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Rollercoaster Ride For Mauresmo

Thursday, 30 June, 2005

It was a day of waiting for those watching the semi-final between Amelie Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport. Waiting for the rain to clear. Waiting for the match to start. Waiting for Mauresmo to crumble. The first two were a long time coming. And the third? It came, it went, it came, it went. The famously fragile Mauresmo temperament see-sawed this way and that, as she attempted to beat Davenport for the first time in seven matches and five years.

Having been forced to retreat indoors for practice this morning to dodge the pesky rain showers, it was late afternoon when the players walked out - not on to the Centre Court as scheduled, but to a hastily reconvened No.1 Court. Here the crowd had been expecting to witness the last remaining quarter-final in the men's doubles, with Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi playing Rainer Schuettler and Alexander Waske. The court's 11,429 seats were barely half-full for Davenport and Mauresmo, and scarcely any fuller when proceedings finally got began.

Davenport, intriguingly, appeared on court with her right thigh strapped for the first time during The Championships. Was this the factor affecting her timing in the first few games? Mauresmo got the match off to an ego-boosting start with a hold to love, but at 1-1 wobbled enough on her serve to double fault for break point. The mini-crisis passed, but it signalled we were aboard the Mauresmo rollercoaster, and we were in for a bumpy ride.

Yet unexpectedly it was Davenport who blinked first. She double-faulted not once but twice, then delivered an overlong forehand for 0-40. A super forehand down the line gave Mauresmo the break at the third time of asking, and she was 4-2 up. It was startling to watch.

Suddenly at 3-5, Davenport regained her touch and had Mauresmo at 0-30 on the Frenchwoman's serve. But instead of collapsing, Mauresmo came back to set point. Yet with the hard work done, the Mauresmo of old came calling - she double-faulted. Good work by Davenport earned her successive break points, and a netted forehand converted it. Next game and a wild forehand gifted the break to Davenport for 6-5. It was familiar Mauresmo disaster territory - yet suddenly the American experienced a gigantic tremor of her own, and we were in the tie-break.

At 4-2 Mauresmo looked great; at 4-5 she looked terrible. But a wonderful wrongfooting forehand gave Mauresmo her second set point on her own serve, and she fought like a tiger for this one. The gods were with her. A set that should have been hers in 25 minutes had required 51, but it was Mauresmo's after all.

Davenport seemed uncharacteristically shell-shocked. Her mind seemed still on the first set, and she surrendered a startling break at the first opportunity with a double fault. The crowd could hardly believe it. How could this be the Davenport who had played so superlatively throughout the tournament? Where was the Davenport who had come through the most high-quality singles battle of The Championships so far, to beat Kim Clijsters in the last 16?

John McEnroe described Davenport as "one of the best strikers of the ball I've ever seen in either the men's or the women's game", no mean compliment from him. Surely that player could turn this match around?

At 2-3, she began the climb back. Mauresmo suddenly let it drift to 0-40. A wonderful Davenport crosscourt return set up the crucial winner, and it was all square. What would Mauresmo, the only women's semi-finalist without a Slam to her name, do now? Break again, that's what, with a powerful crosscourt backhand for 0-40. The two of them were battering the ball to pieces, but Davenport battered the ball too far with her 20th unforced error. Mauresmo was in the ascendant again.

Not for long. A double fault and a wayward volley put her at 15-40 and Davenport forced the break back. It was riveting stuff. The tiebreak arrived, and the world paused to see how the Mauresmo temperament would respond. Davenport crept ahead - if "crept" is the world for such fierce play from both players. With set points in her pocket, the American stretched for a return of serve. Mauresmo let it go by, and somehow it dropped in. All square.

Overhead, the clouds were glowering. One way or another, the end was near. When Davenport had a break point for 2-1, Mauresmo aced away the problem and held. Then, just as the match passed the two-hour mark, Davenport saw three separate break points for 4-3 go by before converting the fourth. The match was slipping away from Mauresmo. Perhaps only the heavens could save the Frenchwoman now. At 5-3 to Davenport and 15-0 to Mauresmo, the rain came down and no more play was possible.

So the day ended as it began with another long wait, this time overnight. But for Mauresmo, the player who collects vintage wine in her spare time, 2005 is beginning to taste like another disappointing year.

Written by Kate Battersby

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Day 11 Preview

Thursday, 30 June, 2005

So, with fingers crossed and a brolly to hand, we offer a cautious welcome this afternoon to the penultimate stages of the men's singles, as well as the completion of the women's semi-final between Amelie Mauresmo and Lindsay Davenport at The Championships. The semi-finals laid before us match a mark last achieved in 1993 when all four participants were Grand Slam champions. Back then the names were Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier. Sampras and Courier set up an all-American final, which Sampras went on to win, as he tended to do here rather frequently.

Today's quartet, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Andy Roddick and Thomas Johansson, also have Grand Slam trophy replicas tucked away in cupboards or on display at home, the only mild surprise among those who do not follow tennis all that closely being that Johansson is numbered among the elite. But Thomas, or Toker as he is known in Sweden (after a cartoon character with sticky-out ears just like his) is there on merit, with a gallantry medal pinned to his chest for good measure.

Johansson won the Australian Open of 2002, defeating Marat Safin, and you have to hope he celebrated long into the night in view of what was about to befall the newly-minted Swedish number one. An injury to his left knee towards the end of that year was followed by an operation in February 2003 to repair damaged tissue above the knee cap and he did not play again that season. Ever since, Thomas has been striving to regain the heights he scaled that week in Melbourne, and this is as close as he has come.

It is his first time as a Wimbledon semi-finalist in nine visits, and he follows Bjorn Borg, Edberg and Anders Jarryd in the list of distinguished Swedish athletes who preceded him. Borg and Edberg, of course, went the full distance and if Johansson can follow them by holding aloft the gold trophy he will cause a sensation.

At 30 years and three months, Thomas is the oldest by some distance of those still standing, and he will attempt to put behind him one of those nasty statistics which surface from time to time on these occasions: that since he returned to the game in 2004 he has lost all five of his matches against opponents ranked in the top five. And Roddick is ranked fourth (and seeded second here).

Two previous contests with the American, including the second round of Wimbledon in 2001, have yielded only disappointment for Johansson, who was a semi-finalist at Queen's last month and who pulled out of the Nottingham tournament at the quarter-final stage to rest a groin injury. Roddick won that Queen's title, for the third straight year incidentally, so it is fair to assume he is grooved on grass right now and confident of getting past this challenge in order to have another go at Federer.

Andy, born in Omaha and now resident in Austin, Texas, is hot at sequences, since this is his third Wimbledon semi-final in as many years. This is his fifth time at The Championships and just to show it takes a good man to beat him, three of the four who did so on previous occasions went on to take the title - Goran Ivanisevic in 2001, and Federer in 2003 and 2004. Despite having to endure two five-set marathons, Roddick has marched forward on the back of that blistering serve, which has so far delivered 78 aces, the fastest of them 145 miles an hour, 10mph slower than his world record.

The other semi-final features the only two former Wimbledon champions to embark on the first day of this tournament, Federer and Hewitt. Old adversaries, these two. This will be their 18th collision and though Federer holds a narrow 9-8 lead, he has won the last seven, conceding just two sets. If this is the sign of someone who has his opponent's number, you won't find Hewitt or his camp acknowledging such signs. Lleyton operates on the principle that there has to be a turning in the road sometime and the fighting Aussie figures now could be the time, mate.

Over in Switzerland, however, they tend to set their watches by Federer's ability to win these days, especially on grass. Roger's grass court streak is now up to 34, only seven short of matching Bjorn Borg's mark of 41 which looked as if it would last till eternity. He tends to have Australians for supper when it comes to Grand Slams. Since losing to Pat Rafter at the 1999 Roland Garros, the Swiss has won all seven subsequent clashes against opposition from Down Under.

After falling to Federer's finesse in last year's quarter-finals, Hewitt was a straight-sets victim to him in the final of the US Open. Nor did he manage to collect a set in either the round robin stage or the final of the Masters Cup in Houston at the end of last season. However, an enforced rest because of injury has left Hewitt fresh for the grass court segment of the year, and the ring rust has been shaken off over the last few days at The Championships. The defending champion can expect an all-out assault on his rule.

Written by Ronald Atkin

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I Must Get Stronger, Says Sharapova

Thursday, 30 June, 2005

You have to hand it Maria Sharapova, she is a real pro. She is only 18 years old, she had just lost her precious Wimbledon title - beaten by Venus Williams 7-6, 6-1 in the semi final - but she took it on the chin.

So, the gentle American voice asked, do you think Venus played so well because she wanted to avenge the defeat of her sister? That she was playing for family pride? Apparently not, not according to Sharapova.

"I don't think it has anything to do with family or anything like that," she said, sounding much older than her years. "It was Venus out there. It wasn't Serena. I just played against a really good opponent. You know, I thought we played a really good match. Today it went to the better person."

That's that, then. Sharapova was over-powered, plain and simple. It is not that she did not try, it was just that she was second best on the day and put under pressure from the very start.

"I don't think I played my best tennis," she said. "But credit to her for not letting me play my best. She had a lot of deep balls - hard, deep balls. She was serving consistently big. On the contrary, I don't think I was serving as big. But I don't have as big a serve as her. I don't think I had a really high percentage.

"I really try to do the best I can, you know, fight. I don't know. When I came off the court, I knew the quality was good. But you also know that you lost the match, so it's hard to think that way."

So with the title taken from her and a heap of ranking points wiped from her tally (so ending any chance she had of claiming the world No. 1 ranking in the immediate future), what does Sharapova do now? She had beaten Williams twice in the past, so what could she do to ensure that she never has to take such a hiding from the American again?

"I need to be stronger," she said. "The stronger I get, the bigger my serve will be, the easier it will be for me to maybe hold serve and get more free points. But at 18, I don't think it's possible to have a huge consistent serve, and I realise that and I accept it. I know with hard work and practice and repetition, it will get bigger and stronger and more accurate."

At the age of 18, Sharapova knows that she can get better. She is not half bad now, but there is more to come. Williams ought to enjoy her moment in the spotlight again because she is, at the moment, the best she can be. This is as good as it gets. And Sharapova will be back. Can she see herself holding up the trophy again? "Oh, yeah," she said. "I will do everything I can to make sure of it." The rest of the locker room has been warned.

Written by Alix Ramsay

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Andy's Still in Vogue

Thursday, 30 June, 2005

Six Grand Slams have passed since Andy Roddick's solitary success at the 2003 US Open in 2003.

However Roddick, who thankfully made the decision as a teenager to specialise in tennis over basketball, knows there is no better place than Wimbledon to end his drought and earn his second major.

But first he has to consider his semi-final match up against No.12 seed and former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson tomorrow.

Many people are surprised that the 30-year-old Swede has made it this far in the competition, however last year's runner-up Roddick is not shocked at all.

"He's a very tough player. He serves well. He returns well. He's a very complete player. He doesn't have any glaring weaknesses and has won a Grand Slam," he said.

"You know, it will be tough. But I feel good about the way I'm playing right now.

"We've played a couple of times. One of them was in 2001. One of them was last year on a hard court. But we've never played in a huge match like in the semis of a Grand Slam or even the semis of a tournament. It will be a totally different match than what we've played before."

Nebraska-born Andy started playing tennis at the age of four with his older brother John.

In 2000, at 18 years 3 months, he finished the year as the youngest player in the top 200 on the ATP Tour, as well as the as the No.1 junior in the world.

Nicknamed A-Rod by fellow professionals, the charismatic 6ft 2in star is a big hit both on and off the court.

Since 2001, he has been one of the most celebrated athletes in the United States, being featured in non-sports publications ranging from Rolling Stone to Vogue, and twice voted People Magazine's Sexiest Athlete.

He also has an almost-certain TV presenting career when he chooses to quit tennis.

His press conferences are renowned for being must-attend events and he made a name for himself by becoming only the second tennis player (after Chris Evert) to host popular US comedy programme Saturday Night Live earlier this year, and volunteered to take the wrath of Anne Robinson on the celebrity version of The Weakest Link.

And together with his mother Blanche, he has raised thousands for charity through the Andy Roddick Foundation, which was set up in 2003.

Since 2001, his first full year on the professional tour, big-serving Roddick has lived up to the huge expectation placed upon him by winning at least two titles every season.

In 2005 he has so far collected three more, taking his total to 18 by winning at San Jose, Houston (for the third time) and the Stella Artois grass court tournament at Queen's Club, also for the third time.

The powerful American, who was elevated to second seed by the All England Club seeding committee from his fourth-ranked place in the world rankings, is determined to justify that confidence in his ability by halting Johansson's magnificent run.

He then hopes to have another crack at the seemingly invincible Federer.

"If I play Roger I have no doubt about how tough it will be. He hits shots that not a lot of other people even think of hitting. He's kind of immune to pressure right now. Mentally he's so very strong.

"But I'd love to go further. I'm not satisfied yet."

Written by Beci Wood

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Johansson Has Success Stitched Up

Thursday, 30 June, 2005

If things had turned out differently, Thomas Johansson might be treating patients in his hometown of Linköping, in the middle of "billowing cornfields and the sweet smelling Östergötland soil", as the town's website puts it.

But Thomas Johansson, born on March 24, 1975 in the city south of Stockholm with just over 100 000 inhabitants, didn't become a doctor. Instead, he became a very fine tennis player and Grand Slam winner who will tomorrow play Andy Roddick in the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

Swedish tennis fans are surely glad that Johansson realised early on that he couldn't bear the sight of blood.

Young Thomas started playing tennis aged five, with his father Krister. His tennis idol was Mats Wilander, now captain of Sweden's Davis Cup team. Talented himself, at the age of 14 Johansson himself was European singles champion in juniors.

Currently living in Monte Carlo, 30-year-old Johansson is financially secure with around US$5 million of price money under his belt. Despite winning only one Grand Slam so far, the Australian Open in 2002, it would be unfair to dismiss it as a fluke.

The Swede is no gambler on the tennis court. Possessing a solid all-round game with no real weaknesses and a good serve, the "tennis-doctor" is able to hit the weak points of his opponents.

Professional tennis has not been an easy ride for Johansson. After reaching the heights of winning a Grand Slam tournament he maintained momentum for a while - but then things went downhill for the Swede.

Having endured more than his fair share of injuries in the last few years, a serious knee injury suffered in 2003 almost ended his career, Johansson told the press after his quarter-final win over David Nalbandian in this year's Wimbledon.

"A lot of people, they did not think I was going to be able to come back. But I love to play tennis. And when you're away from the tennis, you miss it a lot. I was working really, really hard to come back and to be able to play tennis against all these young guys that just popped up when I was injured."

Coming back was not easy. "I remember the first tournament I played after my injury was Adelaide. I was practicing for like five, six days. I did not win one set. I said to my coach, 'I think this is it'. But realising afterwards that opponents included winner, the finalist, and a semi-finalist, made him give tennis one more go.

His decision has paid off handsomely. Johansson is now a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, for the first time, on his ninth attempt.

"I'm happy to be in the semi-final. I think I have a good chance against Andy, as well. It's going to be a very tough match, and I have a lot of respect for him, as well. But I think if I can play my best tennis, I think I have a shot."

Were Johansson to make the final and win the tournament on Sunday, he would achieve something that Wilander - winner of seven Grand Slam titles - never managed.

Johansson is already helping to reinstate the profile of tennis in Sweden. "We have good [athletes] in track and field, we have good in football, we have good ice hockey players, as well. It takes away the focus on tennis a little bit.

"Now I've been reading the Swedish papers myself, so I've seen that they write a lot about Wimbledon, and I'm really happy about that."

Two wins for Johansson, and there might be thousands of small boys in Sweden with a new idol.

Written by Jukka Viskari

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Roger and Juliette: a Fairy Tale

Thursday, 30 June, 2005

In 2004 Roger Federer enjoyed one of the best seasons of any player in nearly two decades, winning 11 ATP titles as well as the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open - the first man since Mats Wilander in 1988 to win three Slams in a year. Along the way he became the first player in the Open era to win 13 consecutive finals, overtaking the record of 12 held by Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

At this year's Championships he is aiming for a rare hat-trick of Mens' Singles titles. In the post Second World War period, only Pete Sampras (1997-2000 and 1993-1995) and Bjorn Borg (1976-1980) have achieved this feat in consecutive years.

Since he won his first Wimbledon title in 2003, Federer has also gathered a plethora of awards to place on the mantelpiece alongside his tennis cups.

First there was the cow ...

The organisers of the Swiss Open presented Federer with a cow to celebrate his 2003 Wimbledon title when he turned up in Gstaad shortly after leaving Wimbledon. This win had made Federer the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam title.

He named his new four-legged friend Juliette and early in 2004 she had a calf.

After Federer's successful defence of his Wimbledon crown in 2004, the bovine gift was not repeated at Gstaad. A spokesperson said at the time: "Juliette now has a calf and I don't think Roger will need another cow for the moment."

And then there were the other awards…

Now 23, Federer has recently been awarded the 2005 Laureus World Sports Award as sportsman of the year, beating Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong and Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher into top spot. Also this year he is an Ambassador for the United Nations' Year of Sport and Physical Education.

Federer was awarded the BBC Sports Personality Overseas Personality of the Year 2004, the International Tennis Writers Association (ITWA) Player of the Year and their Ambassador for Tennis award for his efforts to promote the sport. He was Reuters International Sportsman of the Year, a title awarded by 33 sports editors and journalists in over 20 countries.

The list goes on: Swiss Sportsman of the Year, ATP Player of the Year, ITF World Champion, European Sportsman of the Year, Sports Illustrated Tennis Player of the Year. He also carried the Swiss flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. Back in the mists of his first Wimbledon title 2003, Federer was named "Swiss of the Year" and Swiss Sportsman of the Year.

Now, Federer says his main ambition is to win the French Open, the sole Grand Slam title to elude him.

Far from sitting back and accepting the laurels, Federer is determined to 'give something back'. In 2003 he established the Roger Federer Foundation, which supports underprivileged youngsters in South Africa via its partnership with the South African/Swiss aid agency IMBEWU.

Federer's links with South Africa are strong, as the country is the birthplace of his mother Lynette - one reason why his English is so good. Earlier this year he visited children in the township of New Brighton, near Port Elizabeth. "My objective is to share the luck I have experienced and make my own contribution towards a better world," he said.

No wonder BBC host Sue Barker gushed after an interview this morning: "What a nice guy!"

Written by Sally Easton

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