Saturday, 30 June, 2007
Schedule of Play for Monday 2 July The second Monday of Wimbledon is traditionally the hottest ticket of the tournament. Since Wimbledon stands alone among the four Grand Slams as the one which does not play on the middle Sunday, the seventh day of this event takes in the fourth round of both the men’s and women’s singles. Add to that the matches carried over from soggy Saturday and, as long as it doesn’t rain again, it should be a sumptuous occasion. On the women’s side, Justine Henin and Serena Williams remain on course for what promises to be the crunch of the second week, a quarter-final clash. First, though, Patty Schnyder of Switzerland and the Slovak, Daniela Hantuchova, may have something to say about that. To Schnyder, aged 28 and someone who has stood up well to years in the shadow of fellow-Swiss Martina Hingis, both in her first career and now the resurrection, falls a task – the Halt Henin Mission – rated unenviable even by Patty’s closest friends. Justine is not so much on a roll as in free flight, soaring away on the platform of that inspiring fourth victory at the French Open and not really caring whether the surface is clay, grass or chewing gum. Three rounds have been consigned to the history drawer at a cost of just 11 games. Can this be the year for the Belgian after two runner-up performances here? Cue Schnyder. Since she can boast just one victory (on clay last year) from their eight matches our bookmaker friends would say definitely not, but Patty is a game gal and will be giving it a serious go. Hantuchova is another who will be flying in the face of the record books against Serena, the self-proclaimed “best in the world when I’m playing well”. Well, Serena is certainly playing well, though she rates her tennis no higher than “six or seven out of ten” to date. She may need to raise her game a notch or two above that to see off the 24-year-old Daniela, regularly a solid performer on Wimbledon’s grass, but this is a match where raw power could be the deciding factor. Roger Federer had been due to follow those two women's contests on Centre Court but he was given an unopposed stroll into the quater-finals, something he will have accepted with alacrity when his scheduled opponent, Tommy Haas of Germany, withdrew yesterday, citing a strained abdominal muscle. Now Wimbledon's four-time Champion will be able to take a rest while he awaits the winner of the clash on No.1 Court between Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero and Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia. By his spirited elimination of James Blake, Juan Carlos Ferrero has made himself the man to beat for a spot in the quarter-finals. Ferrero, the 2003 French Open champion, has never previously gone beyond this stage at The Championships. Now would be a good time to start, and further good news for Spain, bearing in mind the progress of their number one, Rafael Nadal. Taking Federer's place in the Centre Court schedule is Andy Roddick, the last American man left standing at The Championships. Far from bothering him, that statistic could inspire him to march on towards some of the heights he has attained previously here. Andy could be playing better, but as long as he is winning what does that really matter? Paul-Henri Mathieu, one of the four Frenchmen still in the hunt, beat Roddick in their only previous match, but that was in Canada on a hard court two years ago. This is Wimbledon and the Roddick-Jimmy Connors duo is pushing hard for a place at the top table. It will take a massive performance to deny them. The fourth match on Centre Court is an all-French affair in this very good year for France, with Richard Gasquet, their number one, going against the talented wild card, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with the winner due to provide another French examination for Roddick should he find his way past Mathieu. Having got onto Centre Court on Saturday but not struck a ball before being rained on, Rafael Nadal is switched to the opener on Court One for his contest with Sweden’s number one, Robin Soderling. The second-seeded Nadal is fortunate, since the raft of other men’s matches washed out on Saturday must take place away from the top two courts because of the sheer size of the backlog. While that may be tiresome for some of them it will be a delight for holders of ground passes who will be offered a feast of the best tennis. Due to follow Nadal onto Court One is Jelena Jankovic, probably still aching from the pummeling she endured in staving off the challenge of Lucie Safarova in the third round on Friday. Against France’s Marion Bartoli things ought to be quieter and more predictable for the third seed, though at this Wimbledon you never quite know. NB: All courts are scheduled to start at 11am on Monday. Written by Ronald Atkin
| 
Subscription Video (Live)
Subscription Video (VOD)
Free Video