Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic after playing the 2nd longest match in Wimbledon

5 hours and 31 minutes. That’s how long it took Marin Cilic to defeat Sam Querrey during the third round in the second longest match in Wimbledon history. The longest match was played by Querrey’s occasional doubles partner, John Isner and French player Nicolas Mahut, back in 2010. In the Cilic-Querrey match, the fifth set alone took 2 hours and 7 minutes to finish. The final score was  7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-7 (7-2) 6-7 (7-3) 17-15. This match had 81 games in total. Both players played some incredible tennis, unfortunately for American fans, Querrey did not emerge as the winner. He should be proud of his perfomance, though. Next up for Cilic is Andy Murray.

Americans Mardy Fish, Brian Baker, and Serena Williams all won their matches today. Andy Roddick won the first set, but ended up losing the next three sets, and the match to David Ferrer. Fish was playing against  David Goffin and won in straight sets. The last two sets went to tie break. This was a much easier match for Fish than his second round match, when he went to five sets with British wildcard James Ward.  Baker played against Benoit Paire and won in four sets. He will be in Wimbledon fourth round for the first time.

Williams didn’t have such an easy match on Saturday. She lost the first set in a tie break and then cruised through the second set winning 6-2. However, she struggled a little during the third set. She finally won the set at 9-7. Roddick lost in what many people think is his final match in Wimbledon. He started off great, and as I said won the first set. He lost the second set in a very close tie break – 7-6 (10-8). After losing the tie break, it seemed like Roddick just wasn’t able to compete with Ferrer and lost the next two sets 6-4, 6-3.

The player who upset Caroline Wozniacki earlier this week, Tamira Paszek, is through to the QFs after defeating Yanina Wickmayer in the third round 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.  Another player who also upset a former number one wasn’t so lucky. Lukas Rosol defeated Rafael Nadal in the second round, but lost to Philip Kohlschreiber in the third round, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Something else happened during Wimbledon that rarely happens in tennis. Yaroslova Shvedova won a “golden”set against the 10th seeded player Sara Errani. A “golden set” is when a player wins a set without dropping a single point, in other words winning 24 points in a row.  She won this match 6-0, 6-4.

The favorites all won their matches. Victoria Azarenka didn’t struggle at all during her 6-3, 6-3 win over Jana Cepelova.  Neither did the defending champion, Petra Kvitova, who won 6-1, 6-0 over American Varvara Lepchenko in less than 45 minutes.  Andy Murray won in four sets over Marco Baghdatis.  One of my favorites, Juan Martin Del Potro also won in straight sets against Kei Nishikori.

World Number 100 Lukas Rosol upsets World Number 2, Rafael Nadal

Day 4 had the biggest upset of the day. Actually, the biggest upset of the week. Rafael Nadal, ranked number 2, lost to Lukas Rosol, ranked number 100. This was Rosol’s first time playing in Wimbledon. When he was up 2 sets to 1, everyone believed Nadal would be able to come back and win the next two sets and the match. He won the 4th set and it looked like he was starting his comeback. But Rosol was too good and Nadal lost the 5th set 6-4. This was considered one of the biggest upsets in recent majors. Nadal had just won the French Open and it seemed like he was going to win back to back majors. One of the things that helped Rosol today was his serve. His average serve was 124 mph, his second serve came at 101 mph. During the whole match, Nadal was visibly upset. In fact, during the changeover, Nadal bumped into him. Rosol believes (and so do many people) that it was intentional. He also kept complaining to the chair umpire. Apparently, Nadal was annoyed that Rosol kept moving when he was getting ready to serve. Rosol is the lowest ranked player to ever beat Nadal in a major.

The other favorites did much better. Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, and Victoria Azarenka all won their matches. Andy Murray had a tough match with Ivo Karlovic. He won in 4 sets, but struggled a little with Karlovic’s serve. After this match, Karlovic accused the line judges of favoring Murray because they kept calling foot faults on him, including during some very critical points in the match. Williams’ match wasn’t as controversial. She had a much easier match, winning 6-1, 6-4 against Melinda Czenk. Azarenka and Kvitova cruised through their matches, winning 6-2, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-4. The one favorite who did struggle a little was Sharapova. She won the first set 7-6, but lost the second set 6-7. However, she was able to improve her game in the third set and won 6-0.

David Goffin, who was given a wildcard to Wimbledon, is through to the hird round after defeating American Jesse Levine in four sets. Goffin lost the first set, but stepped up his game and won the next 3. He has been very impressive in his Wimbledon. Some people have even started calling him the next Roger Federer. Next up for Goffin is American Mardy Fish.

Most of the Americans did well today. Brian Baker had another great match in Wimbledon. He defeated veteran Jarkko Nieminen in the second round, 6-0, 6-2, 6-4. Baker had a strong performance in today’s match. This is Baker’s first time at Wimbledon and he’s made it to the third round without a problem. Next up for Baker is Paire, which should be a winnable match, although there’s never a sure thing in tennis or any sport, for that matter.

The other two Americans who won today were Fish and Christina McHale. It took Fish five sets and a little over 4 hours to defeat British wildcard, James Ward. At times, it looked like Fish was struggling on the court. Most of it could be due to the humidity both players had to endure. McHale was able to win in straight sets and will be moving on to the third round.

Some other winners today were Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Tamira Paszek. Roddick won his first round match yesterday, after it had been delayed. This match was easy for him, he won in straight sets. Del Potro won his match in 4 sets and will face Kei Nishikori. After upsetting Caroline Wozniacki yesterday, she was able to win her second round match without a problem. She won 6-2, 6-1 against France’s Ailze Cornet. She will face Yanina Wickmayer in the the round.

Wimbledon will be shown on ESPN tomorrow, not ESPN 2. Same time as today- 7 am EST to 5 pm EST.

Roger Federer (courtesy of Wimbledon twitter)

Day 3 got off to a good start. The winner of 6 Wimbledon titles, Roger Federer, won his second round match in a little over an hour. He defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy in straight sets.  A few hours after Federer’s match, it started raining and play was suspended everywhere, except Center Court, which has a retractable roof. There was a rain delay which lasted over 2 hours. The only match on during this time was Caroline Wozniacki v Tamira Paszek. A number of matches were canceled and moved to tomorrow due to this rain delay. Some of the winners of Day 3 were- Juan Monaco, David Ferrer,  Kim Clijsters, Arantxa Rus, Sorana Cirstea, Andy Roddick, Tamira Paszek, and Sloane Stephens. Many of these names might not sound familiar, but that’s because they were the players who caused a few upsets today.

There weren’t any major upsets in the men’s matches today. A few seeded players lost, but none of them in the top 10. However, there were 3 upsets in the women’s matches. The first upset of the day was Samantha Stosur of Australia. She is currently ranked 5th in the world and won last year’s US Open. She was playing 72nd ranked Rus, from Holland, in the second round. Stosur lost the first set 4-6, but was able to win the second set 6-0. It looked like she had a chance of winning the third set, and the match, but Rus was just too good today. She won the third set 6-4. This wasn’t Rus’ first win over a top 10 player in a major. Last year, she beat Clijsters at the French Open.

Another upset of Day 3 was former number one Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to 37th ranked Paszek in the first round, after throwing away 2 match points. This was easily the most exciting matches of the day. At first, I only started watching this match because, as a result of the rain delay, it was the only match that was on. But I soon found myself glued to the tv. Both players played some great tennis. In fact, some people were saying it was the best women’s match of the year. There were long rallies and great points between the two. One of Paszek’s biggest strengths was her forehand. If it hadn’t been for the rain, I would’ve missed this match. So in a way, it’s a good thing it rained, otherwise most of us wouldn’t have been able to watch this great match.

The third set of the day was Li Na’s loss. She’s currently ranked number 11 in the world and won last year’s French Open. She was playing against 52nd ranked Sorana Cirstea in the second round. After winning the French Open last year, Na hasn’t had much luck in the majors. She played poorly in this match and lost 6-3, 6-4.

The favorites who won their matches were Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Clijsters. Federer played Fognini in front of Prince Charles, who was attending Wimbledon for the first time since 1970. This was a very easy match for Federer. He won in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic played against American teen Ryan Harrison. He also won in straight sets. Djokovic had to play his match under the roof of Centre Court. Clijsters was another favorite who had an easy match. She won 6-3, 6-3. All three of these players are through to the third round.

Two Americans who made it through were Stephens and Roddick. Stephens is a 19-year-old who’s playing at Wimbledon for the first time. She was playing 23rd ranked Petra Cetkovska in the second round and won in 3 sets. Stephens made it to the fourth round of the French Open last month and is considered one of the players to look out for in American tennis. Roddick is a veteran, he’s been to 3 Wimbledon finals, the most recent in 2009, when he lost to Federer. He finished his first round match against British Jamie Baker, after having his match postponed yesterday.

Two other players who won today were Monaco and Ferrer. Ernest Gulbis wasn’t so lucky. Prio to this Wimbledon, Monaco had never won a match on grass. This year he is in the third round. Ferrer is the 5th ranked player. Although his game is more suited for hard courts, he has been doing well so far at Wimbledon. Just two days ago, Gulbis upset Tomas Berdych in the first round on Centre Court. Many thought this match would be easier for him, as he was playing a qualifier. Unfortunately, they were wrong. Gulbis was playing Polish Jerzy Janowicz, who’s ranked 136th in the world. This match went to five sets, where Janowicz won the fifth set 9-7.

Wimbledon will be on ESPN 2 tomorrow, from 7 am est to 5 pm est.