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RESULTS 🎾

💥 = Beatdown \\ 🤕 = Injury \\ ‼️ = Upset \\ 🤯 = Epic

Featured Matches

Nadal d Tsonga: 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 💥

Highlights🎥

TL;DW: A rather sad performance from Tsonga, who was never at the races, looking a shadow of his former self against a rampant Nadal. The same old matchup problems, for the Frenchman, were evident throughout the contest, with Nadal’s cross-court forehand finding Tsonga’s much weaker backhand wing with unwavering consistency. Tsonga’s sometime solution to this problem, when he was in his physical prime, was to constantly run around his backhand and crush inside-out forehands. Hitting hard enough for it not to be a problem that he was opening up space down the line. Unfortunately for Tsonga, there were two problems with that approach today: Tsonga is a step slower these days, than he needs to be, to successfully execute. Nadal’s forehand down the line was firing. — 1.👆 Tsonga desperately wants to protect his backhand weakness by hitting his forehand from the backhand corner. He knows he needs to hit big because of how much space this kind of shot opens up for Nadal to hit into. Goes for too much. This was a recurring theme. — 2.👇 And even when Tsonga made the forehand, he opens up acres of space for Rafa to hit down the line: When Tsonga did manage to escape this dynamic, he was errant with his groundstrokes to the tune of 22 unforced errors, missing pretty badly throughout. Nadal’s serve was also impeccable all match, losing a slightly ridiculous 10 points on serve out of 63 (he was 36/41 after two sets), facing deuce just once, and not a single break point. Rafa was also excellent from the baseline, firing a devastating 35 winners (11 of them aces), to just 12 unforced errors, and looking very sharp off both wings. But in truth, Rafa could probably have been 70% as good as he was today, and still have come through the match with ease. Nadal plays J.Sousa next.

Federer d Pouille: 7-5, 6-2, 7-6(4)

Highlights🎥

TL;DW: An immensely entertaining match, with both players relying largely on instinct and reactions throughout, featuring half-volleys and net-rushing a’ plenty. This contest played like an old school grass match, but Federer managed the first-strike tennis better when it mattered today. The 2nd set was a bit of a letdown for both players, with Pouille initially slumping after losing a tight first set, and Federer then offering up a slightly loose break back. The match was really won and lost in the 1st and 3rd sets (but especially the 1st), and that’s what I’ll focus on: 1st Set: The opener featured Pouille as the better player until he served at 5*-6. The Frenchman served himself out off multiple 0-30 holes early on, and then set up a BP on Federer’s serve at 3-3, and then again at 5-5. The 3-3 chance was quite a poor backhand shank from Pouille, but he had Federer rushing the net, so is probably excusable. The BP at 5-5 was simply too good from Federer, who came to the net and somehow managed to hook a smash in play, using the very top of his racquet, to set up another easier smash put-away (1). The Swiss then pounced, with more excellent net play (2), combined with some loose Pouille errors on serve, to set up two set points at 5*-6. Pouille missed a forehand wide and lost what was a crucial, and very tight, first set. Pouille had had significant joy serving into Federer’s backhand (which was poor all match long) and hitting to that wing in open play. But Federer’s forehand and volley skills, in crucial moments saved him. High quality opener. — (1)👆 Federer *just* making this crucial smash down BP at 5-5 in the 1st. (BBC) — (2)👇 Such an interesting point. Firstly, Pouille's FH flick was a bit of genius, keeping the ball low to make Fed’s life difficult at the net (which it did, having to half-volley, setting up a nice ball for Pouille). Secondly, Federer's fake when Pouille was running towards the net. He jukes towards the sideline, making Pouille think he's covering down the line. Fed then moves back to centre to cover the higher % pass. Federer does this *every* time, and is a huge reason why he wins such a high number of these points despite being an underdog with the opponent charging a short ball. 3rd Set: The third set featured much of the same, with Pouille having half-chances at 3-3 on return, but missing wildly when presented with 2nd serves (a bit of a theme today). And Federer then holding a match point with Pouille serving to stay in the match at 5*-6. This time Pouille came up with more brilliant serving (2 aces in 3 points) to escape. The ensuing tiebreaker was played at a seriously high level, with the only difference maker being Pouille’s descison to hit a slow 2nd serve into Federer’s forehand at 0*-1. This prompted a big return from Federer, who then pounced on a short ball to grab the mini-break. Neither player faltered on serve in the subsequent points, both coming up with some stunning first strike tennis and winners. But on Federer’s 2nd MP, with Pouille serving at 4*-6, the Frenchman netted a backhand and it was all over. Pouille played excellently today, and reminded everyone how potent his quick-fire, subconscious tennis brain can be, especially on quick surfaces. When he watches the replay, he’ll probably kick himself for approaching Federer’s forehand on many occasions, as well as making some soft errors on 2nd serve returns to ease the pressure off Federer. But overall, the Frenchman played at a very high level. As for Fed, his forehand and net game were both stunning, getting him out of plenty of sticky situations, as well as firing some outrageous winners from all areas of the court. The Swiss’s backhand however was fairly awful for much of the match, shanking and error-ing with alarming regularity, opening numerous doors for his opponent. This was probably a big reason Fed approached the net so often (winning 23/32), so as not to get caught in too many baseline exchanges where Pouille could work the backhand. And the Swiss can count himself lucky he has such ludicrously good hand skills to make this strategy viable. Federer’s best performance, by a distance, since the start of Halle. Plays Berrettini next.

Also:

Nishikori d Johnson : 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 💥

Sandgren d Fognini: 6-3, 7-6(12), 6-3 ‼️

Fognini was grumpy and rather tired looking throughout, probably understandably so after being put on Court 14 and after his 5-set-heroics a couple of days ago. The key was the 2nd set, in which Fognini held a set point on serve (at 8*-7 in the tiebreaker), only to get foiled by some brilliant Sandgren defence. The American’s ability to make life difficult for Fognini, while on the run and far outside the court, was consistently impressive, and frustrated the Italian no end.

Querrey d Millman : 7-6(3), 7-6(8), 6-3

Berrettini d Schwartzman: 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 🤯

4 hrs, 20 minutes. Berrettini saved 3 match points in the 4th set.

Kukushkin d Struff: 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5 ‼️

Kukushkin’s abnormally flat, and low bouncing, strokes presented a bit of a nightmare for Struff, whose backhand is low-margin at the best of times. The German finished with a slightly silly 29 backhand unforced errors. Grass continues to suit Kukushkin’s game down to a tee.

A.Murray/S.Williams d Guarachi/Mies: 6-4, 6-1

Sousa d Evans: 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 🤯

5th set played indoors. Sousa found a stunning backhand pass (GIF below), in the final game, to bring up a break and match point. Evans then missed a pretty easy drop shot, after doing all the hard work, to lose it. Evans’s frustration and demons lost him this match, and his best level was too good for Sousa, on this surface, for much of the match (had chances in 3rd and 4th sets that he couldn’t take). Unfortunately for the Brit, he couldn’t find that top level with the required consistency, and Sousa stuck around in dogged, impressive fashion. Sousa plays Nadal next.

SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮

— Nadal crushing a backhand early on vs Tsonga. (BBC)

— Another one. Rafa’s backhand return was excellent all match long. (BBC)

— Nadal peppering the Tsonga backhand, until he coaxes the right ball, and then pulling the trigger down the line. (BBC)

— Unreal banana forehand from Nadal. Think that’s already No.5 for the tournament. (BBC)

— Aaaand there’s No.6. (BBC)

— Federer refusing to yeiled ground after a 2nd serve, despite the solid return from Pouille. Just flicks his wrist and half-volleys the winner from inside the court. Lots of this today. (BBC)

— That first volley is unreasonably good. Either Fed got a bit lucky with the frame, or he’s an alien. (BBC)

— Federer’s forehand was on fire today. Pouille will be cringing while watching the replay of his consistent approaches to the Federer forehand (instead of backhand). (BBC)

— Federer hitting volleys so well they’re bouncing back into the net. Way too good. (BBC)

— Crazy flick, cross-court from Fed. Unplayable. (BBC)

— Federer obliterates this yellow spheroid. 91mph half-volley that cleans the sideline. Ridiculous. (BBC)

— Fed’s 87mph drive volley, from the uh… baseline. (BBC)

— Pouille coming up with a 91mph forehand. Makes it look effortless. Stunning. (BBC)

— Another wonderful Fed half-volley forehand. Another Pouille approach to the wrong side. (BBC)

INTERVIEW/PRESSER BEST BITS🎤

Nadal on the speed of the courts:

“When I hear people say the court is very slow or faster or slower than ever, you know, I've been here 15 years and every time I'm hearing the same. Honestly for me the surface is the same as always and I’ve been playing here since 2003. The balls are heavier though, now that's true.”

On his match:

“I did a lot of things well. You don’t want to face Jo so early here but this was my day and I enjoyed it. Every single day is a battle here. I’m happy how I’ve played in the first week. Now it’s day by day in the second week.”

Nadal Full Presser:

Federer post match:

“It was tough, a hard fought match. The key to the match was 5-5 in the 1st set, where I saved BP’s and then went on to break him in next game.”

On his record of 350 wins at Slams:

“It’s nice but it’s medium otherwise, because back in the amateur era, and generation before me, the guys couldn’t travel or play all the slams.”

On setting up the charity match, he’ll be playing with Nadal in Cape Town, next year:

“It wasn't easy. But it's like life. If something is a priority, you find time.”

On his next opponent:

“I expect a very tough match against Matteo (Berrettini) on Monday. I saw him in Stuttgart. I hope he has no energy left (laughs). He's young I'm sure he'll have recovered.”

Federer Full Presser:

Fognini on the ‘Bomb’ comment (details further down):

“When you're on the court you're frustrated sometimes, if you've played you know you can say things. If anyone feels offended, I apologise.”

Tsonga on if there is a toughest opponent out of the Big 3:

“For me they are all the same, when at their best, it’s so tough to beat them.”

Berrettini on his next opponent:

“I kind of stopped cheering for him (Federer) when I first saw my name and his name in the same draw. I realized I had to stop cheering for him.”

“I think I have the weapons to win that match.”

EXTRAS 🔍📊🎤

— Nice slo-mo of Federer’s 87mph drive-volley from the baseline. Completely airborne. (BBC)

— Nadal lost this point after missing a forehand, but this spinning skyhook drop shot was absolutely crazy. (BBC)

— As reported a few days ago, the ATP is about to close a huge betting rights deal with IMG. Two board members of the ATP either currently or formerly hold/held high ranking positions at IMG, further muddying the waters. Pospisil states that the players were not informed.

Umpire to Johnson and Nishikori: “Please don’t throw your racquets on the grass as you can damage the lawn.” Johnson (to umpire): “You can just direct that to me. Kei has never thrown a racquet in his life.”

— Rafael Federer or Roger Nadal?

— 5.2 million is a full 700k more than last years Wimbledon final between Djokovic and Anderson(!). A perfect example of how all-powerful stories are in sports/life. The hype from media may seem generic & somewhat force fed, but it truly works. The 2 biggest matches so far this tournament were the Nadal Kyrgios “feud” & the 15 year old phenom. Anger/conflict & youth rising. Two narratives which are age old in their appeal.

NEW BALLS PLEASE 👀

— Nadal to Lahyani (waiting to umpire Federer Pouille match):

Rafa: “Recovered?” (Lahyani injured his meniscus in Barcelona earlier this year, while jumping off the umpire chair).

Lahyani: “Very good, thank you Rafa!”

— Sandgren hits a backhand while serving at 7-7 in the tiebreaker. Called out. Hawkeye shows it fractionally wide, Fognini trolls Sandgren with this face:

— “I wish a bomb would explode on this club, a bomb.” Fognini not happy with the English, or his court assignment.

— Federer's forehand and volleys today: unbelievably good.

— Federer's backhand:

Federer: *hits ridiculous backhand winner so hard it would pierce steel*

Mirka:

— Just two old friends.

Reminder: tomorrow is middle Sunday, so no play at Wimbledon. Next full issue will be Monday. See you then!

GAME, SET, MATCH 👋

— The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt.

— You can find me on Twitter here.

See you on Monday for the 4th Round! (I’ll send out Monday’s Order Of Play tomorrow)