WTT Wimbledon Blog Week One Recap
By: Matt Fitzgerald
Welcome to the second week of the Wild, Wacky, Wondrous Wimbledon Championships!!
Is it possible to ask for anything more exciting than what took place last week…so many marvelous moments at SW 19! Which one topped your list? Was it John Isner’s (Boston Lobsters) history-making win over Nicolas Mahut? Or Queen Elizabeth II visiting
Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years? Perhaps it was the valiant efforts of Alejandro Falla and Philipp Petzchner, who pushed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to the brink of elimination? Let us know your favorite Week One moment on our
Facebook Fan Page.
With all that happened this past week, it’s tough to imagine any match or event surpassing the first week. Still, there’s was a lot of great action on Monday, with two pinnacle matchups, and a lineup involving five of WTT’s top women.
Serena Williams (Washington Kastles) [1] defeats Maria Sharapova (Newport Beach Breakers) [16] 7-6 (9), 6-4
This was one of those pinnacle matchups!! Who would have thought that it would take five years for these two to replay their 2004 final at the All England Club in which Sharapova shocked the world (and Serena) to win her first major championship? Five years later and we had a rematch, but in the round of sixteen. Maria came out strong in the first set and looked to have the poise to takeout defending champion Serena, but lost three set points in the first set and never fully recovered. With the victory, Serena now extends her career record against Maria to 6-2.
Kim Clijsters (New York Sportimes) [8] defeats vs. Justine Henin [17] 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Ahhhhhh, the matchup of the tournament thus far! The story behind this matchup told it all. Both are from Belgium…both retired and came back…both have yet to win a Wimbledon singles championship. Going into the match, you couldn't can’t ignore the facts that a) Kim has two wins over Justine in third set tiebreakers this year and b) She’s playing WTT this summer for the New York Sportimes! In the end Kim was too much for Justine and came back down a set to win the match!
Venus Williams (Washington Kastles) [2] defeats Jarmila “Jarka” Groth (Kansas City Explorers) 6-4, 7-6(5)
We loved this matchup because it involved two more WTT players! It's a shame that Jarmila has to go home but we’re proud of the efforts that our WTT players have displayed thus far. Depite her loss Groth should hold her head high. She was the 2007 WTT Female Rookie of the Year, made her second straight 4th round appearance at a major, and defeated quality caliber players en route to her matchup with Venus, including American darling Melanie Oudin. Venus moves on to the quarterfinals and hopes keeps her hopes alive of winning another Wimbledon title!
Photos: Camerawork USA