Archive for June, 2009

WIMBLEDON UPDATE

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Day 3 saw  Giseko Dulko overcome her Centre court nerves to beat Sharapova in 3 sets, meanwhile Federer breezed past Spains Guillermo Garcia Lopez in straight sets with another “near perfect” performance.

DAY 4 - First up  on Centre court today is Lleyton Hewitt playing the 6ft 6 Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro, should be a great match with Hewitt showing signs of the form that won him many titles.  British fans will have to wait a little longer as Murray strives to keep Bristish hopes alive when he steps out third on Centre Court against a tough opponent Ernest Gulbis who he only just managed to beat 6-4 in the third set at Queens last year.  The press havemade quite a story claiming that Gulbis accused Murray of faking a wrist injury at 4-4 in the third at Queens and then proceeding to take the next two games and the match!  Murray will definitely have to step it up a gear as Gulbis is a tough opponent!  Also later the last British girl Baltacha is playing on Court 4 against Kirsten Flipkons. 

The Court One crowd will see Venus Williams up first against Kateryna Bondarenko and she will be hoping just like Serena did yesterday that she can power her opponent off the court.

SERVE “N” VOLLEY

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

When serving and volleying, throw your ball toss slightly more forward than usual and focus on reaching the service line to split step before you play your first volley/ half volley.  If your serve goes into the net or long you should not be still standing on the baseline! you should be almost at the service line.  When practising this as a novice get your hitting partner to return the serve even if long or have a spare ball to feed in to ensure you get lots of practice 1st volleys/ half volleys……….  Keep checking for more tips

WIMBLEDON 2009 - OPENING DAY

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

CENTRE COURT - Opening play on centre court today is Roger Federer who is “standing in” for Rafael Nadal who has had to withdraw because of his knees. Federer is a very worthy “stand in” after winning the championships 5 times already and probably the greatest tennis player of all time, he will be opening the new-look Centre Court with its retractable roof. Will Federers new military-style jacket prove more of a talking point than his 1st match?                                                                                                    

BRITISH NEWS

LAURA ROBSON is to become the youngest British player of the modern professional era when she plays Daniela Hantuchova, on Court 2 this afternoon.  Robson lives very close to the All England Club, and she becomes the youngest competitor at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis in 1995.                                                

Other British women in the draw include Georgie Stoop, Mel South, Katie O’Brien, Julia Goerges and Elena Baltacha

 

ANDY MURRAY World No 3 will face Robert Kendrick   in the opening round of Wimbledon and becomes the top seed in his half of the draw following the withdrawal of the reigning champion Rafael Nadal .   Murray has won all three previous meetings with the American but Kendrick has proved he can play on grass and was leading Nadal 2 sets to love in the second round at Wimbledon in 2006 before losing in 5. 

Also on the Court today another Brit Josh Goodall will play 29yr old Michael llodra of France while Jamie Ward will be up against 7th seed Verdasco. Other British men in the draw include Dan Evans who faces 12th seed Nikolay Davydenko and Alex Bogdonovic who plays Czech Thomas Berdych who is seeded 21.

OTHER NEWS

Venus and Serena have managed yet another year to be paired in opposite sides of the draw, so dont be suprised to see them on Sat 4th July on Centre Court! 

Sharapova is up first on Court 1 today, will it be her year?

WIMBLEDON 2009 News

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Not many people know due to all the interest surrounding the retractable roof on Centre Court that there is also a new No 2 Court this year.

Laura Robson (GB) the 2008 girls champion is amongst those given a wild card into the main ladies draw this wimbledon.

David Nalbandian (ARG) has had to withdraw due to hip surgery.

Andy Roddick is playing at Wimbledon for the 1st year as a married man, will it help him or not?

Nadal  is missing from the Queens tournament this year and faces a race against time to get fit for Wimbledon due to a knee injury.

Simple but effective Serving Tip

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

Always  bounce the ball at least 3 times in between your first serve and second serve to ensure you do not rush your serve.  This is the only shot you can choose to take your time on!