Murray over Troicki

All of the third-round matches were completed at Wimbledon yesterday. I followed the action as well as I could online, since NBC did not televise the matches live. I watched the beginning of Andy Roddick's match against Jurgen Melzer, but the video died before it was over. Very frustrating. I think the feed was purposely interrupted because NBC wanted to air a recording of the end of the match later in the day. So I listened to Roddick's victory on Radio Wimbledon. Andy Murray's match, on the other hand, was available to watch online. He played Viktor Troicki, whose name is apparently pronounced "Troy-skee", and was in fine form, winning in straight sets. So now the fourth-round matches are all set, and I believe they'll all be played on Monday. Federer takes on Robin Soderling in a rematch of the French Open final, Djokovic takes on Dudi Sela, Roddick takes on Tomas Berdych, and Murray takes on Stan Wawrinka.

Roddick through to third round

There was plenty of action going on at Wimbledon this week. The men's second-round matches finished up yesterday, and Andy Roddick and Andy Murray were among the winners. Juan Martin del Potro was a surprising loser to Lleyton Hewitt, but I guess I shouldn't really be surprised since his history on grass courts is unimpressive. Roddick played a Russian named Igor Kunitsyn and had a relatively easy time, though he did drop a set. Next up is Jurgen Melzer, whom he's scheduled to play tomorrow. Today's matches were on the bottom half of the draw, and both Federer and Djokovic advanced to the fourth round. Federer beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Djokovic had an excellent performance against Mardy Fish, winning in straight sets. Sunday is an off day at Wimbledon, so I think all of the fourth round matches will be played on Monday.

Federer and Djokovic win first-round matches

Wimbledon got underway today, and I listened to most of the action at work via Radio Wimbledon. Federer played Lu Yen-hsun from Taipei and had little trouble, winning in straight sets. Djokovic played later in the afternoon against Julien Benneteau, and it was not a cakewalk for him. After a close first set, he lost the tiebreaker. The second set also went to a tiebreaker, as neither man had broken serve at that point. Luckily for Djokovic, he turned things around at the right moment and won the second set. After that Benneteau took a nasty fall which shook him up and gave Djokovic more momentum. The third set was easily won by Novak, and then he finished off the match in the fourth. Benneteau took another spill right before match point and banged up his knee. He had to use a medical time-out but eventually did finish the match. The other half of the draw plays tomorrow, including Roddick, Murray, and del Potro.

Nadal withdraws from Wimbledon

The draw for Wimbledon came out on Friday, and shortly thereafter Rafa Nadal announced that he would be pulling out of the tournament due to knee problems. This was not totally unexpected news for me since I'd been hearing about his knee pain ever since the French Open, but it is a disappointment. It's safe to say now that Federer is the overwhelming favorite to win the title, which would be his 6th. His biggest competition, in my opinion, will be from either Andy Murray or Andy Roddick, both of whom are in the other half of the draw. Roddick could potentially play Murray in the semis, which would be quite an interesting match. The other two guys I'll be watching are Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic. Del Potro could face Roddick in the quarters, though I've heard reports that he's not a great grass-court player. Djokovic has been inconsistent lately, but if he can get his act together, he could clash with Federer in the semis. Lots of matches to watch in the upcoming two weeks.

Murray wins Queens Club

The Wimbledon tune-up tournament at Queen's Club concluded yesterday with Andy Murray taking on James Blake in the final. I had been hoping to see a Roddick-Murray matchup, but Roddick injured his ankle during his semi against Blake and retired. I hope he's back at full strength for Wimbledon. I got to watch the Blake-Murray match on TV since I was visiting a relative who gets the Tennis Channel. Solid tennis by Murray, breaking once in the first set to win 7-5, and doing the same to win the second 6-4. This should be an encouraging result for him going in to Wimbledon. I still don't know what's going on with Nadal and his knee problems, but aside from him, Federer, and Roddick, I can't think of anyone else I'd pick to win against Murray. Federer completely skipped his usual grass-court tune-up in Halle, but I'm sure he'll be more than ready for Wimbledon.

Lakers up 3-1

With all the tennis action that's been going on lately, I haven't really been following basketball. Not that I could follow it anyway, as the games don't start until 9 at night. However, I have been paying attention to the results, and I see the Lakers won the first two games in LA, Orlando won game 3 at home, and then just last night the Lakers on on the road in OT. I probably would have enjoyed watching all of those games, but the NBA does not seem to care about it's east coast fans. I think game 5 will still be in Florida before the series moves back to LA, unless the Lakers win, in which case it'll all be over. I'd like to see the Magic win, but that seems unlikely at this point.

Roger ties Pete

Fortunately I was able to watch the French Open men's final this morning, as NBC televised it live. I know there were a lot of disappointed tennis fans who were upset that NBC did not show the semis live, instead airing only one match after it was already over. The final between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling was not a very interesting match, but history was definitely made. For one thing, Federer won his 14th career major, tying the all-time record held by Pete Sampras. As if that alone wasn't good enough, the French Open was the one major that Roger had never won, having previously run into a brick wall known as Rafael Nadal. So now he has completed the career Grand Slam and won majors on hard courts, clay, and grass. I would not be at all surprised to see him win Wimbledon next month. The pressure will be off. Additionally, Nadal's status is a bit uncertain. He's having knee pain and has already withdrawn from the Queen's Club tune-up event that he won last year. If he pulls out of Wimbledon, I can't see anybody else challenging Federer. The next few weeks will be interesting.

Federer defeats Del Potro

Today was men's semifinal day at the French Open, and what a great couple of semis they were. I listened to the broadcast for most of the day today. The first match was Soderling vs. Gonzalez, and that one ended up going 5 sets. Soderling won the first two, but Gonzalez came back to take the third and the fourth. In a shocking conclusion, Soderling was down 4-1 in the final set and stormed back, winning the last 5 games of the match to advance to the final. That was followed by the Federer-Del Potro match, which I actually thought was going to be close. Turns out I was correct. Del Potro took the first set and looked good in the second, but he played a sloppy tiebreak and lost. Surprisingly, he regained his momentum in the third and captured that set, putting Federer in a tough situation. But Roger played well in the fourth and managed to go up a break in the fifth. Del Potro was unable to recover. So, the final on Sunday will be between Roger Federer and Robin Soderling. I don't think Soderling will give Federer as much trouble as Del Potro did, but then again Roger has looked pretty bad at times, so I'm never quite sure what to expect. If Federer pulls out the victory, it will tie him with Sampras for the most Grand Slam titles at 14, and it will give him at least one title at all four Slams. It will be huge.

Federer into the semis

The French Open quarterfinals continued today, with Roger Federer taking on Gael Monfils and Juan Martin del Potro playing Tommy Robredo. I was able to listen to a broadcast of both matches via the French Open website. Monfils played a good first set, but after losing in a tiebreak, he fell apart in the second. Being down 2 sets to none against Roger Federer is not a good situation, and even though he played well in the final set, it was not good enough. Federer won in straight sets. Del Potro likewise had little trouble downing Robredo. So the stage is set for a Federer-Del Potro semifinal. That has the potential to be a good match, although in the past Federer has owned Del Potro. The other semi will be between Robin Soderling and Fernando Gonzalez. It will be interesting to see if Soderling's play against Nadal was just a fluke or if he can really play tennis with the big boys. Of course, Gonzalez is not a top-ten player, so I don't think I'll be surprised no matter who wins.

Nadal upset

The 4-time defending French Open champ will not win his 5th in a row this year. In a monumental upset, Rafa Nadal was defeated by Robin Soderling yesterday, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(2). I couldn't believe it when I heard the news. I didn't think Nadal was invincible, but I thought he would lose to a top player if anyone at all. But even the pros have an off day occasionally. Now the field has really opened up. It is Federer's tournament to lose at this point. All of the pressure will be on him. He will likely never again see such a great opportunity to win the one major that's eluded him. Roddick is out, but del Potro and Murray are still alive. I like del Potro and would not be surprised to see him give Federer a fight in the semis. Gael Monfils has also been impressive and will take on Federer in the next round. It will still be an interesting week, Nadal's departure notwithstanding.