ghita
01/07/2008, 21h38
Day 7 Review
Download the Day 7 Podcast (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe29157971640475711078&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
It was what Wimbledon had been missing: a heart-stopping five-set match that keeps the last British hope in the tournament by the skin of his teeth.
Richard Gasquet appeared to be cruising. He was up by two sets and all over Murray like a Roger Federer cardigan.
But when Murray claimed the third set tie-break with a shot that defied physics, an electric pulse raced through Centre Court and beyond. This was the sort of Henman-esque roller coaster that inspires the Wimbledon crowd. It was not until Murray was nearly out the exit that he started to feel at home.
From that point Murray was not to be denied, and with darkness descending, in what the umpire decreed was the last game of the day, the 12th seed closed out the match 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-4.
Earlier, Federer and Rafal Nadal both made tricky fixtures look easy. The second seeded Spaniard beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 while Federer beat the 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 6-4.
"Any quarter chances that I did get I didn't have them for long," Hewitt said. "He hit every line out there with his serve today. That's why he's the best player going around, especially on this surface. Serve is so important."
The rest of the men didn't find the going so simple. Marat Safin took four sets to beat Stanislas Wawrinka, while Mario Ancic and Fernando Lopez were made to battle for five sets to earn their places in the last eight.
Arnaud Clement and Rainer Schuettler scored two for the over-30s by setting up a quarter-final following their victories over Marin Cilic and Janko Tipsarevic respectively.
In the ladies' event, the seeds continued to be uprooted at abandon as second seed Jelena Jankovic, fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze all lost.
Junior Wimbledon champion Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched Kuznetsova, Nicola Vaidisova beat Chakvetadze in three sets while Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final by beating an out of sorts Jankovic 6-3, 6-2.
"Can I say, wow, wow, wow? It was a very great feeling because I've been in the fourth round so many years and I made it [to the quarter-finals] this year, so I was very happy," Tanasugarn said.
Asked to explain the spate of top seeds falling, defending champion Venus Williams said: "The reality is that every player is ready to play, especially at these Slams. Everyone comes out with double vengeance, so you just have to be ready. Every match is not a given."
No match is a given except perhaps the ones involving the Williams sisters, who continued their inexorable path towards a family reunion in the final.
Venus beat Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-4 then Serena beat Bethanie Mattek 6-3, 6-3. Neither sister has dropped a set en route to the quarter-finals - and to top their day off they won their doubles match in straight sets.
Elena Dementieva, the fifth seed, remains the highest ranked lady in the singles draw after her 6-2, 6-1 win over Shahar Peer.
Matches of the day
1. Andy Murray v Richard Gasquet
Even with all the upsets that came before it, this was still the match that ignited the tournament, as Murray and Gasquet traded exquisite shots and brute power.
Murray comeback lights up Centre Court (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2f157971640475711072&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
2. Mario Ancic v Fernando Verdasco
Mario Ancic found himself two sets down but clung on to record a 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11 victory.
Ancic sets up Federer re-match
(http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe28157971640475711079&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova v Agnieszka Radwanska
Radwanska, the Eastbourne champion, continued her run of wins on grass in three entertaining sets.
Radwanska claims Kuznetsova's scalp (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe30157971640475711170&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
4. Roger Federer v Lleyton Hewitt
The last two men to have won Wimbledon met in the fourth round. The Aussie is always an awkward prospect but Federer showed why he is still number one.
Federer beats Hewitt in champions clash (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2f157971640475711171&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
5. Feliciano Lopez v Marcos Baghdatis
Feliciano Lopez saved three match points to defeat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in a nail-biting five-set thriller on Court 18.
Lopez outlasts Baghdatis (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2e157971640475711172&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
Wimbledon LIVE subscribers can watch all the matches mentioned above - and more - on demand. Go to www.wimbledon.org/live
Full match videos of top matches of day 7 (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2d157971640475711173&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
Download the Day 7 Podcast (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe29157971640475711078&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
It was what Wimbledon had been missing: a heart-stopping five-set match that keeps the last British hope in the tournament by the skin of his teeth.
Richard Gasquet appeared to be cruising. He was up by two sets and all over Murray like a Roger Federer cardigan.
But when Murray claimed the third set tie-break with a shot that defied physics, an electric pulse raced through Centre Court and beyond. This was the sort of Henman-esque roller coaster that inspires the Wimbledon crowd. It was not until Murray was nearly out the exit that he started to feel at home.
From that point Murray was not to be denied, and with darkness descending, in what the umpire decreed was the last game of the day, the 12th seed closed out the match 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2, 6-4.
Earlier, Federer and Rafal Nadal both made tricky fixtures look easy. The second seeded Spaniard beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 while Federer beat the 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 7-6 (9-7), 6-2, 6-4.
"Any quarter chances that I did get I didn't have them for long," Hewitt said. "He hit every line out there with his serve today. That's why he's the best player going around, especially on this surface. Serve is so important."
The rest of the men didn't find the going so simple. Marat Safin took four sets to beat Stanislas Wawrinka, while Mario Ancic and Fernando Lopez were made to battle for five sets to earn their places in the last eight.
Arnaud Clement and Rainer Schuettler scored two for the over-30s by setting up a quarter-final following their victories over Marin Cilic and Janko Tipsarevic respectively.
In the ladies' event, the seeds continued to be uprooted at abandon as second seed Jelena Jankovic, fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova and eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze all lost.
Junior Wimbledon champion Agnieszka Radwanska dispatched Kuznetsova, Nicola Vaidisova beat Chakvetadze in three sets while Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final by beating an out of sorts Jankovic 6-3, 6-2.
"Can I say, wow, wow, wow? It was a very great feeling because I've been in the fourth round so many years and I made it [to the quarter-finals] this year, so I was very happy," Tanasugarn said.
Asked to explain the spate of top seeds falling, defending champion Venus Williams said: "The reality is that every player is ready to play, especially at these Slams. Everyone comes out with double vengeance, so you just have to be ready. Every match is not a given."
No match is a given except perhaps the ones involving the Williams sisters, who continued their inexorable path towards a family reunion in the final.
Venus beat Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-4 then Serena beat Bethanie Mattek 6-3, 6-3. Neither sister has dropped a set en route to the quarter-finals - and to top their day off they won their doubles match in straight sets.
Elena Dementieva, the fifth seed, remains the highest ranked lady in the singles draw after her 6-2, 6-1 win over Shahar Peer.
Matches of the day
1. Andy Murray v Richard Gasquet
Even with all the upsets that came before it, this was still the match that ignited the tournament, as Murray and Gasquet traded exquisite shots and brute power.
Murray comeback lights up Centre Court (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2f157971640475711072&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
2. Mario Ancic v Fernando Verdasco
Mario Ancic found himself two sets down but clung on to record a 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 13-11 victory.
Ancic sets up Federer re-match
(http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe28157971640475711079&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
3. Svetlana Kuznetsova v Agnieszka Radwanska
Radwanska, the Eastbourne champion, continued her run of wins on grass in three entertaining sets.
Radwanska claims Kuznetsova's scalp (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe30157971640475711170&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
4. Roger Federer v Lleyton Hewitt
The last two men to have won Wimbledon met in the fourth round. The Aussie is always an awkward prospect but Federer showed why he is still number one.
Federer beats Hewitt in champions clash (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2f157971640475711171&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
5. Feliciano Lopez v Marcos Baghdatis
Feliciano Lopez saved three match points to defeat Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in a nail-biting five-set thriller on Court 18.
Lopez outlasts Baghdatis (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2e157971640475711172&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)
Wimbledon LIVE subscribers can watch all the matches mentioned above - and more - on demand. Go to www.wimbledon.org/live
Full match videos of top matches of day 7 (http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2d157971640475711173&ls=fdfb17707066027f771c7774&m=ff051570766600&l=fec5157776610c7f&s=fdf8157877660d797c107075&jb=ffcf14&t=)