HORSE SENSE: Some claimed that the John Isner–Nicolas Mahut marathon was Wimbledon’s remake of “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?”
MOST SUCCINCT ANALYSIS OF THE WEEK: After a linesman dodged a fierce Nadal serve, announcer David Mercer quipped “well-ducked.”
QUOTEBOOK
“You can tell the Wimbledon championships are on. The woman behind the counter in the posh bread shop in Wimbledon High Street is wearing pearls.” — Stephen Moss
“For most of the year we ignore the game. But for two weeks in June it becomes a British obsession.” – The Guardian
There’s the occasional shout, but not a vuvuzela to be heard.” — Micheal Kimmelman
“The man who invented the vuvuzela should be shot.” — BBC1
“It was without doubt the most extraordinary, outlandish and terribly wearing tennis match in Wimbleon’s 133-year history…In the relative wilds of Court 18 Isner beat Mahut 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68. This is not a typo.”
SAY IT ISN’T SO: It was so great to see Lindsay Davenport happy and in good form back on court. Sadly, she double faulted on match point down as she and Bob Bryan lost to Daniel Nestor and Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 3-6, 11-9.
GO FIGURE: If they just kept the score of tennis matches by points won Nicolas Mahut would have beaten Isner 502 to 478.
IT WAS THE BEST OF ALL TIMES, IT WAS THE WORST OF ALL TIMES: For the first time there were no Englishman in the Wimbledon draw. Then again it’s been said no other Grand Slam tournament has ever gotten off to a more exciting start. Andy Roddick‘s called the week’s happening the Isner-Mahut Trilogy. In other words, almost the biggest upset in tennis history when Federer nearly lost in the first round; the jaw-dropping Isner Mahut eleven hour encounter and the Queen’s rare and memorable visit.
OUR FAVORITE FORECAST: “There will be little flecks of white clouds to stop the sun from blistering down.”
CURIOUS QUESTIONS
•To Queen Elizabeth: “After 33 years, was it worth the wait, Ma’am?”
•To Novak Djokovic: “I don’t want to compare it to a marriage, but how do you keep your relationship [with your coach] fresh.”
•To Philipp Petzschner, ranked No. 41 who lost to No. 1 Nadal: “Is that the only difference between a player like you and him, that he’s clever enough to know when to take a timeout maybe?”
•“Lots of green space, good shops and the odd tennis player, is SW 19 too perfect? — Lucy Alexander
PARENTAL TAKES: When asked about his mom, Karen, who was crying buckets of tears at the end of his match, John Isner quipped “she’s just a mom.”…Super mom Kim Clijsters tweeted that her daughter “Jada had a blast at the creche today. Her whole face was painted with little flowers. Makes me so happy to see her her happy!”…Clijsters also said she wanted to have more children…A Times of London headline read “Clijsters Claims Role of Mother Superior”…Roger Federer and his father, Robert, look so much alike…Lleyton Hewitt‘s actress wife, Bec, is expecting her third child…Venus and Serena Williams‘ dad, Richard, said that at Wimbledon, “there are too many rules. They have a rule for everything.”
BE KIND TO YOUR FINE FEATHERED FRIENDS: Just a little while ago used rifles to get rid of bothersome birds. Now they are building bird houses which, off course, blend in.
A TALE OF TWO FRENCH EFFORTS: While British soccer critics noted that France got into the World Cup by cheating (a hand ball vs. Ireland) and left the World Cup in disarray, Iain Hollingshead noted, “Nicolas Mahut is one Frenchman no American would dare call a cheese-eating surrender monkey.”
HEADLINES
JUST WHY ARE YOU SO BAD
FEDERER LUCKY TO AVOID HUMILIATION
FROM SHARPEST SHOT TO BULLET DODGER ROGER
SCARE FOR REIGNING CHAMPION LEAVES THE CHAMPAGNE ON ICE
FEDERER SURVIVES SCARE BUT THE WOLVES ARE CIRCLING
KING OF COOL WHEN HEAT IS ON
COME BACK WHEN YOU’RE GOOD ENOUGH, FED
WHY BRITAIN COULD USE A DASH OF JAMAICAN SPICE
SHARAPOVA SHOWS SHE SHOULD BE IN WITH A SHOUT
DJOKOVIC THROUGH AT THE 11TH HOUR
ANDY IN A BOW ROW
I’M RAF ‘N READY
SHE CAME, SHE WATCHED AND FINALLY SHE CLAPPED
LIKE A PAIR OF BARE KNUCKLED BATTLERS, ISNER AND MAHUT FIGHT TO LAST
YAWN TENNIS: WIMBLEDON SEES THE LONGEST MATCH
WIMBLEDON AND ON AND ON AND ON
MATCH OF THE DAY AND NIGHT
GAME, SET AND (AT LONG LAST) MATCH
NO LOSERS AS ‘GREATEST MATCH’ ENDS 70-68
GAME, SET AND MAJ
ANDY’S A QUEEN MACHINE
IT’S WHAM BAM THANKS A LOT MA’AM!
NEW STRAWBS PLEASE
SERENA MATCH PROVES TOO HOT FOR QUEEN TO HANDLE
ANDY AIMS TO BE BOW WOW
OUR GIRLS ARE NOT CHOKERS SAYS CHIEF
MURRAY FILLETS FINN TO ENSURE REGAL PROGRESS
THOSE TAN! THOSE TEETH! AND (OH, I SAY!) SOME TENNIS
SUPER PAV STRIKES
NO ‘YOLK’: You could boil 220 eggs consecutively in the time it took to play the Isner-Mahut match.
SUCH A HERO: The sturdy and upbeat Mohamed Lahyani, the ump of the Isner-Mahut marathon.
