Roger Federer, Wimbledon Champion Once Again

Congratulations to Roger Federer! He just won his 7th Wimbledon title,  17th major overall. He defeated Britain’s Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Federer equals Pete Sampras’ record. He turns 31 in August, and is the oldest man to win a major since 2003, when Andre Agassi won the Australian Open at age 32.  This is Federer’s first major in over two years.

It was a historic final for both players. As I mentioned earlier, Federer was looking to equal Sampras’ record. Murray was the first British man in the men’s singles final in over 70 years. He had been to 3 major finals before- 2 Australian Opens-where he lost to Novak Djokovic and Federer- and an US Open final-where he lost to Federer. There were many familiar faces in the crowd, most of them supporting Murray. Kate Middleton; the Duke of Cambridge; David Cameron, England’s Prime Minister, and the most famous Brit of them all, David Beckham, former Manchester United and Real Madrid player.

Murray won the first set 6-4 and Federer fans started to get worried. However, Federer started playing better in the second set and was able to win 7-5. They had just started the third set and were at 1-1, when there was a short rain delay and play was suspended while they closed the roof. They had to wait around 40 minutes before continuing the match. This was the first Wimbledon singles final that was played with the roof closed. The match resumed after the roof was closed, and Federer continued playing really good tennis. The turning point, the one where it looked as though Federer was definitely going to win, came when they played a 20-minute game that lasted 26 points. This is when Federer broke Murray’s serve and from there, it just got easier for Federer.

Although I was rooting for Federer, it was hard not to feel bad for Murray. In his runner-up speech, he (and his friends and family) choked up. It was very heartbreaking to see, but it also showed everyone how passionate Murray was and how much this meant to him. Murray deserves a lot of credit. He was really good, had it not been for his great returns, Federer would’ve gotten easy points on his serve. This was the first time in four finals that he had won a set, and he’s just going to keep getting better. I believe that one day Murray will win a major, if not at least 2 or 3. He has the talent and he has beaten the top players, now he just needs the confidence to know that he can do it. After this final, it looks like he’s starting to believe in himself.

Over the past few years, a lot of people have been saying that Federer was getting too old and his best tennis was behind him. He proved them wrong on Sunday. Last year, before the French Open, Federer said that he believed he could win another grand slam and be number one again. http://adjustingthenet.com/2011/05/10/federer-believes-he-can-be-no-1-again-but-do-you/ Most people doubted him. Well, by winning Wimbledon today, he returns to number 1 in the world again and cements his place in history as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Serena Williams, winner of the 2012 Singles and Doubles title

What a great day for Serena Williams. Not only did she win her 5th Wimbledon title in singles, she also won her 5th Wimbledon title in doubles, with her sister, Venus Williams.

First up for Serena Williams was her singles final, against world number 3 Agnieszka Radwanska. She won the first set 6-1. It seemed as though this would be an easy match for her. In the second set, she was up 4-2 and she was 2 games away from winning in straight sets. All of a sudden, Radwanska started playing better and better and came back to win the second set 7-5.  Radswanska was in control of the match, it seemed. At 2-2, though, Williams started serving much better and moving better. This helped her win the next four games and her 5th Wimbledon singles title. The score was 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

The wildcard men’s doubles team who beat Bob and Mike Bryan yesterday, won their first ever title together. Jonathan Marray, Great Britain, and Frederik Nielsen, Denmark defeated Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecau 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7-5), 6-7(5-7), 6-3.  Marray and Nielsen were given a wildcard to Wimbledon, but no one really expected them to go far, esp considering they had to face the defending champions-Bryan Brothers-and other seeded doubles teams. The two of them had never played in a tour level match before and Nielsen had never won a match at a major. On their way to the final, they defeated: Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, number 9 seeds, Aisem Quereshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, number 8 seeds, and the biggest upset, the Bryan Brothers.  This match was huge for both players. Nielsen was the first male player from Denmark to ever win a title in a Grand Slam, single or doubles. Marray was the first British man to win the doubles title sincer 1936.

While the men’s doubles final had two first time winners, the women’s doubles final had the veterans. Serena and Venus Williams, who were unseeded, defeated Czechs Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 7-5, 6-4 in a little over an hour and fifteen minutes. Their opponents had won the French Open doubles title last year, so they knew how to perform in big matches. The first set was a little tough for the Williams’ sisters. Both doubles teams held serve until 5-5, when the Czech team was broken. Serena served for the match and they won the first set.  They didn’t have much time, they wanted to finish the match before 11pm, which is when all the matches are suspended and postponed until the following day. They didn’t need to worry. The second set was much easier for the Williams’ sisters.  They won the match after Venus closed to set with an ace.  This was their 5th Wimbledon title and 13th major title overall.

The Men’s Singles final will be on ESPN at 9 am EST. It will be a historic match whether Roger Federer or Andy Murray win on Sunday.  If Federer wins, he will win his 7th Wimbledon title and 17th major. If Murray wins, he will be the first British man to win a major in over 70 years. Good luck to both, although I will be rooting for Federer.

Federer v Murray and Williams v Radwanska
(courtesy of Wimbledon twitter)

Day 10

Agnieszka Radwanska made it to her first Wimbledon final, after defeating Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 in the SF. She is seeded number 3 and if she wins the title, she will become the world number one. Radwanska is the first Polish player, woman or man, to make it to the Wimbledon final since 1937. One thing that helped her, was the long rallies between her and Kerber. She will face Serena Williams in the final.

Williams will be playing for her 5th Wimbledon title, after defeating Victoria Radwanska 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in the SF. This will be Williams’ 7th Wimbledon final. After a disappointing French Open, she lost in the first round, Williams started playing better tennis. In this match, she served 24 aces against Azarenka, a Wimbledon record. Another  impressive statistics? She had zero double faults. Williams has 13 majors, including 4 Wimbledon titles. She will face Radwanska in the final.

Two American doubles teams made it to the SFs, for both men and women’s doubles. Serena and Venus Williams played their QF match against another doubles team of Americans- Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears. They won 6-1, 6-1. This game was played a few hours after Serena Williams’ singles match.

Next up for them is the American doubles team-who’s also seeded number 1-Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber. The other Americans doubles team to make it to the SFs was Bob and Mike Bryan. They are one of the most accomplished doubles team in history. Their Qf match wasn’t easy though. They played against Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram, two Americans, and won 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.  They won the Wimbledon men’s doubles titles last year and are after their 3rd title. They will face the wildcard doubles team-Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen.

Day 11

What an incredible win for Roger Federer. He defeated the world number one, Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.  Federer was incredible in his SF, some even said this was vintage Federer. Everyone this to be a very close match. After all, you had the world number one and the the best player of all time, espn on grass, playing against each other. This match was worthy of being a final. The last time these two met in a major was last month in the French Open, where Djokovic won in the SFs.  Federer has a chance of becoming world number 1, again, if he wins the title on Sunday. This is Federer’s first final since last year’s French Open final, when he lost to Nadal. He will play Andy Murray.

Murray has been to three finals before, 2 Australian Open finals and a US Open final. This is his first ever Wimbledon final. He made it through after defeating Tsonga in four sets-6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Murray is the first British man in the singles final in 74 years. He started off really well, wining the first two sets without a problem. Then he lost the third set. He struggled a little during the fourth set and it looked like he was going to lose that one too, but he pulled through and won 7-5. He will face Federer in the final.

Mixed results for the Americans in the doubles SFs. The men, Bob and Mike Bryan, lost their SF match to the wildcard team, Marray and Nielsen. They lost the first two sets, but won the third set. The Bryan brothers were down 5-0 in the fourth but came back to even it at 5-5. That wasn’t enough though, as they lost the fourth set in a tiebreak 7-6(7-5) and the match.

The women did much better. Serena and Venus Williams defeated the top seeded Americans- Huber and Raymond. They won 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. They had a little trouble with their serves in the first set, but stepped it up in the second and third sets. They will face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic in the final.

The SFs for the men’s singles has been set. There weren’t any upsets in the QFs. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga all won their respective matches.

Federer defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets- 6-1, 6-2, 6-2- and is in his 32nd Grand Slam SF. Although his back had been hurting during his fourth round match, Federer showed no signs of discomfort during this match. He will play against the current world number 1, Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic also had an easy QF. He defeated Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. So far, Djokovic has had a very good tournament.He won his first Wimbledon title last year, when he defeated Rafael Nadal and became world number 1 for the first time. He will face Federer for a chance to win his second Wimbledon title.

Andy Murray played David Ferrer in the QF and won in 4 very close sets.  He lost the first set in a tiebreak, but won the next three sets, two of which also went to a tiebreak. Murray will be playing for a chance to become the first British man to be in the Wimbledon finals in over 70 years. He will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The last player to join these three is Tsonga. He played Philipp Kohlschreiber and won 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6(7-3), 6-2.  This will be Tsonga’s second SF. Last year, he made it to the SF by defeating Federer, coming back from 2 sets to win in 5 sets. He will play the hometown favorite, Andy Murray.

It was a busy for Serena and Venus Williams. First they played a second round match against the 4th seeded doubles team- Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova. Then they played a third round match against 13th seeded doubles team- Bethanie Mattek -Sands and Sania Mirza. The Williams sisters first match was a difficult one for them. They lost the first set 3-6, won the second 6-3, and had tough time with the third set. They eventually won the third set 9-7 and moved on to the third round. Since the second round match had been postponed a day, the Williams sisters had to go back a few hours later and play their third round match that same day. Although this was their second match of the day, the Williams sisters had an easier time with their third round match. They won in straight sets- 6-4, 6-3- and moved on to the QFs.

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.

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.

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.

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.