Centre court:

The grass, the queue and the Henman Hill are parts of what makes Wimbledon such a unique sports events, the greatest tennis tournament.

Grass:

Henman Hill:

Crowd:

Andy Murray:

‘Murray Mania’ has spread across UK, following Andy Murray’s historic win at The Queen’s Club, but Brits will have to wait at least another year to end its 73 years drought at Wimbledon as a rejuvenated Roddick ended Murray’s run.

Roger Federer:

Roger Federer became the greatest player in Grand Slam history as he beat Andy Roddick in five dramatic sets for a sixth Wimbledon and 15th major title.
The Swiss won 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14 to surpass Pete Sampras’s 14 Grand Slam wins and regain the title he lost to Rafael Nadal in 2008.
Note for Nike and Federer: the jacket is RIDICULOUS, the 15 jacket is just too much.

Andy Roddick:

Roddick was on the verge of retirement after being dumped out of Wimbledon by Tipsarevic in 2008, but his wife Brooklyn convinced him to keep trying. And 12 months after, with the help of new coach Larry Stefanki, he reached his third Wimbledon final after wins over Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray. Fitter, faster and with a new variety to his game, Roddick gave it all during a dramtic 5 sets final, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Federer broking Sampras record. Andy lost the final but won many fans along the way.

Lleyton Hewitt:

Lleyton Hewitt caused the tournament’s first upset, the 2002 Wimbledon champion crushed 5th seed Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3 7-5 7-5. Before overcoming the young Argentinian, his losing streak against top 10 players streched back 15 matches. Having returned to full fitness after a career threatening hip injury, Hewitt has displayed a far more relaxed attitude and increased maturity. Supported by the vocal fanatics, he reached the second week for the sixth consecutive year, and his first Grand Slam quarter final in 3 years. Andy Roddick ended his run after a 5 set thriller which was one of the best matches of the tournament.

Fanatics:

The always vocal and colorful Fanatics boosted Hewitt’s and Stosur/Stubbs Wimbledon campaigns.

Serena Williams:

It was an all-Williams affair in finals again, but this time the younger sister prevailed. She won her third Wimbledon title (and first in 6 years) by beating sister Venus in straight sets 7-6 6-2.

Venus Williams:

Thanks to Warwick, former coach of Marcos Baghdatis and Amélie Mauresmo, who answered our questions.

What do you think about Rafa’s victory in Roland Garros, and do you think he can regain the title in Wimbledon?
Unbelievable!! My hat goes out to Rafa!! It is a privilege to watch him play. Rafa is an excellent role model for all those fortunate enough to witness his genius, inspiring thousands by what he has achieved on European red clay over the past five years.
You can just tell that Rafa is a man in total control of his emotions. Something we can all learn from! Not only is he energized and focused, he is able to stay calm at the same time and play the big points when it matters most.
This takes practice, hours of hard work and he deserves it more than anyone else!! As far as Rafa’s chances on Winning at the All England Club again, it is definitely possible. It all depends on his recovery after a gruelling clay court season!! Another factor will be the weather. If it is dry, this will favour Rafa, as the ball will bounce higher like on clay. However, if it is damp & wet this will make it harder for him to get any rhythm.

After a disappointing clay-court season, Federer reached the final in Halle. Could we have a 2008 final rematch against Nadal?
I hope so!!! Their 2008 Wimbledon final was a classic and I’m sure anyone would agree that watching these two different styles battle it out in the final of any Grand Slam is a dream match to watch. It will depend who’s more focused, or should we say, less focused on the World Cup Soccer in South Africa:)

Ousted by Sela in Queen’s, Roddick only won 3 matches since his title in Miami. Does he still have a chance to win Wimbledon?
Personally, I was surprised with Roddick’s loss to Sela at Queens?? Maybe he was sick or something? Not to take anything away from Sela who is a great fighter. However, when Andy’s serve is on and we all know how much he wants the Wimbledon title, anything is possible!! Again this will depend on the grass and whether there is much sun or more rain and dampness??
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What a strange Roland Garros this year, with very few intense battles, insipid semifinals but a flamboyant first time winner.

The Good:

- Francesca Schiavone:

- Sam Stosur

- Robin Soderling: Ex-bad boy Robin Soderling finished runner-up for the second year in a row. He once again impressed the tennis world with his amazing win over defending champion Roger Federer. But unfortunately for him, he didn’t really get into the final against Rafa: “I didn’t play as good as I did last year. I didn’t serve so well. I wasn’t hitting the ball as clean. You know, I had some chances in the beginning, but I didn’t take them. And then he won the first and then played really well in the second, so then, you know, that’s about… “

- Jurgen Melzer: The big surprise in the men’s draw. More famous for his girlfriends (Myskina, Cibulkova…) than for his game, Melzer reached the semifinals of a major for the first time of his career after his surprising wins over David Ferrer and Novak Djokovic.

The Bad:

- French players: What a disaster! The best frenchman was Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who was forced to retire in the 4th round against Mikhail Youzhny. Monfils was beaten by Fognini, Gasquet by Murray. There was not a single in the second week. A disaster.

- Svetlana Kuznetsova: Just 3 words: waste of talent.

- Dinara Safina: The worst performance of this French Open is without a doubt the loss of former number one Dinara Safina to Kimiko Date. Safina lead by one set and 2 breaks, and then 4-1 in the third set, but she self imploded and offered the match to the japanese veteran. It was Date’s first Grand Slam victory since the 1996 US Open.

The King:

Rafael Nadal

Federer discusses his secret desire to partner with Rooney on a little doubles action.

Nike Write the Future commercial

4th French Open title for Rafa, who crashed Federer 6-1 6-3 6-0 in 1 hour and 48 minutes.

The french media are really pro Federer, 80% of this report is dedicated to Federer even though it was a really ugly loss for him.

Nadal had (again) a successful clay-court campaign in 2007, winning Monte Carlo and Rome Masters Series, Barcelona tournament, before losing to Roger Federer in the final of Hamburg Masters Series. This loss ended Rafa's record of 81 consecutive wins on clay. But he rebounded from this defeat and only lost one set (to Federer) en route to his third French Open title.