Passing shots

The use of Hawk-Eye has been extended at Fed Cup.

I don't call her Thrill Ride for nothing.

The BBC is considering taking Wimbledon off of its broadcasting schedule. Any such change would not occur until 2014.

Thank goodness for Tennis TV, which is now easier than ever to use, and which keeps me from having to watch Tennis Channel with the sound off.

Venus Williams will return to the tour at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami.

You can get to know Christina McHale here.

Miscellany

Ravi Ubha comments briefly on all of the Wimbledon seeds.

Serena Williams' Wimbledon Ball dress beautifully matched the gold and silver of the Venus Rosewater dish.

Vera Zvonareva is back in the top 10; the Wimbledon runner-up is now number 9 in the world. 

Peng Shuai, out for a considerable time with illness, has returned to the tour.

Over the weekend, Martina Hingis played doubles with Sarah Borwell in World Team Tennis competition. Hingis plays for the New York Buzz.

My Wimbledon top 10

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

10. Close, but not there: Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams met in the round of 16, and 2005 Wimbledon champion Sharapova held three set points in the first set, but Williams prevailed--again--7-6, 6-4.

9. Clay, grass--who cares?: Not Jarmila Groth. Out of almost nowhere, the big-hitting Australian advanced to the round of 16 at the French Open, then repeated the feat at Wimbledon, where she played a quite respectable fourth round against Venus Williams.

8. Down and out: One of the most highly anticipated matches of this year's Wimbledon tournament was the round of 16 contest between Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Though Henin has been calling 2010 a "year of transition," there is no doubt that she had her eye on the Venus Rosewater dish. In the past, Henin has prevailed against Clijsters in big-time matches, but in this one, a slip on the grass was very costly. Henin fell on her right arm, and wasn't the same after she pulled herself up from the grass. Clijsters won, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, and Henin is out for two months with a partial ligament fracture in her elbow.

7. Russians stop Williams Grand Slam run: Serena and Venus Williams won the doubles championship at both the Australian Open and the French Open, and their chances to achieve the 2010 Grand Slam looked good. But then along came Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva, who put a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 end to the sisters' success. Elena Vesnina, in particular, played at an extremely high level, both on serve and otherwise, to defeat the top seeds.

6. Thriller!: Petra Kvitova saved five match points in what turned out to be my favorite match of the tournament. Playing against big-serving Kaia Kanepi, Kvitova--who was just about almost coming from behind--fought and scrapped for three hours until she wore Kanepi down.

5. Notable run finally halted "in the Serena": Petra Kvitova had a really tough draw at Wimbledon. She had to take out Sorana Cirstea, 2008 semifinalist Zheng Jie, 14th seed Victoria Azarenka, 3rd seed Caroline Wozniacki, and the resurgent Kaia Kanepi. That put her into the semifinals against Serena Williams, which was more than she could handle, but she made a good match of it. She talked the day before the semifinals about her chances "in the Serena," which she didn't seem to think were too good. They weren't, but Kvitova's Wimbledon run was outstanding.

4. Remember me?: For some time now, Tsvetana Pironkova has been known for her upsets, the most famous of which was the first round defeat of Venus Williams in the 2006 Australian Open. But Pironkova, despite having a clever and beautiful game, has always had trouble dealing with her nerves, and with recovering from errors. At Wimbledon, however, she used her considerable skills to get to the semifinals, and on the way, she took out Williams again, this time in the quarterfinals. The five-time Wimbledon champion was having an off day, but Pironkova made things even harder for her with her inventive shot-making. She lost to Vera Zvonareva in the semifinals, but one hopes that the talented Bulgarian will turn a corner after this experience.

3. We cannot be serious!: Who knew that competing in the Wimbledon doubles championship match could be so much fun? Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova had the time of their lives competing against Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva in the final. They won, too, and Shvedova became an instant doubles star during the match. It was just their third time to play together, and their smiles and consistently good humor were a sharp contrast to the somber proceedings on the other side of the net.

2. Russian tennis, see "Zvonareva": Dinara Safina and Elena Dementieva weren't there. Svetlana Kuznetsova lost in the second round, Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko both lost in the third round, and Maria Sharapova went out in the round of 16. No worries--21st seed Vera Zvonareva went all the way to the final in both singles and doubles, and in doubles, Russian Elena Vesnina went with her. After working hard to come back after an especially bad 2009 ankle injury, Zvonareva defeated 15th seed Yanina Wickmayer, she  emerged the victor when 4th seed Jelena Jankovic retired, and then she upset 8th seed Kim Clijsters. She lost in straight sets to Serena Williams in the final, and she and Vesnina lost the doubles final, too; it didn't help that Zvonareva was in a major funk after losing the singles championship. But it was still an outstanding run on grass, and the best run of all the Russians.

1. Fly Me to the Moon: Asked to describe the little dance she did while holding the Venus Rosewater dish, 2010 Wimbledon champion Serena Williams said " I was really feeling Frank Sinatra‑ish, 'Come Fly With Me', ''Fly Me to the Moon'." She could probably win a championship played on the moon's surface, too, if it came to that. Williams won her fourth Wimbledon championship, and her thirteenth major, without dropping a set. She hit a total of 80 aces during the tournament, and she defended expertly. To the moon, indeed.

Navratilova & Novotna win Wimbledon Ladies Invitation doubles competition

For the first time, there was a Ladies Invitation Doubles tournament at Wimbledon this year. And the premiere winners of the event are Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna, who, today, defeated Tracy Austin and Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel 7-5, 6-0.

During their careers, Navratilova won the Wimbledon doubles championship seven times, and Novotna won it four times. Combining doubles, singles and mixed doubles, this makes a total of six Wimbledon trophies for Novotna, and twenty for Navratilova.

Black & Paes win Wimbledon mixed doubles championship

The number 2 seeds, Cara Black and Leander Paes, won the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship today, defeating 11th seeds Lisa Raymond and Wesley Moodie 6-4, 7-6.

Black won the mixed doubles championship with in 2004 with her brother, Wayne.

Vergeer & Walraven win Wimbledon women's wheelchair doubles

Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven won the women's wheelchair championship at Wimbledon today. The top seeds defeated Daniela De Toro and Lucy Shuker 6-2, 6-3.

Vegeer, who acknowledged that playing on grass is a challenge, says she hopes Wimbledon will add a wheelchair singles division: "I think they should give it a chance. If you don't try with a serious match, you will never know."

Babos & Stephens win Wimbledon junior girls doubles championship

The 4th-seeded team of Timea Babos and Sloane Stephens won the junior girls Wimbledon doubles championship today. They defeated top seeds Irina Khromacheva and Elina Svitolina 6-7, 6-2, 6-2. Babos is from Hungary, and Stephens is from the USA. They also won the junior girls French Open doubles championship.

3 more Wimbledon doubles championships to be decided on Sunday

The mixed doubles final will be held at Wimbledon on Sunday, July 4. 11th seeds Lisa Raymond and Wesley Moodie will compete against 2nd seeds Cara Black and Leander Paes.

In wheelchair doubles, top seeds Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven will play Daniela Di Toro and Lucy Shuker. There is no wheelchair singles event at Wimbledon. Korie Homan, by the way was missing from both the French Open and Wimbledon. My understanding is that she injured her wrist in January. If anyone has more information, please pass it on.

Finally, the junior girls championship match will feature top seeds Irina Khromacheva and Elina Svitlovina (who was also the top seed in singles) competing against 4th seeds Timea Babos and Sloane Stephens.

Wimbledon--what they said

I didn't play my best tennis today, but Serena didn't allow me to play my best tennis.

Vera Zvonareva

I was thinking because we decide to play three tournaments. Birmingham we did semifinal, 's‑Hertogenbosch we did final. After the final, I said, Now we have to win Wimbledon.

Yaroslava Shvedova

I've never really cared what people said, how they said whether I should be playing tennis and hitting balls or whatever. It never really bothered or mattered to me.

Serena Williams 

When you won, most people throw their racquets in the air and jump up and down. You just walked to the net.
I'm not like this. I don't know. I was happy, of course, but I don't need to do something like this.

Kristyna Pliskova

Just to return is not enough; you've got to be able to put it somewhere so you don't get killed on the second shot.

Vera Zvonareva

I wonder what she's like, chopping a pile of bricks, Vesnina. She could do a good job with that.

Jo Durie

Is there a chance you'll still be playing at 38, do you think?
38?
Yeah.
If I am, I want you to personally take me off and escort me off the court. There's no way I need to be out here at 38.

Serena Williams

I was like, it's so nice, like, Billie Jean watching Vania King. It's a big honor like she was watching us. I was like feel also like more kind of confidence and very nice. I was like wanted to show, we can show the great tennis and show fun more.

Yaroslava Shvedova

Maybe sometimes I went for too much and sometimes I didn't attack enough.

Vera Zvonareva

I think maybe they were more nervous than we were. Her coach had a beer before the match to relax, which is funny because he's the more calm one.

Vania King

I think I made a mistake today. I stepped back, and I should have been more aggressive on her second serve. But, you know, it's something that I will keep in my mind for the future.

Vera Zvonareva

Every time we go on the court, that's one of the reasons we have such a good time on the court is because we're such good friends. Every time we go on the court, we enjoy spending time together. Our games come together so well. It's the best to have this title with her.

Vania King

King & Shvedova win Wimbledon doubles championship

A casual observer who had just turned on the television could never have guessed that Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova were playing doubles with the 2010 Wimbledon championship at stake. They were having so much fun, smiling so much, it looked more like two friends were just out to have a good time on a Sunday evening.

Those two friends defeated Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva 7-6, 6-2 to become the first unseeded team to win Wimbledon since 1977, when Helen Gourlay Cawley and JoAnne Russell won the trophy. Both of the teams in today's final were unseeded, in fact, and both played very impressively throughout the tournament. To get to the final, the champions defeated Alberta Brianti & Alexandra Dulgheru, 14th seeds Monica Niculescu & Shahar Peer, 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova & Sam Stosur, 6th seeds Kveta Peschke & Katarina Srebotnik, and 5th seeds Liezel Huber & Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

The Russian team also pulled some big upsets, including the defeat of top seeds Serena and Venus Williams, in a match that featured a consistently stunning performance from Vesnina. Today, however, was not the team's brightest day. Zvonareva lost the singles championship to Serena Williams, and the mood on the Russian side of the net was a decided contrast to the good cheer emanating from the other side.

The first set was so close that it went to a tiebreak, which King and Shvedova won 8-6 after saving a set point. Zvonareva was never quite the same after that, and--set up by the steady baseline play of King, Shvedova proceeded to become a one-woman attack force, repeatedly slamming unreturnable volleys from the net. She didn't look too shabby in other parts of the court, either, serving forcefully, and hitting winners down the line. She and King got better as the match wore on, and won the second set 6-2, which gave them the match.

The champions' interview was as entertaining as their performance on the court. Apparently, Shvedova and King invited practically everyone they met recently--at the French Open, in an English pub, etc.--to come to Wimbledon. They came, too, and were part of a huge cheering section for the two women. I was quite disappointed that neither the champions nor the runners-up were invited to speak at the trophy ceremony, and cannot imagine why such a slight would be permitted to occur.

No matter whom you wanted to win the doubles title, it was almost impossible to be anything but excited for King and Shvedova, whose expert play and on-court charm made this a special championship.

Pliskova wins junior Wimbledon championship

When Sachie Ishizu went up 4-2 in the third set in today's junior girls Wimbledon championship, her chances to win looked good. She was broken back, however, then Krystina Pliskova broke her again and served successfully for the championship 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Pliskova was seeded 9th at the tournament, and Ishizu was seeded 10th.

Kriystina's twin, Karolina, won the junior girls Australian Open championship. Krystina, who plays left-handed, won the Wimbledon warmup tournament in Roehampton, and is now on an eleven-match winning streak on grass.

13 and counting: Serena wins Wimbledon championship

After Serena Williams returned from showing the crowd her latest Venus Rosewater dish, she re-entered the Wimbledon clubhouse, which was lined with a regiment of serious-looking people in uniforms. Halfway through the formation, she lifted the dish, did a complete twirl, then executed a funky little kick. It was a great--and charming--moment for the now four-time Wimbledon champion. Nothing says "Serena" like a straight-sets win, a brilliant smile, and a spontaneous twirl for the offiicials.

Williams who won 6-3, 6-2, performed with clinical precision against Vera Zvonareva, who played some of her best tennis to get to the final. And while Zvonareva had some opportunities in the final, they were few and far between, and Zvonareva was unable to execute most of them because of the constant pressure she was under. Williams, who added nine more aces to her Wimbledon tally, giving her a total of 89, sustained a first serve win percentage of 94 throughout the match. She was 100% successful at the net (14 of 14), and hit 29 winners. Zvonareva never saw a break opportunity, and was dominated by Williams throughout.

Williams, who didn't drop a set at the tournament, has now won thirteen majors, and she shows no signs of letting up. She has had more than her share of injuries, and has vulnerable knees, yet--time after time--she overcomes her physical issues and plays seven successful matches at a major.

Wimbledon--what they said

What about when you're not practicing or you're not playing matches and you're eating dinner or watching TV? Is it, I'm happy, this is where I want to be?
No, I'm just really always just happy to be competing and to be healthy to be here. Like I always say, to have this opportunity is really unbelievable.

Serena Williams

I will just have to try to play the game that's bothering her the most.

Vera Zvonareva, referring to Serena Williams

In some ways is it easier not playing your sister in the final? That must affect your emotions a little bit.
Well, honestly I would feel like I would almost rather play her because at least I know for certain one of us is gonna win something and take something home. But now it's a 50/50 chance. So in a way, I didn't realize how good a feeling that was.

Serena Williams

I got a picture with him. That brightened up my day so much.

Laura Robson, referring to David Beckham

Do you remember learning how to serve and who taught that to you?
Yeah, I remember my dad taught us how to serve. Always at the end of practice, we would just serve. Venus and I would serve on either side, but with each other. We always talked a lot. I don't remember serving; I just remember talking. Lord knows what we were talking about, but we never stopped talking, unless my dad was looking at us, then we would serve. Then when he wasn't looking, we would just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk...

Serena Williams

It was a lot of fun playing on Centre Court, even if I didn't get the result I wanted.

Laura Robson

If there is something inside of you that's stopping you from bringing the best out of the yourself, you need to scream at yourself, pump yourself up, break that racquet, I will do it if I know it will help me to perform better. Why not?

Vera Zvonareva

Robson defeated in semifinals

8th seed Laura Robson lost her semifinal match in Wimbledon junor competition today. She was defeated 7-5, 7-6by 10th seed Sachie Ishizu. Ishizu's opponent in the final will be 9th seed Krystina Pliskova, who defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-4. Robson won the event in 2008.

In the doubles quarterfinals, the 2nd-seeded Pliskova sisters were upset by 5th seeds Veronica Cepede Royg and Cristina Dinu.

Vesnina & Zvonareva advance to Wimbledon doubles final

The unseeded team of Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva advanced to the Wimbledon final today, with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat of 4th seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta. That means that Zvonareva will play in both the singles and doubles final. She has one major title; in 2006, she and Nathalie Dechy won the U.S. Open.

The Russians' opponents in the final will be the unseeded team of Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, who upset the 5th seeds, Liezel Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

In the mixed doubles semifinals, 2nd seeds Cara Black and Leander Paes defeated 9th seeds Iveta Benesova, and Lukas Dlouhy, and 11th seeds Lisa Raymond and Wesley Moodie defeated 10th seeds Rennae Stubbs and Marcelo Melo. Raymond and Stubbs are women's doubles partners (Dlouhy and Paes are partners in men's doubles, also).

Miscellany

The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup, held in Madison Square Garden in 2009 and 2010, will be replaced in 2011 by a match between Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Prior to the match, there will be a one-set exhibition match played by John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl.

Venus and Serena Williams were each fined $4,000 for failure to appear at a post-doubles match press conference at Wimbledon. Serena said today she was not aware there was a press conference--that generally, the team is simply asked to deliver a statement to the press.

The Fed Cup final between the USA and Italy will be held November 6 and 7 at the San Diego Sport Arena.

Sabine Lisicki has returned to the court to practice after a long injury layoff.

World Team Tennis competition begins on July 5. Martina Hingis will be playing for the New York Buzz, whose first match will be played against the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Wimbledon--what they said

How pleased are you with the way you've coped with the physical demands of the last ten, twelve days, playing both the juniors and on the senior tournament as well?
I lost first round in everything in seniors, so it wasn't that physically demanding.

Laura Robson

What's the biggest danger for you going into the final?
Just putting too much pressure on myself, I think. On paper it looks like I should win. But Vera, I've played her several times; she's beaten some good people. Her last two matches she's been down a set, so she's obviously a fighter. She never gives up.

Serena Williams

I believe that next time it will be better for me.

Petra Kvitova

There are many things that I should work, and I will do it with pleasure. Now I have lots of motivation, so I'll be happy to work.

Tsvetana Pironkova

Do you tend to sleep well before a final like this? Do you just ease into it or do you really feel it churning inside?
No, I'm an excellent sleeper. That's something I do really well.

Serena Williams

...Do you have any off‑court talents you can tell us about?
...Yeah, I used to play the saxophone. I guess that's an okay talent to have. But I kind of stopped that, as it's hard to travel with a big saxophone.
Like Lisa Simpson?
Well, I would ideally like to be able to play like her, but I wasn't quite that good.

Laura Robson

Did you think you were in the final after the first set maybe?
No. No. Not even close. One set is like an eternity, you know.

Tsvetana Pironkova

...I can break the racquet, but it doesn't mean I'm not there in the match. I'm trying all the time.

Vera Zvonareva

Zvonareva to play Williams in Wimbledon final

Contrary to rumor, Mother Russia is alive and well, in the form of Vera Zvonareva. The 21st seed advanced  to the Wimbledon final today with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Tsvetana Pironkova.

This is the first time that Zvonareva has reached the final of a major, and she achieves this pinnacle in her career after working hard to return from a serious injury. On two occasions, Zvonareva has sustained serious injuries while playing in Charleston (Obviously free of superstition, she continues to play at the Family Circle Cup, where she has twice been a finalist). The last one occurred in 2009, when she rolled her ankle and was out for months. To make matters worse, the ankle injury occurred just when Zvonareva was playing the best tennis of her career.

During the match, the commentators on ESPN talked repeatedly about Zvonareva's fragile mentality, but if they had known anything about her opponent, they would have realized that she is the one who suffers more with fragility of the mind. However, they know almost nothing about players who are not in the top 10 or from the U.S. Not to pick on ESPN, though--I didn't come across any commentators or writers who gave evidence of knowing about Pironkova's strengths and weaknesses. At any rate, Pironkova has a really fine game which I hope the juniors are watching so they can emulate it. But it is difficult for her to string victories together, and indeed, I found it amazing that she held herself together to get to the semifinals.

Playing with the guile she has shown throughout the tournament, the Bulgarian took the first set. In the second set, however, she became shaky. Zvonareva's form had something to do with that, I should hasten to add, but it wasn't surprising, under any circumstances, that Pironkova's level went down. After the first set, she never broke Zvonareva again, and the 21st seed became more confident as the match went on.

In the other semifinal, top seed Serena Williams faced Petra Kvitova, who put on quite a show in coming down from 0-4 in the third to defeat Kaia Kanepi in the quarterfinals. Kvitova kept up with Williams through the first set, and even pulled herself up from 0-4 to 3-4 in the tiebreak, but was unable to withstand the damage done by the Williams serve and by Williams' consistency. Kvitova is quite a shot-maker, but in this match, she made too many errors, most of which appeared to come out of sheer anxiety and rushing her shots. In fact, she controlled many of the rallies, only to make silly mistakes and lose the points.

Ever the showwoman--at 2-4, 30-40--Kivotova won the point of the match, a highly entertaining affair in which both players were forced to hit far out of their comfort zones. Williams, using her serve and her experience, won the match 7-6, 6-2.

Both Pironkova and Kvitova had great runs in this tournament and provided fans with some exciting tennis--Pironkova with her very tricky style, and Kvitova with her big shot-making. Both were undone not only by their opponents, but by their own nerves.

Wimbledon miscellany

Semifinalists Vera Zvonareva and Tsvetana Pironkova have met only once, in Moscow last year in the round of 16. Pironkova won the match 6-0, 6-2. Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova have also met only once--at this year's Australian Open, where Williams defeated Kvitova 6-2, 6-1.

Here is a brief history of surprise semifinalists at Wimbledon.

Retiring women's master of ceremonies Jane Poynder says that Maria Sharapova is always ready ahead of time and "wonderfully prepared," that Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are "very organized," but that her blood pressure can "rise very slightly" when it's time for the Spanish players to head for the courts.

Doubles semifinalist Yaroslava Shvedova's business affairs are managed by doubles player and friend Ipek Senoglu.

Today, in Wimbledon Village, a 15-minute preview of Unmatched was shown, with Martina Navratilova in the audience. The film, a documentary about the friendship/rivalry of Navratilova and Chris Evert, premieres September 15 on ESPN.

Williams sisters upset in Wimbledon doubles

The William sisters' attempt to win the Grand Slam in 2010 was derailed in the Wimbledon quarterfinals today by the unseeded team of Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva, who defeated them 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Russian pair had not played together since 2008, but they quickly found their groove this month at the All England Club, and Vesnina's serve was not broken once by the Williams sisters. Zvonareva has now reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles.

Also on quite a roll are Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, who upset the 6th-seeded team of Kveta Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik today. In the third round, they upset 3rd seeds Nadia Petrova and Samantha Stosur. Also winning in the quarterfinals were 4th seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, who defeated Julia Goerges and Agnes Szavay, and 5th seeds Liezel Huber and Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who defeated 7th seeds Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs.

In mixed doubles, Kim Clijsters and Xavier Malisse upset top seeds Stosur and Nenad Zimonjic in straight sets. Also advancing were the teams of Iveta Benesova and Lukas Dlouhy, Chan Jung-Jan and Paul Hanley, and 2nd seeds Cara Black and Leander Paes.