Ai, ai, AI: Wimbledon blames ‘human error' for line-calling glitch on Centre Court
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Hamilton Spectator
15 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Mirra Andreeva beat Emma Navarro at Wimbledon. She was the last person to realize she had won
LONDON (AP) — Mirra Andreeva was the last person on Centre Court to realize she had won her fourth-round match against Emma Navarro on Monday, a result that made her the youngest woman since 2007 to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Andreeva was so focused on not thinking about the score that she didn't grasp that the match was over when Navarro netted a forehand in a 6-2, 6-3 win for the 18-year-old Russian. So instead of celebrating, the seventh-seeded Andreeva calmly turned back toward her baseline and then started fiddling with her racket, seemingly getting ready for the next point. It wasn't until she noticed the reaction from the crowd — and coach Conchita Martinez celebrating — that it dawned on her that she had won. 'Honestly, I just kept telling myself that I'm facing break points. I tried to tell myself that I'm not the one who is up on the score, I'm the one who is down,' Andreeva said in an on-court interview. 'In the end I completely forgot the score. I'm happy that I did it because I think that (otherwise) I would be three times more nervous on the match point.' With the win, Andreeva became the youngest player since Nicole Vaidisova in 2007 to reach the women's quarterfinals at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. The score wasn't the only thing that Andreeva tried to ignore. She was also afraid to look up at the Royal Box, where eight-time men's Wimbledon champion Roger Federer was watching the match together with his wife, Mirka. 'I really tried my best not to look over there in the box, because I knew that as soon as I would look there I would just completely lose my focus,' she said, before addressing the couple directly. 'Honestly, it means a lot to me that you came and watched my match. It's been one of my dreams to see you in real life. So when I saw both of you I got really, really nervous.' The No. 10-seeded Navarro beat defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in the previous round, ensuring there will be yet another first-time champion. It will be the ninth different women's champion in the past nine editions of Wimbledon. Serena Williams was the last repeat champ in 2016. Andreeva will next face Belinda Bencic, who also reached her first Wimbledon quarterfinal — 11 years after making her debut at the All England Club. Bencic beating 18th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6 (4), 6-4 earlier on No. 1 Court. Bencic, who lost in the fourth round on three previous occasions, failed to convert five match points while serving at 5-3 in the second set. But on the sixth one, Alexandrova sent a forehand long. 'For you guys it was entertaining,' Bencic said about that marathon game at 5-3, where Alexandrova finally converted her fourth break point to stay in the match. 'For me it was a big stress.' Bencic's best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open, where she also reached the quarters on two other occasions. The Tokyo Olympic champion, playing at Wimbledon for the ninth time, had not been into the last eight at any of the other three majors, until now. Bencic missed last year's grass-court Grand Slam tournament while she was on maternity leave, having given birth to her first child — a daughter named Bella — in April 2024. She said traveling with a child on tour is still relatively easy while Bella is so young, but that she's spending a lot more time taking pictures when she's at tournaments. 'I'm juggling it like every mom does,' Bencic said. 'So, props to the moms.' Also, No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal by beating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 7-5, 7-5 on No. 2 Court. Samsonova has yet to drop a set this tournament and will next face either No. 8 Iga Swiatek or Clara Tauson. ___ AP tennis:
Hamilton Spectator
15 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Wimbledon: Ben Shelton beats Sonego again to reach the quarterfinals with his sister still around
LONDON (AP) — Ben Shelton reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal — doing a round better than his father-turned coach, Bryan, did in 1994 — by beating Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 on Monday. Shelton, a 22-year-old American who won the 2022 NCAA singles title for the University of Florida, improved to 3-0 against Italy's Sonego in Grand Slam action this season. It's the first time two men faced each other in a year's initial three majors since John McEnroe went 3-0 against Jimmy Connors in 1984. The 10th-seeded Shelton also eliminated Sonego in the Australian Open's quarterfinals in January, and the French Open's first round in May. 'Every time I need a big point, he comes up with a highlight shot,' Shelton said, 'and maybe the same, vice versa.' Shelton finished this latest meeting with a flourish, breaking the 47th-ranked Sonego to avoid heading to a tiebreaker, then throwing his head back, yelling 'Come on!' and pounding his chest. 'I'm happy with the way that I played that last game. I feel like that was my best tennis, my best returning, and that's what I'm going to need to continue in this tournament,' said Shelton, who advanced to a matchup against No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. 'So for me to end the match with that sort of game gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.' Up in the stands at No. 1 Court were Shelton's parents, his sister Emma — who stuck around at the All England Club after he made a public plea for her not to have to return to her job at Morgan Stanley on Monday, as originally planned — and his girlfriend, U.S. national soccer team star Trinity Rodman. 'I've got a lot of people that I love over there,' Shelton said during his on-court interview. He credited his father with inspiring the way he plays on grass courts. 'He was in the round of 16 here — 31 years ago? Give or take. He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline,' Shelton said. But he's also showing that he has a knack for success on the slick surface, doing the sorts of things that constitute what Shelton termed 'vintage style' tennis of moving forward and cutting off angles and generally being 'a little bit unpredictable.' Against Sonego, Shelton won the point on 43 of his 58 trips to the net, including 11 of 17 when serve-and-volleying. If he can produce those sorts of numbers in his next match, that could help get him to a third career Grand Slam semifinal, after the 2023 U.S. Open and this year's Australian Open. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:
Associated Press
18 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Marin Cilic questions early start time after losing in the 4th round at Wimbledon
LONDON (AP) — Marin Cilic wasn't happy with the scheduling at Wimbledon on Monday after losing to Flavio Cobolli in a fourth-round match that started as arranged at 11 a.m. local time. The 36-year-old Cilic said he had to warm up indoors as the Wimbledon practice courts don't open until 9:30 a.m. and that the No. 2 Court where his match was played was still quite soft after it rained overnight. Play on the outside courts at Wimbledon is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) throughout the fortnight, whereas matches on Centre Court and No. 1 Court begin at least two hours later. But Cilic questioned whether tournament organizers shouldn't put all singles matches later in the day in the fourth round. 'I don't like to speak about the conditions. OK, I lost and everything. I have to accept it,' Cilic said. 'But I feel bitter because why is there a need to play at 11?' The Cobolli-Cilic meeting was the only one of the eight singles matches played Monday that had such an early start time. Liudmila Samsonova's match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro followed Cobolli and Cilic on No. 2 Court, while the other six matches were played on Centre Court and No. 1 Court. 'It's raining overnight, and the court was quite soft,' Cilic said. 'It was really difficult to play on. You just push the ball in the middle of the court, and the ball just stays super low. It was just a struggle.' He lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3). Still, it was a relatively successful Wimbledon for Cilic, the 2014 U.S. Open champion who was runner-up at the All-England Club in 2017. Cilic is coming back to top-level tennis after having two knee operations and then playing in lower-level Challenger Tour events this year to boost his ranking. He had to make it through qualifying rounds just to get into the bracket at the French Open, where he lost in the first round. 'I have great encouragement, happiness, positive attitude, and positive outcomes out of the tournament,' he said. 'I found great form, played some fantastic tennis. Even today was quite close.' ___ AP tennis:
