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Wimbledon Diary: Day 7


 

Originally published on: 02/07/12 00:00

Street wise
Serena Williams went the distance again, winning her match against Yaroslava ‘golden set’ Shvdeova 6-1 2-6 7-5. The walk to the locker room was potentially more worrisome than the match. “I literally was almost knocked over today,” said Serena afterwards. “There were tons of security guards in there just going nuts and screaming. I've never heard them scream so loud.” But the five-time champ admits she can look after herself. “Maybe that's why I got on Court 2, because they knew I could back myself up.”

Who’s that girl?
Maria Sharapova may have gone out of the tournament today but all credit to her opponent, as the French Open champion and career Grand Slam holder said: “The girl I played today obviously performed well here, so it's not a big surprise she can go out and play a great grass court match.” For the record that girl was Sabine Lisicki.

Could do better
Petra Kvitova, who today defeated Francesca Schiavone in three sets, could see the No.1 seed was not on her game. “I think Maria didn't play so well in this tournament from the beginning. I read that she knew it, that she needs to improve her game.” Does she mean she read that somewhere or was she reading Maria’s game? The defending champ means business.

Miaow!
The tennishead cat was relieved he could not be accused of harming Rufus the Hawk as today the pigeon-scaring bird that went missing last week was returned to its rightful owner. No more temptation for SW19 resident Big Puss, as Rufus resumes his scary duties at the All England Club. Aaah!

Mentor Kim
She may have been beaten by Angelique Kerber 6-1 6-1 to bow out of her last ever Wimbledon Championships, but Kim Clijsters is happy to lend a helping hand to a junior. “You know, if I can help a junior in any way to share my experience and my knowledge, you know, about anything, any questions, I mean, I would be very happy to help out.” Beware the patter of tiny feet!

Lucky 13
Victoria Azarenka defeated Ana Ivanovic 6-1 6-0 today, bringing her total games lost tally to 13. The Belarusian is slipping (not so quietly) through the draw and playing some great tennis.  “I stayed in the zone the whole time,” she said of her performance.

There’s only one Centre Court (roof)
Roger Federer was mighty fortunate to be scheduled on Centre Court today. A rain-interrupted day meant he was able to get his match finished and despite showing physical distress with a back injury, he’s pretty sure he has enough time to recover for his next match. “Of course I have to keep an eye on it now.  I have one and a half days, which is a lot of time, to be quite honest, to work with. Two good night's sleeps and I'll be 100% on Wednesday,” he insisted.

Practice makes perfect
The defending men’s champ also played on Centre Court, where he beat fellow Serb Viktor Troicki in straight sets, but Novak Djokovic had a more practical view of the advantage of playing under the rood. ” It's good for me to finish and to have a day of practice tomorrow and get ready for next challenge.”

Set the alarm
Due to the backlog created by the rain today, play is scheduled to start earlier than normal on Day 8 -11.30pm on outside courts and the show courts at 12 noon. Hope Andy Murray enjoys an early start then as, weather permitting, the No.4 seed resumes his match against Marin Cilic on No. 1 Court.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.