Normally i’m doing the heavy lifting of securing Wimbledon tickets as you can only submit one entry per household via the public ballot. This year, the bro managed to get some tickets via the LTA. I don’t think we’ve ever been on No.1 Court for quarter-finals so this was a new Wimbledon experience. Read on for highlight and photos from the two quarter-finals, and random spots from around the grounds.

Day 9 Matches 🎾

Jannik Sinner d. Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-5 7-6(4) 6-3 (QF, No.1 Court)

We seem to be magnetically attracted to Struff as it’s the third time we have seen him at Wimbledon since COVID. I remember him playing Medvedev on No.1 Court in 2021 and then last year against Alcaraz in five tortuous sets. Unfortunately we haven’t offered Jan-Lennard any luck with our presence.

This match was very similar to the Sinner-Borges match we watched last week – see notes here! Struff started the match really well and clearly on a mission to rock the Sinner boat early doors. You can see why Struff’s game is made for the grass with the booming serve, crunching groundstrokes and eagerness to charge the net. At the same time, I could also see why he is only ranked at #74 in the rankings and has never cracked the top 20. After an impressive start where he was barely missing a serve, the errors soon mounted. Struff was the better player in the first set. However, he was unable to take advantage of the openings he carved out on the Sinner serve. The most impressive aspect of Sinner’s game was just how solid and steady he was and how he navigated the tight moments on serve when Struff was charging. One loose service game from Struff at 5-5 was the difference in the first set.

It looked like Sinner would run away with the second set after sealing the first break. Surprisingly, Struff broke straight back and then even chalked up a set point. Naturally, Sinner came up with an unreturnable serve. He’s quite good at tennis. The second set tiebreak, like the first set tiebreak Sinner played against Borges in the second round, was pretty much decided on one error, a backhand into the net from Struff. The third set was mostly routine and Sinner advanced to the semi-finals in straight sets. Since a dicey opener against Kecmanovic on the first day of the Championships, Sinner hasn’t dropped a set.

It was a decent match. Other than the first seven games when Struff was playing lights-out, there was never really any jeopardy for Sinner. The crowd was rooting for Struff as we love an underdog and I think everyone just wanted to see a competitive match. After the second set, i’d seen enough and was ready for the women’s match 😂. Two random moments I remember from the match – a bird landing on the court during play and a ball falling out of Struff’s pocket during a long rally which prompted a lot of confusion in the crowd.

Karolina Muchova d. Naomi Osaka, 7-6 (4) 6-4 (QF, No.1 Court)

I spent the week before this trip to Wimbledon hypothesising who we might see and my dream women’s quarter-final from the top half was definitely Osaka-Muchova. I still can’t believe it actually materalised. This never happens!!! Muchova is my favourite player and Osaka is probably in my top five. I was both excited and nervous because I wanted both players to win (leaning more to Muchova) and neither to lose. The Marge Simpson gif where she wants to just bet that all the players have a fun time was accurate in this case.

My expectations were sky high and I was already preparing for match of the year, perhaps match of the decade 😂. I knew this was an immediate red flag because these matches rarely live up to the hype in your head. My expectations came crashing back down to Earth quite quickly as the match got off to a slow start with four breaks of serve and both players clearly edgy. It was kind of to be expected with so much on the line and both players going for a first ever Wimbledon semi-final. I was fearful for Muchova after the first game that she would be blown off the court by Osaka and had some hideous flashbacks to the matches she played earlier this year against Swiatek in Indian Wells and Gauff in Miami.

I’m relieved to say that after a nervy start, the match warmed up. When the pair did rally, there were some really entertaining points. Muchova started charging the net and Osaka unleashed some forehands that got the crowd excited. After the early flurry of breaks, the set went with serve with Muchova surviving a tough service game at 5-5 where she saved a break point. A tiebreak seemed fair to decide the opening set. It was Muchova who held her nerve, benefitting from some errors long from Osaka and sealing the set in style, lining a return and a forehand winner.

Osaka’s power was overwhelming at times and she picked off Muchova quite a few times at the net. Muchova more than held her own from the baseline. The variety and quality on serve saw Muchova take control of the match and she was the better player in the second set. Osaka was showing signs of frustration to her box. I was impressed how she kept chipping away and navigated her way through some tricky service games. The pivotal game came at 4-4 in the second set as Osaka eventually succumbed to the growing Muchova pressure with two double faults and some snatched forehands into the net.

Muchova served for the match at 7-6 *5-4 and I wasn’t confident of her closing. I’m pleased to report that i’m an idiot. Muchova served out to love in emphatic fashion with all first serves and two aces to finish. There was a bit of a subdued reaction after match point. The crowd were definitely more for Osaka and I also got the sense they (me included!) wanted more because the match was starting to hot up and I think this could have been a classic if it had gone three sets.

It was nice to see the pair hug at the net – I sense there is a lot of respect and game recognises game. I was sad for Osaka because she had played such a phenomenal match to beat Sabalenka in the last round. It was a tough draw as I think this quarter-final was arguably between the two best players remaining in the draw based on their recent form. It just wasn’t Osaka’s day as her serve and groundstrokes became increasingly erratic. I hope Osaka doesn’t get too down on herself from this loss and can take the positives from her best ever grass court season. She should be one of the top contenders for the US Open.

I was thrilled for Muchova who completed her set of Slam semi-finals. I left the court beaming! I went for Mucky as my champ so I am hoping she can go all the way. I shuddered though when realising she would play Gauff in the semis because that’s a rough match-up, even having won their last match in Stuttgart.

Safarova & Rybarikova d. Wozniacki & Radwanska, 7-5 6-2 (Ladies’ Invitation Doubles, Court 12)

We started our day on court 12 with a slice of nostalgia featuring three Wimbledon semi-finalists and Caroline Wozniacki 😂. It was nice to see Lucie again who was my favourite player during the peak crazy fandom days. There were lots of laughs at the coin toss and it was understandably played in good spirits. The match attracted a decent crowd with Court 12 being about 75 to 80% full for the first set. Rybarikova was the most dynamic of the four players and did the most running – she hasn’t changed at all since her professional playing days. Lucie’s husband and kids were watching and it didn’t take long for the kids to lose interest – tough to watch in the heat!

Cibulkova & Strycova d. Bouchard & Kontaveit, 2-6 6-4 [10-6] (Ladies’ Invitation Doubles, No. 1 Court)

We stayed for the first set of the ladies’ invitation doubles that was put on No.1 Court after the singles quarter-finals. Yet again, it was more nostalgia. I was particularly pleased to see Kontaveit who was the best player on the court in the first set. I was sad when Anett was forced to retire from tennis. Strycova was hysterical, grinning away and clearly having a ball out there.

Around the grounds 🌱

I’ll be glad to see the back of Court 12 when I think it will disappear in the next master plan for Wimbledon. We were fine getting seats at 11am but when we came out of the court, there was a long queue despite plenty of empty seats. It’s hard to get people in and out of the court during the changeovers.

There are noticeably more areas of shade this year and there are plenty of water refill stations, many close to toilets, which was much needed on a blazing hot day. We never had to queue for long to fill up our water bottles. We were lucky to be in the shade on No.1 Court so it was manageable but uncomfortable. The main issue was sticking to the seat!

Another shout-out for the frictionless larder where Court 19 used to be. It’s so nice not having to queue. We didn’t bother with Pimms this year – £13.45 for a cup of Pimms is a joke.

We found that our view on No.1 Court wasn’t as clear as Centre Court with people’s heads in the way. We wondered if the gradient is shallower on No.1 Court compared to Centre.

After last Wednesday’s bumper edition of famous person alerts (FPAs), Tuesday was a surprisingly disappointing day. We spotted Enric Molina, the umpire-turned-player agent and Naomi Broady. That was it 😭.

Snap of the day 📸

I liked this one from the coin toss of the Radwanska-Wozniacki and Safarova-Rybarikova ladies’ invitation doubles.

Photos 📸

More photos from my day at Wimbledon can be found on the MTB Facebook page.

Highlights 📺