Tennis Trading News – Half Way at Wimbledon

Already it has been a drama-packed Championships at Wimbledon 2012 and we’re only half way through this most highly regarded of Grand Slams.

In the men ‘s draw, there’s no question at all where the biggest shock of the week came. In fact, it’s safe to say that Rafa Nadal’s defeat to little-known Czech, Lukas Rosol is the biggest upset in tennis this year, and very probably this decade.

Whilst indifferent form and maybe a little complacency saw Rafa arrive at a 2-2 score, the way in which Rosol blew away the current world no.2 in the deciding set was little short of stunning.

Whilst many expected Rosol to make a run through to the latter stages of the event on the back of this amazing scalp it was actually the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mardy Fish, and ultimately perhaps, Andy Murray who will benefit most from the Spaniard’s early departure.

Andy Murray himself has managed to come through a tricky set of first week matches, without too much energy expended. Encounters with Davydenko, Karlovic and Baghdatis looked potentially troublesome but the world no.4 dispatched of all three for the loss of just two sets and with Rafa out of the picture at the semi-final stage, the 25-year-old will be hopeful of becoming the first British man to reach a Wimbledon final since Bunny Austin in 1938.

In the other half of the draw, things have been very comfortable for defending champion and no.1 seed, Novak Djokovic. The Serb did throw in a poor opening set against Radek Stepanek in the third round but bounced back to win the match comfortably after having dispatched Harrison and Ferrero in straight sets previously.

Just 24-hours after Rafa Nadal was dumped out of the event, six-time winner, Roger Federer looked to be heading the same way, when he lost the opening two sets of his third round encounter with Frenchman, Julian Benneteau. Federer was way off his game at first but found his rhythm in the third. Nonetheless, he still needed to come through a tense fourth set tie-breaker before eventually going on to claim the deciding set with ease.

Looking ahead, there are some real mouth-watering matches in prospect. Andy Murray faces Marin Cilic in the fourth round, before possibly going on to meet Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarters and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semis. Novak Djokovic still looks to be on a semi-final collision course with Roger Federer, but will need to defeat fellow countryman, Viktor Troicki in the fourth round before a possible meeting Richard Gasquet in the semis.

Over in the women’s draw, we are yet to see any real surprises. Certainly not in the same vein as the one which befell Rafa Nadal in the men’s event. The top four seeds are all still in contention for the title and Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Petra Kvitova Agnieszka Radwanska and Victoria Azarenka are all looking on top of their game.

Kim Clijsters is still making ominous progress as she moves comfortably through her section of the draw and a fourth round meeting with German no.8 seed, Angelique Kerber will give us a truer indication of exactly how likely Clijsters is of making it all the way in her final Wimbledon appearance. Kerber herself will be hopeful of making her way through to the latter stages whilst Sabine Lisicki has again been showing why she is one to really be aware of on the grass.

Performance of the week in the women’s event no doubt came from Serena Williams’ next opponent, Yaroslava Shvedova. Coming up against French Open finalist Sara Errani in the third round, the Russian 25-year-old wrote her name in the history books. She won every single point on her way to a 6-0 first set victory, becoming the first woman to complete the ‘Golden Set’ in 44 years of professional tennis.

Looking ahead, aside from the match between Kerber and Clijsters, Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova could be on course for a replay of last year’s Wimbledon final, but Serena Williams and one or two others will want to have their say about that. Serena Williams v Petra Kvitova could be a highly captivating quarter-final, whilst a quarter-final face-off between Sharapova and Clijsters makes for a potential Wimbledon epic.

Pick of Week Two Matches

Men
Novak Djokovic v Viktor Troicki
Andy Murray v Marin Cilic
David Ferrer v Juan Martin Del Potro
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Mardy Fish

Potential
Andy Murray v Juan Martin Del Potro
Andy Murray v Jo Wilfried Tsonga
Roger Federer v Mikhail Youzhny

Women
Kim Clijsters v Angelique Kerber
Maria Sharapova v Sabine Lisicki
Serena Williams v Yaroslava Shvedova
Ana Ivanovic v Victoria Azarenka

Potential
Serena Williams v Petra Kvitova (quarter-final)
Maria Sharapova v Kim Clijsters (quarter-final)