Celebs and royals came out to see and be seen.  Kate and William caused a stir, while Princess Beatrice and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall,  made a showing, but didn’t get nearly the paparazzi attention of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  Wimbledon Champion Bjorn Borg was in attendance looking as gorgeous as ever, chating with Aussie tennis legend, John Newcomb. Also sitting in the royal box with Mark Woodford was the ever hot Ivanisovic.

Diana Ross and Kim Cattrall were also spotted but for the most part, I have a really hard time recognizing who all the photogs in the pit are pointing their cameras at when not shooting the players, and there are always a lot of personalities who are famous in Britain who I have no idea about. I did finally recognize Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame.. he actually looks just like a taller version of Ron Weasley, the boy he played in the famed films.

As for the tennis, some very interesting matches.  Mardy Fish gave notice in his first match that he might be more dangerous than anyone thought, defeating 6th seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets.  Fish, was seeded 10, but frankly no one was really paying much attention to him.  However he made it through to the quarters losing to Rafa in four.

Unseeded “Deliciano” Lopez served up 28 aces, 57 winners, eight unforced errors. and a spectacular loss to 8th seed, Andy Roddick, who left the court, head bowed, dragging his purple and green Wimbledon towel behind him.  When fans ask for autographs as he left, he threw his racquet into the stands, guess he figured he didn’t want to be using the losing racquet again.

Then of course there was the big upset.  Tsonga over Federer.  Frankly I wasn’t that surprised. When Tsonga is in form he can be a threat to anyone.  For the Swiss moving into the semi’s looked like a sure thing, after winning the first two sets, but Tsonga had other ideas.  Never giving up he knocked out The Fed’s cruise control and took the next three sets.  This was Roger’s first ever grand slam loss from two sets up.  To me, this marks the end of RF’s  domination of the grass courts at SW 19.

Later in press, the former Wimbledon Champion commented, “Quarters is a decent result. Obviously people think quarters is shocking, but people would die to play in the quarter-final stages of Grand Slam play.”  Yeah Roger, I’m sure you are truly satisfied with this result.  Could you ever show us how you really feel?  Then the former Wimbledon Champion, went on to say,      “­­It’s not something I’m used to doing, losing in quarter-finals, because it’s not something I’ve done in the last six years.”

The Murray/Nadal match-up in the semi’s was eagerly awaited by the British fans and press, but truthfully, I never thought that the Scot could prevail over the Spanish.  The Brits don’t really like Murray that much thinking him sour and not even close to the English gentlemen aura that Tim Henman possessed.

Okay want to talk about the women? In a quote I find eerily similar to Roger’s, Victoria Azarenka said after losing to Kvitova in the semi, “I haven’t lost to anybody who didn’t [go on to] win the tournament since March.”  Well, good for you Victoria..does this mean that you only lose to the best?  Does losing to the eventual winner ease the sting of the loss?

Truth is, everyone in the photo pit was talking about how horrible a final between Sharapova and Azarenka would be with all the screaming and shrieking streaming from each of them.  For sure you would need noise canceling headphones.  In one of her earlier matches, the fans actually started mimicking the Bulgarian’s  grunts and shouts.

As for Kvitova, she came through to the semi’s with no big challenges.  A player that no one knew much about even though she was seeded 8, she moved through the draw without drama or fanfare.  The first lefty to win the women’s title since her role model Czech born Martina Navratilova won in 1994,  at 21 it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of the tall Czech.

Petra, may have also made unintentional history at the Championships by dropping an F-bomb when Wimbledon Chairman Phillip Brooke  showed her the Wimbledon plaque with her name engraved on it minutes after the match, here’s the link.  I think we are going to like this new champion!

As for the men, DJ’s win wasn’t really a surprise.  He’s been on a roll since the beginning of the year.  His loss in paris ending his winning streak actually took the pressure off a bit for Wimbledon.  He’s been stuck at number 3 behind Nadal and Federer for the past four years, but gained the number one ranking with his semi-final win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  It looks to me like  the Nadal/Federer rivalry is finished and a new Djokovic/Nadal rivalry is born. Federer is five years senior to Nadal who just turned 25, and six years older the 24-year-old Serb.  Thirty is not exactly over the hill, but tennis is a young players sport, and with so many younger players with a lot of desire, the Fed Express is going to have a very long road to gain a number one or two ranking again.

While all the other photographers were jockeying to get photos of Nola with the gold trophy,  I couldn’t help but notice Rafa sitting in his chair looking wistfully at the finalist trophy.  I had a feeling that he was already thinking about how to regain the number one ranking.

So the mantle has been passed two first time champions hold the gold cups and we put another Wimbledon to rest.

I love the fact that when the fans cheered him as he left the court after losing to Nadal, he looked up and let that smile lighten up the stadium.  So unlike other’s who I won’t mention who sulk off the court looking down and angry like a child who has just been reprimanded.

In the post match interview one of the reporters commented on how Jo-Wilfried had caught the hearts of the Wimbledon crowd to which he replied, ” If you give to them, they give to you”  so true. I love this quote, someone should make a shirt with this Tsonga sentiment.  JW is a player who always gives 1000 percent, who never gives up and who has an air of likability about him.  I mentioned this to the photographer sitting next to me and he replied, “yes, he’s the kind of guy who you’d like to have a beer with”.

Ask what he particularly likes about the grass court-court game, Tsonga answered, ” Maybe you can dive.  Yeah, because this is the only surface you can really dive, because on the other, if you dive you go directly to the hospital.  So this is good.”  And dive he did.  this semi-final match against the now number one player in the world, Novak Djokovic was full of more thrills, spills, splits and dives that you see at Barnum and Baily.  I don’t know if the grass was particularly slippery, but both players were slipping and sliding as they were playing on the red clay of Roland Garros.  
There was one point in the third set where both players fell, and then were able to get up and continue the point totally amazing.  It was hard to take photos, I just wanted to watch the play. During another rally  Tsonga dove twice and Djokovic once while on another point, after both dived, the two lay on the ground looking at each other as if they both decided to take a rest .I’m giving you this link so you can see this point for yourself.  Trust me you will be amazed and entertained.  http://tennisplanet.typepad.com/blog/2011/07/incredible-points-djokovic-tsonga-semifinal-wimbledon-2011.html.
I knew going in that his was going to be a match full of good photos both players are very entertaining and give great images, but truthfully this match surpassed my expectations.
Born in Le Mans France to a French mother and a Congolese father, Jo-Wilfrieds father moved to France to become a professional handball player, so perhaps this is where the Muhammad Ali look-alike gets his athletic ability.
His website logo is “Impossible is Nothing”  This is attitude has brought him through years of hard times with injury and illness,  let’s hope that the 26-year-old can stay healthy and that we’ll see a lot more of him in the future.

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I started my wonderful Sunday having brunch with friends at Covent Garden, the on to the Tate Modern for the Miro Exhibit.  All the museums in London
are free which I think is great.  I love Joan Miro’s work, the way he reduces everything to a simple arrangement of signs, often on a brilliant blue background reminiscent of the Catalonia sky.   Born in Barcelona, he spend his last years in Majorca, the home of both Carlos Moya and Rafael Nadal.

There was also a wonderful photography exhibit about the war in Afghanistan.  Irish photographer, John Burke made extraordinary images of the Second Anglo-Alghan War ( 1878-1880).  Simon Norfolk who is a contemporary photographer researched Burke’s vantage points and made digital versions from the same or similar locations.
The exhibit makes a powerful statement on the state of the country and the futility of war. For 130 years the Afghan people  have endured imperialism and conflict.  Yet when you see these images made over 100 years apart nothing has really changed.  This is a show that everyone should see.  I’m going to try to contact someone at the Tate and see if they have any plans to bring this show to the USA.

It’s a hot day and walking along the river at Southbank I come across this scene,
kids having a lot fun playing in this fountain. I doubt this is what the artist who created the waterworks had this in mind, but it’s looking very tempting on this 90 degree day.

Next, a boat trip down the Themes, shopping at Canary Wharf, and some night photography, which is one of my favorite ways to spend an evening.

Nine PM Monday. The sisters have both hit the dust .. or should I say grass today.  Venus bowed out to Tsvetana Pironkova who has never been past the second round of a grand slam, 6-2, 6-3. Over on court one Marion Bartoli who lost to Venus in the 2007 final took out her revenge on Serena, defeating the four-time Champion in straight sets.

That leaves Mardy Fish .. the late bloomer, and the Bryans to carry the stars and stripes for the USA.

The Brits had a big exciting day with Andy Murray reaching the last eight, defeating France’s Richard Gasquet, and to top it off, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in attendance.  The Duchess in a gorgeous white summer dress, did the royals proud.  Kate is a big favorite here and is certainly showing Diana’s flair for fashion. There were more camera’s pointed at her than Murray.  Of course she is much better looking .. and most of the photographers are male, so what would you expect?  

Feliciano Lopes, better known among the women here as “Deliciano” gave us a huge scare,  nearly losing to qualifier Lukasz Kubot,  who had won the first two sets, and had two match points in the third,  before the tour heart-throb rallied and won in five tight ones.  He meets Murray next which could be an interesting. Murray’s mother Judy, is the one who tagged the handsome Spanish with the Deliciano nickname and it’s causing Andy more than a little embarrasment.  Commenting to reporters the number four seed, said,  ‘I think it’s about time she stopped that nonsense. It’s making me throw up. It’s disgusting.’
Well, Judy, I’m with you, the Spaniard is gorgeous and a really nice guy too, so go for it, have a little fun.  Andy apparently doesn’t have the same sense of humor as his Mum or Lopez who doesn’t seem to mind at all. 

A win here would have given James the boost he’s been hoping for in his quest for a comeback.  Beginning 2011 out of the top 150 for the first time since 2005, he fought his way back up to 102, playing in Challengers and ATP World Tour 250 series events.  This new series is the lowers tier of events on the tour with 250 ranking points going to the singles champions.

Although a comeback at 31 is unlikely, my guess is James hopes to make one more run and be able to go out with a bang rather than a whimper.  He’s had a rough ride with personal tragedy and physical challenges, the latest being his right knee.  However, he has always fought hard, played and lived with heart,  and come out a winner.
The match started badly for Blake, with Baghaditis breaking in he first game, and winning the first two sets.  I went to court 18 for the last set thinking that this might be the last chance for photos of JB at Wimbledon.  Down two sets to love and love 2 in the third, it didn’t look good for the New York vet, who doesn’t have a great record in 5 set matches. Bagdatis is a grinder, who will run down everything and keep you on the court as long as he can.

But James saw his opportunity when the Cypriot started making errors and JB pulled out the big gun.. his trademark giant stinging forehand.  Third set tie-break went to the American.  Very exciting! I have nothing against Marcos, but it would be wonderful to see our former Davis Cup singles guy go another round on the grass here in SW19.

Reluctently I left the court to go to the Isner Mahut match which I will talk about later.  On court 3 waiting for Ferrer to finish I checked my Blackberry for the scores and see that the 31 year old has won the fourth set!  OH MY WORD .. now what am I going to do?  If I leave court 3, I may not get a seat for the big rematch, but I’d love to see JB win a fifth.  In the end, I opt to stay on court 3, which may or may not have been a mistake.

On one side of the equation, the Isner/Mahut meeting was a fizzle rather than a bang, on the other hand it would have been hard to see one of my favorite players go out after such a bravely foght 5 setter.

Now lets talk about the greatly anticipated rematch .  In the post match press conference, one of the reporters commented, “The sequel rarely lives up to the original”, to which Big John replied, “Yeah,, nothing’s going to live up to that match”.  Too true.  Photographers started filling up the twelve seats on court 3 at the end of the Ferrer match, remembering from last year that it became impossible to get a seat once the match got into the fifth set.  The fact is, that it was pretty obvious from the start that the 6’9″ American was going to win.  The first set was tight, with neither player being able to break, and Isner winning in a tie-break, but there really wasn’t much atmosphere. The stands were packed but the fans weren’t really as excited as everyone expected. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because with the tall guy’s big serve the points are short so there aren’t a lot of nail biters.  After loosing the first set Nicolas was decidedly down, but pulled it together in the third and took it to another tie-break.
Mahuts’ take on today’s match was a bit sad, I felt bad when I read the transcript. “If you talk want to talk about the atmosphere, it was not as huge as we was waiting for”. Then later in the interview, ” I think this match change a lot.  All my career change after that match.  Much more attention. More expectation as well.”  “I’m sure you’re all dissappointing about today”.  Well, in a way this is true.  That’s the problem with so much hype before a match.  It’s hard for the players not to read the papers, watch TV and hear the commentary.  But the 26-year-old Frenchman has nothing to hang his head about.  Apparently he went into a deep depression after last years match and wrote a book about the whole affair.  On the positive side, he’s gained a great new friend in Isner, has honed his writing talent,  gained recognition and made tennis history.  Not really a bad year when you tally it all up.

So this is it for today, rain is predicted for tomorrow .. so what else is new?

After seeing the draw, Isner said, ” It’s weird, almost cruel”, and Mahut commented that he hopes they aren’t scheduled for court 18 again where the history making match took place last year.  This is, however a very real possibility.  While everyone is hoping and talking about it being on Center Court, referee Andrew Jarrett was quoted as saying “There is every possibility we could schedule it for Court 18 again.”  Wow, how strange would that be .. and I’m wondering how they can even think about putting that match on a court that seats just under 800 fans.. I think it’s something like 780, plus there is only space for 10 photographers on 18.  That would be a nightmare.  I remember sitting on hat seemed to be the never-ending match last year for FIVE hours.  It was dark and my batteries were running down,  no food, no water and you couldn’t even leave to go to the loo as the match could end plus there were 50 photographers waiting outside for someone to leave.

Mahut said he was in the locker room when he heard a huge NOOOOOOOOO !! from other players as the draw came up on the TV screen,  shortly thereafter, Isner sent him a text of a sad face.
I readd somewhere that the odds of two players meeting in the same event two years in a row were 10,000 to one, I wonder what the odds are that this second match will be another three-day battle.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this one goes down.  There will of course be a lot more pressure and attention.  Isner has the edge of course with the win last year and currently holds an ATP ranking of 31 while Mahut is 94, but I think the sentiment is going to be with the Frenchman, and that often can inspire a player and pull him through tough times.
Meanwhile, welcome to England! It’s raining hard here and they’ve just announced that all matches on the outside courts are canceled.  While some are happy that they may get out of here early, I’m not pleased with the fact that there will be a lot of matches to make up and things could get backed up if this weather continues. The forecast is not looking good,  with showers predicted for Wednesday, Thursday and hard rain on Friday.The roof is closed on Center court but there are only so many matches that can be played on one court. The worst thing that could happen is they have so many matches to make up  that there is play on Sunday.  Our precious day off.  That is too horrible to contemplate, and I’m not even going to put that thought out in the Universe.

Okay, here is the latest on the John and Nicolas show.  The schedule just came out and  are 4th match on show court 3.  Hmmmm, well this is better than court 18, but it is still one of the smaller courts with limited seating for the press. I’m going to have to go for the end of Ferrer who is third on to make sure I get a seat. See the problems of being a photographer here? There are many things to think about other than taking photos.