Showing posts with label Wimbledon 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wimbledon 2016. Show all posts

Sunday, 10 July 2016

Andy Murray wins Wimbledon by beating Milos Raonic (Including Full Match Highlights)


Britain's Andy Murray became Wimbledon champion for the second time with a superb performance against Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic in the final.

The Scot, 29, dismantled the Raonic serve in a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) victory to repeat his triumph of 2013 and claim a third Grand Slam title.

Murray is the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon singles titles since Fred Perry in 1935.

"I'm proud to have my hands on the trophy again," said Murray.

This win feels extra special - Murray

Andy Murray wins 2nd Wimbledon title, beating Milos Raonic

Murray gave a famously tearful speech after losing his first Wimbledon final against Roger Federer in 2012.

Twelve months later, he finally ended Britain's 77-year wait for a male champion - and the chance to see him repeat the feat attracted huge attention.

Spectators queued overnight just to grab a spot on Henman Hill, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and former champions Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker were among those watching from the Royal Box.



"This is the most important tournament for me every year," added an emotional Murray.

"I've had some great moments here, but also some tough losses. The win feels extra special because of the tough losses."

Murray was playing his 11th Grand Slam final and for the first time he was the favourite, having faced either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in the previous 10 finals.

He appeared to relish the role, ignoring the magnitude of the occasion to claim a sixth successive win over Raonic.

The 25-year-old Canadian was making his Grand Slam final debut, helped along the way by John McEnroe, who was in the opposite coaching corner to his old rival Ivan Lendl.

Whatever insights those two legends were able to pass on, the final came down, as expected, to a contest between serve and return, with the latter coming out on top.

Raonic went into the match with 137 aces, but it took him five games to add a 138th as Murray dialled in early on the return, just as he had in winning their Queen's Club final three weeks ago.

A blustery wind on Centre Court was not helping the Raonic serve and he was under pressure early on, seeing off two break points before Murray converted a third to lead 4-3.

That was enough to give the Scot the set and he continued to press in the second, earning four chances to break again but finding the net each time.

Raonic was unable to respond, failing to conjure up a single break point, but a tie-break offered the Canadian a chance to serve his way back to level terms.

Murray was having none of it, taking advantage of a slightly fortuitous early break to surge ahead with some magnificent defence and a rasping backhand winner.

At 6-1 down, there was no way back for Raonic - and when Murray clinched his third set point even the implacable Lendl was moved to applaud.

An unexpectedly routine contest came to life at the start of the third set when Raonic finally had two break points, only for a fired-up Murray to play his way out of trouble.

The world number two pumped his fist and roared in the direction of his player box, and when it came down to another tie-break, Murray again found his very best when it counted.

A brilliant backhand winner set him on the way to another 6-1 lead and, with the crowd chanting "Andy! Andy!", he pummelled a forehand into the corner on his second match point that Raonic could only return into the net.

How Murray dealt with Raonic's power

In his previous 10 Grand Slam finals, Murray had only won 67% of his first-serve points - but it was a different story against Raonic as he won 87% of the points behind it.

He was not afraid to direct the majority of his serves to Raonic's strength, the forehand, and incredibly only lost one point when he did so in the match. In fact, over the course of both tie-breaks, Murray directed every first serve to the Raonic forehand.

The fact Murray was able to hold so comfortably throughout the match - he only faced two break points - meant that he could be ultra aggressive when returning.

He was able get 74% of his returns back in play and put pressure on the Raonic serve, which suffered under pressure, especially in the tie-break where the Canadian only won 44% of his service points.

You know he'll get returns back - Raonic

Murray's ability to continually return the huge Raonic serve proved key to his victory.

The Canadian fired down the biggest serve of the tournament at 147mph, but it was still not enough, the Briton winning the point with a brilliant pass.

"He moves incredibly well, he returns well - those are his two biggest strengths, and he's been playing well," said Raonic.

"Every time you play him, you know he's going to get more returns back than anyone else, along with Novak."

Saturday, 9 July 2016

Serena Williams beats Angelique Kerber to win 22nd Grand Slam Wimbledon 2016 Title

Serena Williams
Wimbledon 2016: Serena takes seventh Wimbledon title


World number one Serena Williams beat German fourth seed Angelique Kerber to win a seventh Wimbledon and 22nd Grand Slam title.

The American, 34, coped with a gusty wind on Centre Court to win 7-5 6-3 and equal Steffi Graf's Open era record of major titles.

Kerber had beaten Williams in the Australian Open final in January but could not produce another shock.

Williams ends a losing run at Slams stretching back to Wimbledon last year.

Later on Centre Court, Serena and sister Venus claimed their sixth Wimbledon women's doubles title - and 14th Grand Slam trophy - with a 6-3 6-4 win over Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova.

This court definitely feels like home - Williams



Fourteen years since she first won Wimbledon, Williams claimed the title for a seventh time after dropping just one set all tournament.

Watch The Highlights Below


The world number one banished memories of last year, when she fell two matches short of a historic calendar Grand Slam, and of losing in the Australian and French Open finals this year.

"It's been incredibly difficult not to think about it," she said of finally winning number 22.

"It makes the victory even sweeter to know how hard I worked hard for it.

"This court definitely feels like home, I have a match later today in the doubles, so I'll be back out."

Williams moves alongside German great Graf in the all-time list of Grand Slam singles champions, and just two behind overall leader Margaret Court, the Australian who won 13 of her 24 major titles before tennis turned professional in 1968.

Kerber unable to break Williams


Serena Williams
Serena's 65mph serve followed by a 121mph serve

Williams had tried and failed three times to win her 22nd major singles title but she finally got over the line with a performance that owed as much to nerve as to skill.

Kerber, 28, was the outsider but buoyed by her win over Williams in Melbourne, and the swirling wind added another element of uncertainty to the final.

The German's serve was under pressure immediately but after she saw off three break points in the second game, Kerber managed to contain Williams for the most part with her relentless hitting from corner to corner.

A pumped-up Williams roared in celebration after one lunging volley, and again when three serves got her out of trouble at 5-5, and it was Kerber's resistance which broke first.

After a carefully managed 12 games the German made only her fourth and fifth errors of the set to fall 15-40 behind, before Williams converted her second set point with a thumping backhand into the corner.

Kerber was not about to fold, however, finally earning her first break point of the match at 3-3 in the second set after one hour and 13 minutes - only to watch as Williams hammered a 117mph ace out wide.

And moments later an engrossing final came to a sudden end.

Kerber mis-hit a backhand to drop serve and Williams then powered through her final service game, punching away a forehand volley on match point and falling back on to the Centre Court turf.

Serena's first interview as a 22-time Grand Slam champion

Friday, 8 July 2016

Serena and Venus Williams into Wimbledon 2016 women's doubles final

Serena and Venus Williams
Serena (left) and Venus Williams have won the women's doubles at Wimbledon in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2012


Serena and Venus Williams reached the women's doubles final at Wimbledon with a straight-set victory over Julia Goerges and Karolina Pliskova.

The unseeded American duo, who have won five Wimbledon doubles titles, triumphed 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 on Court One.

They will play Hungary's Timea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan in Saturday's final.

Serena Williams will also play in the women's singles final on Saturday, against Germany's Angelique Kerber.

Milos Raonic beats Roger Federer to reach first Wimbledon 2016 Grand Slam final

Milos Raonic beats Roger Federer
Raonic had lost nine of 11 previous matches against Federer


Canada's Milos Raonic won a thrilling five-set contest to reach his first Grand Slam final and end Roger Federer's hopes of an eighth Wimbledon title for another year.

The big-serving sixth seed won 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 4-6 7-5 6-3 on Centre Court to become the first Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam final.

Raonic, 25, will face Andy Murray or Tomas Berdych in Sunday's final.

Federer, 34, was beaten for the first time in 11 Wimbledon semi-finals.

I showed a lot of emotion - Raonic

Federer appeared to have nullified the Raonic threat and had victory in sight before the Canadian found another level to clinch the biggest win of his career.

He played superbly in the final set, while Federer - playing his second five-set match in three days - required treatment from the trainer twice in the closing stages.

Raonic recently added John McEnroe to his coaching team of Carlos Moya and Ricardo Piatti, and said the American's influence had been significant.

"What he told me was to go out and leave it all out there," Raonic told BBC Sport.

"I showed a lot of emotion, always positive. Mentally I had one of my best matches of my career. He gave me plenty that helped today, so did Carlos Moya. I hope they have a lot more to give me.

"I'll focus on the task at hand. I've by no means done what I came here to do."

Raonic too strong for Federer in decider

Raonic came into the semi-final with the most aces and the fastest serve in the tournament, but Federer appeared to have done the hard work as he pushed for a decisive break in the fourth set.

The Swiss had offered up the first set thanks to only his third double fault of the tournament but took the second with four straight points in the tie-break, and then clinched the third as Raonic's serve started to misfire.

With a tie-break looming in the fourth, the Centre Court crowd was stunned to see seven-time champion Federer double fault twice in succession on his way to letting a 40-0 lead slip, and then steer a forehand into the perfect place for Raonic to fire a backhand past him.

That gave the Canadian the fourth set and, adrenaline now flowing, he took control.

Federer has struggled with injuries this year and came into Wimbledon with a relative lack of matches, and after having treatment to his thigh before the final set, the Swiss needed another visit from the trainer before dropping serve.

Raonic fired a forehand winner to break for 3-1 as Federer tried desperately to stay alive at the net, but once ahead in the set the Canadian was not about to falter, serving his way to a stunning victory.

Wednesday, 6 July 2016

Andy Murray beats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach semis in Wimbledon 2016

Andy Murray beats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga


Andy Murray withstood a dramatic fightback from French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win in five sets and reach his seventh Wimbledon semi-final.

The Briton, seeded second, let slip a two-set lead before coming through a tense contest 7-6 (12-10) 6-1 3-6 4-6 6-1 on Centre Court.

Murray will play Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych in the last four on Friday.

Watch Live Wimbledon 2016 Matches Here

Seven-time champion Roger Federer takes on Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic in the other semi-final.

Third seed Federer came back from two sets down to beat Croatia's Marin Cilic in the opening match on Centre Court, while Raonic saw off American Sam Querrey - conqueror of Novak Djokovic - in four sets on Court One.

Berdych, the 2010 runner-up, beat France's Lucas Pouille 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-2 to set up a 15th meeting with Murray - the Czech trails 8-6.

'It was a great match' - Murray


After the drama of Federer's fight back from two sets down against Cilic, the Centre Court crowd was treated to another classic as Tsonga launched a terrific comeback.

Murray's hopes were seriously threatened when he faced break point early in the fifth set but the 2013 champion dug deep to prevail in three hours and 53 minutes.

"Tsonga's one of the best grass-court players in the world," Murray told BBC Sport.

"He came up with some unbelievable passing shots on the run in big moments, started returning better. He mixed it up well, so credit to him for fighting his way back into the match.

"He played extremely well. That first set was a tough one for him to lose, and I ran away with the second but he fought right until the end and it was a great match."

Tsonga tests Murray to the limit

Murray remains on course to reach a third Wimbledon final but only after surviving the first significant examination of this year's campaign.

The Briton was calling for support from his team and checking his motivational notes at the changeovers as Tsonga launched an impressive fightback in the third and fourth sets.

Murray looked to have done the hard work when he saved three set points on his way to clinching a dramatic opening tie-break after 77 minutes.

Tsonga, 31, had beaten the Scot just once in the last eight years and never on grass, and the second set disappeared in just 25 minutes as Murray apparently closed in on victory.

However, the Frenchman began to fire on serve, giving him the confidence to attack the net and take on the Murray second serve with his huge forehand.

That tactic brought Tsonga the only break of the third set and, despite a heavy fall at the start of the fourth, he continued to look the more threatening of the two players.

Murray, so assured through his first four matches, was now on edge and even a potentially decisive break for 4-2 could not settle him, Tsonga breaking straight back with another heavy forehand winner.

When two winners flew from the usually weaker Tsonga backhand on break points, Murray found it hard to contain his frustration, and a brilliant pass down the line helped the 12th seed level at two sets all.

A second Centre Court comeback of the day loomed when the Frenchman earned a break point at the start of the decider but he could only find the net with a backhand, and a relieved Murray finally regained control.

The Scot began to find his range on the forehand and closed in on the net to break for 2-0, before powering into a 5-0 lead and serving out after nearly four hours.

Tuesday, 5 July 2016

Venus & Serena Williams through to semi-finals at Wimbledon 2016

Venus Williams
Venus beats Shvedova to reach semi-finals

Five-time champion Venus Williams reached the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time since 2009 with victory over Kazakhstan's Yaroslava Shvedova.

Eighth seed Williams - at 36 the oldest Grand Slam semi-finalist for 22 years - beat unseeded Shvedova 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

An all-Williams final remains possible after top seed Serena beat Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 6-4.

In Thursday's semis, Serena will play Russia's Elena Vesninaand Venus will take on Germany's Angelique Kerber.

"We don't really talk too much about it but we are playing doubles later, so we are just happy to be in the semi-finals," Serena told BBC Sport.

Asked about a potential final meeting, she added: "It will be great. Venus is such a tough opponent I want her to win so bad - not in the final if I am there, but if I'm not, I do."

Kerber, the fourth seed, beat Romanian fifth seed Simona Halep 7-5 7-6 (7-2) in the opening match on Centre Court.

Unseeded Russian Vesnina thrashed Slovakian 19th seed Cibulkova 6-2 6-2 in the remaining quarter-final on court one.

Top seed Serena finding top form

Serena Williams
Serena Williams powers to victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova - 5 best shots

Serena Williams' presence in the semi-finals is far less of a surprise than that of her sister, but the world number one needed to be at her best to see off Pavlyuchenkova.

The American, 34, converted the only two break points of a desperately tight contest, the first with a crushing backhand return in the opening set, the second thanks to a Pavlyuchenkova double fault in the second.

Williams, the six-time and defending champion, fired down 11 aces and 29 winners as she closes in on a 22nd Grand Slam singles title.

"It was good," she said. "I am excited to be able to win and get through, it felt really good. I knew Venus was up 5-1 and then I saw [the result] on the court [scoreboard], so I was like 'Yay'.

"I am just trying to win my match. I knew I had a tough opponent and one thing I have learnt this year is just to focus on the match."

Vesnina completely dominated against Cibulkova, who appeared to run out of energy after a successful run that began with winning the Eastbourne title ahead of Wimbledon.

The Slovakian can at least take comfort that she does not have to postpone her wedding, which can now go ahead as planned on Saturday.

Friday, 1 July 2016

Serena Williams and Venus Williams survive at Wimbledon 2016

Serena Williams
It took everything Serena Williams had to shake off Heather Watson on Friday at Wimbledon.

Defending champion Serena Williams and sister Venus both survived scares to progress at Wimbledon.

Serena beat the world number 65 Christina McHale, 6-7 (7) 6-2 6-4 on Centre Court while Venus won 7-5 4-6 10-8 against teenager Daria Kasatkina.

Serena trailed 2-0 at the start of the deciding set but won in two hours 29 minutes on Centre Court against her fellow American.

The top seed hit 40 unforced errors in the rain-affected second round match.
Shortly after an interruption while the Centre Court roof was closed because of rain, the world number one had a set point but failed to convert.

She thought she had won the opener but was denied by a narrow Hawk-Eye overrule before the impressive McHale went on to claim it on a tie-break.

Serena said: "It was a really good match. She played great and always does against me.

"I know that mentally no one can break me and I knew being a break down in third set I had to put my mind to it and that's what I did."

Williams will now face Germany's Annika Beck in the third round.

 Venus beats teenager in marathon

Kasatkina

Rain three times interrupted 36-year-old Venus Williams, a five-time champion at Wimbledon, as she faced an opponent 17 years her junior in the third round.

The final interruption came as Williams had match point on the Kasatkina serve at 7-6 in the deciding set.

After a break of 72 minutes the Russian 29th seed impressively won three straight points to take the match further.

Both players struggled for rhythm at times during the match but it was Williams, seeded eighth at this year's Championships, who progressed to round four for the 14th time after two hours 41 minutes on court.

In the fourth round, Williams will face Spanish 12th seed Carla Suarez Navarro who beat Marina Erakovic 6-2 6-2.

Tuesday, 28 June 2016

Wimbledon 2016: Tara Moore beats Timea Babos to reach round two

Tara Moore had lost on both previous occasions at Wimbledon in 2013 and 2014

British wildcard Tara Moore reached the Wimbledon second round with her first victory at a Grand Slam.

Moore, the world 227, beat Alison Van Uytvanck 6-3 6-2 to become the fourth Briton into round two.

The British number four joins Andy Murray, Dan Evans and world 772 Marcus Willis in progressing.

British number one Johanna Konta led 6-1 2-1 against Monica Puig before rain suspended her match, which will resume on Wednesday.

Heather Watson, who reached the third round last year, will start her Wimbledon campaign on Wednesday after her match was also delayed by rain.

Earlier, British men's number two Aljaz Bedene was knocked out by seventh seed Richard Gasquet and fellow Briton Katie Swan was beaten on her Wimbledon debut.

'Hard graft' pays off for Moore

Moore's father was courtside along with her support team and friends
Moore, facing a player ranked 100 places above her, broke the Belgian's serve in the eighth game before serving out the opening set in the following game.

The 23-year-old then dominated the second set to win in just 71 minutes, dropping only five games against a player who reached the French Open quarter-finals in 2015.

Moore will face Russian two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in round two.

"It's amazing," said Moore, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to the UK as a teenager.

"Who would have thought before the grass season that I'd be where I am right now? I'm really grateful to the All England Club for giving me this opportunity.

"I've definitely put in a lot of graft and I think it's paying off finally. I'm just really happy."

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