Wimbledon, Day 8--not my day

Marion Bartoli, seeded number 18, took out number 3 seed Jelena Jankovic in today's round of 16 play

My favorite WTA player, defending champion Amelie Mauresmo, played a lackluster, error-filled match against Nicole Vaidisova today, and was eliminated in the round of 16. Mauresmo had a long post-surgery layoff, and was not expected to do that well. But when she got to the tournament, she lit up and was playing extremely well...until today. Final score: 7-6, 4-6, 6-1

To make matters worse, my only other favorite still in the draw, Jelena Jankovic, was taken out in the round of 16 by Marion Bartoli, a Frenchwoman who plays Monica Seles style--two-handed on both sides--and who has been on a roll lately. They each took a set, and after a rain delay, it was all about Bartoli. Some of us have predicted for some time that Jankovic was going to run out of steam--she has played so many tournaments--and today may have been the day that happened. Or she just may have been sideswiped by a good player who had nothing to lose and was out for revenge: Jankovic defeated an injured Bartoli in straight sets in the French Open round of 16. Final score: 3-6, 7-5, 6-3

Also eliminated today were phenom Tamira Paszek, defeated by Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Nadia Petrova, who was beaten by Ana Ivanovic.

Player of the day: Marion Bartoli, who eliminated the number 3 seed and now goes to the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, a career first. She will face Michaella Krajicek, which means that--no matter who wins--Wimbledon will have a surprise semifinalist.