My Wimbledon top10

Here are the occurrences, in ascending order, that were--for me--the most significant things (good or bad) about Wimbledon 2008:

10. I can't hear you with those propellers whirring: Jelena Jankovic, the number 2 seed, said she needed a helicopter to get to her round of 16 match. Both she and defending champion Venus Williams were shunted off to outer courts, an act for which there was simply no excuse.

9. Even more mod than tube socks: Bethanie Mattek, already a hit in London because of her socks, has spent the last year re-tooling her game and getting much fitter. At Wimbledon, she showed us all a greatly improved player (and she promised not to get too dignified to put away her wild clothes forever).

8. Help! I think I'm winning...: The talented but oh-so-fragile Anna Chakvetadze had another of her major meltdowns, this time against Nicole Vaidisova, whom she should have beaten.

7. This clay doesn't look right to me: French Open winner Ana Ivanovic became one of Zheng Jie's many victims, as the grass expert befuddled the world number 1 at every turn.

6. Champagne and strawberries in order: For the first time in ages, Brits looked pretty good at Wimbledon. Naomi Cavaday and Anne Keothavong were both taken out in early rounds by Venus Williams, but they played well against her and had every reason to feel proud. Elena Baltacha, likewise, had the misfortune to to play Zheng Jie, but she, too, performed admirably. The big winner, however was 14-year-old Laura Robson, who came into the junior championships unseeded, and won the whole thing. Robson has a mature game, is mentally tough, and is so cheeky, I can't wait to hear more interviews with her.

5. Tanasugarn makes her biggest Wimbledon run of all: Tammy Tanasugarn had made it to the Wimbledon round of 16 six times in her career, though not since 2004. Then, last month, she won the Ordina Open, a Wimbledon warmup tournament. Tanasugarn entered that tournament as a qualifier and defeated Dinara Safina in the final. I felt then that she was getting ready to impress at Wimbledon, and--sure enough--for the first time, she made it to the quarterfinals. It was at that point that nerves finally took her over, and what should have been a very competitive match against Venus Williams wound up otherwise. Tanasugarn's third round match against Marina Erakovic, by the way, was one of the top two or three matches I saw.

4. You're supposed to make every shot a power shot: Some commentators like to tell us that Maria Sharapova has no nerves, that she always displays great tennis, that she can rise to any occasion. Not so. I have a lot of regard for Sharapova, but she is prone to having these odd occurrences of going to pieces. Unfortunately, she had one in the second round of Wimbledon, when she was taken out by her countrywoman, the skilled (and equally droll) Alla Kudryavtseva. Sharapova kept double-faulting and making errors, and Kudryavtseva cleaned up. It has now been four years since Sharapova won Wimbledon, and that must be scary for her.

3. An exciting--but maybe not recommended--way to make history: For the first time in the Open Era, the top four seeds failed to make it to the quarterfinals.

2. The incredible run of Zheng Jie: Last spring, Zheng injured her left ankle and was out of the picture for months. Both her singles and her impressive doubles rankings tumbled, and she had a terrible time even qualifying for tournaments early this year. But she did fairly well at the French Open, then showed up and took Wimbledon by storm. Her draw was very difficult. In order to get to the semifinals, she beat Dominika Cibulkova, Elena Baltacha, Ana Ivanovic, Agnes Szavay, and Nicole Vaidisova. How many players could have survived that draw? She looked a bit lost in her first semifinal set against Serena Williams, but the second round was one of the best sets of tennis I saw in two weeks. Zheng is a born grass player, with her fast uptake, low balls and laser-like backhand. I have always thought she had a lot of potential, and this Wimbledon tournament gave us all a chance to see how talented she is.

1. Sister Act 2: Back on Centre Court: The people who said that the Williams sisters should retire, that they are injured too much to continue on the tour, that they are not focused on tennis--can now please shut up, yes? It had been a long time since we had an all-Williams final at a major--I didn't think we would have one at Wimbledon, but as I said a few days ago, what do I know? It wasn't a great final, but it was better than any other Williams vs. Williams major tournament finals we've seen. Venus won her fifth title, Serena was the finalist; they had a little rest, then won the women's doubles championship, too.