It's been a rather quiet week at wimbledon, with no major upsets- apart from Jelena Jankovic and Kuznetsova, going down late on Saturday evening, both to obscure teenagers. Now that I am pretty idle these days, I thought watching the first week of a Grand Slam-something I have done very little of, I always end up only watching the semi-finals and finals of all Grand Slams- would be a nice break from the increasing monotony. Not only was I entertained for those couple of hours, but it also continues to occupy me as I go about writing this blog.
I, for one, enjoyed myself watching the aforementioned games. First, was the game between the six-seeded Jelena Jankovic and a little-known qualifier from Altlanta, Melanie Oudin. From the outset, the feisty American was making life difficult for the former world number one. Her ground strokes from the baseline were solid, to say the least. And the winners she came up with brought memories of Steffi Graf. It seemed like the Serbian had to work hard to win the match; a loss was always out of question. It wasn't to be.
The Serbian won the first set in a tie-break, to quote a football-idiom, against the run of play. The inexperience of Oudin was palpable in the way she handled the big points, freezing during the three set-points that she had, before handing over the set to her opponent. It seemed the challenge was over, but not quite. Oudin came stronger in the next set. Her game was getting better by the point; it seemed both Oudin and the heat were getting to Jankovic. She later denied the latter. For the next hour and half the world witnessed the young American despatch her famed opponent. It is by a long way Oudin's biggest victory in her career yet. I back her to cause a few more upsets in the second week. Lets see how far that's right.
Star Sports, the official channel that telecasts Wimbledon in India, turned their attention to the match between Kuznetsova and Lisicki. The match was virtually over by this time. The young challenger was two points away from a famous upset, which she effortlessly completed. Later, listening to Vijay Amritraj and Allan Wilikins comment on the match, confirmed that Lisicki had meted out similar treatment as Oudin had done a little earlier.
If you are interested in reading more on these games, click
here.
The weather-gods closely followed the drama on court- staying relatively calm all week, but ominously gathering above The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Saturday. No sooner had Murray made quick work of Viktor Troicki on Centre Court than the rain came pouring down. This gave the much-talked-about roof atop the Centre Court a chance to make its debut, much to the cheer of the audience. The crowd stayed put, even after all the proceedings for the day were done and dusted, to witness the historic moment.
Today is People's Sunday and is a holiday at Wimbledon. The players take a day off and prepare for the week ahead. I hope the action will be enthralling. And watch out for the now-not-so-obscure teenage wonders.
