Jon Wertheim's Midterm Wimbledon Grades

Check out Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim's midterm Wimbledon grades.

American Oudin Shocks Jankovic

By Mike McIntyre

Seventeen year old American qualifier Melanie Oudin has proven to be the surprise story of the women's draw at Wimbledon this year as she knocked off sixth seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday. Oudin is listed at 5'6'' and reminds me of Justin Henin in terms of her physique. While not physically imposing, Oudin used a versatile arsenal of shots and a well disguised drop shot to upset the former world number one.

Oudin had set points in the first set tie break, but was unable to capitalize and lost the breaker by a score of 10-8. After taking the first set, Jankovic took a thirteen minute medical timeout and was visited by both a trainer and doctor who took her blood pressure. This lengthy delay caused ESPN's Brad Gilbert to remark how such prolonged breaks should be banned. Gilbert felt quite strongly that if a player is unfit to play they should lose the match. Speaking about what happened Jankovic had the following to say:

"After the first set, I felt really dizzy, and I thought that I was just gonna end up in the hospital. I started to shake. I was losing my ‑ how you say ‑ consciousness. I didn't know. I was really gonna lose it, you know, to fall down and just, you know, probably go ‑‑ call the ambulance and leave the court. But I came back. Like I started to feel a little bit better."

The two traded several breaks of serve in the second set, and at one point Oudin was two points away from defeat. Down 4-5, 15-30 she used a sneaky dropshot hit from well behind the baseline to confound Jankovic. Oudin took control of the match in the third set as Jankovic whithered away.

Ranked outside the top hundred players in the world coming in to the tournament, Oudin will see quite a jump after her success here this week. She will next face the eleventh seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated Na Li 6-4, 7-5.

In her press conference after the match, Oudin seemed unfazed by the success she has experienced thus far at her first Wimbledon.

"Yeah, uhm, you know, I went out there and actually did really well. Was just thinking that she was any other player and this was any other match and I was at any other tournament, you know, not like on the biggest stage at Wimbledon playing my first top 10 player."

Not since the Williams sisters broke through has a young American woman enjoyed such success at a Grand Slam. Oudin has already proven herself in Fed Cup action for the United States when she won the opening match against Argentina in February. Regardless of how far she continues to advance at Wimbledon, Oudin has given American tennis and unexpected shot in the arm.

Hewitt Returns to Form at Wimbledon

By Mike McIntyre

2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt is displaying strong grass-court form as he knocked off number five seed Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to advance to the third round.

"Oh, it was a big win. I wanted to beat a top‑five guy," Hewitt stated after the match. "These are the places you want to do it, too."

Despite practicing together on numerous occasions, it was the first career meeting between the two and Hewitt used his experience to knock off the twenty year old Argentine who falls to 3-3 in his career at the All England Club.

Speaking about Del Potro's inexperience on grass, Hewitt said, "Yeah, he's an exceptional player, he's a very talented player, but he's still a little bit raw. I had to try and take advantage of that as much as possible."

Del Potro rated his own play as an 8/10 which may sound surprising given his straight sets loss, but he gave much credit to Hewitt's play after the match.

With a wide open top section of the draw, Hewitt should be able to advance to the quarter-finals where he will likely face American Andy Roddick. The absence of world number one Rafael Nadal has certainly provided a nice opportunity to advance deep into a Grand Slam for the first time in years for Hewitt. He last advanced to a Grand Slam quarter-final at the U.S Open in 2006.

Hewitt Press Conference Transcript

Del Potro Press Conference Transcript

Agassi Still Connected to Tennis

An enjoyable read about Andre Agassi's future involvement in the sport. The eight time Grand Slam champion will hit the courts this summer as part of World Team Tennis. How long until we see some exhibition matches between Agassi and Sampras I wonder?

Federer Advances to Third Round at Wimbledon

A transcript of Roger Federer's post-match press conference after defeating Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at Wimbledon on Wednesday 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

Federer Makes Fashion Statement at Wimbledon

Unlike last year's cardigan, Roger Federer's fashion statement at Wimbledon this year is not receiving glowing reviews. Check out the following link for some articles and assessments of his latest new accessories.

 

What's Up With James Blake?

James Blake's first round loss at Wimbledon to Andreas Seppi was the shock of the first day. In his most recent Tennis Mailbag, Sports Illustrated's L. Jon Wertheim responds to Blake's struggles.

Sharapova Ousted At Wimbledon

By Mike McIntyre

Maria Sharapova was defeated in the 2nd round of Wimbledon on Wednesday for the second year in a row. The Russian went down 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 against Gisela Dulko. Sharapova, the 2004 Wimbledon champ, still has a long way to go towards regaining her form after a nine month layoff from shoulder surgery. While this one will be called an upset, Sharapova has only played in four tournaments since returning to the tour.

Press Conference Transcript

Safin One Step Closer to Retirement

Russian enigma Marat Safin lost in four sets on Tuesday to unseeded American qualifier Jesse Levine, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Not only does Safin get one step closer to his impending retirement, but he also loses a pile of ranking points from his semi-final run a year ago at Wimbledon.

Check out the full press conference transcript from the official Wimbledon website. It offers up such gems as the following:

Q. How do you feel?

MARAT SAFIN: Relieved. Pretty much relieved (smiling).

Doesn't sound like a guy who's having any second thoughts.

Serena's Hungry for More Than Just Wimbledon Title

I got a kick out of Serena Williams' most recent blog posting. It seems she is none too pleased about the locker room food restrictions.

You would think there have to be more important issues to blog about as Wimbledon begins.