SERENA FINDING VINTAGE FORM AS WORLD No1 HALEP IS DUMPED OUT
Young pretenders are on the run as legends go for glory...
THERE was a pregnant pause as Serena Williams considered the weighty question of the day: will Meghan Markle be coming to watch her during the second week of Wimbledon?
Having weighed it up, the great American made the equivalent of a solid forehand reply down the middle of the court. ‘I don’t know. I have to keep winning,’ she said with a knowing smile.
Wherever she goes this is the sort of soap opera that follows her around, and the truth is she quite enjoys it. And the likelihood is, given her benign draw, that there could be plenty more opportunities in the forthcoming week for her friend to make a high profile visit to SW19.
You never know, if she did come then she might bump into Donald Trump, a noted tennis enthusiast and US Open regular, who is also in town over the coming days.
Wimbledon would be happy to accommodate either, especially during a fortnight when the tournament has taken second billing to the World Cup.
The All England Club have cause to be thankful to both Williams and Roger Federer, two authentic sporting superstars whose presence guarantees a high level of interest, whatever the counter attractions.
It helps that Williams has been so keen to share the trials and tribulations of being an athlete ‘mom’ with her fans, which only adds to the intrigue about whether she can make this a triumphant return to Wimbledon.
Yesterday morning, for example, she took to Twitter to reveal the latest sacrifice she has been forced to make, referring to her daughter Alexis Olympia.
‘She took her first steps... I was training and missed it. I cried,’ Serena told her 11 million followers.
On the eve of the tournament, a week last Saturday, she had postponed her media duties to turn up at a polo match where Meghan and Harry were present. It would be no great surprise if, exactly two weeks after that, she is the one holding aloft the Venus Rosewater Dish again.
The carnage among the women’s seeds makes it difficult to see how she could possibly be stopped prior to the semi-final.
Tomorrow she faces fellow mother Evgeniya Rodina, the world No 120, who somehow got through to the fourth round after a woeful display from her American opponent, Madison Keys.
Then it would be either the unseeded Ekaterina Makarova, not noted for her mental fortitude, or the speedy Italian Camila Giorgi, ranked 52.
The biggest threat left in her half of the draw is seventh seed Karolina Pliskova, who is trying to shake off an inexplicably poor record at Wimbledon.
Somewhat incredibly, it could be that two 36 year-olds might be celebrated at the Champions’ Dinner a week tonight, the tried and tested Federer-Williams double act.
Both have enjoyed a relaxing weekend to prepare their bodies for the week ahead, and both look to have relatively smooth paths.
Tomorrow Federer faces the slightly unorthodox Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, but the biggest threat to him making the final could be the injury-prone Canadian powerhouse Milos Raonic, the 13th seed, who faces American Miles McDonald tomorrow.
Keep an eye out, too, for 19 yearold Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is impressing at what is only his second Wimbledon. It is to the likes of Tsitsipas —highly regarded by some sound judges — that the game is anxiously looking, as it fishes for stars who will one day establish themselves as serious attractions when the golden generation inevitably subsides.
For while the amazing longevity of Federer and Williams is something to be celebrated, it is also somewhat embarrassing that nobody appears able to lay a glove on them. A key factor for them to be able to last the fortnight at a relatively advanced age is that they are not unduly taxed in the opening rounds.
While Williams is still feeling her way back, and was given a halfdecent challenge by Kristina Mladenovic on Friday, the Swiss master has not even faced so much as a break point en route to the fourth round.
Clearly much of this is to do with his pinpoint serving, while the American’s service delivery may be the greatest single weapon that the sport has ever seen.
The lingering point is that we know how brilliant Federer and Williams are, but it is hard to know just how good or not are the generation who are meant to be coming up behind them.