Heroes of Wimbledon Tennis from 1877 to 1880

spencer gore winner of 1877

Spencer Gore is immortalised in history as the first winner of a Grand Slam title. Gore, an old Harrovian, was born and bred in Wimbledon and was a good all round sportsman. He played the game of rackets, real tennis and played cricket to a good standard as well. Tennis was always inferior to cricket in Gore's mind. He is famous for saying "That anyone who has really played well at cricket, tennis, or even rackets, will ever seriously give his attention to lawn tennis, beyond showing himself to be a promising player, is extremely doubtful; for in all probability the monotony of the game would choke him off before he had time to excel in it." In the inaugural Wimbledon championships in 1877 Gore came through a field of 22 entrants and some time after half past four on Thursday 19th July 1877 he beat William Marshall in the final to become the first ever Wimbledon champion. The following year Gore stood out until the Challenge Round, where he met Frank Hadow. Hadow used the lob successfully, beating Gore at the net and Gore surrendered his title in straight sets. That was the last time Gore played tournament tennis. He died in 1906 at the age of 56.

Frank Hadow winner of 1878

Frank Hadow only entered one Grand Slam event in his career and he won it. Hadow, an old Harrovian, had emigrated to Ceylon to become a tea planter. He was visiting England in the summer of 1878 and learnt to play the game of lawn tennis, having previously played the sport of rackets to a good standard. The Wimbledon championships were being held so Hadow entered the event, along with his brother. Despite the fact he was suffering from the effects of a flu-like virus he had acquired, Hadow made his way through to the Challenge Round, where he met defending champion Spencer Gore. The bug Hadow was suffering from reached its peak on the day of his match with Gore. Hadow saw no point in trying to pass Gore down the line over the high part of the net, which at that time was four feet nine inches high, so he lobbed instead. Hadow won in straight sets. Hadow is the only man to have never lost a set in the Wimbledon championships. He went back to Ceylon in the autumn of 1878 and did not return to Britain until 1926, when he attended the Jubilee championships. He may have only played the game of tennis for a few months in 1878 but Hadow is immortalised as a Wimbledon champion. He died in 1946 at the age of 91.

JOHN HARTLEY winner of 1879 and 1880

The Reverend John Hartley was an old Harrovian who graduated from Oxford. The 30 year old Hartley, who also played the game of real tennis, first entered the Wimbledon championships in 1879. He had not expected to do very well in the tournament so had made no arrangements for anyone to take over his Sunday sermon. Consequently he found himself scheduled to play the final on Monday when he had made no provision for his Sunday duties in church. He rushed back to his parish in Yorkshire to give his sermon, then got up at the crack of dawn on Monday and caught the train down to London in time for his Wimbledon final later in the day. In that All comers final Hartley faced the Irishman Vere St. Leger Goold. Hartley's great retrieving prowess provided a great spectacle, many onlookers rating this match the best ever seen up until that point. Hartley won in straight sets. Frank Hadow was not defending his title so there was no Challenge Round that year. In 1907 Goold was convicted of murdering a Danish widow in Monte Carlo. How ironic that Hartley, the only clergyman to win a Grand Slam title, and Goold, the only tennis player convicted of murder, should have faced each other in a Wimbledon final. Hartley successfully defended his title in the Challenge Round the following year beating Herbert Lawford. In 1881 Hartley defended his title in the Challenge Round once again, but this time he found William Renshaw's power game far too good. Hartley managed to win just two games. Hartley didn't enter the event the following year and made his final Wimbledon appearance in 1883, where he lost in the second round to Herbert Wilberforce. Later he became Canon Hartley and was Rural Dean in the Ripon Diocese for 25 years. He died in 1935 at the age of 86.Premier Events - We supply concert tickets, sport tickets, theatre tickets, music tickets, opera ballet tickets, Wimbledon tennis tickets, rugby six nations tickets. We are specialists in Wimbledon Hospitality and tickets to the worlds most sought after events. We can offer you every
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Roger Federer a real hero in tennis field.........2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009

Roger Federer began playing tennis when he was eight years old. By the time he was ten, people were already talking about Roger's sweet touch with the racket and his competitive attitude. Roger would sometimes beat other kids his age so badly they would start crying and Roger would often cry and smash rackets himself if he ever lost a match. Roger left home when he was 13 to train at a top-rated tennis academy in Switzerland and was the number one ranked junior player in the world by the time he was 16.
In 1998, Roger Federer began playing on the professional tennis circuit. He won his first ATP tournament in Milan in 2001 and quickly worked his way up the men's world tennis rankings. In 2003, he won six tournments including his first Grand Slam tournament by defeating Mark Philippoussis at Wimbledon. By 2004, Federer was the number one ranked tennis player on the planet and won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments that year including Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. Federer has since gone onto win twelve more Grand Slam titles, bringing his grand total up to 13. Roger has won the US Open five times and the Aussie Open, three times. The only major tournament that he has not won is the French Open in Paris.

Roger Federer's professional tennis career is still quite young, but some are predicting he could beat Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam tennis titles in 2009. Federer is an extremely intelligent tennis player who's known for his dominating forehand and rarely making mistakes on the court. He has already won 13 Grand Slam titles and his smart, consistent play means he'll be a favorite to win several more before his career is over.

Roger Federer speaks three languages - English, German and French.

Roger Federer is one of the few professional tennis players in the world that does not have a full-time coach.

Roger Federer's favorite music is anything by AC/DC or Lenny Kravitz.

In 2007, Roger Federer became the first living Swiss person to be featured on a Swiss stamp. The postage picture features Roger holding the Wimbledon trophy.

Roger Federer is dating former professional tennis player Mirka Vavrinec. Ther pair met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where they were both representing Switzerland.

I can't stay No. 1 for fifty years, you know. We'll see what happens.
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Roger Federer defeats Andy Roddick to win men's singles title

This was the day when Andy Roddick’s serve was broken just the once, in the 77th game of a 77-game Wimbledon men’s final. That one break of Roddick’s delivery, after more than four and a quarter hours of play on Centre Court, was all that Roger Federer needed to take the fifth set 16-14, to become the first man to win 15 grand slams, and to regain the world No 1 ranking.
“Roger is a legend, an icon and a stud,” said Pete Sampras, who had flown in from California to sit in the front row of the Royal Box to see his 14 slams being superseded.

It would seem that winning the men’s Wimbledon singles final in straight sets, or in anything approaching a straightforward manner, has gone out of tennis fashion.

Federer’s 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 3-6, 16-14 victory meant that, going on the number of games that had been played on Centre Court, this was the longest Wimbledon final of all time, plus the longest final played at any of the four majors, and the 30-game fifth set was the longest played in a title-match at the majors.

Just a year ago we had the longest Wimbledon men’s final, if you measure a match with the clock, as Rafael Nadal required 4hr 48min to beat Federer 9-7 in the fifth set, when the stadium was so dark that the umpire should have provided night-vision goggles.

This was half an hour shorter than last year’s final, and last summer’s Nadal-Federer match remains at the top of the leaderboard of greatest finals contested on these lawns. Though Federer started slowly on Sunday, he won a sixth Wimbledon trophy, putting him just one short of Sampras’s record seven titles – something to aim for next summer.

Roddick turned in one of the sharpest performances of his tennis life, and yet when he returned to the locker room he had pink-tinged eyes, and he was holding the silver runner-up’s plate, and not the champion’s golden, pineapple-shaped trophy.

This was the third time that Roddick had lost a Wimbledon final, after defeats to Federer in 2004 and 2005, but this was the most difficult for the American to accept. “Tennis is cruel,” said Federer, who was in Roddick’s position last summer; emotionally battered. Now Federer is the happiest that tennis has seen him. This month, he and his wife Mirka will become parents for the first time.

If Federer had not broken Roddick in the 30th game of the fifth set, they might have ended up playing through the night and into this morning.

The fifth set was extraordinary. Serving at 8-8, Federer found himself at 15-40, but he produced a couple of big serves to get back to deuce, and he held.

When Roddick came out to serve at 14-15, it was the 11th time that he had got up off his chair to serve to stay in the match. Roddick had won his previous 37 service games. A forehand error from Roddick’s racket brought up match point for Federer.

Another forehand mistake from Roddick, and the match was over. Federer had served 50 aces in the match, just one fewer than Ivo Karlovic’s Wimbledon record.

Federer’s reaction to victory was to leap into the air. Roddick’s reaction, after an embrace with Federer at the net, was to fling his racket on to the grass, and to then sit down on his changeover chair, and to put his head in his hands as he waited for the prize-giving ceremony. Meanwhile, Federer put on a white tracksuit with a golden “15” embroidered on the back.

It was not just the closeness of the fifth set that would have been so upsetting for the American, it was also the fact that he had held four points in the second-set tie-break to go two sets up, and on the fourth of those, when he had most of the court to play with, he could not keep his backhand volley inside the lines.

Sampras had jumped on a plane to watch Federer, a close friend. It was the American’s first visit to Wimbledon since he lost early in the 2002 Championships to a Swiss sub-journeyman player, George Bastl. This was not about Federer confirming his place as the greatest player to have picked up a racket and swished it at a tennis ball, as he had already done that by winning his first French Open last month. This was about the accumulation of grand slam titles, about Federer becoming the most successful player in history.

There were two very different tennis players out there on the grass. Federer walked out to play in a white-and-gold outfit of jacket, trousers and man-bag. If Sacha Baron Cohen’s camp Austrian fashionista, Bruno, was into tennis, he would not dress that differently to how Federer did.

Federer peeled off the jacket and trousers, and showed that he is a smooth and sophisticated presence on court.

Roddick emerged wearing his baseball cap, and then started banging down his serves. Roddick led 6-2 in that second-set tie-break, so holding four set points, only to then lose six points in a row. Many other players would have faded away. Roddick did not.

Roddick’s performance was a fine one; people have played tennis of a much lower quality and won Wimbledon’s Challenge Cup.Premier Events - We supply concert tickets, sport tickets, theatre tickets, music tickets, opera ballet tickets, Wimbledon tennis tickets, rugby six nations tickets. We are specialists in Wimbledon Hospitality and tickets to the worlds most sought after events. We can offer you every
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Rafael Nadal was the Winner of 2008….

Rafael Nadal was born in 3 June 1986 is a former World No. 1 Spanish professional tennis player currently ranked No. 3 in the world. Nadal has won six Grand Slam singles titles, the 2008 Olympic gold medal in singles, 16 ATP Masters Series tournaments and also was part of the Spain Davis Cup team that won the finals in 2004 and 2009.

Nadal was ranked World No. 1 from 18 August 2008 to 5 July 2009. Nadal was ranked World No. 2, behind Roger Federer for a record 160 weeks before earning the top spot. In 2009, he became the first player to simultaneously hold Grand Slam titles on clay, grass and hardcourt. His success on clay has earned him the nickname "The King of Clay".

In 2008, Nadal was given the Prince of Asturias Award for Sports, in recognition of his achievements in tennis.

In April 2002, at 15 years and 10 months, the World No. 762 Nadal won his first ATP match, defeating Ramón Delgado, and became the ninth player in the open era to do so before the age of 16.The following year, Nadal won two Challenger titles and finished the year in the top 50. At his Wimbledon debut in 2003, Nadal became the youngest man to reach the third round since Boris Becker in 1984.

During 2004, Nadal played his first match against World No. 1 Roger Federer at the 2004 Miami Masters, and won in straight sets. He missed most of the clay court season, including the French Open, because of a stress fracture in his left ankle. Nadal at 18 years and six months became the youngest player to register a singles victory in a Davis Cup final for a winning nation.

At the 2005 Australian Open, Nadal lost in the fourth round to eventual runner-up Lleyton Hewitt. Two months later, Nadal reached the final of the 2005 Miami Masters, and despite being two points from a straight-sets victory, he was defeated in five sets by World No. 1 Roger Federer.

In September, he defeated Coria in the final of the China Open in Beijing and won both of his Davis Cup matches against Italy. In October, he won his fourth ATP Masters Series title of the year, defeating Ivan Ljubičić in the final of the 2005 Madrid Masters. He then suffered a foot injury that prevented him from competing in the year-ending Tennis Masters Cup.

Both Nadal and Federer won eleven singles titles and four ATP Masters Series titles in 2005. Nadal broke Mats Wilander’s previous teenage record of nine in 1983. Eight of Nadal's titles were on clay and the remainder were on hard courts. Nadal won 79 matches, second only to Federer's 81. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for 2005 with eleven 6–0 sets during the year. Also he earned the highest year-end ranking ever by a Spaniard and the ATP Most Improved Player of the Year award.

Nadal missed the Australian Open because of a foot injury. In February, he lost in the semifinals of the first tournament he played, the Open 13 tournament in Marseille, France. Two weeks later, he handed Roger Federer his first loss of the year in the final of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open. To complete the spring hard court season, Nadal was upset in the semifinals of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California by James Blake, and was upset in the second round of the 2006 Miami Masters.

Nadal and Federer have been playing against each other since 2004, and this rivalry is a significant part of both men's careers:

They are the only men in the open era who have played each other in 7 Grand Slam finals, with Nadal winning 5 of the 7 finals. Three of these 5 wins were on Nadal's best surface, and he has beaten Federer twice in non-clay major finals: Wimbledon 2008 and the Australian Open 2009.

Their 2008 Wimbledon final has been lauded as the greatest match of all time by many long-time tennis critics.
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Rafael Nadal Vs Roger Federer Who Is The Best?

It's hard to think of a rivalry that captured the imagination of the tennis world more then the one between Roger Federer and Rafeal Nadal. Pete Sampras vs Andre Agassi and Bjorn Borg vs John Mcenroe are some of the other great rivalries that comes to mind.

Those were awesome rivalries in their own right, but may be Federer-Nadal is the best yet. The contrast in their styles and their mental make-ups are just a couple of things that makes this such an interesting and appealing rivalry.

i will give a detailed review of this rivalry and explain why it is so good.

Nadal leads Federer 13-7 in career meetings.

Federer has beaten Nadal only twice out of eleven career meetings on clay.

Nadal beat Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final in an epic match that is considered by many as the best match of all time with a score of 6-4 6-4 6-7(5) 6-7(8) 9-7.

I've touched upon the contrasting styles and mental make-ups of Federer and Nadal in the introduction. If you look at all the great rivalries this was one of the key ingredients.Borg was the emotionless, calm base liner, while everyone is aware of the antics ofJohn Mcenroe, his emotional outbursts is the stuff of legend.

But not only was their psychological make-ups a stark contrast but so was their playing styles. Mcenroe was the attacking serve-and-volley player. Same thing for the Sampras-Agassi rivalry. Sampras had the big serve and the attacking serve-and-volley game, while Agassi had the best return and ground strokes maybe in the history of tennis.

Sampras was quite and calm, while Agassi was intense and flamboyant, also known as the showman from Las Vegas. Just like these great rivalries Nadal-Federer is not short of any contrast. Federer is the ultimate gentleman. He plays with a considerable amount of grace, finesse and touch. In a game that is mostly dominated by power he shows that it is still possible to outsmart opponents with skill and finesse.

Its only a player with the genius of Federer that can achieve this rare feat though. Not that he has his fair share of deadly weapons in the arsenal. Federer plays with a combination of power and grace that has probably never before been seen in tennis. The same goes for his personality, you would be hard pressed to find a more popular player among fans and opponents alike.

On the other hand Nadal is robust to the extreme. He can intimidate an opponent with the sheer desire to win that he shows out on court. Nadal is all about muscle and guts. He NEVER gives up and plays every point as though his life depended on it. He is mentally maybe the best in the game.

When it comes to sheer natural ability he is light years behind Federer, but he makes up for it with desire and physical presence. His forehand is unorthodox, with the follow through ending up over his left shoulder instead of the right! But then again Nadal never cared as much about appearances as about winning.

Both Roger and Rafa have a chance to become the GOAT(Greatest Of All Time). Roger probably has another 2-3 slams in him while Rafa is piling up grand slam titles at a fierce rate as well. Who do you think will win the most grand slam titles and how many?

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Tennis: Chinese Women Celebrate Wimbledon Breakthrough

Li Na and Zheng Jie celebrated their Wimbledon breakthrough in London on Wednesday when they became the first Chinese players to reach the third round at the All England Club.

Peng Shuai joined them in the third round yesterday after dishing out an impressive 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) straight sets win over the Israeli 20th seed Shahar Peer.

Li, seeded 27, defeated Meilen Tu of the US 6-2, 6-4, while Zheng Jie won a tough three-setter against the Czech Republic's Eva Birnerova 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 6-3.

Both players said they are pleased with their second round victories.

"I played very good tennis today and it is a satisfying result for me," Li said.

"It was a very tough match for me," Zheng said. "She has powerful serves and a good backhand. But I am so happy because this is my best performance so far in Wimbledon."

Zheng joined the tournament in 2004 but was ousted in the first round.

All Chinese players skipped the tournament last year due to the National Games.

Playing at Wimbledon for the first time, Li, China's No.1, now faces former US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian fifth seed, for a place in the last 16.

Zheng has an equally tough task, facing Belgian second seed Kim Clijsters

Later yesterday, Sun Tiantian was unable to advance as she lost to Elena Likhovtseva of Russia 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.

China has six women in the top 100 and all of them were in the main draw here. By contrast, China's top tennis star, Wang Yu, is ranked at a humble 353.

"I think they're too skinny," Peng pointed out. "They need to get stronger. May be the men need to eat more."

The 20-year-old, who played the first round on her debut here in 2004, splits her time between Florida and China and is convinced the Olympic doubles gold medal success of Sun and Li Ting in Athens in 2004 will spur even more Chinese women to take up the game.

As it is, the ladies have exceeded their French Open performance.

Four Chinese girls made it through to the second round at Roland Garros earlier this month with Li surviving until the round of 32.

This year, there were six Chinese women in the main draw and their emergence has been noted by former world No.1 Martina Hingis.

"When I kind of moved away, it was still a lot of Russians. But now it seems like it's moving more to the East," Hingis commented.

Two of the Chinese contingent were beaten on Tuesday by French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, the world third seed, who beat Yuan Meng 6-0, 6-1, and Russian 30th seed Anna Chakvetadze who saw off Yan Zi 6-3, 6-2.

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Women get equality at last at Wimbledon

The All England Club will give men and women equal prize-money at this year's Wimbledon Championships. It will be the first time in the tournament's history that there has been equal pay through all rounds for men and women, ending 123 years of inequality.

"Tennis is one of the few sports in which women and men compete in the same event at the same time," said, Tim Phillips, the All England Club chairman. "We believe our decision to offer equal prize-money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon.

"In short, good for tennis, good for women players and good for Wimbledon."

The decision has been welcomed by women players, none more so than Venus Williams, the three-time Wimbledon champion, who in an opinion piece for The Times during last year’s Championships said that the reasons against paying the same are no longer relevant.

"The greatest tennis tournament in the world has reached an even greater height today,” said Williams. "I applaud today's decision by Wimbledon, which recognizes the value of women's tennis.

"The 2007 Championships will have even greater meaning and significance to me and my fellow players."

Maria Sharapova, another former Wimbledon champion, added: "Wimbledon has always been a leader in so many ways in the world of tennis. This decision will only strengthen the bond between women players and one of the world's great sporting events."

"Wimbledon is one of the most respected events in all sports and now with women and men paid on an equal scale, it demonstrates to the rest of the world that this is the right thing to do for the sport, the tournament and the world."

Larry Scott, the Sony-Ericsson WTA Tour chief executive, a supporter of the move, added: "This is an historic and defining moment for women in the sport of tennis, and a significant step forward for the equality of women in our society.

"We commend the leadership of Wimbledon for its decisive action in recognising the progress that women's tennis has made."

When women started competing at Wimbledon in 1884, the champion received a silver flower basket to the value of 20 guineas, while the men’s winner took home a gold prize worth 10 guineas more. In 1968, the first year of Open tennis, the men’s champion received £2,000; the women’s £750. There was not the same dissent in those days that has been raised in recent years as the All England Club closed the gap but refused to equate the respective prize-moneys. Last year, the difference was £30,000, with the men’s winner, Roger Federer, earning £655,000.

Phillips stated that the cost to the All England Club of bringing equality will be £600,000 and that the decision taken on Wednesday night was unanimous.

"We believe it will help Wimbledon's reputation. Every year we analyse in considerable detail the relevant factors, both social issues and market data, and then the committee makes a judgment which they believe is right for Wimbledon.

"We believed that since we wanted to make a further increase on prize money that it was so close (between the men and women amounts) that the time was right to equalise fully.

Last year Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, joined the Lawn Tennis Association, the governing body of British tennis, and the Women's Tennis Association, in calling for an end to the inequality.

However, Phillips said that he did not believe Wimbledon's previous position was morally indefensible.

"We think now is absolutely the right time to make this move. We have a reputation both for the championships and for the All England Club and we have to look after that.

"We always want the top players to enjoy coming here. It's been a problem in that we don't want them to feel bad about things. We looked at all the options and decided this was right for Wimbledon.

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Women’s tennis Wimbledon history and records

Women’s singles started to be played at Wimbledon in 1884, seven years after the foundation of the tournament. Women’s doubles and mixed doubles were first played in 1913. Here are some facts and records:

Youngest singles winner was Charlotte (Lottie) Dodwho won Wimbledon in 1887 at the age of 15 years, 285 days. Later on she won four more Wimbledon titles, in 1888, 1891, 1892, 1893.

It’s unbelievable how times have changed. Take a look at Dod’s tennis outfit! I'm speechless.

And note this: besides playing tennis she was a member of the national field hockey team, British Amateur golf champion in 1904 and the archery silver medalist at the 1908 Olympics.

The youngest ever player at Wimbledon was Mita Klimaof Austria, who was 13 years old in the 1907 singles competition.

Martina Hingis was the youngest doubles winner, being only 15 years, 282 days old when she became a champion in 1996.

First African-American winner: In 1957 Althea Gibson became the first African-American to win a Wimbledon singles championship, and defended her title a year later. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the "color barrier".

Chris Evert Lloyd was the last married woman to win singles, that happened in 1981. She was also a player with most runner-up positions at Wimbledon, 7.

The shortest person to compete in Wimbledon was Miss C.G. Hoahing who was just 4 feet 9 inches / 1.45 meters.

And here’s the absolute queen MARTINA NAVRATILOVA holds five records! She has most singles titles, as much as 9 (1978, 1979, 1982–1987, 1990)! She has most consecutive singles titles, 6! Navratilova also holds the record for the largest number of matches played she played 326 matches at Wimbledon. Along with Billie Jean King, Martina was also the winner of most Wimbledon titles, having 20 of them. In addition, she was the oldest champion winning the mixed doubles title in 2003 at the age of 46 years, 8 months.

Most doubles and mixed doubles titles belong to Elizabeth Ryan who won 12 doubles titles, and 7 mixed doubles. She also won 5 consecutive doubles titles, which is the record that she shares with Suzanne Lenglen.

Venus Williams and Serena Williams were the lowest seeded winners of Wimbledon..

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The Women of Wimbledon Are Women of the World

Grunting seems to be a hot topic in women’s tennis these days, but if there’s a word that describes women’s tennis better than ‘loud’, surely it’s ‘international’. It seems like players come from a wider range of countries than ever.

It’s no exception at this year’s Wimbledon, where the end of the first week means that only 16 of 128 women remain in the ladies’ singles draw. If you’ve been following women’s tennis, you probably guessed—correctly—that many of the remaining women are from the United States, Russia or Serbia—or have been asked about them. Their responses are often varied, ranging from the mildly amusing to the seriously informative and the absolutely zany.

Russia

The Russians are not coming in the world of women’s tennis, they’re already here. Half of the women in the top 10 are Russian.

Serena Williams, World No. 2, isn’t likely intimidated though. For one thing she has more Grand Slam titles than all of them combined in a sport where that number is often used to quantify tennis greatness. Serena isn’t lonely either since she’s joined in the top 10 by her older sister Venus, who’s World No. 3. One thing Serena is, by her own admission, is confused.

“Everyone is from Russia,” she said. “Sometimes I think I’m from Russia too… All these new ‘ova’s—I don’t really recognize anyone.”

While you can’t always count on Serena to be gracious in a post-match interview, you can generally count on her to be newsworthy. Naturally journalists prodded her for more.

“So are you saying you came to Compton when you were seven years old from Russia?” one journalist asked.

Serena happily obliged: “I think I am, and I think my name must be ‘Williamsova’.”

When told about Serena’s statements, No. 4-ranked Elena Dementieva chuckled before giving her take on why the Russian army has invaded the top of women’s tennis: “We have a very tough competition, and that’s what makes us work hard and improve our game. I think it’s always good to have lots of girls practicing all together trying to be the best one. It always helps with the motivation.”

USA

While it’s not surprising that four of the remaining 16 women in the singles draw are Russian, it’s shocking that three of them are American. People expect two—not more, not less. Few expect an American woman whose last name isn’t ‘Williams’ to make it to the second week of a Grand Slam.

Definitely not a 17-year-old who’s ranked No. 124 and who had to make her way through a qualifying tournament just to get to Wimbledon. Her name is Melanie Oudin, and she beat former World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the third round.  The big win made it to the MSN home page. (The headline was suitably dramatic—‘Stunner: Former No. 1 upset by teen at Wimbledon’.)

Tennis watchers aren’t the only ones who focus on the Williams sisters. Just ask Oudin. Recounting memories of watching her first Wimbledon on TV, she said, “When I started playing tennis, I saw Venus and Serena Williams playing here, and I was like, ‘Mom, I really, really want to play there one day.’”

Venus, for her part, called Oudin’s victory “super good news” and described Oudin as “super nice” and “very well-adjusted.”

That, however, isn’t why the French apparently tried to claim Oudin as one of their own.

“There’s a group of French journalists behind the Americans,” said one journalist. “They’re claiming you today. You have more a French name than American name.”

Oudin cleared things up: “My last name is French. But I’m totally American, for sure.”

Serbia

The woman Oudin beat is from Serbia. Where women’s tennis is concerned, Serbia has probably gotten more attention than any other country the past few years. There are two reasons for this, and their names are Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic.

Just about every article that goes into their background mentions that Ivanovic grew up playing tennis in an abandoned swimming pool during the time of the NATO bombings in the 1990s. (Why should this article be the exception?)

At Wimbledon last year they were the top two seeds. Recently both women have seen a decline in their rankings (and their confidence). Ivanovic, who beat Australian Sam Stosur to get to get to the fourth round, is ranked No. 12, and Jankovic, who lost to Oudin in the third round, is ranked No. 6.

Still there’s no denying their talent. Many believe—or at least hope—their rankings will improve and they’ll win more Grand Slams.

Either way they’ve put Serbia on the tennis map. Jankovic was asked why Serbia’s seeing its athletes succeed in various sports.

“I think we’re quite talented,” Jankovic said, laughing. Ever the entertainer, she continued, “I don’t know how to explain it. But we have… the talent in us. We have that… hunger. We are big fighters. We want to be the best that we can. We don’t really accept… second places.”

China

What about China? Seeing as how it’s the most populous nation in the world, shouldn’t it get some mention? Fret not—No. 14-ranked Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat two Chinese players in a row, has China covered.

After a competitive third-round victory over China’s Na Li, Radwanska said, “She’s very good player, so I didn’t expect it’s gonna be easy.” Using a broader brush to sketch out the rest of the explanation, she added, “Against Chinese is always very difficult.”

At Wimbledon, it was apparently easier this year than last. This year none of the Chinese women made it past the third round. Last year Jie Zheng surprised many—and perhaps herself most of all—by making it all the way to the semifinals (beating top-ranked Ivanovic along the way).

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Wimbledon Women's Final 2009: Serena Wins Battle of Williams Sisters

WIMBLEDON, England -- Venus and Serena Williams won in contrasting fashion Thursday to set up their fourth all-sister Wimbledon final and eighth meeting in a Grand Slam title match.

Two-time champion Serena saved a match point and overcame Elena Dementieva 6-7 (4), 7-5, 8-6 in 2 hours, 49 minutes -- the longest women's semifinal at Wimbledon in at least 40 years. Five-time winner Venus, meanwhile, needed only 51 minutes to demolish Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0 and reach her eighth Wimbledon final.

"Oh, my God, this is my eighth final, and it's a dream come to true to be here again and have the opportunity to hold the plate up," Venus said.

The sisters -- with 17 Grand Slam titles between them -- will face each other Saturday in a Fourth of July final.

"A fourth final -- it's so exciting. It was so hard before my match to watch all that drama," Venus said, referring to Serena's semifinal. "It was so difficult. But the hardest part is next to come, to play Serena Williams."

One Williams or the other has won seven of the past nine championships at the All England Club. Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and '03 finals, and Venus came out on top against her younger sister last year.

"All I know is a Williams is going to win," said the sisters' father, Richard.

Venus is bidding to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row.

There have been seven previous all-Williams championship matches at majors, with Serena holding a 5-2 lead. Overall, the sisters are 10-10.

"I'm happy for her to be in the final, but I have to face her and defeat her," Venus said. "I don't necessarily want her to lose, but for sure I want me to win. I don't want to see myself disappointed. I need to get my titles, too. I'm still the big sister, but I'm still going to play great tennis."

The Serena-Dementieva match was the longest women's Wimbledon semifinal by time since 1969; records are incomplete before then. Venus' win was the most one-sided women's semifinal since Billie Jean King beat Rosie Casals by the same score in 1969. The last time a semifinal ended 6-0, 6-0 was in 1925.

After Serena's tense, drama-filled escape against Dementieva, Venus barely broke a sweat against Safina. The Russian is ranked and seeded No. 1 despite never having won a Grand Slam tournament. Safina won only 20 points and was completely outclassed by the third-seeded Venus, who has been playing some of her best grass-court tennis at this tournament.

"She's just too good on grass," Safina said. "It's not my favorite surface, and it's her favorite surface. I think she gave me a pretty good lesson today."

"I don't know if there's such a thing as perfect for an athlete, but I felt happy with it," Venus said. "And I felt like my performance has been building each round better and better. ... I think the score just showed my level of play. I was just dictating on every point."

In the 10th game of the final set, Serena faced match point on her serve with Dementieva ahead 5-4. Serena chose to attack, coming forward and hitting a backhand volley that skipped off the net cord and into the open court for a winner.

"I thought ace," Serena said. "It's my serve, if I can just stay calm. I was just trying to think positive."

Dementieva said: "The only regret I have, maybe I should take a little bit more risk on match point, should go down the line."

It was Serena's eighth straight win in a Grand Slam semifinal going back to the 2003 French Open. She is 14-2 overall in Grand Slam semifinals.

It was almost too much to handle for father Richard, who watched with other family members and friends in the guest box.

"Serena nearly gave me a heart attack," he said. "Venus played as if she had someplace to go and she was in a major league hurry to get a great dinner."

Serena served 20 aces -- the most for a woman at Wimbledon since 2000 -- and had 45 winners and 28 unforced errors. Dementieva produced 27 winners, 26 errors and eight double-faults.

"That was the best match we ever played against each other," Dementieva said. "It was a real fight from the beginning until the end. I feel like I finally played some good tennis here. It was not easy to fight against her. She's a great champion. She was serving very well today. I wasn't sure if it's Serena or Andy Roddick on the other side.

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Serena JamekaWilliams is Wimbledon 2009 Women’s Singles Champion!

Serena Jameka Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. She is of African American heritage and is one of five sisters: Lyndrea, Yetunde (died September 14, 2003), Isha, and Venus. Her mother raised Williams and her other daughters as members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group. When the children were young, the family moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, where Williams started playing tennis at the age of four. Her father home-schooled Williams and her sister Venus. To this end, Williams was and remains coached by both her parents.

Williams reached the top ten on the WTA world rankings for the first time in 1999 when she won several tournaments, including her first Grand Slam victory at the US Open at the age of 17. Between 2002 and 2003, Williams won five of the six Grand Slam events she entered, becoming the fifth woman in history to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. She became the World Number 1 for the first time in July 2002.

Williams' domination of the sport came to an abrupt end in mid-2003 when she had surgery to repair a partial tear in a knee tendon.rUpon her return to the sport in 2004, her results were noticeably less consistent than previously. In early 2005, she won her first Grand Slam title in 18 months at the Australian Open, but a string of injuries then limited her to competing in just 13 events in the two years that followed, winning none of them. Her standing in the world rankings suffered as a result, the nadir being World Number 140 in July 2006, leading to widespread speculation that she had passed her peak. Williams, however, eventually won another Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2007, despite being ranked World Number 81 at the time. Williams returned to the top ten later that year and has since competed in every Grand Slam event. She became the World Number 1 for the first time in five years in September 2008. She was named female athlete of 2009 by the Associated Press.

Williams is the younger sister of fellow former World Number 1 professional female tennis player Venus Williams. They have played each other in 23 professional matches dating back to 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches as of October 2009.

Williams' aggressive style of play results in a relatively high number of unforced errors. This 'high risk' style is balanced in part by her serve, which combines great power and placement with very high consistency. Although many think of Williams as only an offensive player, she also plays a strong defensive game.

Williams started playing professional tennis in September 1995. Her first professional event was the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, where she was defeated in less than an hour of play and earned US$240 in prize money.

Williams did not play any tournaments in 1996. In 1997, she played at several tournaments but failed to win a main-draw match until October at the Ameritech Cup Chicago. Ranked World No. 304, she upset both former World No. 1 Monica Seles and Mary Pierce, recording her first career wins over Top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the open era to defeat two Top 10 opponents in one tournament.

Williams began 1998 at the Medibank International Sydney. As a qualifier, ranked World No. 96, she defeated World No. 3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the semifinals.

Williams was forced to withdraw from the 2002 Australian Open due to injury, but won her first title of the year at the State Farm Women's Tennis Classic in Scottsdale, USA, defeating Martina Hingis in the semifinals and Jennifer Capriati in the final.

At the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, Williams defeated Amelie Mauresmo 6–2, 6–1 in the semifinals to make the final for the first time. There, she again defeated defending champion Venus 7–6(4), 6–3 to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set for the first time. This victory earned Williams the World No. 1 ranking, dethroning her sister and succeeding her as the second African-American woman to hold the top ranking on the WTA).The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at the tournament, the fifth Grand Slam title for the pair in women's doubles.

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Roger Federer “the real hero“ In 2009 Wimbledon final

Roger Federer was born 8 August 1981 in Binningen, near Basel, to Swiss national Robert Federer and South Africa-born Lynette Du Rand. He holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He grew up in suburban Münchenstein, near Basel, close to the French-German borders and Federer speaks Swiss German, German, French and English fluently. Like all male Swiss citizens, Federer was subject to compulsory military service in the Swiss Armed Forces. However, in 2003 he was deemed unfit due to a long-standing back problem and was subsequently not required to fulfill his obligations.

As of 4 April 2010, he is ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), having previously held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks.

Federer is married to former Women's Tennis Association player Mirka Vavrinec. They met while competing for Switzerland in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. They were married in Basel on 11 April 2009, surrounded by a small group of close friends and family at Wenkenhof Villa. On 23 July 2009, Mirka gave birth to twin girls, Myla Rose and Charlene Riva.

Roger Federer's first tournament as a professional was Gstaad in 1998, which he faced Lucas Arnold Ker in the Round of 32, and he lost 4–6, 4–6. Federer's first win was at the 2000 Milan Indoor tournament, which he defeated Julien Boutter by a score of 6–4, 6–7(7), 6–4.

In the 2003 season, Federer won his first slam at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, beating Mark Philippoussis 7–6(5), 6–2, 7–6(3). Federer won his first and only doubles Masters Series 1000 Event in Miami with Max Mirnyi, and made it to one singles Masters Series 1000 Event in Rome on clay, which he lost.

During the 2004 season, Federer won three slams for the first-time in his career, which the first hard court title came at the Australian Open over Marat Safin in 7–6(3), 6–4, 6–2, and he would go onto with his second Wimbledon crown over Andy Roddick in 4–6, 7–5, 7–6(3), 6–4.

In the 2005 season, Federer failed to reach the finals of the first two slams, losing the Australian Open semi-final to eventual champion Marat Safin and the French Open semi-final to champion Rafael Nadal. However, Federer quickly reestablished his dominance on grass, winning the Wimbledon Championships over Andy Roddick 6–2, 7–6(2), 6–4. At the US Open Federer defeated Andre Agassi in the latter's last slam final with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 7–6(1), 6–1.However, Federer would take four ATP Masters Series 1000 wins: Indian Wells, Miami, and Cincinnati on hard court surfaces and a lone clay court title at Hamburg. Furthermore, Federer won two ATP 500 series events at Rotterdam and Dubai. Federer would lose the Year-End Championships to David Nalbandian rin the final.

In the year of 2006, Federer won three slams and reached all four slam finals, with the only loss coming against Rafael Nadal in the French Open in 6–1, 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(4). This was the two men's first meeting in a slam final.Federer defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon Championships final by a score of 6–0, 7–6(5), 6–7(2), 6–3, which this was the start of their storied rivalry.

In the 2007 season, Roger Federer made all four slam finals, winning three of them, which those are the Australian Open over Fernando González in 7–6(2), 6–4, 6–4, Wimbledon Championships over Rafael Nadal for the second time in 7–6(7), 4–6, 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–2 and at the US Open over Novak Djokovic in 7–6(4), 7–6(2), 6–4, but Federer did lose the 2007 French Open to Nadal in 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6.

Throughout the 2008 year, Federer won one slam, which came at the 2008 US Open over Briton Andy Murray, where he defeated Murray in straight sets 6–2, 7–5, 6–2.

In the 2009 season, Roger Federer won two slams, which were the Frrench Open victory over Robin Soderling in 6–1, 7–6(1), 6–4 and the Wimbledon Championships victory over Andy Roddick 5–7, 7–6(6), 7–6(5), 3–6, 16–14.

So far in the 2010 season, Roger Federer has played in five tournaments, with a win coming at the Australian Open. In the final, Federer defeated Briton Andy Murray by a score of 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(11), whom he also beat in the 2008 US Open final.
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Wimbledon Championships events – Wimbledon tickets 2010

What is Wimbledon Event…?

Wimbledon is one of four major tennis tournaments that take place every year. These four championships are called the Grand Slam or the Majors, and they’re the most important yearly tennis events, they determine players, rankings and account for the highest prize money.

When and where is The Wimbledon…?

Wimbledon is an annual event. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments that take place across the year along with the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open, though becoming champion at Wimbledon is usually the most sought after crown for any professional tennis player!

Named after the town in which the tournament is played, Wimbledon is in south west London in the south of England and it is held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The tournament takes place every year over a period of two weeks covering late June and early July, ending up with the match for the title of ladies’ singles champion on the last Saturday, and gentlemen’s singles champion on the last Sunday.

In 2010 the Wimbledon Championships will be held between Monday 21 June and Sunday 4 July.

A History of Wimbledon

No other tennis tournament can claim to have as much history as Wimbledon because this is the oldest tennis tournament in the world! Wimbledon has been held since 1877 and was the birthplace of lawn tennis. Though there is other lawn tennis tournaments held around the world, Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam tournament to be held on grass.

The Championships, Wimbledon are held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club which is a private club that was established in 1868.

In the ‘Open Era, from 1968 onwards the most successful man has been Pete Sampras who won Wimbledon a staggering 7 times, however Swiss player Roger Federer is hot on his heals and only needs one more win to equal Sampras’ seven titles. Win Wimbledon, doing so in 1977, while Martina Navratilova is the most successful woman of all time because she won the title nine times.

Tickets for Wimbledon

Though demand for Wimbledon tickets is high, there are several ways in which you could get to see some live action.

To be in with a chance of visiting The Championships for a whole day you need to enter the Public Ballot. This involves sending in an application during a specific time period, and applicants are selected by ballot. For the 2010 Championships the ballot dates have now passed, but you can find out more information on applying for 2010 on the Official Wimbledon website like premierevents.co.uk

The second option is to queue outside Wimbledon to be in with a chance of buying one of 500 tickets that are sold daily for Centre, Number 1 and Number 2 Courts or you can buy general admission tickets to give you entrance into the club. With general admission you can watch matches on other courts where seating is not designated, or queue again inside to buy returns for the top three courts. These are tickets that have been handed back when people have left Wimbledon for the day.

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Most famous grounds where “Wimbledon Tennis” is usually playing

The main show courts, Centre Court and No. 1 Court, are normally used only for two weeks a year, during the Championships, but play can extend into a third week in exceptional circumstances. The remaining seventeen courts are regularly used for other events hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The show courts will, however, be pressed into action for the second time in three months in 2012 as Wimbledon will host the tennis events of the 2012 Olympic Games.

Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. At one time, all the Grand Slam events, except the French Open, were played on grass. The US Open abandoned grass for synthetic clay surface in 1975 and changed again to a hard surface with its 1978 move to the National Tennis Center. r

The principal court, Centre Court, was opened in 1922 when the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club moved from Worple Road to Church Road. This change of venue was due to the huge crowd pressure at Worple Road to see the French phenomenon Suzanne Lenglen, and for which that ground proved completely inadequate.r

Due to the possibility of rain during Wimbledon, a retractable roof was installed prior to the 2009 Championship. The retractable roof is designed to close/open in about 10 minutes and will be closed primarily to protect play from inclement weather during The Championships. When the roof is being opened or closed, play is suspended. During a Wimbledon Championship match, the first time the roof was closed was on Monday 29 June 2009, involving Amélie Mauresmo and Dinara Safina. The court has a capacity of 15,000. At its south end is the Royal Box, from which members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries watch matches. Centre Court usually hosts the finals and semifinals of the main events, as well as many matches in the earlier rounds involving top-seeded players or local favorites.

From 2009, a new No. 2 Court is being used at Wimbledon with a capacity for 4,000 people. To obtain planning permission, the playing surface is around 3.5m below ground level, ensuring that the single-story structure is only about 3.5m above ground level, and thus not affecting local views. Plans to build on the current site of Court 13 were dismissed due to the high capacity of games that will be played at the 2012 Olympic Games. The old No. 2 Court has been renamed as Court No. 3. The old No. 2 Court was known as the "Graveyard of Champions" because many highly seeded players were eliminated there during early rounds over the years. The court has a capacity of about 3,000.

At the northern end of the grounds is a giant television screen on which important matches are broadcast. Fans watch from an area of grass officially known as the Aorangi Terrace. When British players do well at Wimbledon, the hill attracts fans for them, and is often re-named by the press for them: Greg Rusedski's followers convened at "Rusedski Ridge", and Timr Henman has had the hill nicknamed Henman Hill. As both of them have now retired and Andy Murray is the number 1 British player, the hill is now sometimes referred to as "Murray Mound" or "Murrayfield", as a reference to his Scottish heritage and the Scottish ground of the same name.

The second most important court is No. 1 Court. The court was constructed in 1997 to replace the old No. 1 Court, which was adjacent to Centre Court. The old No. 1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The court was said to have had a unique, more intimate atmosphere and was a favorite of many players. The new No. 1 Court has a capacity of approximately 11,000.

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Wimbledon Tennis from 1877 to 2010

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded in 1868, originally as 'The All England Croquet Club'. This first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon.

In the spring of 1877, the club was re-titled 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws was drawn up for the event. Today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net andThe All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club is a private club founded in 1868, originally as 'The All England Croquet Club'. This first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon.

In the spring of 1877, the club was re-titled 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws was drawn up for the event. Today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net.

The only event held in 1877 was the Gentlemen's Singles, which was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, from a field of 22. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.

In 1882, activity at the club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word 'croquet' was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons, it was restored in 1889 and since then the title has remained The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Ladies doubles and mixed doubles were added in 1913. Until 1922, the reigning champion had to play only in the final, against whoever had won through to challenge him. Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players until the advent of the open era in tennis in 1968. No British man has won the singles event at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 and no British woman has won the Ladies Singles since Virginia Wade in 1977, although Annabel Croft and Laura Robson won the girls' championship in 1984 and 2008, respectively. The Championship was first televised in 1937.

Wimbledon is widely considered to be the premier tennis tournament in the world and the priority of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts The Championships, is to maintain its leadership into the 21st century.

The Wimbledon Event 2010 will take place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, from Monday 21 June through to Sunday 4 July 2010. It will be the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year.

Each year, the tournament begins on the Monday falling between 20 and 26 June. Wimbledon begins two weeks after the Queen's Club Championships, which is one of the men's major warm-up tournaments for Wimbledon. The other women's warm-up tournament for Wimbledon is Birmingham, also in England. And to bring the grass court season to an end after the Championships each year there is a tournament held overseas at Newport, Rhode Island, US.

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