Women's Final

It's all settled. Venus Williams, the 14th seed and 2000-2001 champion and 2002-2003 runner-up, will play Lindsay Davenport, the top seed and 1999 champion and 2000 runner-up. Wow. That's a lot to type.

There isn't a lot to choose between the two at the moment; they're both fit and they both seem to be on top of their games, though Davenport has been more consistent over the last year than Williams has. She has defeated Williams in their last four meetings and leads their lifetime series 14-12, but she has never defeated Williams at Wimbledon. Ever. That's a big mental block to overcome but if anyone can, it's Lindsay Davenport. They're both American too, so I don't know which one to root for. I think I'm leaning slightly towards Davenport because she's the slight underdog here. She's 29 and approaching retirement very fast, so I'd like to see her win another grand slam title before she rides off into the sunset. Venus is only 25, so she has a few more good years on the tour in front of her. She has time to win more titles; Lindsay doesn't really.

Having said that, I'll be pleased either way; I like both women!

Day Eleven Roundup

Roger Federer vs Lleyton Hewitt



It seems that at the moment, nobody can touch Federer. The man is just rock-solid. He beat Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Hewitt just could not beat him, and he played his little heart out. Bless.



"Must! Beat! Federer!"



Lleyton slowly realizes that he, in fact, sucks compared to Federer.



Lleyton Hewitt's fiancee, Rebecca Cartwright of Home and Away "fame" proves that Australians can be just as chavvy as British people.

I must admit that the men's side of Wimbledon has been pretty boring since Federer burst onto the scene. It's boring watching him play because you're almost 100% sure he's going to humiliate whoever he's playing against. YAWN.

Mauresmo vs Davenport

It was over in four minutes. Four minutes. Mauresmo served a love service game to take the third set to 5-4. Davenport did the same to take the set and with it, the match. She meets Venus Williams in the final on Saturday.

Poor Amelie...always the bridesmaid.

Amelie and Lindsay, sittin' in a tree....just kidding. I know Mauresmo is French.

Johansson vs Roddick

"Like my new nose? I'm funny!"

What can I say about this match? There's not much to say. Roddick was up 6-5 in the first set when THIS happened:

BLAST!

Men's Doubles

Wesley Moodie and Stephen Huss have become the first qualifiers in the history of the Wimbledon tournament to reach the men's doubles final, defeating No. 1 seeds Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). Wow. Good luck, fellas. They will play the No. 2 seeds Bob and Mike Bryan (who is paired with Martina Navratilova in the Mixed Doubles) in the final. Bob and Mike Bryan defeated the No. 4 seeds Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Mixed Doubles

The unseeded pair Mary Pierce and Mahesh Bhupathi defeated No. 12 seeds Kim Clijsters and Olivier Rochus 6-1, 7-5 in the Mixed Doubles quarterfinals. Pierce/Bhupathi will play the winners of the Woodbridge/Stosur vs Bjorkman/Raymond match in the semi-finals.

Day Ten Roundup

Maria Sharapova is out.

That's right. The defending Wimbledon champion went down in straight sets to former women's champion Venus Williams (2000, 2001). The second set was an absolute drubbing. Just look at the score: 7-6 (7-2), 6-1. It's like she gave up halfway through the first set tiebreaker.



She looks angrier than a skilletful of rattlesnakes here. This is pretty much the same pissed-off look she had throughout the match. Not "I'm gonna win" angry. This was "I'm losing to someone I've beaten every time I've played" angry, and that kind of angry doesn't win matches. Sorry Maria, you got served.



"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"



Venus is all "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" and Maria's all "waaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Rain Delays: "Ladies and Gentlemen, play is suspended..."

Most of yesterday's play was wiped out by weather. I'd have posted yesterday, but I was busy watching "House, MD." I love that show. Anyway, I turned on the TV at 1pm and saw this:



Noooooooooooooooooooooo! Lindsay and Amelie were just about to START! It's not fair! The BBC said the rain may let up later.

At 2pm, I checked back and saw this:



Noooooooooooo! Blast!

At 3pm, I checked back and saw this:



Noooooooooooo!

At 4pm, I checked back and saw this:



Noooooooooooo!

At 5pm, I checked back and saw this:



Noooooooooooo!
You get the idea.

The Mauresmo/Davenport match was delayed for four hours and 20 minutes and was eventually moved to Court 1 while Williams and Sharapova duked it out on Centre Court; both matches were originally scheduled to be played on Centre Court with Mauresmo and Davenport playing first.

Davenport vs Mauresmo

This match was not completed due to rain delays. First, rain delayed the start of the match. Then, with a set all and Davenport up 5-3 in the third set, the match was suspended due to rain. Blast!



At first, Amelie Mauresmo was pretty dominant.



Lindsay Davenport looks like she's praying for rain here.



She got her wish; here's Mauresmo taking her time leaving Court 1 after play was suspended.



So, I had to content myself with this: