Day Three Roundup

Greg Rusedski



As the sun sets on Rusedski's career, he looks rather reflective here...cradling his weapon. The unseeded Rusedski lost to Swede Joachim Johansson in four sets, 7-6 (12-10), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).



Johansson is now 3-1 against Rusedski. Look for great things from this young Swede. He's 6'6". WOW.

Martina Navratilova



Martina Navratilova is 48 years old, yet is still playing in the Wimbledon ladies' doubles and mixed doubles championships. It's phenomenal. She already has 20 Wimbledon titles: one for each year of her doubles partner Anna-Lena Groenefeld's life. Amazing. She has won 176 singles titles and 173 doubles titles. She has won more tennis tournaments than any man or woman in history, and she's still going. Her last Wimbledon title was in the mixed doubles in 2003. I hope to see her lifting a trophy in 2005. She and Groenefeld are already on their way, beating Rika Fujiwara and Saori Obata 6-3, 6-3.

Jamea Jackson



Jamea Jackson may have lost her Round Two match to Lindsay Davenport 6-0, 6-3 but this young American is definitely no pushover. She's only 18 years old and this was her Wimbledon debut. She managed to break Davenport's serve, which is no easy task. I'm so pleased to see more young black women playing the game. It's wonderful.

Roger Federer



"Here's my Fred Astaire impression!"

Federer beat Czech Ivo Minar 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. Big surprise.

Kim Clijsters



Normally I root for the American in any match by default, but I switched sides in the Clijsters/Irvin match for two reasons. First, Clijsters looks excellent at this tournament and I think her time has really come. Second, Marissa Irvin is a neoconservative Bush fan, so I'd never root for anyone like that to beat Kim Clijsters. Ever. Irvin made it to Round Two of Wimbledon this year after failing to qualify six years in a row. That's a clue, Marissa. Give up tennis and stick to what you know. Clijsters creamed Irvin 6-1, 6-1.



"I bet Ann Coulter never has to put up with this!"

Sabine Klaschka v Elena Dementieva



"I'm using The Force to levitate this ball above my hand."

I have to say that this was one of the more thrilling first-week Wimbledon matches that I've seen in a while. The number 6 seed, Russian Elena Dementieva, was on the defensive for a good part of the match and only managed to best German Sabine Klaschka at the end of the third set. If the wind had been blowing in the other direction, we'd have seen Klaschka taking a major scalp. It was great.

Svetlana Kuznetsova v Sania Mirza



"Gee, I hope the ball doesn't hit me in the nose; could get ugly with my nose ring!"

An 18 year-old Indian qualifier, Sania Mirza, made the US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova really work for her Round Two victory. She broke Kuznetsova's serve mercilessly and dragged her into a third set by way of a second set tiebreak. This kid can really kick some ass. I hope to see lots more of her in the future.

Rusedski Out

This comes as no surprise. Rusedski played a thrilling four-set match on Centre Court that was in serious danger of being postponed due to the awful light conditions on court; by the time the match was finally finished, it was past 9pm and the sun had set on SW19.

The British are taking this hard, but I think it's important to remember that Rusedski is not a seeded player at this year's Championships and he lost to the 11th seed, young Swede Joachim Johansson. Rusedski was simply outplayed by the Swede.

Day Two Roundup

Justine Henin-Hardenne



Mmm, losing makes me thirsty.



Oh come on! I won the French Open! Can't I get a first round bye?



Meanwhile, Daniilidou's all "YES! Yay! I win a match! Your ass is GRASS, Justine!"



Oh no, I'm sweating! And lunging! My blood hurts!

Just kidding. The match was very tense...I mean very tense. On Daniilidou's first match point, a friend of mine knocked on the door and I was running around screaming KEYS! and waving him in making buzzing and hissing sounds because I did not want to miss one second. It didn't help that the Henin-Hardenne/Daniilidou matchup was on at the same time as Henman's match. Wow. What great tennis. Daniilidou beat her fair and square 7-6 (10-8), 2-6, 7-5.

Tim Henman



Oh shit, I'm losing. Perhaps if I show the crowd my man boobies, they'll love me again!



Those spaghetti arms and that serve-and-volley game aren't suited to Wimbledon's modern surface. Perhaps 20 years ago when people still used wooden racquets, Henman could have had a chance. Not now. The guy is 30 years; time is running out for him to win Wimbledon. We all know he'll never do it. He dropped two sets in his first round match against 23 year-old Finn Jarkko Nieminen. This is especially embarrassing for Henman because Nieminen hasn't played at Wimbledon since 2003 and is ranked 70th. Henman looked almost certain to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the third set, but he somehow managed to go up a break and win three sets in a row, 3-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. I think the UK will be left wanting for another year.

Andy Roddick



Aaaaaaaaaugh! Too sunny! Must shade eyes!

With Andy Roddick, I've always felt there was massive potential there but he hasn't lived up to expectations, mostly because he's in the long loooooong shadow of Roger Federer. He handily beat his first round opponent in straight sets on Day Two, though. Go Andy! The draw means that Federer and Roddick would only meet in the final, which is what I hope will happen. Roddick is in the same half of the draw as Henman. If both continue to win their matches, they'll meet in Round Four, where Roddick will kick Henman's ass.

Mary Pierce



She has that pinched Celine Dion-looking face. Maybe they're related.

Y'know, I've never liked Mary Pierce. She has an English name, was born in Canada, and lives in Florida...but plays for France. What's up with that? She handily beat the young Czech Lucie Safarova in straight sets, but I don't see Mary Pierce winning this tournament. It won't happen. Sure, she was runner-up at this year's French Open, but how often do you see the French Open champion or runner-up win Wimbledon the same year? Not very often. Phenomenal players can pull it off, but Mary Pierce isn't in that league. Never has been.

Serena Williams



Check out my outfit! I made it myself! I spent more time on it than I spend on my game!

Serena Williams was in serious danger of having her ass handed to her by 20 year-old Angela Haynes of the United States. This was the first time in a long time...maybe EVER...that I've seen two black women playing each other at Wimbledon and they weren't both named "Williams." Haynes played a fierce match but in the end Williams was just too powerful for her. The end result was 6-7 (12-14), 6-4, 6-2 but that doesn't really tell the whole story. Haynes was a formidable opponent. Look for her to do great things in the future.



Like my do rag?

Maria Sharapova



Breaking news: Maria Sharapova wipes herself with a towel!

Breaking news: Maria Sharapova sneezes, says "excuse me."

Breaking news: Maria Sharapova brushes hair out of eyes with index finger!

Breaking news: Maria Sharapova smiles, waves to crowd.

That's pretty much what the coverage here has been. All the attention is focused on Maria Sharapova and her gold shoes. (Seriously...her shoes have 18k gold trim.) She beat Nuria Llagostera Vives of Spain 6-2 6-2, but that wasn't a surprise.

Henin-Hardenne Exits

Well, Justine Henin-Hardenne crashed out in Round One. Everyone's really surprised, but I'm not. Henin-Hardenne has been battling injury and illness and even though she won the French Open, Wimbledon comes only two weeks later and if you're already not 100%, it can really kick your ass. Daniilidou simply outplayed her. It happens. Anyone who has been watching this year knows that Daniilidou has some decent weapons; she's been having a not-too-shabby grass season and stole a set from Sharapova this year, so she was in a good position to kick Henin-Hardenne while she was down.