Tennis

by SavannahI don't know who Stephen Rodrick is, the man who was tasked with doing an in depth interview with Serena Williams that appears in the current issue of "Rolling Stone" magazine, the one that published just before the start of Wimbledon.This is the comment that is causing all kinds of drama.We watch the news for a while, and the infamous Steubenville rape case flashes on the TV – two high school football players raped a drunk 16-year-old, while other students watched and texted details of the crime. Serena just shakes her head. “Do you think it was fair, what they got? They did something stupid, but I don’t know. I’m not blaming the girl, but if you’re a 16-year-old and you’re drunk like that, your parents should teach you: Don’t take drinks from other people. She’s 16, why was she that drunk where she doesn’t remember? It could have been much worse. She’s lucky. Obviously, I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t a virgin, but she shouldn’t have put herself in that position, unless they slipped her something, then that’s different.”Serena has issued the following statement:“What happened in Steubenville was a real shock for me. I was deeply saddened. For someone to be raped, and at only sixteen, is such a horrible tragedy! For both families involved – that of the rape victim and of the accused. I am currently reaching out to the girl’s family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written in the Rolling Stone article. What was written – what I supposedly said – is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame.I have fought all of my career for women’s equality, women’s equal rights, respect in their fields – anything I could do to support women I have done. My prayers and support always goes out to the rape victim. In this case, most especially, to an innocent sixteen year old child.”There are a number of problems with Rodrick's interview, chief among them quoting from what appears to be a private conversation Serena had with an unnamed person about people who are never identified. Fans of a certain player quickly decided who Serena "must have" been talking about and accused her of throwing shade against one of the women ranked second or third in the WTA. When the beat reporters who usually print whatever the Tours want them to question the ethics of what was done regarding the private conversation and regular tennis heads ask why that wasn't edited out you know you have a perfect storm.The other question is why, if an advance copy was presented to Serena's PR people there weren't protests about the content? Why wasn't a PR person present at the interview to stop Serena from making what is obviously a personal observation about the Steubenville situation?The glee with which some fandoms have seized on the statements to attack Serena tells me this is being used to try and break her focus in the hope that she will lose in an early round to a lower ranked player or a Qualifier and allow their favorite to win a Slam without having to go through The Great One.I don't want to get feed the trolls so this is all I will say on this matter.

Photo by Clive Rose/Getty ImagesThe seeds for the 2013 Wimbledon tournament were announced today. You can see the list and the standard, agreed upon formula that was used to derive it here.The seeds are the top 32 players on the ATP Entry System Position (ESP), BUT then rearranged on a surface-based system. Since 2002 a seeding committee has not been required for the Gentlemen’s Singles following an agreement made with the ATP. The seeding order is determined using an objective and transparent system to reflect more accurately an individual player’s grass court achievements: The formula is:Take ESP points at 17 June 2013Add 100% points earned for all grass court tournaments in the past 12 monthsAdd 75% points earned for the best grass court tournament in the 12 months before that.GENTLEMEN’S SINGLESDJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB) [1] MURRAY, Andy (GBR) [2] FEDERER, Roger (SUI) [3] FERRER, David (ESP) [4] NADAL, Rafael (ESP) [5] TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) [6] BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE) [7] DEL POTRO, Juan Martin (ARG) [8] GASQUET, Richard (FRA) [9] CILIC, Marin (CRO) [10] WAWRINKA, Stanislas (SUI) [11] NISHIKORI, Kei (JPN) [12] HAAS, Tommy (GER) [13] TIPSAREVIC, Janko (SRB) [14] ALMAGRO, Nicolas (ESP) [15] KOHLSCHREIBER, Philipp (GER) [16] RAONIC, Milos (CAN) [17] ISNER, John (USA) [18] SIMON, Gilles (FRA) [19] YOUZHNY, Mikhail (RUS) [20] QUERREY, Sam (USA) [21] MONACO, Juan (ARG) [22] SEPPI, Andreas (ITA) [23] JANOWICZ, Jerzy (POL) [24] PAIRE, Benoit (FRA) [25] DOLGOPOLOV, Alexandr (UKR) [26] ANDERSON, Kevin (RSA) [27] CHARDY, Jeremy (FRA) [28] DIMITROV, Grigor (BUL) [29] FOGNINI, Fabio (ITA) [30] BENNETEAU, Julien (FRA) [31] ROBREDO, Tommy (ESP) [32](And I’m so tired of people dissing on Daveeed this morning. He’s earned every single one of his points. He finished in the quarters last year, the round of 16 the year before, and won a grass tournament last year. So, shut it! Rafa’s just going to have to be a little extra fierce and on his game a few rounds earlier than he’s used to. He can do eeeeeet!)

Wimbledon applied their formula to seed the men but it didn't help Rafael Nadal move up.

Milos Raonic has suffered a surprise defeat second-round defeat to Ivan Dodig at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.

Serena Williams, about to make lethal look effortless. This companion to a Monday article on the Wimbledon men’s field discusses five key women to watch during the next fortnight.  Tennis Grandstand will feature a joint preview on the men’s and women’s draws after they appear, but this article provides a general overview of the contenders. 1)     Serena Williams:  One woman in the Wimbledon draw holds more singles titles there than all of the other 127 combined.  In each successive appearance, Serena sets a new tournament ace record as she showcases the shot that separates her from the competition, and that separated her sister from the competition before her.  She has not lost a match since February, compiling a streak of 31 consecutive victories that she seeks to extend from hard courts through clay to grass.  But the most impressive statistic regarding Serena, who pursues her 17th major title, may be her stranglehold over the other women on this list.  The 31-year-old veteran owns a 31-4 career mark against the rest of the top four, so her greatest test could come from an unheralded opponent in the early rounds.  Or it could come from her health, the only reason why she does not currently hold all four of the major titles. 2)     Victoria Azarenka:  In the last twelve months, Azarenka has lost to only one match to someone other than Serena on a surface other than clay.  That span included a Wimbledon semifinal and a bronze medal at the Olympics, which showed that she can contend on grass despite a relatively modest serve.  Now a two-time major champion, Azarenka probably has not reached her peak period yet.  She still needs to prove that she can defeat a healthy Serena at a major, and her own health remains a significant question mark.  Azarenka issues walkovers, retirements, and withdrawals at a much higher rate than most of her contemporaries, although she rarely retires from a major.  While grass does not suit her reliance on rhythmic baseline rallies and frequent service breaks, it does reward her crisp footwork and groundstroke depth.  Moreover, her feistiness leaves her unruffled by the magnitude of the sport’s grandest stage. 3)     Maria Sharapova:  If Azarenka needs to prove that she can defeat Serena at a major, Sharapova needs to prove that she can defeat Serena anywhere.  Four losses to the American this year have left her not clearly closer to doing so, but she reasserted herself in another key rivalry last month.  Defeating Azarenka in a compelling Roland Garros semifinal, Sharapova extended a four-month, seven-tournament span during which she has not lost to anyone but Serena.  She often labels Wimbledon her favorite tournament, probably because she broke through there for her first major title in 2004.  Over the last few years, Sharapova has shifted away (a bit) from the quick-strike tennis that shone so brightly on grass.  Past the fourth round only once in her last six Wimbledon appearances, she prefers surfaces that give her more time to aim her weapons.  Perceptibly taller than in 2004, Sharapova can struggle with the low bounce on grass. 4)     Agnieszka Radwanska:  Associated with the grip-it-and-rip-it style of shot-makers like Sharapova or the Williams sisters, grass also can showcase the more subtle talents of last year’s finalist.  Among them are compact swings, keen reflexes, and deft touch at the net, which have made Radwanska a serial quarterfinalist at Wimbledon.  Her 2012 appearance there marked the only time in eight attempts that she has advanced past the quarterfinals at any major, and she profited from an especially accommodating draw.  Gone in the first round of Eastbourne last week, Radwanska has recorded reasonably consistent results for most of 2013 that have kept her entrenched at No. 4.  On the other hand, she has not produced anything spectacular this season to move higher up the hierarchy.  Radwanska has improved her serve over the years, but it remains a vulnerability that costs h

Pablo Carreno Busta, a 21-year-old from Spain, has improved his ranking more than 500 places since January and is now 143rd after returning from back surgery.

Andy Murray has been confirmed as the second seed for the Wimbledon men's singles and could face Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.

World no 1 Novak Djokovic says that he does not resort to mind games with his opponents because his biggest mental battle is with himself.

(June 19, 2013) The Championships, Wimbledon has announced the seeds for this year. GENTLEMEN’S SINGLES DJOKOVIC, Novak (SRB) [1] MURRAY, Andy (GBR) [2] FEDERER, Roger (SUI) [3] FERRER, David (ESP) [4] NADAL, Rafael (ESP) [5] TSONGA, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) [6] BERDYCH, Tomas (CZE) [7] DEL POTRO, Juan Martin (ARG) [8] GASQUET, Richard (FRA) [9] CILIC, Marin [...]

Rafa traveled to England today and, of course, the iB3 was there to document: Nadal s’haurà d’adaptar (mangle of text on page).More footage via YouTube. Here’s the video embeded, but do click on that link to see a translation in the video description.Posted by molvi1501.Another version with Spanish subtitles.The Wimbledon tournament’s social media people were on their toes today. They gave us Rafa in few different forms.1. Video:2. Vine: 3. InstagramArticles:Nadal: “Voy con incertidumbre, no sé cómo voy a responder” – via as.com (mangleNadal recuerda que lleva “casi dos años sin jugar en hierba” – via marca.com (mangle) Includes more airport footage.Burning questions for Wimbledon – by Courtney Nguyen (si.com)Rafa prepares for Wimbledon test – via iol.co.za“On The Call” – ESPN / Wimbledon Conference Call with Chris Evert and John McEnroe – via tennispanorama.comMcEnroe: Nadal Fourth Most Likely to Win Wimbledon – by Chris Oddo (tennisnow.com)McEnroe calls for Nadal to be seeded four at Wimbledon – not the first time I’ve disagreed with JMac.Videos/Audio:Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and top players say what they would change at WimbledonAirport footage from marca.comThere’s a quick bit with Rafa in this preview of an Andy Murray documentary (thanks, Reva)Woot! It took all night getting everything installed, but here’s a little something for you: JMac interviews Rafa after RG final.Rafa does social media:He shared a photo of his first practice.Cuando gané RG recibí un mensaje muy cariñoso de los chicos de la #Sub21. Me alegro mucho por éxitos que estáis teniendo. Suerte esta noche!— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 18, 2013I got a very warm message from the #U21 when I won RG. Im very happy to the success you guys are having and best of lucks tonight!— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 18, 2013Muchas Felicidades a la #sub21 y a su entrenador Julen por proclamarse campeones de Europa!— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) June 18, 2013Social media related to Rafa: [View the story "June 18th - Rafa in Social Media" on Storify]Other stuff:Tennis tournaments take steps to tighten security – by Erik Gudris (usatoday.com)How to fix tennis’ big problems – by Howard Bryant (espn.com)