There were no surprises today at Wimbledon. Some players had to work a bit harder than others, but overall, things turned out "as expected." Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova lost just five games between them in their respective second round matches, putting them even closer on course to a likely quarterfinal meeting. 2013 finalist Sabine Lisicki faced another big server in Karolina Pliskova, but the German prevailed in straight sets. And Eugine Bouchard had to fight in her first set against Silvia Soler-Espinosa, but then won the second set handily.
Angelique Kerber proved to be too much for Heather Watson to handle, but Watson did take a set off of Kerber, which was impressive. Britain's number one player has had some really good wins lately. Every time a major rolls around, though, she gets the draw from hell.
Madison Keys beat 31st seed Klara Koukaova, but it didn't really seem like an upset. More of an upset was Zarina Diyas's victory over 15th seed Carla Suarez Navarro. Diyas is a very aggressive player who should feel right at home on grass.
Alison Riske advanced to the third round with a win over Camila Giorgi, and Vera Zvonareva continued her comeback with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Donna Vekic.
In doubles, the French team of Alize Cornet and Caroline Garcia beat the Chan sisters.
Tomorrow, Petra Kvitova will play Venus Williams, and Michelle Larcher De Brito will have a go at Aga Radwanska. Also of interest: Belinda Bencic vs. Vicky Duval.
Hmmm, looks like Sloane and Annacone are no longer Current. I'll let you pick your jaw up off the floor about THAT news. Or not.
ReplyDeleteWould I be being too much of a smartypants to suggest Caro's dad as the next frustrated victim, I mean coach? They've always tended to want to blame the teacher rather than the pupil, after all. :)
Hmm, not a major shocker. Annacone probably had all he could take.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Piotr and Sloane almost makes me favor on-court coaching :)
You mentioned Watson getting the draw from hell when majors come around. I am hoping that since she has been getting stronger and getting her game back that she will go further in tour tournaments. If so her ranking would be higher and she wouldn't see top players so early. I think players are so focused on the majors that they don't think about shoring up their ranking in between by winning tournaments and getting used to playing top players away from majors.
ReplyDeleteHeather is actually playing at a much higher level than she used to, but she had to come back from that glandular fever recovery. I think that, in her case, the focus is in the right place, she's just had some bad luck.
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