With all 32 men and women who remain in the singles draw on court, ‘Manic Monday’ invariably poses difficult questions for journalists. Which match should one watch? Which should be privileged over others in the report?
As Wimbledon entered the business end of the tournament, the answer seemed to present itself: the match between two great women in the modern era of the game — the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena. The choice is sentimental and vaguely troubling for two reasons. First, because, as the fully supportive crowd at Centre Court is aware, Venus Williams, already 35 and suffering from an auto-immune disorder, is unlikely to play in the top league for much longer.
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Second, because Venus-Serena encounters can lack a little in emotional flair, with both women keeping a tight rein on their feelings — Venus even more composed than she usually is and Serena allowing herself only the smallest, almost decorous, fist pumps.
On a mild afternoon, Serena began as if she would run away with the match in minutes, breaking to love and holding again to love. It was in the third game, that Venus signalled she would not be steamrollered, displaying flashes of her old power in forehand winners. But they came much too rarely and it was Serena who served better and who was much more solid with her groundstrokes, constantly testing Venus’s service games and hitting winners on both flanks.
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Venus levelled 2-2, but Serena broke right back and then went on to win 6-4. The pressure on Venus continued in the second set, which was level at 3-3 with the crowd willing the elder sister to do something special. But she double-faulted at break point on her serve to a collective gasp, an unhappy acknowledgement that she had just lost the match with the point. And lose she did quickly, with Serena stamping her dominance, signing off in the same manner she began.
The match ended with Serena raising her arms for the briefest of moments, more acknowledgement of victory than a celebration. Sibling rivalry is a term often used to describe Venus-Serena matches, but it fails to capture the complex dynamic that prevails on court.
f they look like two gladiators compelled to face off before an animated audience, it is possibly because they must feel a bit like this. Serena summed it up post-match: “It's hard to feel excited. It’s never easy to play someone you love and care about.”
At her press conference Venus said the two of them were hitting it off the ground so well”; true, except that Serena was so much better. Numbers don’t lie. Serena had 21 baseline winners against 8 by Venus. She also served more aces (10 to 2) and won more points overall (69 to 47).
Coming off a scare against Britain's Heather Watson, the 6-4, 6-3 win against Venus keeps the hopes of a second Serena Slam alive. For Venus, it is not the end of the road — she refused to put a date on her retirement; when asked whether she would come back next year, she said “I think so.”
Close match
Next up on Centre Court, Andy Murray beat Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in a fine four-set match-up 7-6(7), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 that was much closer than the scoreline suggests.
At 6’ 11” and armed with a giant serve, Karlovic has a game tailor-made for grass and is much more than a one-stroke service wonder he is sometimes portrayed as.
Murray managed to squeeze out a close first set that could have gone either way in the tie-breaker and was constantly forced to dig deep into his reserves. He used the lob cleverly, to unsettle his tall net-rushing opponent, and the blocked return-of-serve to keep the ball in play.
After winning the first set, Murray immediately broke Karlovic’s serve in the second and maintained the lead to take the set.
The third set seemed as if it may go Murray’s way as well, but Karlovic came back to save two break points to hold serve and then broke Murray to win 7-5.
Both players had break points in the fourth, and Karlovic saved a match point to narrow the gap (4-5), but Murray held his nerve to serve out the win in an engaging and closely-fought contest.
In other matches Richard Gasquet maintained his splendid form by taking out brash Australian Nick Kyrgios in four sets 7-5, 6-1, 6.7(7),7-6(6).
As expected Maria Sharapova beat Zarina Diyas in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.
Agencies add:
Federer in last four
Seven-time champion Roger Federer reached his 13th Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
The 33-year-old needed just 96 minutes to clinch victory and goes on to face French 12th seed Gilles Simon for a place in the semifinals.
Federer holds a 5-2 career lead over Simon who reached his maiden All England Club quarterfinal knocking out 2010 runner-up and sixth seed Tomas Berdych.
The Swiss star claimed victory on a sixth match point against Agut, whose challenge was seriously compromised by needing treatment on his right ankle after a bad fall in the sixth game of the second set.