WIMBLEDON 2008 Wrap-Up: The ladies

(Hey people - I want to introduce Christina, a new DtL! contributor. She's giving us the ladies' wrap-up for Wimby, so without further ado heeeere's Christina!)


You can expect a certain amount of upsets in every tournament, but this year’s Wimbledon was full of surprises! With the curtains drawn and their crisp white uniforms ready to go, the ladies took to the stage.

The Ladies

Major questions followed the ballers when the tournament began: Would reigning world no. 1 and tennis’ latest "it girl", Ana Ivanovic, be able to repeat her success at Roland Garros? Would Maria Sharapova once again capture the Wimbledon title she won not too long ago or would the Williams sisters just beat everyone to the punch? Oh the drama!

You can never really count out Venus or Serena Williams in any event that they play. From the beginning of the tournament, the sisters looked sharp. Neither one lost a set on the road to the final so it seemed inevitable that the two would meet each other across the net for the Wimbledon trophy. V was looking to defend not only her championship, but also her pride as she has lost five consecutive Grand Slam finals to ReRe. Often criticized for their lackluster play against each other, the sisters put on a show filled with long rallies, multiple deuce points, slips and slides. In the end, it was V's power and 129 mph serve that helped her rally past her younger sister with a satisfying 7-5, 6-4 win earning a fifth Wimby title and seventh Grand Slam overall. And although she lost, ReRe can take solace in the fact that she made her first Grand Slam final since her title run at the '07 Aussie Open and should be a major factor for the remainder of the season.

Top seed Ana Ivanovic settled right into her first match winning in straight sets against Paraguay’s Rossana de los Rios, 6-1, 6-2. Ana looked focus and determined although she skipped the warm up tournament in Eastbourne and was playing her first match in grass. Her second round opponent, Frenchie Natalie Dechy gave the Serb a real scare forcing her to save 2 match points in the 3 hour and 24 minute battle and winning 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 10-8. Lo and behold Ana's third round opponent, Zheng Jie ranked 133 in the world provided the biggest shock of all. It took all of Zheng’s 5’5" stature to knock the off the top seed but despite this early round loss, the 20-year old will retain the top stop, but it may not be for long.

Always the fashionista 2004 champion Maria "Shriek"apova debuted a new tuxedo-inspired outfit in this year’s tournament. Unfortunately, that was the only part of her run in Wimbledon worth talking about. Maria breezed through her first match against Frenchie qualifier Stephanie Foretz, 6-1, 6-4. But the biggest insult of all came from compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva and not just because she knocked the 21-year old out of her beloved Wimby. It was her now infamous hatred of Maria's outfit that was the inspiration for Alla to defeat her countrywoman.

Second seeded Jelena Jankovic cruised through her first two matches against Olga Savchuk and Carla Suarez Navarro. Unfortuntely, her injury woes continued to haunt JJ as she hyperextended her left knee during her match against Caroline Wozniacki. Although she lost the first set, the Serb battled back to win the match despite the heavy bandages that kept her knees under wraps. As JJ hobbled on the court for her 4th round match her ornery attitude and powerful ground strokes were not enough to propel her in the match. She lost to Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 6-2.

Fourth seed Svetlana Kutznetsova was also bitten by the upset bug, going down to rising Polish baller Agnieszka Radwanska in the 4th round and making this the first time in Wimbledon history that none of the top 4 ranked women reached the quarterfinals. Who would’ve thought the highest seed on the women’s side in the second week would be Elena Dementiava?

As you can see from this year’s Wimbledon, the women’s game is wide open with no clear and predictable winner in any tournament. Let’s just hope that the top 4 seeds make it past the US Open quarterfinals!

What were your fave moments from the ladies' draw? Tell us!

(image via Getty)