Day 8:

Upset of the day: Elena Makarova defeats Serena Williams
Seriously, who saw that coming? Makarova stunned 5-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams 6-2 6-3.

Match of the day: Novak Djokovic (1) vs Lleyton Hewitt

Day 8 results:
Elena Makarova def Serena Williams (12)
Maria Sharapova (4) def Sabine Lisicki (14) 3-6 6-2 6-3
Sara Errani def Jie Zheng 6-2 6-1
Petra Kvitova (2) def Ana Ivanovic (21) 6-2 7-6
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Lleyton Hewitt
David Ferrer (5) def Richard Gasquet (17) 6-4 6-4 6-1
Andy Murray (4) vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Kei Nishikori (24) def Jo-Wifried Tsonga (6) 2-6 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-3
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Day 7:

Match of the day: Kim Clijsters defeats Li Na
In a rematch of last year’s final, Kim Clijsters saved four match points before beating Li Na 4-6 7-6 6-4.

Stat of the day – 1: 50
The number of Jankovic‘s unforced errors in her 0-6 5-7 loss to Wozniacki. I feel really sorry for the spectators who had to endure this.

Stat of the day – 2: 31
Roger Federer is in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the 31st consecutive time. Last player to beat him before the QFs was Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 2004.

Day 7 results:
Caroline Wozniacki (1) def Jelena Jankovic (13) 6-0 7-5
Kim Clijsters (11) def Na Li (5) 4-6 7-6 6-4
Victoria Azarenka (3) def Iveta Benesova 6-2 6-2
Agnieszka Radwanska (8) def Julia Goerges (22) 6-1 6-1
Juan Martin Del Potro (11) def Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 6-1
Roger Federer (3) def Bernard Tomic 6-4 6-2 6-2
Tomas Berdych (7) vs Nicolas Almagro (10) 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 7-6(2)
Rafael Nadal (2) def Feliciano Lopez (18) 6-4 6-4 6-2
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Day 6:

Match of the day: Lleyton Hewitt defeats Milos Raonic
Love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit Hewitt always plays with the heart on his sleeve. And today he gave a big lesson of will and determination to big server Raonic.

Upset of the day: Mikhail Kukushkin defeats Gael Monfils
One day he beats Nadal and one day he loses to Kukushkin, ranked 92. Gael Monfils, King of inconsistency and missed opportunities.

The tournament really begins tomorrow with the fourth round matches:

Women’s singles:
Caroline Wozniacki (1) vs Jelena Jankovic (13)
Kim Clijsters (11) vs Na Li (5)
Victoria Azarenka (3) vs Iveta Benesova
Julia Goerges (22) vs Agnieszka Radwanska (8)
Ekaterina Makarova vs Serena Williams (12)
Sabine Lisicki (14) vs Maria Sharapova (4)
Sara Errani vs Jie Zheng
Ana Ivanovic (21) vs Petra Kvitova (2)

Men’s singles:
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Lleyton Hewitt
Richard Gasquet (17) vs David Ferrer (5)
Andy Murray (4) vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Kei Nishikori (24) vs Jo-Wifried Tsonga (6)
Philipp Kohlschreiber vs Juan Martin Del Potro (11)
Bernard Tomic vs Roger Federer (3)
Tomas Berdych (7) vs Nicolas Almagro (10)
Feliciano Lopez (18) vs Rafael Nadal (2)
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Day 5:

Match of the day: Bernard Tomic defeats Alexandr Dogolopolov 4-6 7-6(0) 7-6(6) 2-6 6-3
It was all about Tomic at Melbourne Park today… again. Next opponent for the 19 years old Aussie: his idol, Roger Federer.

Stat of the day: 0
It’s the first time since 1973 that no U.S. men have reached round of 16 at the Australian Open.

Video of the day: Bernard Tomic: realising the potential

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I spent a few days in London for a bit of sightseeing and a bit of tennis at Queen’s, and I took the opportunity to visit Wimbledon.
Even though I’m French and discovered tennis through Roland Garros, my favorite tournament has always been (and will always be) Wimbledon. So for me it was a dream come true, I finally get to see this fantastic place. Next goal for me: obtain a ticket for The Championships, perhaps next year?

Some infos about Wimbledon guided tours:

How to book a tour?
Online or by calling +44 (0)20 8946 6131

How much does it cost?
The total cost of £20.00 includes entrance to the Museum and is payable upon arrival.

What does the tour include?
Centre Court, No.1 Court, Henman Hill, The Millennium Building and Press Interview Room
Total time for the tour and museum is usually around two and a half hours, including 90 minutes for the tour and an hour for the Museum.

Is it worth it?
Yes, yes and yes!
The guide was really passionate about the Championships and Wimbledon’s history, told lots of anecdotes and took time to answer all our questions. A must-do for any tennis fan!

The first thing you see when you enter the Stadium is the Fred Perry statue and the Centre Court:

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All has already been said about the famous Isner/Mahut match, the match that wouldn’t end, the match that broke all records.

Match duration: 11 hours, five minutes
Fifth set duration: Eight hours, 11 minutes
Total number of games: 183
Number of games in fifth set: 138
Total number of points: 980
Isner aces: 112
Mahut aces: 103
Combined aces: 215
Isner winners: 246
Mahut winners: 244

Isner after his marathon victory:

This one’s obviously going to stick with me, probably for the rest of my life. It’s better than a dream because you can’t even dream of something like this. You can dream of winning a match 22-20, maybe 34-32, but not 70-68. In the back of my mind was, as I’m sure it was with him: “I don’t want to be on the losing side of this”

Wimbledon organizers recently unveiled a plaque outside Court 18 honoring the participants of the longest match in tennis history.

A few pics of Wimbledon Court 18 I took 2 weeks ago during a Wimbledon guided tour (will talk about it soon). :

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Check out Nike new video series, McEnroe’s Insights, where John McEnroe look at some of Nike’s players: Roger Federer, John Isner, Bernard Tomic:

Surprising upsets today at the Australian Open: Sam Stosur was outplayed by 25th-seeded Petra Kvitova, whereas Nadia Petrova, Mikhail Youzhny and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were all defeated by unseeded players (respectively Elena Makarova, Milos Raonic and Alexandr Dolgopolov).
I must say I had never heard of Raonic before: aged 20, Milos was born in Montenegro, was raised in Canada and just recently began training in Barcelona under coach and former player Galo Blanco.
Robin Soderling, Andy Murray and David Ferrer bounced through their matches and qualified for the fourth round.

On the women’s side, Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva had to battle hard to overcome Lucie Safarova and Alizée Cornet.

Stat of the day: 0
There’s no Aussie player left anymore in the singles draw. Stosur and Tomic both lost today.

Aussie of the day: Bernard Tomic
Seven years ago a 17-year-old Nadal lost in straight sets to Lleyton Hewitt in the third round of Australian Open 2004. Today, Nadal overcame Tomic, Australia’s biggest hope, in straight sets. We can just hope for the Aussie he will have the same kind of career as Rafa…

Match of the day: Marin Cilic defeats John Isner
It seems like every new day brings a new a big five set thriller at this year’s Australian Open. Today’s marathon featured John Isner and Marin Cilic.The Croatian, a semifinalist here last year, prevailed 4-6 6-2 6-7 7-6 9-7 in 4hrs and 33 minutes.

Matches to follow on day 7:
Na Li(CHN)[9] vs. Victoria Azarenka(BLR)[8]
Andy Roddick(USA)[8] vs. Stanislas Wawrinka(SUI)[19]
Nicolas Almagro(ESP)[14] vs. Novak Djokovic(SRB)[3]
Svetlana Kuznetsova(RUS)[23] vs. Francesca Schiavone(ITA)[6]
Tomas Berdych(CZE)[6] vs. Fernando Verdasco(ESP)[9]