Open mixed doubles title with Mate Pavic. Eight years later, she is again a major champion. Siegemund and Edouard Roger-Vasselin won the French Open mixed doubles title. Seeded 2nd, Siegemund and Roger-Vasselin defeated Desirae Krawczyk and Neal Skupski in the final.

8. Ajde!: Every major has an under-the-radar star, and at this year's French Open, it was Olga Danilovic. The Serbian player, ranked 125 in the world, had to play three qualifying rounds before she even got to the main draw, but once she got there, she earned everyone's attention. In the opening round, she easily defeated Martina Trevisan, who can be a really tough opponent. In the second round, she upset 11th seed Danielle Collins, arguably the hottest player on the tour right now who isn't named Swiatek. Then, in the third round, Danilovic beat Donna Vekic, despite getting bageled in the first set. She was finally stopped by 5th seed Marketa Vondrousova, in the round of 16, but it was an unforgettable run.

7. You haven't seen Hot Wheels like these: She did it again. Top seed and three-time defending champion Diede de Groot won her fifth French Open singles championship, defeating Zhenzhen Zhu in the final. She and partner Aniek Van Koot, seeded 2nd, also won their sixth French Open doubles title. (Tennis Channel Plus didn't show wheelchair matches this year, and that is unacceptable.)

6. A fitting farewell: The 2024 French Open was the last-ever tournament for French star Alize Cornet, who appeared in 69 consecutive major main draws (a record), and reached a ranking high of 11 in singles. Cornet announced her retirement last month, personified what commentator Mary Carillo once called "French flair." On a good day, she could beat anyone. Indeed, it was Cornet who broke Iga Swiatek's 37-match win streak in 2022. The 34-year-old Frenchwoman, who brought so much joy to so many fans for so long, has already published a memoir and a novel, and is also interested in playing some kind of role in French tennis in the future.

5. Illness 2, tennis stars 0: Elena Rybankina has been dealing with health problems for a while now. She withdrew from both Indian Wells and Rome, which would have been bad enough, but--to make it much worse--she was the defending champion at both tournaments. I don't know what the ailment is that's affecting the world number 's career, but in addition to it, she also struggles with allergies. And it was announced this past week that she has also developed sleep problems, which may be the most difficult condition of all. In her quarterfinal match against Jasmine Paolini, she appeared listless, though she rallied to win the second set. Fans, of course, have taken this opportunity to criticize her relentlessly. My wish is that she get the medical care that she needs sooner than later.

Also during the quarterfinals, 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka developed a stomach illness, which clearly hampered her, and she lost to Mirra Andreeva.

4. Mamma Mia! I picked Jasmine Paolini as my dark horse for this tournament, and it turned out to be a pretty good pick--she made it all the way to the final. The new generation Fighting Italian, in addition to defeating Rybakina, also defeated the likes of Bianca Andreescu, the in-form Varvara Gracheva, and teen star Mirra Andreeva. 

3. Living dangerously: No one would be surprised to see Naomi Osaka play a very impressive comeback match, but a lot of people would be surprised to see her do it on clay. But that's exactly what the former world number 1 did in the second round. Osaka took top seed Iga Swiatek to the very edge, and I'm still not totally sure how Swiatek survived the ordeal. The match lasted almost three hours, and Swiatek went down 0-3 in the third set. She then found herself down 2-5 and facing a match point. It was at this point that the top seed's mental strength was on magnificent display, and she emerged the winner, 7-6 (1), 1-6, 7-5. It was the match of the tournament.

2. How do you do? Could you help me lift this trophy?: Coco Gauff's doubles partner, Jess Pegula, is still recovering from injury and didn't play in this year's French Open. Katerina Siniakova's doubles partner, Storm Hunter, is out with injury, as is her Rome partner, Taylor Townsend. So, at the last minute, Gauff and Siniakova decided to form a team in Paris. The pair, seeded 5th, dropped only one set the entire tournament, and won the title when they defeated the team of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini (there she is again!) 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the final. This is Gauff's first major doubles title. It is Siniakova's eighth major doubles title and her third French Open doubles title. Siniakova won all of her other major titles with former long-time partner Barbora Krejcikova.

1. She loves Paris every moment: The French Open image that will probably stay with most of us is that of Iga Swiatek sobbing with relief and release after just barely escaping a loss to Naomi Osaka in the second round. She had not only escaped an early round loss, she had proven to herself what she can do with her nerves of steel. Osaka threw everything at her, but she survived. And after that, it was a pretty easy ride for the world number 1, culminating with her win over Paolini in the final.

This is Swiatek's third consecutive French Open title, and her fourth French Open title overall; she also won Rome and Madrid. During her two weeks in Paris, Swiatek treated us not only to some spectacular tennis, but also some peak (and charming) nerdiness. When she couldn't recall the name of the place she had visited, she bent down and drew a map in the clay so that the interviewer could identify her destination. A couple of days later, she explained, with gestures, the wind current patterns to the people in the stands. (After all, this is the woman who, once, during a changeover, read Wuthering Heights.) She is an extraordinary athlete. She knows about a lot of different things. She is the Queen of Paris.

The Prodigy versus The Magician--will it be Mirra or Maja who holds the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen?

FIRST GRAND SLAM FINAL 💗

Mirra Andreeva defeats Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 in the Roland-Garros semifinal! #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/qTN76DLNJI

— wta (@WTA) June 4, 2026

The "new" Marta Kostyuk---slayer of Iga Swiatek and all-around tennis badass--failed to make an appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier in Paris today. The wind was blowing in all directions, a factor which had hampered top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, and which appeared to complicate matters for Kostyuk. Kostyuk's serve, which had been one of her biggest advantages throughout the tournament, was inconsistent, at best. And it seemed obvious--at least to me--that the phrase, "under stress, we regress," applied to the Ukrainian star today. She repeatedly set up winning shots, only to fail to keep the ball inside the court, and her opponent's steadiness only increased her frustration.

That opponent was 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva, who--like Kostyuk--is no stranger to having a problem with her nerves, but today, she was in charge throughout the match. The first set, in fact, was a beat-down, with Kostyuk winning only one game. Andreeva then went up a break in the second set, but Kostyuk managed to get the set back on serve when she broke Andreeva--only to be broken back right away. 

And that was also the end of Kostyuk's brief momentum. The roof was closed during the second set, which should have been a significant benefit for Kostyuk, but that benefit went only so far; Andreeva defeated her 6-1, 6-3. Only a few weeks ago, Kostyuk had defeated Andreeva in the Madrid final, and she had also defeated her earlier this year, in Brisbane. The Ukrainian star's 17-match win streak on clay was broken today, but that doesn't make it any less remarkable.

Maja's dream run continues: She's through to the semis with a straight-set win over Anna Kalinskaya.

Adding to wins over Qinwen Zheng, Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari & Diane Parry since emerging from the qualies draw.

Insane. pic.twitter.com/icPI29CC2X

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) June 3, 2026

The second semifinal featured Diana Shnaider--who upset world number 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals--and qualifier Maja Chwalinska, playing her ninth match of the tournament. I expected this match to be entertaining, and I wasn't disappointed. And for those who were waiting for the Polish player to finally be stunned by the occasion--well, that didn't happen. Chwalinska, still with both thighs wrapped, went about her business as though she were playing any match--not one that would determine whether she'd be in a major final.

As for Shnaider--as time went on, she looked a bit tired, but she continued to play a high-quality match with a lot of precision. Both players were seen by the physio, and Chwalinska did her best to shorten the rallies in the second half of the second set. And--as well as Shnaider played--in the end, she was a victim of a kind of Polish trickery that we've seen before (though I've yet to hear a commentator even mention it): Iga Swiatek may be Chwalinska's good friend, but Aga Radwanka's game runs through her veins.

Chwalinska--frequently retrieving the ball from the far corners of the court--dropped, lobbed and sliced it relentlessly. The job may have been easier for her if she had a good down-the-line (on at least one side), but she did the job her own way--and won in straight sets--against a player who has quite a bit of variety in her own game. Chwalinksa hit 32 winners and made 17 unforced errors, and her 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory gives her a place in some rare history. She's now only the second qualifier to reach a major final (Emma Raducanu did it in 2021 at the U.S. Open, and went on to win the title), and she's only the third woman to reach her first WTA-level final at a major, joining Raducanu and Venus Williams.

As I wrote about yesterday, it was just a few days ago that Chwalinska was worried about how she would pay for her hotel room. Now her ranking is projected to rise by 93 points, as she is expected to be number 21 in the world next week.  

Paths to the final:

MAJA CHWALINSKA (Q)
round 1--def. Zheng Qinwen
round 2--def. Elise Mertens (23)
round 3--def. Maria Sakkari
round of 16--def. Diane Parry
quarterfinals--def. Anna Kalinskaya (22)
semifinals--def. Diana Shnaider (25)

MIRRA ANDREEVA (8)

round 1--def. Fiona Ferro (W)
round 2--def. Marina Bassols Ribera
round 3--def. Marie Bouzkova (27)
round of 16--def. Jil Teichmann
quarterfinals--def. Sorana Cirstea (18)
semifinals-- def. Marta Kostyuk (15)

 

Errani and Vavassori break a 17-year curse as the first No.1 seeds to capture the mixed doubles trophy in Paris since 2009! 💪🎾#RolandGarros https://t.co/qh3DVPWanT

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2026

In other news, top seeds and defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori won the mixed doubles title when they defeated Gaby Dabrowski and Evan King 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 in the final. This is the team's fourth major title. 

In wheelchair tennis, top seed Yui Kamiji won her quarterfinal match, as did 4th seed and former world number 1 Diede De Groot. However, De Groot and her partner, Aniek Van Koot lost their doubles semifinal to top seeds Kamiji and Zhu Zhenzhen.

Azarenka defends Australian Open title and retains top ranking

Top seed Victoria Azarenka had many opponents yesterday in her quest to defend her Australian Open title. The world number 1 had to fight the wind, the sports media, the crowd, and, of course, Li Na. Before the match began, ESPN went to great lengths to set up a black hat/white hat scenario between Azarenka and Li. Commentators took turns talking about how the media and Australian fans consider Azarenka a bad sport because of her ten-minute medical break toward the end of her semifinal against Sloane Stephens. They went on and on about it, "examining" it from this angle, then that angle.

They had some good fortune, too, in that Li was available to wear the "white hat." Li is a beloved figure. Is there anyone who isn't totally enthralled with her? (If you happen to be the one person who isn't totally enthralled with Li Na, please keep it to yourself.) But just imagine if Agnieszka Radwanska had gotten to the final (something that had seemed quite possible until she faced Li): There's no way the ESPN crew could have set up a hero/villain contrast between Azarenka and and the continually sniping Polish star. But with Li, they were good to go.

Darren Cahill had lost a bet with Judy Murray, so he wore a kilt. He was supposed to wear it throughout the men's final, but he backed out. Over and over, the winner of the bet was referred to as "Andy Murray's mother." She is Andy Murray's mother, and proudly so. But Judy Murray is a tennis personality and authority in her own right, but not once was she acknowledged as anything but a player's mother.

Before I talk about the match (really, I'm going to), I want to say something good about ESPN. That's a rare thing, so bear with me. A study about media attitude toward women's sports that many of you may have seen a year or two ago pointed out how different the metaphors are when commentators and writers refer to male athletes and female athletes. Only the men are called "warriors" and are described using extended warrior metaphor.

ESPN broke that mold in its pre-match production piece, which featured the "defender" and the "contender," and presented a number of lengthy statements made by the players that were all about fighting, battle, warrior mentality, and the destruction of an opponent. Even the music was "warrior-like." I think this was probably a first in women's sports, and it was done really well. Neither Li nor Azarenka appeared passive, "pleasant" or "feminine" in the piece. Rather, each looked like she was ready to kick some ass at any cost.

Right before the match began, Azarenka came out of the tunnel with hoodie on and earphones in, accepted her bouquet, and solemnly walked to the court. There were no dreary "leaving the tunnel" interviews--just Azarenka and Li. When Li stepped onto the court, the crowd went wild, and it would continue to go wild for her throughout the match. Azarenka was given a chilly reception, and that was the kindest crowd response she received until the very end. After all, the Australian crowd disliked her even before the semifinal medical break incident occurred. Several times during the match, chair umpire Alison Lang had to ask the crowd to back off. They cheered Azarenka's unforced errors, and consumed her double faults with unbridled glee. Some hurled insults at her. Only the tossing of rotten fruit was missing from the scenario.

Azarenka chose to receive, and Li immediately double-faulted. Li followed the double-fault with a forehand winner up the line. She was broken, but immediately broke back. The improved forehand was already cracking, and the serve out wide to the ad court--which would benefit Li repeatedly throughout the match--was already in place.   

Li missed an overhead when she attempted to go up 3-1, and was broken. There were then three holds in a row, but none from the "against the wind" end. That wouldn't happen for a long time. Li held at love to go up 5-2. Azarenka then held, and on her next serve, Li went down 0-40 because she repeatedly "over-hit" potential (actually, obvious) winners; she was broken at 15.

On Azarenka's serve, Li hit a forehand cross-court winner to get a set  point, but she hit the next ball long. Azarenka then hit a forehand cross-court winner (her first forehand winner, in fact) to gain an ad point. Li saves it--again with a forehand cross-court winner, but the second set point is saved by a stunning volley from the Azarenka racket. Li got a third set point with a backhand winner, but again hits long. On her fourth set point, Li was able to convert and take the set at 6-4 when Azarenka double-faulted.

The importance of taking the first set off of the world number 1 is well known. When Azarenka wins the first set, she wins the whole thing. She has done this 70 consecutive times.

The second set began like the first, with Li's serve getting broken, despite having a game point. Li then had a break point when Azarenka double-faulted, but she hit a lob long and Azarenka was able to hold. The players then exchanged breaks. Then, serving at 1-3, Li attempted to do a quick change of direction with her feet, fell down, and rolled her ankle. She was examined, then had the ankle wrapped. When she returned to the court, she won the game.

At this point, Azarenka was unable to keep the ball in the court, and went down 0-40. But Li was unable to capitalize on this opportunity, and Azarenka held. The crowd had become quite noisy by this time, and Li complained to the chair umpire about people yelling during a point. In a situation like this, people often say that the complaining player "shouldn't let it get to her," but noise made during a point usually does interfere with a player's concentration, and it's something the umpire should handle before a player has to make a complaint.

Somewhat shaken, Li double-faulted twice in a row, but managed not only to hold her serve, but to break her opponent for 4-all. But then the Chinese player began having trouble with net clearance, and made two unforced errors on her own serve. She was broken, and Azarenka held at love to take the second set 6-4.

In the final set, Li was again broken in her first game, but broke back. Li then held her  next service game, but the players had to take a break because the Australia Day fireworks show had started. During the break, Azarenka chatted with the trainer. And--as if the proceedings weren't already strange enough--when the players returned to the court and began playing, Li fell down again, this time, hitting her head on the hard court.

Li got a brief neuro exam to check for concussion (something Azarenka knows all about), and was cracking up as she had to follow the physio's finger and answer questions to determine her orientation. She returned to the match to face a break point, but held with yet another serve out wide.

Azarenka would go on to argue with the chair umpire about a replay decision, and she would also go on to hold the first service game played from the "bad" end of the court. Li served at 3-5 and Azarenka won the match by converting her first break point on Li's serve. A big part of Li's collapse in form was the trouble she had with her footwork in the second half of the match. Was she consciously or unconsciously guarding her injured ankle? That seems likely, and if she was dealing with nerves, that would have made the situation even worse.

After the players shook hands, Azarenka--instead of falling onto the court (there had probably been enough falling onto the court already) and then celebrating her victory--walked to her seat, sat down, and wept. It had been a very long 48 hours. After a while, she went to her box and greeted her team. Then she returned to the court and acknowledged the crowd, but the acknowledgment was very brief. They had been against her the entire match, and--while they were polite once the match was finished--Azarenka knew there was no point in pushing the issue.

To add insult to injury, Azarenka's trophy was engraved incorrectly, with the abbreviation for Belgium on it instead of the abbreviation for Belarus.

In defeating Li Na, Victoria Azarenka not only defended her Australian Open final; she locked in the number 1 ranking. Li, for her part, is now a two-time Australian Open runner-up. She's playing very well, however, with new finesse in her forehand, and has to be considered a contender at the French Open, a tournament she won in 2011.

Last year, when Azarenka won in Melbourne, I shared the significant parallel between her persona and that of Queen Victoria's. "The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them." Indeed.

Sharapova gets a lesson in German engineering

Aga Radwanska may be gone from Wimbledon, but the now-famous "Radwanska squat shot" lived on today in Germany's Angelique Kerber (we've seen it from Alize Cornet, too), who squatted, stretched, ran, and generally gutted her way to a 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Maria Sharapova, the 2004 champion--the one who got "lucky" when Serena Williams dropped out of her quarter of the draw.

Luck will take you only so far, and while Sharapova put up a mighty fight, saving six match points, she couldn't hit accurately enough to save seven. For her part, Kerber played perhaps the match of her career, making only eleven unforced errors in the entire 2-hour and 47-minute slugging exhibition. Kerber was everywhere, changing the direction of the ball on the turn of something even thinner than a dime, and never allowing Sharapova's almost super-human will to break her down.

The German star hit "only" 27 winners to Sharapova's 57, but Sharapova made 49 unforced errors, and that was her undoing.

From the beginning, Kerber showed a strong mentality. Leading 5-3 in the opening set, she was broken and had to go all the way to a tiebreak to claim the set. No problem. She dropped the second set. No problem. This isn't necessarily a familiar Kerber. The German tends to get down when things are tight, but today, she seemed to get only more confident. And if you're going to try out a new attitude, who better to test it against than Sharapova, the queen of "never give up."

"Slugfests" don't generally interest me too much, but there was something about this one that I found oddly compelling. The third set was compelling, no matter what one's personal tennis tastes are. Kerber raced to a 3-0 lead, but Sharapova pushed the score to 2-5, and saved a match point on her own serve with a ball that just clipped the line. She broke Kerber when the German served for the match at 5-3, then saved five more match points on her own serve. At this point, there seemed to be a freeze on the entity we know as time, while Sharapova found the will to survive again and again.

But Kerber never let up. She was fast, flexible, reliable, and also able to stop and start when she needed to. There was no sputtering or sign of breakdown.

It was also around this time that ESPN commentators Mary Joe Fernandez and Cliff Drysdale were editing their already-composed eulogy for Kerber. What a shame, they were saying--in various phrasing--that Kerber worked so hard and played so well, only to wind up losing to the mighty Maria. When it was over, and Sharapova had hit a ball out to give Kerber the match on her seventh match point, Fernandez and Drysdale didn't seem to even notice.

Hello, Mary Joe and Cliffie! Maria lost. Just in case you haven't figured it out yet.

But that wasn't the only match played today. Simona Halep, the only one of the top four seeds left standing, quickly dispatched Zarina Diyas 6-3, 6-0, and advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time in her career. Halep practically doesn't exist to the commentators, and that may be just the way she likes it.

2013 runner-up Sabine Lisicki moved the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Yaroslava Shvedova. Lisicki had some shoulder problems, however, and had to be treated.

The schedule is, of course, off, because of rain delays. But playing successful catch-up was Lucie Safarova, who beat Ekaterina Makarova 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the semifinals! And Makarova's lackluster performance, which followed her brilliant performance in the round of 16, answers our always-frustrating question: Why isn't she ranked higher?

The bottom half of the quarterfinal draw could have been called the "Czech half," for having three Czech players in it, or it could just as well have been called the "lefty half," for having three left-handed players in it. 

Top seeds Katarina Srebotnik and Mike Bryan lost their second round mixed doubles match to Oksana Kalashnikova and Chris Guccione.

Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci, finishing a match that started yesterday, saved five match points and defeated Lyudmyla and Nadiia Kichenok in the second round of doubles. And Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegle advanced to the third round when their opponents, the Williams sisters, retired after playing just three games.

Serena's blood pressure was checked right before the match. The younger Williams sister had already acknowledged that she felt faint, she cried for a while, but she chose to play. Serena had difficulty bouncing and catching the ball for her serve, and then could not serve. Most of her attempts hit the net, a few went outside the court. There appeared to be some kind of left/right confusion going on, as well as general weakness, and it was scary to watch. According to Wimbledon officials, she has a viral illness.

Who will triumph?

Ana Ivanovic or Dinara Safina: Who will lift the trophy tomorrow?

Ivanovic has experience on her side: She was the finalist last year and a semifinalist the year before. There is reason to believe she has most likely shaken off the nerves that plagued her in 2007. She also has a victory in a see-saw semifinal to give her confidence.

Ivanovic is known for her lightning forehand, of course, but she is also an excellent server--most of the time; when she is nervous, her ball toss gets her in trouble. Ivanovic is a smart and aggressive player, and being aggressive has paid off for her in big ways.

Safina had a breakthrough a few years ago, but then failed to capitalize on it. She broke through again last month in Berlin, winning her first Tier I title and taking out Justine Henin, Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva along the way. My gut feeling was that she would not fade when she arrived in Paris, and I was right. Instead, she has given us more thrilling tennis than we have seen in a single tournament in a long time. Continuing the come-from-far-behind antics she exhibited in Berlin, Safina has won heart-stopping thrillers against both Maria Sharapova and Dementieva, each time coming from way behind and saving match points.

Will Safina have anything left by the time she gets to the final? She said she thought the lack of rest helped her win her semifinal against Svetlana Kuznetsova today because she had not had time to wind down mentally, and her body just followed orders. But now she has a day of rest, and she could crash.

The pressure is on Ivanovic, not just because she has the higher ranking, but because she is now the world number 1. Ivanovic can fall victim to nerves from time to time. On the other hand, she came back from a break down twice in the third set yesterday to win her semifinal, certainly a display of mental toughness. And despite her past, there is now no doubting the mental toughness of Dinara Safina.

My best guess, after weighing all factors, is that Safina will have the mental edge and Ivanovic will have the physical edge.

The elders gather

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova had an elbow problem during her U.S. Open round of 16 match, but she had an even bigger Italian problem: French Open champion Francesca Schiavone sliced, spun, and out-served the Russian, and won the match 6-3, 6-0 in just an hour and eight minutes. 19-year-old Pavlyuchenkova, the highest-ranking teenager on the tour, has had a variety of physical problems lately--her hip, shoulder and arm have all given her given her trouble. Today, she said, the arm pain spread to her elbow. The 30-year-old Schiavone, who is seeded 6th, used her signature one-handed backhand to keep 20th-seeded Pavlyuchenkova on the run, and set up a number of volleys, which she executed with style.

Schiavone will face another volleying 30-year-old in the quarterfinals. Venus Williams, the tournament's 3rd seed, faced one of the tour's biggest fighters, Shahar Peer, today. The first set was all about breaks of serve. Williams had trouble getting her first serve in, and Peer was keen to take advantage of this. They played some great rallies, and produced an outstanding game when Peer served at 5-6. Earlier in the set, she had come back to hold after being down 0-40, and she did it again in this crucial game. She double-faulted for the first time when she reached the 5th deuce, but hung on. On the 7th deuce point, Peer stretched out for a winning volley, and followed it with a winning forehand down the line. (It was Peer's forehand, in fact, that helped her compete with Williams throughout the match.)

Williams dominated the tiebreak, won it 7-3, then went up 2-0 right away in the second set. And though she was broken in the latter part of that set, she put on a display of volleying that left Peer behind. Williams, who won 20 of 26 net points, defeated Peer 7-6, 6-3, giving her a 6-0 record against the 16th seed. The 3rd seed did not appear to be troubled by her knee, but perhaps was troubled by the wind when she served. 

There was one other daytime round of 16 match, and it lasted only 59 minutes. Defending champion Kim Clijsters broke Ana Ivanovic six times and defeated her 6-2, 6-1. Ivanovic had trouble with her ball toss again, and held serve only once. She made 28 unforced errors, and did not display the improvement we've seen from her in the last few weeks. 

In the quarterfinals, Clijsters will play the winner of the Sam Stosur-Elena Dementieva match.

Two champions enter Family Circle Cup

Happy JJ leaves the court after her high-wind championship victory in 2007

2007 Family Circle Cup champion Jelena Jankovic and 2003 and 2005 champion Justine Henin have entered the 2008 event, to be held in April on Daniel Island, near Charleston, South Carolina.

The Family Circle Cup is the oldest all-women's tennis tournament in the U.S., and one of only two clay events in the country. The green clay plays a bit faster than the European red clay, but if you like clay court tennis, the Tier I Family Circle Cup offers plenty of it. This is an exceptionally well-run tournament, with lots of player access and a very lovely and comfortable environment.

The Family Circle Cup was the first U.S. tournament Justine Henin won, in 2003. She could not attend in 2004 because of her virus, and in 2005, she was taken out in the semifinals by Patty Schnyder, who is the hands-down favorite in Charleston every year (she has been a finalist twice, once after mowing down all the top seeds). Last year, Henin had to withdraw because of respiratory problems.

Jankovic did not do well at all at the Family Circle Cup until her breakthrough year last year. She beat Venus Williams in a hard-fought semifinal, then skillfully weathered a torrential storm with very high winds (the final was almost canceled) to defeat Dinara Safina and win the tournament.

The 2007 doubles champions were Yan Zi and Zheng Jie, who defeated Peng Shuai and Tiantian Sun in the final.

Last year's scheduled line-up included not only Henin and Jankovic, but Mauresmo, Hingis, Sharapova, Kuznetsova, and Serena Williams. Not only did Henin withdraw, but so did Mauresmo (appendicitis) and Sharapova (shoulder and hamstring). At the last minute, Hingis and Kuznetsova also had to withdraw because of injury, and Serena Williams retired in the first set of her first match. To make matters worse, Schnyder, facing a sudden turn in the weather, made her exit in the second round. It could have been a disaster, but there were still plenty of good players--Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Safina, Vera Zvonareva, Sybille Bammer, and a very exciting wild card in the form of Michaella Krajicek.

Zvonareva's wrist injury, which took her off the tour for a long time, occurred in Charleston, and the tournament staff--to compensate for the let-down of a couple of cancelled matches (singles and doubles)--put together a doubles "exhibition" match that was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Gisela Dulko, Flavia Pennetta, Liezel Huber, Katerina Srebotnik, and umpire Lynn Welch put on a show that made me ache, I laughed so hard for so long. My only regret is that no one at the tournament thought to videotape it.

This will be my fourth year to attend the Family Circle Cup, and I am excited about it. Someone I know called it the most fan-friendly sports event she had ever attended, and that does not surprise me.

Wimbledon quarterfinal draw

With the exception of a few top players, the Wimbledon quarterfinal draw is probably not what a lot of fans expected. The Williams sisters are there, a Belgian is there, and--no surprise to some of us--Li Na is there. A Russian is there--but probably not the one people were expecting to see:

Serena Williams (1) vs. Li Na (9)
They met in the semifinals of the Australian Open, and Williams won a 7-6, 7-6 thriller. Now they meet on grass, where Williams' serve is deadlier. Li won Birmingham, displaying her comfort with grass, and should be a good opponent for Williams. When Li gets into a groove, she can find the lines with ease.

Petra Kvitova vs. Kaia Kanepi (Q)
These two are big hitters, and this match has the potential to be very entertaining--even thrilling. Kanepi has a winning record against Kvitova, but this is a Kvitova we haven't seen before, so anything goes. Kanepi, a qualifier (though she has been ranked as high as 18) has already played seven matches, which could be a factor.

Kim Clijsters (8) vs. Vera Zvonareva (21)
Who knew that Zvonareva would be the last Russian standing? Getting into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon must feel really good for Zvonareva, who had to take such a long road back after her terrible accident in Charleston in 2009. On paper, this is Clijsters' match, but it could wind up closer than "paper" indicates.

Tsvetana Pironkova vs. Venus Williams (2)
In 2006, Pironkova upset Williams in the first round of the Australian Open. It's an interesting fact, but it won't bother the 2nd seed in the least.