Wimbledon 2023

Wimbledon draw is published today. Should Djoko and Alcaraz progress at least they won't have to meet before the final unlike RG.

There might be less pressure on Carlos next week as most will have Novak as clear favourite. Alcaraz lost to Sinner in a terrific match last year but given another year's experience and a title at Queen's, Carlos can be expected to go deep this year.

Difficult to see much beyond the top two for the title but would be interested to hear what others might think and who they reckon we should watch out for. Expectations for Murray were somewhat dissipated by his defeat at Queen's by De Minaur in the sort of match you feel he should have done better at if he wanted to do well at SW19.

Still, as Dunblane's finest said himself, no one will fancy meeting him in the first round.

Swiatek went into Wimbledon last year on a massive unbeaten swing but then played horribly. Can't see that happening this year but she'll probably have to battle past the likes of Sabalenka and Rybakina if she wants to take the title.

You've probably seen the draw by now. Looks like a very winnable R1 for Murray and a very "losable" R2. I noticed in the BBC reports that they were bigging up Murray a bit much as if he would have a great run at Queens and be seeded just because he did well at some very minor tournaments. I don't think he was ever really that likely to beat De Minaur, he hasn't been playing at that sort of level for a long time.

Alcaraz I would be surprised if he wins the title. Impressed at Queens but still could do with more grass court experience, I could see him losing in the first week or losing in the final but perhaps not winning it this year. If I'm wrong and he wins it this year then a truly great career must surely beckon.

Novak,who has to be the favourite, is sort of like the GOAT in waiting at this point. He has 1 more slam than Rafa and better in other stats but not clear whether that is enough of a margin to call it especially given a bit of a chance that Rafa might catch up. I think we can say Novak is the GOAT - or at least greatest of this era -once he gets to the point where his slam numbers are such that we can be pretty sure Rafa won't catch them. That would mean for example either winning Wimbledon and the US this year, or winning 1 of the next 4 slams while Rafa doesn't win any of them, or Rafa actually retiring. I'm still not convinced that Rafa is 100% definitely retiring next year, unless one of you has seen a quote I haven't. He said "probably" and there's always a chance he decides to make it his last full year on tour but play the French Open in 2025, or just changes his mind.

Very good draw for Murray in that he could, in theory, have faced Djoko in the first round.

Even Tsitsipas in the second round is not too bad, given the Greek's patchy form at Wimbledon (only five wins in five visits).

Some interesting matches on day one at Wimbledon, not least Venus Wms v Svitolina which, unsurprisingly, they've put on Centre Court.

Djoko has a comfortable opener, but Kyrgios v Goffin could be close. Gauff was talking up her chances but that was before she lost to Keys at Eastbourne. Gauff starts v former GS champ Kenin.

Among the Brits in action tomorrow are Dan Evans who has a tricky opener v Halys of France and Katie Swan who has a tough first rounder v Bencic.

sirfredperry wrote:Some interesting matches on day one at Wimbledon, not least Venus Wms v Svitolina which, unsurprisingly, they've put on Centre Court.

I'm surprised that they gave Williams a wildcard invitation. She's played I think, 5 times this year and won only twice. If Wimbledon want nostalgia, then yes, give her a wildcard. If they want competitive matches, with people who are playing regular matches, then no, she shouldn't have been given a wildcard.

I'll be very surprised if she beats Svitolina.

Kyrgios has had to withdraw through injury. Very disappointing for him after his performances at Wimbledon last year which, of course, included giving Djoko a run for his money in the final.

Weather today should be OK although not particularly warm. Tuesday looks a bit more dodgy. Must be an enormous relief to ticketholders on CC and Number One Court that they need not worry about the weather anymore.

Also quite windy (and gusty) today (I'm maybe 25 miles from Wimbledon), which might make for challenging conditions.
Are they allowed to close the roof for wind, or is it only for rain? Then again, I expect Centre and Court 1 are quite sheltered, and it's only the outside courts that will have an issue.

Murray v Tstitstipas in R2 on grass I think I'd still favour Andy, (although not on hard or clay) and his draw looks quite reasonable to round 4 and Norrie or Korda.

Djokovic has to be the favourite - while he hasn't played any warm up tournaments, and is often a bit shaky in the first couple of rounds, I don't see any difficulty in his first three opponents, so he'll be well into things before he gets to play anyone remotely challenging.

Alcaraz - winning Queens will certainly have helped hsi familiarity with playing on grass, but he's still short of experience on the surface.

Day One: "Rain stops play". Must be the start of Wimbledon.

Perfectly understandable why Wimbledon would give five times singles ladies Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams a wild card given her recent reasonable form on grass.   I am certain the paying public are not going to complain.   Also perfectly understandable if she lost to Svitolina in the first round given Svitolina is a former world number three player who has recently returned to tennis following the birth of her first child.

Pretty squally here at the moment, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few more interuptions today.
Swiatek done with R1, with a comfortable 6-1 6-3 victory

Just found out that Barclays is a sponsor of Wimbledon. I suggest we all boycott Wimbledon from now on until they end this (I´m not suggesting we turn off the BBC, just attendance and anything that gives Wimbledon $). I will be contacting them shortly.

Usually I am not in favour of boycotts and I think when someone is doing something unethical we should typically ignore it as we all have busy lives etc. But there has to be some kind of limit surely - Barclays is the number 1 funder of new fossil fuel projects in UK and Europe (by far) and these projects will likely lead to thousands of pointless deaths for financial profit. The owners of Barclays are rich people who deliberately kill thousands in order to get even richer still. I don't think anyone who has more than a vague understanding of the science of climate change and how much Barclays invests in fossil fuels would try to dispute that.

Barclays is up there with Shell and BP as the worst companies in Britain.

Also, if you have a Barclays bank account, stop your money contributing to killing others: please close your accounts and call them up and say it was because of climate change. You can ask them to log the reason. Yes it's a hassle to close your bank account and change but if you shop around you probably find a better deal anyway. £100 to move your account, better savings rates, that sort of thing. So it doesn't have to be an altruistic act.

Did you know that just this month alone high North Atlantic sea temperatures, low Antarctic ice, and Greenland ice melt are all completely smashing the all time records? Probably not, because the media isn't reporting it and society remains in denial about climate change.

Also, having Barclays as a sponsor is basically like putting up a sign saying "Just Stop Oil: please come and protest here". Either Barclays are paying so much money way above the odds that Wimbledon decided it was worth having the matches interrupted and the cost of extra security, or they are fools who didn't give it any serious thought.

Venus Williams loses in straight sets. I had said earlier that I would be surprised if she had won her match. Before I submitted my comment I had deleted the part where I said I would have been surprised if she had won a set.

Venus was leading with a break in the first set but then hurt her knee and then battled to complete the match rather than retiring. Meanwhile Kenin beats Gauff in probably the match of the first round.

Still don't see the needless hype surrounding Gauff...there's been little or no improvement to her game yet the commentators act like she's some sort of legend in the making...

Jeff Navarro wrote:Still don't see the needless hype surrounding Gauff...there's been little or no improvement to her game yet the commentators act like she's some sort of legend in the making...

I think Gauff is progressing very well and has reached a certain level of consistency in her game and is an established top 10 player aged 19 years of age.  The reason why the British Media (e.g. the BBC) create endless stories about her is because she is "sold" as the next Venus / Serana Williams Player - it gains clicks and views. Kenin is returning from injury and loss of form but is a former grand slam champion winning the Australian Open in 2020 beating the great Ashleigh Barty in the process.

Kenin has just beaten Gauff in three. If Gauff couldn't beat Keys on grass in Eastbourne I certainly didn't think she would do much at Wimbledon.

Wins today for Britons Burrage and Broady, as well as lowly-ranked Choinski who beat Serbian Lajovic who has been as high as 23 in the rankings.
Ruud had a bit of a struggle against a qualifier who was proving a real handful until fading away and losing in four.

One seed out is FAA who has hardly been setting the world alight this season and today crashed out in four to lucky loser Mmoh.

Next up for Djoko will be Aussie Jordan Thompson who came from two sets down to oust Nakashima. Thompson is really happy on grass so the Novak encounter should be a good match.

Very good win today for Stan the Man who overcame 47th-raked Ruusuvouri in straight sets. Stan could face Djoko in the thrid round.

May well only get matches on CC and Court One completed today as the forecast looks rubbish.

Defending champ Rybakina kicks things off on CC with Andy's match v Pen1ston to follow. Alcaraz opens proceedings on Ct 1, followed by the Jabeur match and then Cam Norrie.

Norrie says he has to think he can win the whole thing. OK, he did get to the semi last year but I'd be surprised if he made the second week.

Henman Bill wrote:Also, having Barclays as a sponsor is basically like putting up a sign saying "Just Stop Oil: please come and protest here". Either Barclays are paying so much money way above the odds that Wimbledon decided it was worth having the matches interrupted and the cost of extra security, or they are fools who didn't give it any serious thought.

This is a tennis thread, not a commie slacktivism thread.

Very few upsets on day 1, very routine.

Iga and Novak looking good, but their big rivals are yet to play.

A good start for all the Polish players which is great to see.

Henman is a valued member of the 606 tennis community and has given a personal opinion on something connected to sponsorship of a tennis event so I think it is fine.  I don't necessarily agree with that opinion but it is an opinion that resulted in a BBC article yesterday:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66084764

Interestingly the BBC headlined this article on their website yesterday - but when I went back to their webpages today I see they have removed it.   The article still exists but as of now they have removed all front and secondary webpage links to it.

Henman Bill wrote:Did you know that just this month alone high North Atlantic sea temperatures, low Antarctic ice, and Greenland ice melt are all completely smashing the all time records? Probably not, because the media isn't reporting it and society remains in denial about climate change.

You must be joking. The media loves to report on climate change.

Oh and, just out of curiosity, HSBC used to sponsor Wimbledon for 15 years. They were apparently just behind Barclays in fossil fuel funding (second, not first). Did you have a problem with them, also?

Following on from my comment above: the BBC article now appears on the BBC homepage in their Behind the Headlines section with the headline: "Stars Call On Wimbledon to End Barclays Sponsorship"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66084764


Perhaps a compromise that might be considered is to put it behind a spoiler if deemed overlong (?)

comment:

Got about an hour in on the outside courts before the rain arrived. Any time less and the ticketholders would have got all their money back.

As it is, they'll only be entitled to half their money back should there be no more play.

There was time for Thiem to take the first set off Tsitsipas while Sonego won a first set tiebreak against Berrettini.

One of the quicker bagels if the season as Alcaraz takes the first set in 22 mins.

Terrific power and precision from the number one seed but some woeful serving from French veteran Chardy.

Alcaraz now two sets up. This is hardly a contest but it's interesting to see Carlos's movement, shot selection and power.

You feel already at this stage that it's probably only going to be Djoko who can stop the Spaniard. Having won Queen's and having more grass-court matches under his belt, Alcaraz is looking more and more comfortable on the green stuff.

Meanwhile Rybakina is a break down to Shelby Rogers.

Out of nowhere Chardy gets a break to lead 4-2 in the third. Always difficult to play against a guy who has been playing like a drain and then in the space of a few points suddenly starts getting it altogether.

Scrub all that. Alcaraz breaks back. It's back on serve. On CC, Rybakina dropped the first set but is 3-0 up in the second.

Alcaraz thru after getting the break in the 11th game of what turned out to be a terrific thrid set.

Chardy finally showed what a good player he's been and Carlos suddenly had to deal with a lot of balls coming back at him and some fine hitting.

Probably good that it turned out to be something of a match for the last hour or so. Up to that point it had been all too easy for the number one seed.

Defending champ Rybkina has levelled her match and is an early break up in the final set.

To answer the question:

Barclays is the no 1 fossil funder so I think close accounts.

HSBC is no 2 so that's bad but there was a story that said they are not going to invest in new oil and gas in the future so I think we can work with that.

We all have our lives to lead so I think boycott the absolute worst offenders only.

I've noticed not a very high level of interest when I post about non-tennis issues on here which is noted and results in me keeping such posts very infrequent.

Rybakina came thru in the end. She admitted she made a nervy start but things improved as the match went on.

Her final opponent last year, Ons Jabeur, also won as did Andy Murray who beat fellow Brit Ryan Pen1ston in straight sets.

Murray was, in his own words, tentative in the first set but once he got a break up and the first set secured he only dropped one game in the final two sets.

His opponent just didn't have a big enough game to worry Murray who will have to be far more aggressive if he wants to progress.

Cam Norrie got pegged back at one set all v a qualifier but is now two sets to one up.

Halys takes out Dan Evans in four sets.

After that performance, I reckon a lot of fans will look at Halys and wonder where this guy has been hiding. Very, very impressive showing and he's an increasingly rare example of a player whose game stands out as having some old fashioned, classical touches about it. Serves big but also showed some lovely creativity and soft hands at the net. Looks like he should be a natural on the grass, maybe a run deep into the tournament here could convince him to take the surface a little more seriously.

Norrie thru in four and now Dan Evans is in action. Having been two sets down in his unfinished match with Halys of France he won a tight tiebreak to take it to a 4th set.

Eventually Evans went out dropping serve at 4-5 to lose in four. Halys looked a real handful.

Lots of catching up to do at Wimbledon with many players still to play or finish their first round matches.

But the weather looks OK for a while now and, of course, they have play on the middle Sunday these days.

Daniil Medvedev beats British youngster Arthur Fery 7-5 6-4 6-3. Good performance by the Russian but many positives for Fery. Fery could be someone to look out for in the coming years. Medvedev's defensive court positioning will not work against better players.

found this interesting Djokovic fact

His win over Pedro Cachin in the first round this year made it an extraordinary 66 slams in a row where he has won his first-round match. The last time he tripped over the first hurdle was when he lost to Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open. That is a copy and paste from an article in The Athletic.

Of course, there have been a few slams in that streak that he didn't play for various reasons.

Tsitsipas scrapes passed Thiem 3-6 7-6(1) 6-2 (5)6-7 7-6(8). Tsitsipas will face Murray tomorrow in round 2.
Don’t see Tsitsipas a threat at this tournament.

Excellent match with Thiem sees Tsitsipas come thru in a final set tiebreak. The Greek now meets Murray.

Djoko bt Thompson in straight sets. Saw some of the Medvedev match and agree that the Russian cannot camp at the back of the court if he wants to go meet.

Good to see Raonic come back with a win after his injury problems. Seeds out today included Coric, RBA and Sakkari. Watson and Burrage lost but Boulter came thru.

I thought Korda might do well but he's just been beaten in four by Jiri Vesely who has a protected ranking but has been as high as 35.

The all-Italian clash between Berrettini and Sonego has been suspended with B'ini two sets to one up. Both players were slipping all over the place and both were glad to get off.

Fixture congestion may take its toll with some players having one or two days rest while their opponent haven't.  Murray has a great chance to beat Tsitsipas tomorrow.

A shame Dominic Thiem couldn't pull through vs Tsitsipas, that would have been his biggest victory in a long time. Before his injury troubles I think he was my favourite player to watch in the post-Fed era.

On a separate note the Wimbledon courts in the early rounds play so differently to the semi finals / finals at Centre Court. A lot faster, lower and slicker and more like the grass courts we see at Halle and Queens. With all due respect I felt there was something not quite right when somebody like Nadal was winning Wimbledon. Not doubting his ability one bit but can't imagine he'd have won the tournament in any other era unless he really adapted his style.

Djokovic has more compact swings and has that return of serve for grass like Agassi did so think he'd have been successful in any era.

I thought Tsitsipas looked fairly comfortable on the grass yesterday in what was a terrific match with Thiem.

But I still think Andy M has a good chance today on a court with which the Greek is unfamiliar and where he'll have to contend with vociferous home support.

Can't see Liam Broady being able to make much impact against Ruud first up on CC today.

The old warhorse Stan Wawrinka beats Tomás Martín Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 to setup a showdown with once rival Novak Djokovic.
Wawrinka-Djokovic are 4-4 at majors but never played at Wimbledon.

sirfredperry wrote:I thought Tsitsipas looked fairly comfortable on the grass yesterday in what was a terrific match with Thiem.

But I still think Andy M has a good chance today on a court with which the Greek is unfamiliar and where he'll have to contend with vociferous home support.

Can't see Liam Broady being able to make much impact against Ruud first up on CC today.

So far, this statement is not aging well - Broady taking the first set.

Well, my prediction on the Ruud match just that little bit wide of the mark.

Terrific effort by Broady although I wondered if Ruud might have been injured at the end. He was hardly getting any pop on his shots or service. But full marks to Broady.

Another British victor today was Katie Boulter who beat Tomova in three. At this rate, following that long Broady match, Murray might not even finish his match tonight.

Jeff Navarro wrote:The old warhorse Stan Wawrinka beats Tomás Martín Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2 to setup a showdown with once rival Novak Djokovic.
Wawrinka-Djokovic are 4-4 at majors but never played at Wimbledon.

Very interesting and lovely really to see that Wawrinka and Djokovic get to round off their rivalry at Wimbledon, having had absolutely storming encounters at all the other three slams. They were very even at slams but Novak would cruise past Stan in straight sets at other tournaments: 20-6 is the overall head to head. It seems Stan knew when to peak well, or just happened to play well in the right moments a few times.

From 2013 to 2016 you could even briefly argue that it was the best rivalry on the men's tour with Stan winning at the French Open really making it an even rivalry.

Highly likely it will be their last match at a slam, and fairly likely it will be their last meeting full stop. If Stan could go up a level like he has in the past and make a great game of it that would be awesome. I have my doubts as I don't really recall him doing much damage on grass even at this peak, and he's obviously past his peak, but let's see.

Yes, the Stan-Novak match could be special.

Murray has just lost the first set to Tsitsipas - a very tight affair with, as far I can see, only one break point before the Greek won the tiebreak.

Next up for Boulter is Rybakina who ended some stubborn resistance by veteran Cornet who had a nasty tumble towards the end but battled on to take it to a second-set tiebreak before losing.

Fritz, who for me was less than impressive at grass-court play prior to Wimbledon, is out.

Comeback of the day, or choke by the loser, goes to Vekic who was a set and 5-2 down to Stephens before storming back to win. 16-yr-old Russian Andreeva, who seems to have a crush on Andy Murray, went thru when Krejcikova had to retire when trailing by a set and 4-0.

Henman Bill wrote:...

Very interesting and lovely really to see that Wawrinka and Djokovic get to round off their rivalry at Wimbledon, having had absolutely storming encounters at all the other three slams. They were very even at slams but Novak would cruise past Stan in straight sets at other tournaments: 20-6 is the overall head to head. It seems Stan knew when to peak well, or just happened to play well in the right moments a few times.

....

That really summarises Stan's career - Not as consistent as the big 4, but for a few years was able to have very high peaks that saw him win 3 Slams by playing lights out. Del Potro was the only other player capable of reaching such high peaks during the 2010s, and he was just never fit.

Anyway, good fror Stan to have a Wimbledon swan-song, presumably on centre tomorrow.

Murray v Tsitsipas was shaping up to be a very good match - Tsotsopas was definitely the stronger player early, with Andy doing well to hang in to the tie break, but not good enough to win it. More even second set as Andy improved his level, and deserved the set (just), while the third Andy was clearly in the ascendency with Tsitsipas's forehand breaking down a little. Just hope that whatever Andy tweaked on set point (hip / groin?) isn't anything serious.
Best I've seen Murray play, and particularly his first serve, since the hip op - last ocuple of years he's been struggling to get the serve much over 120 mph, but ast night he was touching 130 at times. I still wish he would come forwards more and use his volleying skills early in points, but so far so good.

Don't suppose either of them were too bothered coming off at the end of the third set.

Murray now has a great chance to go deep in this tournament. If he comes thru today he'll have Djere next and after that the highest ranked player he could meet would be Norrie (seeded 12th).

We could be in for another late-night thriller on CC today. The schedule means that Novak-Stan might not get on until quite late in the day. Very nice programme today if you've got CC tickets.

Broady v Shapovalov is quite a tough one to call. On paper the Canadian is clear favourite. But he does like to play his shots at all times and can blow hot and cold. Shapo will win, I think, as it's going to be tough for a lowly-ranked player like Broady to produce an outstanding performance two days running.

One match probably worth following today is Sinner-Halys. The French guy looks good on grass while Sinner did well at Wimbledon last year and appears in good form. Svitolina v Kenin could be quite feisty, too.

Great battling from Murray, you can say what you want about him but that fighting spirit is still very much there!

I'll freely admit my groin twitched when he hit the deck late on in the 3rd, did well to get back up. I'm not sure who the break in play will favour really.

The Murray - Tistipas match really had to stop when it did - they'd likely have only got to about 2-2 in the 4th had they continued. Shame for Murray, as he was starting to get to a dominant position, but the 11pm cut-off is sensible, especially given where Wimbledon is (basicaly surrounded by residential areas). Agree that the winner should have a good shot at reaching QF / SF.

Shavopalov v Broady is entirely on Shapo - if he plays well, he wins comfortably, but we know that he can be inconsistent and erratic.

I seem to remember Halys as a wildcard or qualifier playing iirc Djokovic a few years ago, and looking a very decent player - possibly hasn't developed as much as expected over the last few seasons.

Watched most of the Kenin v Gauff match - Kenin played very well in a high quality match, looked like the top 10 player that she was before a few injuries have dropped her down the rankings.