The exits of Petra Kvitova, Sabine Lisicki and Angelique Kerber have shaken up the bottom half of the draw. It’s going to be so strange not to see Petra, Sabine and Angie in the second week because they have been household names in the latter stages of Wimbledon. It’s going to be exciting though. Let’s start with a poll (thanks for the idea, Vithun) of who you will think will come through from the bottom half of the women’s draw to reach the final.
1. Jelena Jankovic v Agnieszka Radwanska (Wimbledon, R4)
And there goes Petra… my predictions took an absolute battering on Saturday. Hands up again, I messed up! Jelena Jankovic produced her best performance on grass for…. well, I can’t remember a better performance from JJ on grass! Jankovic came from a set and a break down to beat Petra Kvitova, 3-6 7-5 6-4. This result didn’t look likely for a time as Petra was in control. There was even a hint of peak Petra at the start of the second set. Jankovic though, never went away and battled hard to get the break back. Petra continued to look increasingly error-strewn from the back of the court and Jankovic pounced to break Kvitova’s serve for a second time to win the set, 7-5.
Kvitova took a 7 minute break after the second set. On resumption, Jankovic served extremely well and Kvitova struggled to get returns into play. The turning point appeared to come at 4-4 with Jankovic serving at *15-30. Kvitova was in control of a rally when she challenged one of Jankovic’s balls close to the line. It turned out to be a poor judgement as the ball caught the line and Jankovic won the point and then the game. Kvitova went up *30-0 serving at *4-5, but she looked flat, sluggish and nervous as Jankovic pounced with some stunning returns to bag a massive win. It’s just classic that Kvitova beat Jankovic on clay earlier this year, JJ’s preferred surface and Jankovic beat Kvitova on grass today, Petra’s preferred surface. It’s hard not to be thrilled for Jankovic (while I sob into my pillow for Petra haha) because she’s such a character and a bloody good tennis player when she wants to be.
Radwanska leads the head-to-head with Jankovic, 5-2. It was Jankovic who won their last encounter on the clay in Rome, but Radwanska had won five matches in a row before that. Radwanska has been making serene progress through the draw although she did have to come back from a 0-4 second set deficit against Casey Dellacqua in her third round match. In the form that saw her beat Kvitova, Jankovic has a real shot at making the quarters of Wimbledon. I’m swinging more to Aga though. Jankovic has always struggled to hit through Radwanska and her only win in recent times was on clay, Jankovic’s best surface and Radwanska’s weakest surface. I’m going for Aga.
Prediction: Radwanska d. Jankovic in 2 tight sets
2. Madison Keys v Olga Govortsova (Wimbledon, R4)
Madison Keys and Olga Govortsova are both in the second week of Wimbledon for the first time. In fact, for Govortsova this is her first ever appearance in the fourth round of a Grand Slam. Govortsova came through qualifying, beating Kimiko Date-Krumm, Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor and Fangzhou Liu. She’s the only qualifier to reach this stage and has done it with main draw wins over Andreea Mitu, Alize Cornet and Magdalena Rybarikova. I was expecting Magda to push on but it was Govortsova who took the opportunity. Keys had a very shaky opener against Stefanie Voegele where she was a set and a break down, but she has been improving match on match and now looks to be in a great position in this draw. Keys defeated Tatjana Maria on Saturday, 6-4 6-4. Keys leads the head-to-head with Govortsova, 1-0 with a 6-3 5-7 6-4 victory in Miami back in 2012. Govortsova will be confident having won six matches, but I think Madison is looking really good here…
Prediction: Keys d. Govortsova in 2 sets
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Petra 😦 Im rooting for Aga to pull through.
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oh well there goes one of my finalists in Petra? I will go out on a limb and say Madison Keys to go through to the final:)
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I’m trying to pick a finalist from the bottom half… And I’m actually leaning to Keys! Bacsinszky would probably be my second choice. I’m gutted about Petra and Angie but it does make it very exciting.
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Yeah, I’m going with Keys too. I think QFs in that half will be wozniacki bts bacsinky & keys bts radwanska and then keys will win the SF
Really annoyed about Kvitova and Lisicki as it was a perfect tournament for me (Bouchard, Halep and Nadal all out early)
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No so fast James! Keys has so far succeeded in bullying and brushing her way past opponents here without really being good. She is Not a sure thing against Govortsova who clearly is underrated here. The weekend might just have rescued Govortsova from fatigue, and so a very live chance of an upset.
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I agree. Govortsova’s unforced errors have been very low throughout the first week. Keys was playing with weak opponents. She is not in long rallies. I smell an upset here too. Even she manages to win, it will be played in three sets.
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James we both picked the 2 dark horses Pliskova and Kerber and Petra for one of the finialists,both Kerber and Pliskova had great pre grass results,I am still scratching my head over JJ on grass? still she deserved her win,Petra can be her own worst enemy at times.
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Great minds think alike 😉 my draw was completely ruined today. Got it all wrong but hey ho, that’s the fun of it. I had a bad feeling before Petra-JJ. I relaxed though when she was a set and a break up. JJ played so well and although I was sad after it finished for Petra, its nice to see her score a big win at a a Slam.
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I was very happy with Radwanska’s performance today and how she pulled back from 0-4 deficit, she didnt get down, she has a very poor 3 set W-L record this year. So, I was happy that she finished it in two sets.
Also I dont think JJ played anything exceptional today, what she did well was hang in there, because in the 3rd set Petra’s serve was not working, and her ground strokes were not going in either, JJ was hitting the ball very uncomfortably but she was very focused on making sure that she returns the ball and wait for errors to come from Petra’s racket. She served very well though, very well.
I was a bit bummed that Petra lost before R4 because I thought Radwanska would do to Kvitova in R4 what JJ did in R3. I also think that Radwanska will beat JJ but it will go to three sets.
Except for Keys, there are no big hitters in the bottom half now, they are all mostly versatile players.
I think Wozniacki will make it to the finals because she will definitely see this as an excellent opportunity and she is the most focused of all. However, as per game, I am very impressed with Timea, she hits the ball and doesnt care who is on the other side.
Technically Radwanska has everything to get to the finals again and she can beat everyone in the bottom half, but I dont think she is mentally there.
Also other than Radwanska, has anybody in bottom half ever been beyond R4 here?
My pick is Wozniacki or Bacsinzky.
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Reblogged this on Tennis Abides.
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I agree with Bryan Ryan on the Kvitova/Jankovic match. There was nothing special Jankovic did, but hang in for the win, and she deserved it. Wozniacki’s draw has been soft and until today (Giorgi), but her opponents inexperience on the grass showed. I am not sure she will get through Muguruza, I think Garbine can hit through Caroline on this surface, the question will be, can she keep her errors down. I do agree with Bryan about Radwanska/Jankovic as well, although I hope Radwanska can get through in straight sets. I think it will be a Bacsinzky/Radwanska semi-final – although I do believe Wozniacki would be an easier opponent for Radwanska should she they get there. I am picking Radwanska on the bottom.
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Like I said before, which Petra will show up to play with JJ. JJ deserved to win.
Keys is very inconsistent. She is similar to Petra, and she can beat herself in any given day. The worst thing is she has not been tested in this tournament. Timea will reach her first Wimby final this time. Keys will have to play her very best to beat Timea. I don’t think she can but she can prove me wrong. Can she or may be?
JJ and Aga is 50/50 match. Aga has not been tested as well. She will lose to JJ or Keys (if she passes JJ).
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Alternatively, I think Garbine also has her chance to reach the final if she can maintain her power plays.
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great call on all your picks. Keys was forced in 3 sets. Garbine looked great and bascinsky escaped with a victory. Who would have ever thought defending champion Jocokovic would have to come back from 2 sets down. What are your day 8 picks sudat
can you also do me a favor and send me an email at capecoralcares@gmail.com
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thanks
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As soon as Petra failed to show up early for the third set, I thought to myself, oh dear she has broken down in the locker room, it was game over. The sky had fallen. Even in her post match interview, she said she did not know what happened. I mean really ?? She couldn’t even remember when she started losing it( say whaaat!). Petraaaaa ?!?
Madison has not been impressive this year, she may get past Olga but that will be it I think. Garbine, Timea, Niculescu have all shown better poise. I like seeing base liners do well on grass, but in this case Muguruza is the one to root for.
I have an iffy like for Jelena Jankovic, and not so sure about Radwanska’s full confidence so may the better player win. I feel Jelena will be more trouble for Keys than Aga would be.
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I agree that Keys has not been impressive so far but I have this weird feeling she will come good.
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Garbine always fall after a great performance. I am not sure if she can maintain her intensity. If she can do that, she will go through all the way to final. Wait and see!
Keys has not been very impressive so far. She needs one good match to ignite her like AO 2015 (vs. Petra). I may be wrong but I really doubt she can pull it through. Even playing with Olga is 50/50. Not to mention that Olga’s slices can trouble Keys (as we saw in Maria’s match).
Wozniacki is not in great form. Basically, Giorgi handed the match to her. To be honest, she has a good chance to play in the final if she can pass Garbine convincingly. Like Garbine, wait and see!
Aga – she has to win over JJ, Keys, Garbine/Woz and Timi. She may beat one of them. She will then get exhausted and lose as usual. At least, she can’t beat Woz, Garbine and Timi at this stage.
Niculescu – No chance.
JJ – I do hope she can play in the final before her retirement. Please don’t count her out. Who would expect her to play in the Indian Well final. She did it! She is a dark horse. If she serves well, she will beat Aga on grass. Aga had played in Wimby final before so did Sabine. However, this is not a valid reason to prove that she is better than JJ on grass.
Timi – due to her consistency and better dealing in diversity. I think she is a contender here.
I pick either Timi or Woz in the final. JJ is the dark horse.
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Aga is the only player of the 8 who has been in a Wimbledon QF before! Crazy!
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That’s a great stat, missed that one!
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Unfortunately, current performance and past records are not correlated in the women tennis world.
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