Serena Williams

At the end of Day 9, only one American remains in the singles draw at Wimbledon. That one American? You guessed it, Serena Williams. The other Americans all lost their matches today. Mardy Fish and Brian Baker played their fourth round matches today because of yesterday’s rain delay.

Serena Williams knocked out last year’s Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in straight sets. Up to this point, Kvitova had been playing really well. But she was no match For Williams’ big serve. She served 13 aces and her fastest serve came at 120 mph. She won the match 6-3, 7-5. Williams will face Victoria Azarenka in the SFs.

Baker played Philip Kohlschreiber of Germany and lost in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(7-4), 6-3.  This was the furthest Baker had gone in any major. He should be very proud of himself, he played some really good tennis these last two weeks and can only get better. His ranking will be somewhere around 70-80 and if he stays in the top 100, he will receive direct entry to next month’s US Open.

Fish played Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and lost in 4 sets. He had 11 break points, but was only able to convert 2 of them. Despite this, Fish had a very good run, esp considering this was his first tournament since April. Fish was the last American male left in the singles draw.  Originally, he’d been chosen to represent the US, but turned down the chance to let the younger players have a chance.

In an All German QF, Angelique Kerber beat Sabine Lisicki in 3 very close sets. This was one of the most entertaining matches of the day. Kerber, who had beat Kim Clijsters in her previous match, won the first set without a problem. She started off well in the second set, quickly winning the first 3 games.  However, Lisicki came back to win that set in a tie break- 7-6(9-7). The third set  was very close and very nervewrecking for both players. Lisicki came very close to winning the third set, and match. She served for the match at 5-3, but was broken. After that, Kerber win all to win the next 3 games and the match. She will be playing Agnieska Kerber in her first Wimbledon SF.

Andy Murray played against Marin Cilic, who had defeated Sam Querrey earlier in the second longest Wimbledon match. It took Murray a while to win the first set, but he won the next two sets without a problem. He will face David Ferrer in the QF.

Soon to be number 1 (yet again) Victoria Azarenka defeated Tamira Paszek in straight sets. Paszek has surprised a lot of people these past few days. Not only by defeating the former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, but also by winning her next few matches, proving it wasn’t just a fluke. Even though Azarenka won in straight sets, the match was much closer. This was one of Azarenka’s toughest Wimbledon matches. It won’t get any easier for her she faces Serena Williams next.

David Ferrer is through to his first QF at Wimbledon. He defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets. Ferrer has been to the QFs in all of the other majors, but never in Wimbledon. He will be playing Britain’s Andy Murray for a spot in the SF.

Sabine Lisicki Upsets World Number One, Maria Sharapova
(picture courtesy of tennis.com)

Day 7 had a few upsets in the women’s side. The biggest one was Maria Sharapova, who lost in straight sets-6-4, 6-3 to Sabine Lisicki of Germany. Sharapova never really looked comfortable playing againt the 15th ranked player. Lisicki went after her shots, hitting big whenever she could. Another thing that worked against Sharapova? The windy conditions. She was unable to serve as well and had many double faults. Most people had picked Sharapova as the favorite to win Wimbledon. As a result of this loss, Sharapova will lose her number one ranking to Victoria Azarenka.

Kim Clijsters is another grand slam winner who lost on Day 8. She also lost to a German player, Angelique Kerber, 6-1, 6-1. This was Clijsters’ last Wimbledon. She will retire after the US Open, which is next month. Clijsters made 9 appearances in Wimbledon and made it to the SFs twice. This time she wasn’t able play as well as she would’ve liked. Overall, Kerber was the much better player. She will be facing Lisicki in the QFs.

Kim Clijsters’ last Wimbledon match
(courtesy of @wimbledon)

Roger Federer struggled a little bit in the first set of his fourth round match with Xavier Malisse and even lost the third set, but was able to win in four sets to make it to the QFs. During the first set, Federer took a medical time out, which is something he almost never does. He’s one of the few players on tour who’s been able to stay healthy for so long. In fact, he’s never retired from any of his matches during his years as a professional. He was able to overcome his back problem to win this match. Next up for him is Mikhail Youhzny.  Victoria Azarenka’s fourth round opponent, Ana Ivanovic, didn’t give her any problems. Azarenka won the match 6-1, 6-0. Novak Djokovic also had an easy match. He beat his Olympics doubles partner, Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.

Serena Williams had another tough match. This time against Yaroslava Shvedova. She won in three sets agaisnt her, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5. She will be playing Petra Kvitova.  Kvitova also had a hard time in her match. She was playing Francesca Schiavone and like Williams, won in three sets.

Many of the matches, including a few of the men’s fourth round matches, were canceled because of the rain. These matches will be played on Day 9. Wimbledon is being shown on ESPN and ESPN 2.

A day after Rafael Nadal lost to world number 100, Lukas Rosol, it looked like Roger Federer was about to join him on the sidelines. He was playing in the third round and had dropped the first two sets to world number 29, Julien Benneteau.  Federer was able to easily win the next set, 6-2, but struggled in the fourth set. This set went to a tiebreak and most Federer fans were very nervous. It was very tense and Federer was 2 points away from losing this match, but he was able to hang on and win the fourth set 7-6(8-6). It was now even with two sets each and Federer was beginning to look like his old self again. He won the fifth set, and match, without a problem, winning 6-1. Had Federer lost, it would have been his earliest exit at a major since 2005. He will be playing Xavier Malisse of Belgium in the fourth round.

Novak Djokovic also dropped the first set of his match, but was able to win the next three sets against Radek Stepanek without controversy or drama. He plays his countryman, Viktor Troicki in the fourth round. The other favorites did well too. Kim Clijsters was up 6-3, 4-3 against Vera Zvonareva, when her opponent retired. Clijsters, who’s playing in her last Wimbledon, is trying to win one of the two majors she has yet to win. She has won the US Open and Australian Open. Maria Sharapova played much better in her third round match. She won in straight sets and is closer to winning her second Wimbledon title. She plays Sabine Lisicki in the next round.

There were a few upsets in Wimbledon, though none as big as Nadal’s loss. Nadia Petrova, seeded 20th, lost to Italian qualifier, Camilla Giorgi in straight sets. Another upset was Fernando Verdasco’s loss to Malisse. He lost in 5 sets. Verdasco is a player who has the talent, but at times loses matches he should easily win, like this match. Mikhail Youzhny, seeded 28th, defeated Janko Tipsarevic, seeded 8th. Juan Monaco, who was playing in the third round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, was upset by Troicki in straight sets. Not sure this can be considered an upset, but Richard Gasquet defeated Nicolas Almagro in straight sets. Reason it might not be such an upset is that Almagro is considered a clay court specialist, a completely different surface than the one used in Wimbledon.

How did the Americans do? Mixed results. Sloane Stephens lost to Lisicki in a very close match. It was 7-6(7-5), 1-6, 2-6 for Lisicki. Stephens had two match points at 5-2 in the first set tiebreak, but ended up losing the next five points. Stephens should be proud of her efforts though, after all she had been playing one of last year’s Wimbledon semifinalist. Another young American, Christina McHale, also lost in the third round to Angelique Kerber. She lost in straight sets to the 8th ranked player. One American who did win his match was Sam Querrey. He defeated Canadian Milos Raonic in four very close sets- a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8), 6-4. Querrey was once ranked 17th in the world, but was sidelined for a while after having surgery on his elbow. He’s had a tough time coming back, but this win is one of his biggest wins in a long time.

There’s no Wimbledon on Sunday. Matches will resume on Monday on ESPN from 8 am EST to 3 pm EST and on ESPN 2 from 7 am EST to 5 pm EST.