Novak Djokovic had a scare today during his third round match against Gilles Simon. The top seed was running to his forehand side when he lunged for a ball, fell on his left side, and clutched his shoulder in apparent agony. He took a medical time out and then continued to play, eventually winning the match 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. In his presser, Nole said he had an ultrasound done and there’s no damage. For a few minutes there, it looked like a very serious situation. Thoughts of his tourney and possibly his season ending may have crossed my frantic mind based on his reaction. Thank GAWD all is well.
Remember how I wrote that Li Na is an enigma of the highest degree? She did absolutely nothing to change my mind today. The second seed was upended by Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). As I tweeted today, it was definitely an upset but not based on current form. BZS was a finalist in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago and has a game built for grass, while Li adds this loss to her first round disappointment at Roland Garros. In her presser, the 32-year old regretted not playing one of the warm-up tourneys. “I think I made wrong decision,” she said. “I needed to play some matches before the big one [Wimbledon]." AGREED.
Former Wimbledon champs Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams put on a power-tennis showcase today in their spectacular third round battle. The match was of the highest quality, with both lady ballers throttling the ball and looking to control the rallies with aggressive play. With V serving at 5-6 in the third set, Petra held tough and earned the second of the two breaks in the ENTIRE match to win 7-5, 6-7 (2), 7-5. It was the best I’ve seen V play in many years and that wasn’t lost on the Czech either. "I think she's playing really, really well," said the 6th seed. "She showed it as well today. I think that she can win some titles again. If she's going to be healthy and play some matches and everything like that, she can do it." As for Kvitova, it was her finest performance since winning here in 2011. Best match of the women’s draw so far. I honestly couldn't sit down - it was absorbing stuff.
I missed the goal but I didn't miss this...I have to marry all 4? #WorldCup2014 pic.twitter.com/cO8OhBA1hX
— Maria Sharapova (@MariaSharapova) June 26, 2014
Loooooooool. Okay then. I suppose that’s one way to do it. Other notables: Marin Cilic, the 26th seed, continued his fine 2014 form, upsetting 6th seed Tomas Berdych 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(6) in a match that ended at 9:38pm. It was the latest finish for a match outside of Centre Court in the tourney’s history. Grigor Dimitrov, the 11th seed, beat the 21st seed Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-7(3), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 to reach his first-ever round of 16 at Wimbledon. Jerzy Janowicz, the 15th seed and a semifinalist last year, and Lleyton Hewitt also went the distance with the Pole coming out on top 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(7), 4-6, 6-3.
[Photo(s) credit: Getty Images, AFP]
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