Not-so-famous Alla Kudryavtseva stunned world No.2 and former champion Maria Sharapova in the second round of Wimbledon, but instead of peacefully enjoying her victory she made some comments about Sharapova that I believe were disrespectful and therefore pathetic. Read more »

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Former champion Lindsay Davenport withdrew from Wimbledon a few hours before her second round match against Gisela Dulko. The reason was knee injury the American had picked up while practicing at Eastbourne last week.

Davenport hinted that this might have been her last Wimbledon:

"I would be surprised if I was back here playing.

"I'm very short sighted about my future – I'm looking forward to the Olympics and the US Open, then no plans." (source: BBC)

The biggest shock of Wimbledon 2008 has just taken place: former champion Maria Sharapova of Russia was defeated in the second round by 154th-ranked compatriot Alla Kudryavtseva. And not only that, but the upset happened in straight sets, even without tie-breaks. Final score: 6-2 6-4.

The 20-year-old Kudryavtseva, who has never won a WTA Tour title and was playing only her 10th Grand Slam match, broke Sharapova in the sixth and eighth games of the first set to win it. In the second set, Sharapova broke Kudryavtseva at the very beginning, but her lead didn't last for long as Kudryavtseva leveled to 2-all. Later in the match, there was another exchange of breaks. Then, Kudryavtseva took the serve of the 2004 Wimbledon champion once again and sealed the biggest victory of her career.

World No.2 Sharapova has today suffered the earliest exit from a Grand Slam event since her first full season on the circuit in 2003. Too bad, another great Masha's Grand Slam outfit didn’t last long (remember the 2007 US Open?). (via The Independent)

Top-seeded Ana Ivanovic was almost dumped out of Wimbledon 2008 by France’s Nathalie Dechy in the second round on Wednesday. It has been the most thrilling women’s match at the tournament so far, and the peak of the encounter was on Dechy's second match point when Ivanovic had an immense stroke of luck having the net for an ally.

In the following video you can see match highlights, including the famous netcord point.

These two quotes of disappointed Nathalie Dechy additionally illustrate how fortunate Ivanovic was: Read more »

Top seed Ana Ivanovic won an epic battle against France’s Nathalie Dechy in Wimbledon second round. The Serb saved two match points as she battled to a 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-3) 10-8 victory.

World No.1 Ivanovic had a 5-2 lead in the first set, but in the end the tie-break was played and Dechy won it 7-2. Ivanovic’s struggle continued in the second set with the top seed facing two match points when serving at 4-5 down. The third set was also tough, but Ivanovic survived and clinched victory in three hours and 24 minutes.

The most thrilling moment was on world No.97 Dechy’s second match point when Ivanovic’s shot thumped into the net and just when it seemed that it would fall back towards her, the ball rolled over into her opponent's side of the court. After the match Ivanovic kissed the part of the net that saved her existence at Wimbledon.

"My heart skipped a beat because the ball was in the air for a while and I didn't know where it was going to bounce," said Ivanovic, who was a favorite heading into the encounter with Dechy. (source: BBC, photo: Getty Images via Yahoo)

Japan's Ai Sugiyama has become a player with most successive Grand Slam appearances, 57, surpassing South Africa's Wayne Ferreira's record of 56.

World No.38 Sugiyama achieved this feat when she contested the first point in her first round match against Wimbledon debutant Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium. Sugiyama defeated Wickmayer 6-4 6-2.

"I'm very happy. When I heard the number of Grand Slams I have played, it's actually really huge numbers," said the 32-year-old Sugiyama, who is currently playing her 16th Wimbledon.

Sugiyama’s best performance at the grass-court Grand Slam was reaching the quarterfinals in 2004. (source: Reuters, photo via Yahoo)

This year I decided to write about Maria Sharapova's Wimbledon 2008 outfit the moment I see it, so as to avoid all the speculations that usually accompany Masha's Grand Slam dresses.

For the grasscourt Grand Slam the Russian fashionista went for the Nike Sharapova Wimbledon Sleeveless Top and the Sharapova Wimbledon Woven Short from the White/Gold Collection. The 2004 Wimbledon champion debuted the outfit in her first round match against Frenchwoman Stephanie Foretz, whom she defeated 6-1 6-4. Read more »