Pleasant Surprises At Wimbledon
I’m shocked by the relative restraint of the London papers today. Andy Murray is the Final Eight for the first time at Wimbledon and he got there in high style, a comeback from two sets down to take out Richard Gasquet. Centre Court was a wall of sound in the fifth set as Murray beat his foe and the fading light. Yet Tuesday dawns without an overabundance of fawning from the devoted press.
Sign up for my RSS FeedMurray deserves credit. I left the grounds with Murray down two sets. Walking through the crowd watching on “Henman Hill”, there was a natural and palapble level of disappontment, the kind that in England is usually accompanied by a tall pint of Pimm’s. So imagine my surprise when I turned on my hotel TV to see Murray rallying in the third. And then the reports started arriving from folks still on Centre Court, phrases like “You can’t believe the atmosphere,” “The crowd is going crazy,” and “Murray is going to win this!”
The game that advanced Murray, that may elevate him into the ranks of the top players, was the 10th game of the third set. Gasquet had finally broken Murray for a 5-4 lead and came out to serve for the match. Murray quickly struck to 0-40 but Gasquet saved the first two break points. Then, though, the Frenchman double-faulted, Murray was still alive and the reversal had begun.
By the fifth set, Centre Court was engulfed in a roar, Murray was charging and Gasquet, who recall rallied in a similar manner to stun Andy Roddick last year, was asking the chair to halt play. No stay from the governor. And just past 9 in the evening, Murray ran to the court with a flex of the bicep that we hope is never to be repeated. But he gets his “muscle match” with Nadal Wednesday.
The Sisters were terrific Monday. On court, they both handled their assignment with relative ease. Only a brief bobble by Venus when trying to win the last game slowed her progress. Serena easily handled Bethanie Mattek. Both moved well on the grass, looked confident and appear destined for Saturday.
More impressive, though, was how they handled the scheduling. Six Wimbledon titles between them and they were assigned to Court 2, seating capacity 2,130. It was not a decision worthy of champions. And the expected questions were there for both Serena and Venus. With the door opened multiple times for them to criticize the AELTC, neither took the bait. All Serena admitted to was some “surprise.” I have come to expect such class from Venus; Serena’s poise in the moment is newer and quite refreshing.
On Tuesday, Venus draws Tamarine Tanasugarn, age 31, on Court 1 while Serena gets a Centre Court match with Aggie Radwanska, a talented 19-year-old. Different types of opponents but similar in that neither should slow the Sisters Express.
It’s still remarkably dry at Wimbledon; the grass has dried and the courts are browning on the edge. Some rain is predicted for early Wednesday, but it’s one day only as we march through one of the driest Wimbledons in recent history.
Also on Tuesday, the Bryans receive a Centre Court match, following Serena in the men’s doubles. The Sisters, after their singles wins, advanced to the quarters in doubles with an easy win over the Spanish duo of Ruano Pascual and Medina Garrigues. And, top-ranked junior Melanie Oudin, No. 1 seed here, won her first round match Monday. 
