Kvitova and Nadal Losses Highlight Wimbledon First Week - Mondays with Bob Greene

Mondays with Bob Greene

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Wimbledon (First Week)

Jelena Jankovic beat second-seeded Petra Kvitova 3-6 7-5 6-4

Jana Cepelova beat third-seeded Simona Halep 5-7 6-4 6-3

Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic 6-3 6-4

Nick Kyrgios beat seventh-seeded Milos Raonic 5-7 7-5 7-6 (3) 6-3

Magdalena Rybarikova beat eighth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova 6-2 7-5

Jelena Ostapenko beat ninth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3 6-2

Dustin Brown beat 10^th-seeded Rafael Nadal 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4

arbiñe Muguruza beat 10^th-seeded Angelique Kerber 7-6 (12) 1-6 6-2

SAYING

“It’s not easy to go away. I think it’s going to take me few days, few weeks maybe (to recover). But that’s how it is. It’s tennis. I’m still human. I’m not a robot.” – Petra Kvitova, the defending women’s singles champion, after losing to Jelena Jankovic in a third-round match.

“I cannot stop smiling. … I was very brave at the end. You know, here I am. Unbelievable.” – Jelena Jankovic, after upsetting Petra Kvitova.

“I would be rooting for Venus. I mean, she’s been through so much. She’s had a wonderful story. She’s been so inspiring to me. You know, she’s just an incredible individual. She’s just so amazing.” – Serena Williams, when asked who she would root for when sisters Venus and Serena battle in their fourth-round match at Wimbledon.

“It sucks.” – John Isner, after double-faulting on match point to lose to Marin Cilic 7-6 (4) 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-7 (4) 12-10 in a match that featured 72 aces over two days.

“All the kids that play tennis dream about being able to play on that Centre Court. Playing against him there is special. Also being able to put that performance together, it was definitely very difficult and I’m very happy that I held it together for the whole match.” – Dustin Brown, after upsetting Rafael Nadal.

“It’s not the end. (It’s) a sad moment for me … but life continues. My career, too.” – Rafael Nadal.

“Not to be in the second week of (my) favorite tournament … is really sad.” – Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion.

SHOCKER FOR BOTH

Both players were shocked when Jelena Jankovic came from behind to oust defending champion Petra Kvitova in a third-round match. “Oh my God! I am overwhelmed and so excited,” Jankovic said. “My heart is still pumping.” Kvitova, who was seeking her third Grand Slam tournament title – both crowns were won on the grass at Wimbledon – was also in disbelief. “It’s not great to lose in the third round,” she said. “Not to be in the second week of the favorite tournament for me is really sad.” Jankovic played like she did several years ago when she was ranked number one in the world, not like she has when she suffered first-round losses in three of the previous Grand Slam tournaments. “I have played so poorly the last couple of years and playing on Centre Court against the defending champion was unbelievable,” Jankovic said. “The crowd was really great.” What made it an even bigger surprise is that Kvitova had sailed through her first two matches, dropping just three games. And she appeared to be on her way to the second week as she led 6-3 4-2 before Jankovic turned everything around. “I’m not really sure what happened out there,” Kvitova said. “Suddenly I was just missing (shots). So it was really unusual, probably, or weird. I can’t really explain.” It is the first time since 2010 that Jankovic has been in the fourth round at Wimbledon. “Playing on grass is so difficult for me, it does not come naturally,” the Serbian right-hander said. “I’m glad I was able to win against a two-time Wimbledon champion. It was amazing.”

SPANISH STOPPER

It’s quickly becoming a Wimbledon tradition – like strawberries and cream. For the fourth straight year Rafael Nadal lost on the grass at the All England Club to an opponent ranked outside the Top 100. This time, it was qualifier Dustin Brown of Germany who knocked off the Spaniard 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-4. “I’m happy I got to play him on that court win or lose,” said Brown, who has beaten Nadal both times they have played. Brown also won their first career meeting on grass at Halle, Germany, last year. Still, it came as a surprise for the left-hander who has won 14 Grand Slam tournaments, including Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010, to lose to someone who had lost in the first round in each of his past five Grand Slam events. “I had nothing to lose,” said Brown, who mixed his risky, entertaining brand of tennis with serve-and-volleys, drop shots, drop volleys and go-for-it returns. “If I lose 6-1 6-2 6-3, everyone said, ‘Bravo, Rafa.’” With back-length dreadlocks delighting photographers and fans, Brown raced to the net at every opportunity, forcing play. “Whatever I do is to take him out of his comfort zone,” Brown said. And he was able to do it all four sets. “I’m very happy that I held it together for the whole match.”

In the next round, Brown fell to Viktor Troicki of Serbia 6-4 7-6 (3) 4-6 6-3. “He played great,” Brown said of the 22^nd-seeded Troicki. “With his game, the way he was serving, especially in the tiebreak, I mean, I can do what I want, this guy had four aces and one service winner in the tiebreak. I’m most likely not going to win the tiebreak.” He didn’t.

SMASHING RESULTS

Ivo Karlovic is trying to follow the path set by his coach, Goran Ivanisevic. Karlovic has blasted more than 40 aces for three consecutive matches to power his way into the second week at Wimbledon. The tall (6-foot-11, 2.11m) Croat crushed 136 aces in the first week, making him just 77 shy of Ivanisevic’s tournament-high 213, which the left-hander achieved during his run to the title in 2001. “I know every game is different,” Karlovic said after his 7-6 (3) 4-6 7-6 (2) 7-6 (9) third-round win over 13^th-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. “I always try to begin good, and if it’s a lot of aces like this, then of course it is easier. Each point is a new one, so I don’t feel like nobody can beat me. I just always go on to the next one.” Karlovic had 41 aces against Tsonga, his lowest total of the week. He struck 42 in his first-round win over Sweden’s Elias Ymer and 53 in his destruction of Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. The 36-year-old Karlovic is the oldest player to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since fellow Croat Niki Pilic advanced as far in 1976. “It’s not easy because even when he doesn’t hit the ball really hard, it’s coming from very high,” Tsonga said. “So the bounce is different as usual. That’s why he’s so difficult to return.” Karlovic is also the oldest player to reach the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament since Jimmy Connors played in the fourth round at the US Open in 1991 at the age of 39.

SENT PACKING

After Bernard Tomic lashed out at Tennis Australia, Tennis Australia (TA) had something to say in return. The 22-year-old accused the TA of neglecting him and his sister Sara, whose funding was cut by the national body because of what it said was the uncooperative attitude of their father John. In return, Tennis Australia kicked Tomic off the Australia’s Davis Cup team that will meet Kazakhstan later this month in a quarterfinal tie. “His behavior was unacceptable,” TA President Steve Healy said in a statement. “Playing for our country is an absolute privilege, and with that privilege comes an obligation to behave appropriately. He didn’t.”

STOSUR CRUSHED

It was a rough day for Samantha Stosur – a really rough day. Winner of the US Open just four years ago and seeded 22^nd at this year’s Wimbledon, Stosur was crushed by American Coco Vandeweghe 6-2 6-0 in the third round at the All England Club. What made it even worse is the Australian actually won the first two games of the match, then lost the next 12. “Yeah, got two-love up and had a couple of game points,” Stosur said. “Things just kind of went from that to worse very quickly. “I mean, there is only so much you can say about something like that. It’s kind of … it’s bad tennis. It was capitulation. By the end, two and love loss, I think there’s going to be a few things that aren’t really going your way.”

STAY THE COURSE

Rafael Nadal has received a tip from one of his chief rivals. Novak Djokovic told the Spanish star he shouldn’t fire his Uncle Toni as his coach. That advice came after six-time Grand Slam tournament champion John McEnroe said he believes Nadal needs to get a new coach if he wants to return to the top of the sport. Djokovic disagrees. “I don’t see a big reason for this to happen,” the world’s top player said. “He has won 14 Grand Slam titles. He’s one of the best players in the game with his uncle Toni, who has been with him for his entire career.” Nadal, who won the grass court Championships in 2008 and 2010, lost for the fourth straight year at Wimbledon to a player ranked below the Top 100. And this year he was ousted in the quarterfinals at both the Australian Open and at Roland Garros. “He won two times titles here and played five finals. I don’t think that’s too bad,” Djokovic said of Nadal. “That’s something that obviously for him adds up to extra pressure and expectations to any tournament he goes. He sets himself a very high standard. It’s not easy to come back in the same tournament, the surface I think he prefers the least, and get that necessary confidence. It seems like he needs a few more matches to get into that comfort zone on the court. But he hasn’t had a chance. And the opponents he has lost to, they all probably played matches of their lives. They had nothing to lose.”

SHE’S GONE

Gala Leon had a short stay as Spain’s first female Davis Cup captain. Leon was fired by the new president of the Spanish tennis federation (RFET) two weeks before the Group I second-round tie against Russia. Leon has been a surprising choice to replace Carlos Moya, who stepped down from the position last year. Spain’s top players, including Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, questioned her appointment as coach. Her firing is seen as an attempt by president Fernando F-Ladreda to persuade the players to take part in the upcoming tie in Vladivostok, Russia.

SHORT STAY

Shades of 2010 when John Isner battled Frenchman Nicolas Mahut for three days before winning the fifth set 70-68. Marin Cilic, on the other hand, made sure that record didn’t even begin to come close. After the third-round match between Isner and Cilic was halted because of darkness with the two tied 7-6 (4) 6-7 (6) 6-4 6-7 (4) 10-10, the reigning US Open champion needed just 15 minutes the following day to beat Isner 12-10 in the fifth. “I was playing really good yesterday and was close to finishing it off,” said the ninth-seeded Cilic, who had missed converting his first match point in the 10th game of the fifth set. Throughout the match I was the one who was putting on more pressure on the returns, and today I was hoping to continue with that. But you never know as it’s a new day, new conditions and it’s lucky that I broke him at the first opportunity.” When Isner beat Mahut five years ago, the fifth set alone took eight hours, 11 minutes. Isner had a big hand in Cilic’s win. “Two double faults (in the last) three points, so … this sport is weird,” said the 17th seed, who until the final game had double-faulted only once in the match. “It’s very, very disappointing because I have lost a lot of matches like that in the last four years or whatever. It sucks.”

SOBER MOMENT

The Championships, as Wimbledon is called, fell silent on the first Friday to commemorate the victims of the beach massacre in Tunisia. Play was delayed at noon to observe Britain’s national minute of silence to remember the victims of a gun attack, most of whom were British. Normally, play begins on the outside courts at 11:30 a.m., but Wimbledon officials pushed back the start until 12:15 p.m. to accommodate the observance. “Ladies and gentlemen, the time is midday and the national one minute’s silence in memory of the victims in Tunisia will now begin,” an announcer said over the public address system. Everything came to a halt as fans stood, many with their heads bowed. “Thank you for your consideration,” the announcer said at the end of the silence.

SURFING

Wimbledon: www.wimbledon.com/

Braunschweig: www.sparkassen-open.de/

Contrexeville: www.open88.org

Newport: www.halloffametennischampionships.com/

Båstad: http://women.swedishopen.org/

Bucharest: www.brdbucharestopen.ro/

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

MEN

Wimbledon, London, Great Britain, grass (second week)

$118,915 Sparkassen Open, Braunschweig, Germany, clay