Wimbledon 2010: Day 2 wrap

Posted: June 22nd, 2010 | Author: thedoublebagel | Filed under: ATP, ATP: Andy Murray, ATP: Fernando Verdasco, ATP: James Blake, ATP: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, ATP: Rafael Nadal, ATP: Robin Soderling, ATP: Wimbledon, WTA, WTA: Anna Chakvetadze, WTA: Aravane Rezai, WTA: Caroline Wozniacki, WTA: Maria Sharapova, WTA: Michelle Larcher de Brito, WTA: Samantha Stosur, WTA: Serena Williams, WTA: Svetlana Kuznetsova, WTA: Victoria Azarenka, WTA: Wimbledon | 2 Comments »

The drama in Day 2 was definitely toned down. Unless you’re Pam Shriver and James Blake then Day 2 was definitely drama-filled for you.

You can skip over to 4:30 to see the James and Pam smack talk. I can’t stop laughing at Pam’s knee-jerk jab, rabbit ears. Tracey tweeted the truth, drunk people can’t whisper.

On to the actual tennis.

Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka were only slightly contested in their openers. Meaning, no one served up a double or triple bagel. Unfortunately. There were bagels and Masha and Caro came oh so close but it wasn’t to be today.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Aravane Rezai and Anna Chakvetadze lost sets but were able to recover and win their matches. One of those three is not like the others but I thought I’d give her credit. All because she made an effort not to offend the tradition at SW19. Props!

Today’s carnage; Samantha Stosur, Fernando Verdasco, James Blake and Anne Keothavong.

Sam still could not find her footing on the green stuff. It’s weird how the grass courts work. It’s either the players love playing there and immediately feel comfortable after a 24-hour turnaround from the clay or they hate it and would rather skip the season altogether. (Carlos Moya? Nikolay Davydenko?) It’s such a short season that I can see how some players can’t really work their way into getting comfortable on it.

Nando and James (not that those two are alike) were just plain crap today. There’s no other way to put it.

Anne blew a 4-0 lead in the 3rd set of her match and lost it 4-6. She lost her focus, probably got too excited to get out of there and just like that *snap*, her opponent’s caught up.

Q. What went wrong today?

ANNE KEOTHAVONG: I think nerves just got the better of me, to be honest. You know, I really fought my heart out out there. You know, she held her nerve better than I did. She’s the one who walks off the court with a win.

Despite the missed opportunity (she *had* it), I still wouldn’t say she should be depressed and take fault for the failure of British tennis. No one’s at fault. You’ll get your champ, GBR, I swear.

Q. Obviously you’re disappointed on a personal level. How depressed are you on a more general level that once again we talk about a British failure for British tennis at Wimbledon?

ANNE KEOTHAVONG: It’s disappointing right now, but I’m not going to send myself into depression mode. I’ve got to find a way, pick myself up. In another few weeks, I’ll have another opportunity to compete at a high level. It won’t be Wimbledon, but you just have to move on.

You know, all of us girls, we’re working hard in each of our own ways. You know, Wimbledon’s important. Sure, we all want to do well here as British players, but that’s not the be‑all and end‑all.

You’re not doing any of these athletes any favors, British press. Thank you and go away.

ANNE KEOTHAVONG: You know, unless you’re kind of involved in tennis day in and day out, you know, if you could witness what we do, we train really hard. We put ourselves through a lot. It’s unfortunate that we get judged on just one tournament.

But I can tell you, you know, just to get myself fit, you know, in a position to compete here with the world’s best players, you know, I was working so hard. I was in the gym with physios, fitness trainers, last year learning again to walk properly. You know, you guys don’t see that. So it’s just that.

Notable wins and losses:
Serena Williams (1) def. Michelle Larcher De Brito 6-0, 6-4
Caroline Wozniacki (3) def. Tathiana Garbin 6-1, 6-1
Victoria Azarenka (14) def. Mirjana Lucic 6-3, 6-3
Maria Sharapova (16) def. Anastasia Pivovarova 6-1, 6-0
Aravane Rezai (18) def. Magdalena Rybarikova 6-7 (8-10), 6-2, 7-5
Svetlana Kuznetsova (19) def. Akgul Amanmuradova 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4
Anna Chakvetadze def. Andrea Petkovic 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
Anastasia Rodionova def. Anne Keothavong 3-6, 6-2, 6-4

Rafael Nadal (2) def. Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-4, 6-4
Andy Murray (4) def. Jan Hajek 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
Robin Soderling (6) def. Robby Ginepri 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
Fabio Fognini def. Fernando Verdasco (8) 7-6 (11-9), 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (10) def. Robert Kendrick 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 6-4
Robin Haase def. James Blake 6-2, 6-4, 6-4

Complete Day 2 scores here.

Images via Getty

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