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Murray was playing in near darkness by the time he finally saw off Gasquet

Gasquet served for the match in the third set but Murray recovered to win 5-7 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 6-4 and seal a quarter-final against Rafael Nadal.The Briton thrilled the Centre Court crowd with victory in four hours.And asked if he felt he could win the title on Sunday, the 12th seed confirmed: “I’ve always thought that.”The 21-year-old Scot, who was seeking a first-ever place in a
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Henman made his final appearance at in the Davis Cup last September

The whole atmosphere during Andy Murray’s epic five-set win over Richard Gasquet was incredible.

In the context of the match, Gasquet, for two-and-three-quarter sets, was absolutely fantastic but when he came to serve for the match he just blinked a bit.

That game went very quickly. Gasquet made an unforced error on the first point then suddenly, instead of being 15-0, it was it was 0-15 and Andy
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leadPicToggle(); Molik receives Beijing wildcard From Valkerie Mangnall in London, England
Former Australian Captain July 01, 2008

ATHENS bronze medallist Alicia Molik has received a wildcard entry to the women’s singles at this year’s Olympics in Beijing.

The South Australian was among 12 women and men awarded wildcards by the International Tennis Federation.

Molik said it had always been her childhood dream to compete at the Olympic Games and now she is heading to her third, after debuting in Sydney as a 19-year-old in 2000.

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Zheg … next plays Nicole Vaidisova. AP leadPicToggle(); Asian success ‘won’t stop here’ From Steve Griffiths in London, England
Former Australian Captain July 01, 2008

CHINA’S Zheng Jie believes the surprise success of Asian women at Wimbledon can carry on beyond the quarter-finals.

Zheng and Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn both reached the last eight of a grand slam for the first time to continue their ground-breaking success at the All England Club.

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Murray … bounced back from a two-set deficit. Reuters leadPicToggle(); Murray flies flag, Nadal next From Angus MacKinnon in London, England
Former Australian Captain July 01, 2008

ANDY Murray pulled off one of the great Wimbledon comebacks to beat No.8 seed Richard Gasquet in five sets and reach his first grand slam quarter-final.

Murray, aiming to be the first British men’s champion
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Venus and Serena have won six of the last eight Wimbledon titles

Between them, defending champion Venus and younger sister Serena, have won six of the last eight singles titles here.Venus takes on Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn, who shocked second seed Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round.Serena is up against Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska, who overcame fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.The other matches see fifth seed Elena Dementieva meet Nadia Petrova
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Plenty of chat from John McEnroe about the fitness of Gasquet and Murray at the start of this fifth set. Mac reckons Murray is looking the better mover during what turns out to be a marathon opening game - which Murray eventually takes. Game on!

“This match is one thing. But Nadal is another. Similar to Federer licking his lips in anticipation for Ancic, Nadal must be hoping for a nice long marathon match here tonight!”

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Murray came back from two sets down for the first time in his career

The Briton looked down and out when Gasquet served for the match in the third set but he recovered for a superb 5-7 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 6-4 victory.And there is little doubt now that Murray has sealed his place in the Wimbledon crowd’s affections.The Scot goes on to face Rafael Nadal in Wednesday’s quarter-finals.”The light was tough at the end and I wanted to try to finish the match,” Murray
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leadPicToggle(); Stop whingeing, Federer tells women From Pritha Sarkar in London, England
Former Australian Captain July 01, 2008

PLAYERS should stop grumbling about playing on the outside courts at Wimbledon and get on with their real jobs, world No.1 Roger Federer said.

On the seventh day of the grass-court championships, Serena Williams and world No.2 Jelena Jankovic hit out at organisers after they were shunted off the two main showcourts at the All England Club.

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London - Aching Jelena Jankovic slammed Wimbledon officials for exiling her to a minor showcourt as the second-seeded Serb exited with a 6-3, 6-2 fourth-round loss to Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn on Monday.

Jankovic, who only just squeezed through a third-round match on Saturday with a knee injury and a healthy dose of drama, fell out of the race for number one on the WTA with her defeat. ‘I was almost playing in the parking lot, I almost need a helicopter to go to my court,’ complained the highest-ranking woman left the
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Murray is hoping for more success in the mixed doubles this year

Murray and Mirnyi, the 14th seeds, lost 6-2 7-5 6-3 to second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic.After being broken twice in the opening set, Murray and Mirnyi were broken just once in the second and third but only managed two break points themselves.Murray and America’s Liezel Huber play in the mixed doubles later on Monday.The 22-year-old Scot, sporting a new short haircut this week, is
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London - Roger Federer saw off fading force Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 6-4 to start week two at the Wimbledon Championships on Monday, running head-long into a next-round nightmare challenge on grass.

The world number one spared only a brief thought for the 27-year-old Hewitt, who will need to get a long-running hip injury sorted now that his Wimbledon is over. ‘I feel bad that he’s injured - for a split second,’ said the 12-time Grand Slam champion Swiss. ‘But he was still dangerous, he still had break-points in the third.
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leadPicToggle(); Tamarine ready for biggest test From Steve Griffiths in London, England
Former Australian Captain July 01, 2008

THAILAND’S Tamarine Tanasugarn is preparing to play the biggest match of her life at Wimbledon just two years after reaching rock bottom on the grass courts of the All England Club.

Tamarine is the first Thai to reach a grand slam quarter-final and faces defending champion Venus Williams on Wednesday (EST) after her 6-3 6-2 demolition of No.2 seed Jelana Jankovic.

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A lot of pinking shoulders around Centre Court today - it’s a burner of a sun up ahead today, but the cooling breeze has fooled some tennis-focused punters. Not textbook. Now then - this is a match, eh? Apparently Murray prepared for this clash by going out for an Italian meal last night with Mama Judy, bro Jamie (with his newly-shaved head) and his granny and grandad, before watching the Euro 2008 final. Textbook.

leadPicToggle(); Ousted Jankovic angry over schedule From Steve Griffiths in London, England
Former Australian Captain July 01, 2008

JELENA Jankovic accused Wimbledon officials of contributing to her shock exit after the Serbian’s request to be given extra time to recover from a knee injury was rejected.

Jankovic, the world No.3 and second seed, had asked to play her fourth-round match against Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn as late as possible on Monday (local time) to allow her to have treatment on the knee injury she suffered in the previous round.

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Ancic will face world number one Roger Federer in the last eight

Two sets down to the Spanish 22nd seed, the Croatian fought back to claim a 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-4 13-11 win on Court 11.Ancic never led until he went 7-6 up in a tense decider with a service break, but Verdasco broke back immediately.The set then went with serve until Ancic broke again to lead 12-11, and the unseeded 24-year-old held his nerve to triumph with his 15th ace.Verdasco, who had led 4-1
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In 1981 of course, Bjorn Borg, the Swedish iceman was attempting to win his sixth consecutive Wimbledon Men’s Title. He had won his fifth title in 1980 against the abrasive, but a brilliant American, John McEnroe, in one of the greatest finals, that Wimbledon, throughout its distinguished history, has ever seen. The fourth set tie break, won by McEnroe to keep him in the match, will be talked about for a thousand years, as will the final set won by Borg (8-6) that won him the match and with it immortality

The following year of course, Borg
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Federer took his head-to-head record against Lleyton Hewitt to 14-8

The Swiss star won 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 6-4 on a sun-drenched Centre Court.Hewitt put up a good fight in a first set in which there were no break points, and Federer needed four set points before taking the tie-break.The top seed then broke twice at the start of the second and raced away to win in one hour 48 minutes.He will play grass-court specialist Mario Ancic or Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in
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Williams will play Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn in the last eight

Venus was never close to her best form against Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova but always looked firmly in control.The defending champion let a 5-1 second-set lead slip away but sealed a 6-3 6-4 win on her fifth match-point.Serena was simply too powerful for her fellow American Bethany Mattek and swept to a 6-3 6-3 win.With second seed Jelena Jankovic, who was scheduled to meet Venus in the quarter-finals,
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Zheng has defied her lowly world ranking to reach the quarter-finals

The 24-year-old, ranked 133 in the world, broke Hungary’s Szavay once in the first set and then twice in the second having been a break down. Zheng, who stunned world number one Ana Ivanovic in round three on Friday, won 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 21 minutes.She plays either Anna Chakvetadze or Nicole Vaidisova for a semi-final spot.Zheng, a doubles specialist, is only the second Chinese player
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Heads up … Federer shows Lleyton Hewitt he’s still in charge. AP leadPicToggle(); Federer sweeps in straight sets By staff writers
Former Australian Captain June 30, 2008

ROGER Federer has defeated Australian Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets to book his place in the quarter finals and continue his bid for a fifth Wimbledon title.

Hewitt displayed the grit he is renowned for in the third
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leadPicToggle(); Williams sisters through, Jankovic out From correspondents in London, England
Former Australian Captain June 30, 2008

TAMARINE Tanasugarn became the first Thai to reach a grand slam quarter-final as she sent Serb second seed Jelena Jankovic crashing out of Wimbledon.

Jankovic’s loss means it is the first time in the open era in which none of the world’s top three women have made the Wimbledon quarter-finals.

Tamarine, ranked 60, took advantage
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Jankovic grew increasingly frustrated as her game fell apart

The second seed needed treatment early in the second set as her knee, which she hurt on Saturday, caused her pain.The Serb dropped serve in game six of the first set and three times in the second as she followed Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova in going out.It is the first time since seedings began in 1927 that the women’s top three have lost before the last eight.The veteran Thai, who needed treatment
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Head to head … Hewitt up against it against Federer. Danielle Szetho leadPicToggle(); Lleyton has heart of Tiger From correspondents in London, England
Former Australian Captain June 30, 2008

LLEYTON Hewitt is taking inspiration from Tiger Woods as the South Australian prepares his bid to halt Roger Federer’s charge towards a sixth Wimbledon title on Monday. Hewitt is struggling with a persistent
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Ancic remains the last man to beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon

The big-serving Croatian plummeted from inside the world’s top 10 to 136 after missing most of the 2007 season. But the 24-year-old, who plays Fernando Verdasco in round four, told BBC Sport: “It is my dream to win Wimbledon. “I can do it - if you don’t have the belief that you will win it and have what it takes you have no chance.”Ancic was diagnosed with mononucleosis (glandular fever) in March
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Murray has never got beyond the fourth round in a Grand Slam

Murray meets the French eighth seed, who has twice beaten the 21-year-old, in the last match on Centre Court. Roger Federer’s meeting with Lleyton Hewitt, the only other former champion left in the draw, opens play on Centre.Elsewhere, Venus Williams continues her title defence against Alisa Kleybanova, while Serena faces Bethanie Mattek.Those matches open play on Court Two, famously dubbed the Graveyard
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Head to head … Hewitt up against it against Federer. Danielle Szetho leadPicToggle(); Hewitt knows he must step up By Leo Schlink
Former Australian Captain June 30, 2008

LLEYTON Hewitt concedes that coach Tony Roche’s intimate knowledge of Roger Federer’s silken game will carry him only so far in his David and Goliath Wimbledon battle.

Hewitt has lost his past 11 matches to the Swiss, but he remains optimistic about his chances in their 21st clash at senior level.

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Head to head … Hewitt up against it against Federer. Danielle Szetho leadPicToggle(); Federer ‘has lost his fire’ By Leo Schlink
Former Australian Captain June 30, 2008

PAT Cash fears Roger Federer has become too predictable and conservative as the Swiss genius’s intimidatory presence fades. Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion, says Federer has retreated into his comfort zone after winning 12 majors during the past five years.
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London - Rafael Nadal joined Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships as he subdued Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-3 to end the first week on a winning note.

Spain’s world number two, finalist the last two years against the Swiss, followed the example of Federer, who a day earlier set up a fourth-round clash with Lleyton Hewitt at the All England club. Kiefer staged late heroics as Nadal served for victory, breaking for 2-5 and then firing three aces in the next game before Nadal closed
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Draper insists British tennis is improving

Two years ago, LTA president Stuart Smith said Britain should have five top 100 players by the end of 2008.

But Draper told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek: “They were the wrong targets in the first place.

“Those were the targets set in the old strategy. By 2010 we can get five players in top 100.”

Draper insisted he had never been working to the target of getting five players into the top 100 this year -
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Tursunov’s big-match experience eventually told on Eaton

The 20-year-old qualifier reached the second round on his Wimbledon debut and is in contention to play in the World Group play-off against Austria.”If he carries on playing well then it would be good if he was in the team, why not?” Lundgren told BBC Sport.”But it will be tough as he hasn’t played anywhere except for Wimbledon.”Eaton, ranked 661 in the world before Wimbledon, caused a stir in the first
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Nadal building stylish momentum From Paul Majendie in London, England
Former Australian Captain June 29, 2008

RAFAEL Nadal has claimed an impressive 7-6 6-2 6-3 victory against Nicolas Kiefer to reach the fourth round at the All England Club in fine style.

Reflecting on a first week in which he consistently upped his game, four-time French Open champion Nadal said “I am doing well, only losing one set. From now on, I know that I am going to have a tough time.”

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And Youzhny’s done it. Nicole Vaidisova is left to represent tennis’ love match at Wimbledon 2008 as her furious fiance Radek Stepanek is booed off after smashing a racquet. A tremendous end to a tremendous day.

‘Steps’ is having his hand rubbed by the physio as the darkness gathers, but eventually he’s ready to go. Really quite dark now. Youzhny serving at deuce and 5-3.

And the celebrations can begin for Marin Cilic - and myself - as the Croat completes victory over
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leadPicToggle(); Murray into last 16 From correspondents in London, England
Former Australian Captain June 29, 2008

ANDY Murray has kept alive British hopes at Wimbledon with an impressive four-sets win over Tommy Haas.

Watched by a packed Centre Court court including Prince William’s girlfriend, Kate Middleton, and English football hero Bobby Charlton, Murray won 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2.

The Scot, the No.12.seed, next faces Richard Gasquet, the No.8 seed from France and a semi-finalist last year, as he bids to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament for the first time.

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“Kiefer is very comfortable on grass so it is the first real test for Nadal at this championship.”
Kiefer has actually had a slightly better Wimbledon this year than Nadal so far in that he has not dropped a set while Nadal lost the first set of his second round encounter with Ernest Gulbis. So after that victory for Andy Murray it is time for the ever-popular Rafael Nadal to continue his campaign against Nicolas Kiefer.A prelude to tomorrow’s Spain-Germany clash
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Murray is trying to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final

The British number one, 21, came through 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-2 to reach the last 16 and give further evidence he could be a real contender this year.Murray won in two hours 35 minutes on a hushed Centre Court.He will next face eighth seed Richard Gasquet after last year’s semi-finalist beat Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-3.It will be the fourth time Murray has played in the fourth round of a Grand Slam
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leadPicToggle(); Tipsarevic still giant-killer From correspondents in London, England
Former Australian Captain June 29, 2008

JANKO Tipsarevic followed his surprise second-round victory over No.6 seed Andy Roddick with a 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over No.25 seed Dmitry Tursunov in the third round of Wimbledon.

Fierce service games led to inevitable tiebreaks in the first two sets, but Tipsarevic, who also reached the last 16 last year, capitalised on Tursunov’s poor tiebreak serves, including a double-fault to seal the first set.

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Haas holds to love to stay within touching distance of Muzza. Let’s here from Le Mac:”Haas hasn’t played a lot of matches recently. He is not match-tough and does not have the belief or confidence for a comeback. At the moment he doesn’t know what to do. Haas has taken some lousy bounces but Murray is also playing very well.”
Murray races to 30-0 and fires down another ace for 40-0. He wraps up the game and we’re motoring through this now. I have to say he was looking pretty relaxed all week up at the practice courts. Maybe he knows something we don’t.
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Jankovic will face Tamarine Tanasugarn in the fourth round

Jankovic looked like she might join Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova on the sidelines as she struggled to contend with Wozniacki’s brutal groundstrokes.The world number three was broken twice as she lost the first set, during which she also picked up a left knee injury.But Jankovic finally got the measure of the 17-year-old, winning 2-6 6-4 6-2.The Serb will face 31-year-old Tamarine Tanasugarn of
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leadPicToggle(); Williams through to last 16 From correspondents in London, England
Former Australian Captain June 28, 2008

FOUR-time champion Venus Williams was too strong for Spanish opponent Maria Jose Martinez on Saturday as she moved into the last 16 at Wimbledon with a 6-1, 7-5 victory.

The reigning champion and seventh seed will face Russia’s Alisa Kleybanova for a place in the quarter-finals.

Williams cruised through a ridiculously one-sided
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