It took Andy Roddick almost 4 hours but after 5 long sets he finally defeated 2002 Wimbledon Champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4. Roddick breathed a sigh of relief when he finished this one. The last time Roddick reached the final four at Wimbledon was back in 2005. His 43 aces against Hewitt put him there again. The contest today was easily one of the most exciting sets thus far in the surge for the Wimbledon Title. Hewitt refusted to go down without a fight. These two men worked hard both physically and mentally in their quest to move on in the tournament. In the end Roddick had just a little more than Hewitt could handle and this battle of formal champions concluded with Roddick moving on and Hewitt moving out.
Needless to say the journey for Andy Roddick will not get any easier. His next foe is 3rd ranked Andy Murray the British hopeful who put away Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to move on in his search of destiny. Andy Murray is trying hard to become the first British player to win the Wimbledon Title since way back in 1936. The battle of Andy and Andy will find a lot of the British fans rooting for their guy but Andy Roddick says he will take it all in stride. After all he said he would use it too his advantage because when the call out Andy he will pretend they are rooting for him.
Friday #2 seed Roger Federer takes on #24 seed Tommy Haas. Tommy will have the chance to prevent Roger Federer from winning that record breaking 15th Grand Slam. He knows it is going to be a long hard road. Roger defeated #22 seed Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 to move on to face Haas. Haas proved that rankings mean very little as he defeated #4 seed Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3. Andy Roddick and Tommy Haas have never gotten this far at Wimbledon before. They are trying to treasure the moment and maintain their poise as they move on against the big guns.
So we will have an American, Britain, Swiss and German in the final 4 at Wimbledon. Fans have long predicted and expected the final to be between the Britain Andy Murray and the Swiss Roger Federer. They are favored. The American Andy Roddick and the German Tommy Haas will do their best to upset the odds. These men are exactly where they want to be. This is what they practice so hard too do. There is plenty of excetement left before the dust clears and a new Wimbledon Champion is crowned. Who are you betting on? Are you sure? Until we meet again good betting and remember to always be a good sport.
Roger Federer delighted the centre court fans at Wimbledon as he defeated familiar foe Robin Soderling to improve to 11-0 against him in his career. The last time he beat him was only 3 weeks ago at the French Open where he completed yet another Grand Slam. Now the 5 time Champion can move onto the quarterfinals in pursuit of number 6. Federer looked very poised as he never lost a serve and hit 23 aces. Federer won 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. The number 2 seed did not have it as easy as he would have hoped but in the end his patience paid off and he was able to advance.
Elsewhere at Wimbledon 5 time ladies Champion Venus Williams defeated Ana Ivanovic when she had to quit due to a left thigh injury. Her sister Serena Williams moved on as well defeating Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1. Serena who is a 2 time Champion lost to sister Venus in the Finals last year. Number 6 seed Andy Roddick never faced a break point and defeated 20th seed Tomas Berdych 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. On Wednesday Roddick will face 2002 Champion Lleyton Hewitt who had to come back to beat Radek Stepanek 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, and 6-2.
Out of nowhere Ivo Karlovic the 22nd seed eliminated the 7th seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6. Karlovic who has yet to lose a serve in his first four matches will play Federer on Wednesday. He had 35 aces against Verdasco he will need that type of day to beat Roger Federer. Novak Djokovic broke 7 times and outlasted Dudi Sela 6-2, 6-4, 6-1. Sela is the number 4 seed. Today was the hottest day thus far in the tournament with the court temperature around 87 degrees. It was not long after Federers win that the roof had to be closed at Wimbledon due to rain.
Who will get to the men and ladies final this year? Will it be Federer and Murray on one side and the two sisters Serena and Venus on the other? The odds may be in favor of one or the other but this does not always indicate a victor. Surprising things can occur at Wimbledon and you never quite know what is going to happen. But I guess that is what makes this tournament so fascinating. Until we meet again good betting and remember to always be a good sport.
On Wednesday the United States soccer team faced a powerful foe in Spain in the Confedertions Cup semi-final in South Africa. The United States could have been in awe of Spains 35 game winning streak. During that period the Spanish team only allowed 11 goals to be scored against them. On Wednesday the United States soccer team managed to get 2 and that was 1 more than they needed as they ended Spains winning streak with a 2-0 victory. Now the United States is in the final against another soccer giant in the Brazilian team. Can they pull 2 major upsets off in a row?
In NBA news Hedo Turkoglu has opted out of his conract with the Orlando Magic. Turkoglu was due 7.3 million dollars next year but his hoping for a long term contract that would pay him 10 million per year. Orlando will find it hard to pay that amount since they acquired Vince Carter from the New Jersey Nets the day before. Turkoglu averaged almost 17 points per game this season and was a major factor in the Magics run to the NBA Finals. Cleveland fans got something to cheer about as Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Cavaliers on Thursday. Shaq has made a pretty good career by teaming with superstars. He won 3 NBA titles with Kobe Bryant and one with Dwayne Wade. Now he has the opportunity to play with LeBron James. Is another NBA title in his future?
At Wimbledon Roger Federer managed to lose a set to 27th ranked Philipp Kohlschreiber but hung on to win and move on to face Roger Soderling on Monday. Federer is chasing his record breaking 15th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. The chase will get just a little tougher on Monday. On the ladies side Serena Williams was late for her match against Roberta Vinci of Italy. The American won fairly easily to move on to play Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
The issue of steroid use in Major League Baseball has been heavily covered for the past few years. Today the Chicago Sports Writers Association voted to not allow any new guidelines when it comes to voting players to the Hall Of Fame if they have used steroids. Some of the bigger names who have been in the steroid using limelight is Barry Bonds, Roger Clemons, Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire. One of the categories for determining your vote is on character. This issue has been highly debated. If performance enhancing drugs made you better than you would have normally been should you get elected to the Hall? It is my personal opinion that it still takes a very special core of athletic ability to be a superstar. If you gave any player in the Major Leagues steroids could they break Hank Aarons home run record? I don’t think so. The ability has to be there or not. Would Pete Rose have gotten twice as many hits had he of used steriods? I don’t think so. These are great baseball players who were great long before they took performance enhancing drugs. To error is human, to forgive is devine. These players deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. Until we meet again good betting and remember to always be a good sport.
The last time a male tennis player won the Wimbledon Title was in 1936 when Fred Perry defeated Gottfried Von Cramm 6-1, 6-1, 6-0. That moment was frozen in history for British Tennis fans and it is that memory that has offered them solace for over 73 years. For the first time in three quarters of a century British fans have a reason to be hopeful. Andy Murray, the young man from Scotland, is one of the top favorites to win the 2009 Wimbledon Mens Title.
There is a vast amount of pressure on Andy Murray right now. The hopes and dreams of his countrymen hang in the balance of every set he plays. On Wednesday Andy began his mission to bring the Wimbledon Title back to Great Britain. His first obstacle, Robert Kendrick of the United States. This match was not highly anticipated from the standpoint that Kendrick is ranked at 76th. It was to simply be a warm up for more competitive matches down the line. It developed into more of a warm up than Murray had anticipated.
After all, in previous matches against one another the Scot had easily defeated Kendrick 6-0, 6-0. This day however the American came to play. Although Kendrick played with fire and vigor and with the same determination that took him to 5 sets against Rafael Nadal 3 years earlier at Wimbledon in the end the Scot was to have his day. Murray lost the second match but kept his composure and never gave up. His competitor was running the court making amazing returns but Murray stood steady and answered each with his own heart and passion eventually winning the two and a half hour match 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Once again it is noted that on any given day a player or a team can play beyond their potential. Kendrick played well beyond his ranking and although he fell in the end he earned the respect of his victor and the fans at Wimbledon. Murray admitted that the match was tough but his confidence in himself was ever apparent. His next match is against the Latvian hard hitter Ernests Gulbis and you can bet that Andy Murray will not take this match lightly. The road to the 2009 Wimbledon Title will not be an easy one for Murray but he appears to be composed and prepared for the competition. This could be the year that Britain has cause for celebration once again. Until we meet again good betting and remember to always be a good sport.
The tennis world was not shocked but a little let down when Rafael Nadal pulled out of Wimbledon due to his knee injury. Nadal, Spains Pride and Joy, could not bring himself to chance further injury on the grasscourt at Wimbledon and did not want to compete unless he could do so at full strength. His departure opened the door for the Swiss star Roger Federer to open the competition against Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan. Roger acknowledged that it was Nadal who should be opening the competition but took on the honor with great charm as he begins his search for his 15th Grand Slam Title.
Roger was recently crowned the Champion of the French Open. He became only one of six tennis players to ever complete a career Grand Slam. There are many British fans who are already anticipating a contest between Roger and thier own Andy Murray on July 5th. Andy kicks off his Wimbledon competition on Tuesday.
Today Roger Federer kicked off Wimbledon on centre court and although he got off to a slow start eventually cruised by Yen-hsun of Taiwan 7-5, 6-3 and 6-2 respectively. At the all England Club in London Roger has won 41 of his last 42 matches. The only loss there came last year when he dropped one in the finals to Rafael Nadal. Some tennis historians called it the best tennis match ever played. It is for this reason that is heartbreaking that Nadal could not compete this year. Many were looking forward to that possible rematch.
Roger failed to convert on his first four break point chances. Even though he fell behind 3-2 in the first match he regained his composure and took control of the match. There is no doubt that Roger is favored to win the 2009 Wimbledon but there are a few players like Englands own Andy Murray who will have the opportunity to make their bid for it as well. In the back of Rogers mind he has to be wondering about his missed rematch against Rafael Nadal as well. Any true Champion wants to compete against the best in his field so there can never be any unanswered questions or doubts.
The first major seed to be lose at Wimbledon was the American James Blake. The 17th seed fell early to Andreas Seppi of Italy 7-5, 6-4 and 7-6. There are no guarantees at Wimbledon. Every point will have to be earned and there are no givens at any time. If Roger Federer is destined to win his 15th Grand Slam Title than he will have to play his heart out everytime he walks onto the grasscourt. Being favored to win is nice but making it happen is what it is all about. Until we meet again good betting and always remember to be a good sport.
