It's another angst-filled loss for Serena Williams at a Grand Slam, this time at Wimbledon

HEY, THEY ALL PLAY BETTER WHEN THEY PLAY ME

WIMBLEDON

How many angst-filled, stunningly premature losses does Serena Williams suffer

before it becomes not a shocker, but a trend?

Arrogance, she just cannot bow out gracefully

A sorry way to end a career

"I'm still number ONE in my own eyes"

Because with her 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat at the hands of No. 25 seed Alizé Cornet of France in the third round at Wimbledon Saturday, that makes her three-for-three in Grand Slams – this season.

A fourth-round loss to Ana Ivanovic in Australia, a second-round shocker against Garbiñe Muguruza in Paris, and now a third-round loss to Cornet after a long day of waiting out the rain at Wimbledon.

When she first came into the interview room, it appeared old Serena might show up – downcast eyes, halfhearted shrugs, non-answers and three-word sentences.

Her first answer: "I don’t know. I tried and it just didn’t work out." Shrug. Awkward silence.

But as it went along, it was clear Williams did want to hash it out a little, because she was truly at a loss to explain the loss.

"In Australia, I just couldn’t play. In Paris, I played really bad. Here, I thought I played better. I came into the tournament in better form. I thought I was doing pretty decent," she said. "I think I’m going to have to watch this film to see what I can do better, and see what went wrong."

Several times during the press conference Williams brought up the notion that every one of her opponents completely plays above her level, plays the match of their life against her.

Against her. Not against anyone else. Just against her.

"The changes I need to make are mostly within, just try to see why I’m making some errors. But it’s difficult; if I’m not playing a great, great match these girls play me as though they’re on the ATP Tour, and they play other girls completely different," she said. "It’s not easy to be in my shoes, but you’ve got to be ready."

Williams said it's always been that way, in her opinion. But for whatever reason, it seems to be getting to her now. Maybe it's that she's getting older – the nerves under pressure can be the first vulnerability. Maybe it's because she's so far ahead of the rest of the field in the rankings that there's not that urgency.

She truly did not know why she lost. It wasn't Cornet's drop shots. It might have been that she didn't serve all that well, or made a few too many errors.

Because this time, it wasn't that she had physical issues as she did in Australia, and as she did in losing to Cornet the last time they met, this past winter in Dubai. It wasn't that she just had a bad day.

"Red Soles in the Sunset"

Roger Federer was only on the court for 68 minutes on Monday, but that was long enough for Wimbledon's Powers That Be to decide his orange-soled shoes don't pass muster for the tournament. As a result, the All England Club has ordered the seven-time Wimbledon champion to change his shoes for his Wednesday match.

The club requires players to don all white, and permits only the smallest modifications to that template. Federer's bright orange soles ran afoul of that requirement, according to the Daily Mail, which suggested that Serena Williams may have received similar orders.

Federer is paid an estimated $10 million a year by Nike, which outfits him in a different set of scripted attire each tournament. Manufacturers must submit their proposed designs to the All England Club at least 90 days before the tournament begins. However, footwear often isn't included in that scripting.

Obviously, a player's shoes are one of the most important components of his or her game. But we're fairly certain that a) Federer can come up with a compliant pair and b) he could play in shoeboxes, wooden clogs or bare feet and still make the semifinals.

Roger Federer wins 7th Wimbledon title

By CHRIS LEHOURITES 

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Once the Centre Court roof was closed, nothing could stop Roger Federer from winning his record-tying seventh Wimbledon title.

The 30-year-old Federer finally equaled Pete Sampras' record at the All England Club, and won his 17th Grand Slam title overall, by beating Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 Sunday.

"I'm happy that closing the roof maybe helped me today, because I wasn't sure if that was going to help me or not," Federer said.

Once Murray's forehand landed wide on match point, Federer collapsed to the grass with tears welling in his eyes. He got up quickly and shook hands with Murray at the net.

Up in the players' box, Federer's wife and twin daughters cheered and smiled as he took his seat to await yet another Wimbledon trophy presentation.

"When the roof closed, he played unbelievable tennis," Murray said.

Federer is now 17-7 in Grand Slam finals, including 7-1 atWimbledon. Murray dropped to 0-4 in major finals, with three of those losses coming against Federer.

"It's amazing. It equals me with Pete Sampras, who's my hero," said Federer, who lost in the quarterfinals at the All England Club in 2010 and '11. "It just feels amazing."

Just Wondering???

Wimbledon, tennis, I am not a big tennis fan, but generally watch this tournament. Just watched Roger Federer, best Jockovich. Have followed Federer for a few years, he is a "true"  professional, in my bookm has all of the attributes of a champion.

A question, there are three judges on each end of the court, both men and women. The men wear trousers, and the women wear long skirts, all but one woman, she wears slacks, have wondered why. Never got a really good look, could be a long haired man.

Many of the players have their own physicians, masseurs, psychologists and an entourage of many. But, when the come onto the court they are carrying a couple of heavy bags of equipment, clothes, etc, and they look heavy, slung over their shoulders. Same thing when the match is over. Perhaps they just played tennis, under a hot sun, for a few hours, and they have to lug the same equipment off the court. 


The heaviest things a golfer carries is one club, he has a caddy to carry everything else.

Nadal shocked at Wimbledon

To quote the late Jack Buck, "I don't believe what I just saw."

World No. 100 Lukas Rosol stunned two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in one of the biggest upsets in the 135-year history of the tournament. 

Nadal had made the finals in his last five Wimbledon appearances and had played in the last four Grand Slam finals overall. He was 17 days removed from winning the French Open.

The 26-year-old Czech is playing in his first Wimbledon. 

He was 0-5 in qualifying matches at the All England Club and had never won a single ATP match on grass courts since joining the tour in 2005. He had 19 wins in his career. 

Nadal had 41 this year. But behind a powerful serve and fearless returns, Rosol took Nadal deep into a first-set tiebreaker, then refused to fold after dropping it 11-9, winning the next two sets after early breaks.

Observation

Why does Obama feel he needs to fly to Colorado and see the disastrous fires raging out there? What can he actually accomplish, other than causing a great deal of congestion. It seems like any disaster in our country, or for that matter, around the world, has to be visited by some politician who has absolutely nothing to offer.

All presidents and governors have always done the same thing. They have enough "hot air" already, one of the problems they are having. I wonder how many people will be involved in his visit.

"Hey, all you firefighters, stop what you are doing, forget that damned fire, go get showered and cleaned up, be back here in two hours, Obama is coming and we want a nice looking crowd to meet him. Be sure to wash your hands, he will  do a lot of hand shaking. What? Great idea. Clean those shovels up and paint VOTE OBAMA on them."

Better idea, take ALL the Washington politicians out there, give them shovels, and let them work on the fire line. Be nice to see them work for their money for a change.

Federer Bows - Not out, to the Prince of Wales

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer gave Prince Charles a bow, then gave Fabio Fognini a royal thumping.


With the Prince of Wales visiting Wimbledon for the first time since 1970, Federer was at his best Wednesday and beat Fognini 6-1, 6-3, 6-2.

Six-time champion Federer won 37 of 41 points on his first serve, and won 21 of 23 points at the net against Fognini, an Italian ranked 68th.

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall sat in the first row of the Royal Box as Federer walked onto Centre Court for the day's first match. Federer and Fognini stood side by side as they bowed awkwardly toward the royals, and Charles responded with a wave and grin.

"They do brief you beforehand," Federer said. "I guess you don't do anything stupid. You behave. Obviously we were asked to bow, which is obviously no problem to do. We're thrilled for the tennis family that they came to watch Wimbledon today."

When Federer completed his victory, Charles and Camilla joined the crowd's applause.

WOW, I got to see it ................

The three-day Wimbledon contest is finally over, with American John Isner taking the fifth set 70-68 to beat France's Nichoas Mahut in the longest tennis match on record.

Well, I watched it .... I have seen many great sports moments in my time.

Martina when she won that tournament years ago when she was in her last days of competition.

I've seen Jordan play, seen Cousey, watched Nicklaus and Palmer. Recently, Usain Bolt, when he won the hundred in the Olympics, and coasted toward the end of the race. I thought that was the greatest event in sports I had ever seen.

But, today, I saw the greatest sports moment I have ever seen.

Isner won a first round match at Wimbledon, and it took three days, it was something to see. A record breaking match that set all sorts of records that will NEVER be broken, ever.

The only thing I could not figure out was why the Queen left before that match. Maybe she couldn't get a seat.

I hope you all got to watch it, a pleasure to see history made.

Wimbeldon Tennis, a match for all times

I enjoy tennis, not a huge fan, but prefer tennis to a lot of other shows, but, this thing going on over there now is beyond being just a tennis match. I was on the computer yesterday and saw something about the "marathon match," immediately got in on TV and have been glued since.

I watched it till the end yesterday, and actually woke up early this morning  so I wouldn't miss anything, and now sitting here in from of the TV, just waiting. For what, you ask?

"It all started quietly and without fanfare. Over nearly two days and 10 hours of play, the Wimbledon match between Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and American John Isner has become a record-breaking and fan-captivating battle. And it is not over yet. The longest match in Grand Slam history continues today -- the player's third in a row as they attempt to break their historic 59-59 tie. "

The Queen even showed up today for this event. Everyone is there and the eyes of the world are glued to their sets ready to watch this historic event. Martina, one of my sports heroes,  is there, many of the tennis greats of yesteryear, and I imagine a lot of "celebs" will be there, if they can get in.

I hope the match goes on for a little while. Someone will have to win, but I think that both players will be remembered for this match.

I am watching another match, not really paying attention to it, most of the commentary by the announcers pertains to things they have heard that have or are happening because of the "super" match.

The world is paying attention, I hope you are.

I guess I still have a couple of hour wait for it to begin, will get some more coffee.

Federer ... he stands all alone now

Roger Federer WOW, what a match..

Hats off to Andy Roddick. He played the best match of his career, and lost.

I quit watching it a few times, would flip over to other channels, but always went back, and glad I did. Got to see the final shot ......

Don't have to watch much tennis anymore ..... there will never be one like that.

I'm sorry, I just don't care..............

WIMBLEDON, England – Serena Williams fell to her knees on the grass, eyes closed, arms raised, and threw back her head.

After six years, it was her turn to hold up the Venus Rosewater Dish again.

In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena beat her sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Saturday for her third title and 11th Grand Slam championship.

Just make out both checks to "Williams Sisters, Inc," and mail them to Mom and Dad.

I really don't care, waiting for the men's finals ......

The Williams Sisters

I hope they don't make the finals, it ruins a great event for me.

If they do both get to the finals, before the match is even played, they tell the officials, "Just go ahead and make both checks out to Dad, it doeesn't matter who wins."

Sisters playing each other, tight family, who wins, who cares?

If it comes to that, I'm afraid I won't be eating strawberries while they play, I'll just grab a beer and hope a good western is playing.

Maybe it won't come to that ...........

I enjoy watching Roger, but sisters ............ no, and it seems like they have been playing forever....