Wimbledon: Opening Day

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Wimbledon has swung round once again and, once again, there are a couple of favourites on the men's side and a Williams on the other. The Brits say, as they always do, that it is Tim's/Greg's/Andy's year, as do many, but I don't think so somehow. I think after today we are looking at a Djokovic/Federer final, but anything could happen really. That is the wonderful thing about Wimbledon- anyone has a shot at it with enough luck and skill.

Nadal today looked bad, really bad. I don't mean the way he was playing, although he wasn't playing very well at all. He was seriously limping through some of the match and he wasn't running for some of the balls which he usually goes for. It looked like he was hurt and that he was struggling to play. I think he may have to do a deal with the ATP whereby he only plays on clay or similar because on other surfaces his body cannot handle it. Nadal's current situation reminds me a little of Mary Pierce and her injuries where she was able to play great tennis when fit and healthy, but she was finally forced to retire because of injury.


STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM MATCH: Hewitt d. Wawrinka
...Hewitt partied like it was 2002 today. He really rolled back the years to beat Wawrinka in three straight sets. Despite being down 4-1 in the second set, Hewitt won 6-4, 7-5 and 6-3. Watching him, you really could only be inspired by his drive and his sheer force of will which have long been his trademark qualities. He hit some amazing returns and passing shots against the 11th seed. In fact, against all odds, Hewitt may return to the top fifty and perhaps a very low seed at the US isn't totally out of the question.
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ROSOL MOMENT: Steve Darcis, BEL
....A diminutive Belgian sporting a one-handed backhand knocked out Nadal today. No, not Henin, but Darcis. The Belgian won in a display of power and precision that was awesome to see. The one-handed backhand may be dying out, but it was on full display here. It will be a sad day when the one-hander dies out, but I think that today we got to see how beautiful it can be. Despite Nadal constantly battering it with his massive forehand, Darcis kept hitting fabulous winners off that wing and he even use the slice effectively against the clay court legend. It looks unlikely Nadal will ever win another slam off of the clay now. Nadal has now lost in every single round of a major, as has Djokovic and Murray. Federer has yet to lose in the second round. Nadal will probably play the last few clay events they have on the calendar before skipping most of the hardcourt events coming up and playing only the most important ones like Montreal, the US Open et al...
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ISNER-MAHUT WANNABE'S: Reister/Rosol, GER/CZE
...It took 3 hours and twenty minutes -not bad for a grass court- for Reister to finally beat Rosol. Even though Rosol hasn't played at all as well as he played last year, when he was drawn into Fed's quarter of the draw everybody's interest was piqued. However, that match won't happen as Reister was just too good in the end after a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 victory. There were a combined 42 aces and 23 doubles with a combined 150 winners, but also 118 errors. Julien plays Jurgen next for a shot at Roger.
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BLINK AND YOU MISS IT: Federer/Hanescu, ESP/ROU
...Hanescu is 47 in the world. He has even won a title and been as high as 26. He is a very good player and has had some pretty good career highlights, which include a slam quarterfinal back in 2005, but that was on the dirt and the man who he lost to then was the same guy he lost to here. Fed won in one hour and nine minutes 6-3, 6-2, 6-0. He hit 7 aces to 3 and 32 winners to 14. This was like a practice session in many ways and Fed glides on without much bother.
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ELVIS AWARD: Lleyton Hewitt, AUS
...You gotta admire the guy just for coming back, coming back, coming back almost endlessly. He never gives up and still believes he can win the big things. Credit where credit's due, that is a seriously good attitude and it has rewarded him time and time again. It seems like he's been around for ages, and he has, but when he hangs up the rackets we will all miss him tremendously.
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HOME GROWN HEREO: Andy Murray, GBR
...I may as well make this the Murray award for the next two weeks. I forgot how bad British men's tennis was compared to that of the other slam holders. Anyway, Becker played well for a set and a bit but was outclassed in the end 4, 3 and 2.
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I shall now quickly preview some of Day 2's action....


=Centre Court=
Djokovic [1] d. Mayer

This will be a high quality four setter with two great backhands on show. I think Mayer will test Djokovic but ultimately lose.

Ferrer [4] d. Alund

It's nice of the All England to put Ferrer on a show court, which is something other slams rarely do. Anyway, he should win in three very easy sets.

=Court One=
Delpo [8] d. Ramos

Three easy sets.

Berdych [7] d. Klizan

This will go four at least, and I think there is upset potential here, too.

=Upset Potential=
Rochus v. [27] Anderson

Rochus lovex the grass and even though Anderson does, too, this may still be an upset.

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