Here’s my final report from Wimbledon with plenty of photos for your viewing pleasure.  It was another crazy day full of tennis, full of excitement and full of Pimms.  I got really lucky with tickets this year being able to go twice.  I hope the ballot gods are on my side again next year!

Lucie Safarova d. Tereza Smitkova, 6-2 6-0 (R4 Match)

I wanted to watch the conclusion of Kei Nishikori’s match, but the crowds were hilarious.  I kept seeing Japanese people flooding towards court 8! Therefore I went up to the roof, which overlooks Court 18 to watch Lucie!!!  It’s a great view and there were still some empty spaces at 11.30am.  Lucie was absolutely flawless in this match.  I’ve watched a lot of her matches this year and I can’t remember seeing her maintain such a solid level for two entire sets.

Lucie was hitting aggressively, both clean and consistent, and was serving very well too.  Her forehand is such a weapon.

Smitkova didn’t play a great match.  This was new ground for her and she had no answers against an in-form Lucie.

Lucie’s celebration at the end was adorable and it showed how much this win meant to her.  I walked away from this match with a huge grin on my face.  I can’t believe she is in the semi-finals, but would loveeee to see her go further!

Eugenie Bouchard d. Alize Cornet, 7-6 7-5 (R4 Match)

I was absolutely stunned that they put this match on Centre Court.  I was pleased at the time because I have never watched Bouchard live.  It was a reasonable match although it never really got going and both seemed very nervous at the start.  The first set was very tight; there were no breaks of serve through the first 12 games.  I thought Cornet just about edged it and she was serving particularly well.

In the tiebreak, Bouchard went up a double mini-break to lead *4-1 but lost 4 straight points with some really sloppy play.  However she regained her composure to take the first set.  Mentally, she is one of the best players out there at closing sets and matches.

The atmosphere in Centre Court was very flat during the first half of the second set.  Bouchard had the momentum, but was making far too many errors.  Cornet, always fighting, never gave up and got the break of serve at 2-2.  The match continued with holds of serve…

Suddenly, very suddenly, as Cornet served for the match, Bouchard turned it on. The crowd felt the gear change and got behind Genie and the rest was history.  Thanks Genie for celebrating at your box and not me… rude.

It was a reasonable match but I wanted more crazy.  Alize did keep collapsing to the ground after serving to the amusement of people around me. She slipped on an epic point which ended with a woeful Bouchard error and on another occasion, chucked her racquet.  The pictures below needs no words.  I wanted more crazy though.

Andrea Petkovic / Magdalena Rybarikova d. Arina Rodionova / Jarmila Gajdosova, 6-2 7-5 (R2 Match)

I think just a ground pass in the second week of Wimby would be pretty cool. Crowds were significantly down on the outside courts so you could actually breathe and there were some good quality doubles matches going on. I love Petko. She was so much fun to watch, even for a couple of games. Barbara Rittner was watching in the corner. She’s everywhere.

It was nice to see Gajdosova in action. She’s had a lot of grief on Twitter which always makes me sad. She’s now engaged and seems to be rediscovering some form in both singles and doubles, which is lovely to see.

Petko and Magda are a great team.

Andy Murray d. Kevin Anderson, 6-4 6-3 7-6 (R4 Match)

This was a good match. I won’t go into detail because I’m sure many people watched it. There were some high quality rallies and some fantastic digs and passes from Murray.

I was so impressed by Anderson. I’ve seen him collapse in big matches before but he kept a constant level of pressure on Murray throughout the whole match. There was one backhand DTL in the first set that was absolutely tremendous. He’s solid off both wings and was also finishing points off at the net well.

Murray played a good match and could quite easily have lost the third set. He was really pumped up for the match, more so than I’ve ever seen before. I liked it and he gave Anderson a great deal of respect, which on this showing, he really deserved. His celebration at the end felt very Nadal-esque

Novak Djokovic v Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 6-3 6-4 7-6 (R4 Match)

We stayed for the first two sets. I wasn’t looking forward to this one because the H2H is so much in favour of Djokovic. Watching Novak live made me realise how incredibly awesome he is. Just following him through a camera lens and watching his movement around a tennis court, it really is magnificent.

The glaring difference between the pair in this match was how poorly Tsonga returned. Without doubt, it’s the weakest element to his game. He saved three break points at the end of the second set, a brief show of resistance, and played well in the third set by all accounts. However he was never winning this one.

The crowd did a Mexican wave at one point and Jo looked really serious and fed up. The crowd were getting behind him in the second set, but I felt tension coming from him.

Random Spots / Thoughts

1. We followed Amelie Mauresmo and a female companion down the hill towards the Wimbledon site.  She was overtaking people with a great deal of precision.

2. I spotted Marion Bartoli walking under Centre Court.  She had twigged that I had twigged her.  She didn’t look particularly happy at the time.

3. Sabine Lisicki was practising on Court 4 when the huge crowds of people came running past to try and get seats of Court No.3.  Quite a few of them were waving and shouting at Sabine, and she stopped her practice to watch.  She’s so easy to get a snap of smiling!

4. I FINALLY spotted Simona Halep on the practice court and got some pictures!

5. I also saw Agnieszka Radwanska practising.  Interestingly, I have never seen her practice with other players.

6. I spotted Jim Parson (Aka SHELDON from the Big Bang Theory) in Genie’s box.  I saw Neil Harman tweet about Martin Klizan in Cornet’s box trying to imply something. I didn’t personally see him.  Harman is such a stirrer.

7. I love it when both players sign autographs after a match.  I’m pleased to say it’s happening more and more.

8. Someone shouted “I love you Novak” and he couldn’t suppress a smile.

9. The schedulers and their desire to keep opening the roof because it’s an outdoor event when there are rain showers about is LUDICROUS.  My Brother suggested that they may have opened the roof after Genie v Alize to try and delay Murray so he was on primetime BBC.

10. We saw all the players heading to their matches on the outside courts at 11.30am.  I realised Madison Keys had pulled out when Caroline Wozniacki and Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, second match on Court 12 after Madison, came trundling by! I desperately tried to get a picture of Kei but my sodding camera wouldn’t focus.  I did get this ridiculous close-up of Caro though!

10.  What the hell…

What a fantastic few weeks. I’ve had such a great time on my trips to Eastbourne and Wimbledon. If anyone has any questions about either events or getting tickets, i’m always happy to help. I’m feeling a little sad it’s over for another year, but I’m going to enjoy the last couple of days of Wimby from the comfort of my own TV. Here’s a photo to sum up the joy of watching live tennis 🙂