:00:12. > :00:22.Welcome. All the action, the biggest stories, incisive analysis.
:00:22. > :00:27.
:00:27. > :00:33.A big test for the man who still hasn't found what he's looking for.
:00:33. > :00:37.Vertigo - could two British women make round three?
:00:37. > :00:47.And is the unforgettable Fire still burning in the three times losing
:00:47. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :00:58.It is the Late, Late Show tonight. We have the first lady of tennis
:00:58. > :01:04.fashion. That is your coat. What do you think? I'm amazed that I fit in
:01:04. > :01:09.it. It is heavy. It is the Alex Noble designed thing. He designs
:01:09. > :01:16.outfits for Lady Gaga. Would you wear that going on to court?
:01:16. > :01:20.Probably not. It might be in the Wimbledon Museum one day. We have
:01:20. > :01:24.to rattle through this evening. We are going to rush through the Andy
:01:25. > :01:31.Murray story because I'm sure most of you saw it on BBC One. Anyway,
:01:31. > :01:36.Andy Murray was on court against a big man, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.
:01:36. > :01:46.A big man with an absolutely massive serve. Murray had a hiccup
:01:46. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :01:57.in his first set on Monday but has What was your take on the way he
:01:57. > :02:01.It was a high quality match. He played very well. Andy Murray was
:02:01. > :02:05.made to work. You could sense he was happy to get through the first
:02:06. > :02:12.week, happy about his game and feeling good about week two. At one
:02:12. > :02:17.set each, were you worried from a Murray point of view? I got worried
:02:17. > :02:21.deep in the 4th. But Murray is so solid, he does not look as stressed
:02:21. > :02:26.as he has in the past. He looks more at ease. And he is playing
:02:26. > :02:31.great. Winning at Queen's has given him so much confidence. That was a
:02:31. > :02:36.magnificent shot down the line. The key point to make is that Ljubicic
:02:36. > :02:42.was playing well, but Murray was playing better. If you enjoyed this
:02:42. > :02:46.at Queen's, here it comes again. Is there an element of luck, or is
:02:46. > :02:49.that brilliance? That is pure talent. You cannot teach that.
:02:49. > :02:54.People spend years on court and cannot master anything like this,
:02:54. > :02:59.but it is his amazing court sense, court awareness and hand-eye co-
:02:59. > :03:04.ordination. It ended up getting tight towards the end of the 4th
:03:04. > :03:13.set, but eventually, much to that child's delight, here he is serving
:03:13. > :03:23.at match point. Take that! And here we go, into the second week once
:03:23. > :03:24.
:03:24. > :03:27.again. Oh knows how far this is You will have tough sets, tough
:03:27. > :03:33.moments in Grand Slams. Something that will give you pleasure was the
:03:33. > :03:38.shot through the legs. That was fantastic. It was just one of those
:03:38. > :03:41.things that was just in the right position. I tried it at Queen's and
:03:41. > :03:46.have tried it a couple of times in practice since and I have not
:03:46. > :03:52.missed one. You look like a plonker when you do, so I am glad I made it.
:03:52. > :03:56.Just one of those things! It was high-skill, really. You can call it
:03:56. > :04:04.what you want, it is one of those shots that you do not get to try
:04:04. > :04:07.very often and luckily I have His next round against Richard
:04:07. > :04:13.Gasquet, who is coached by the same man who has control against
:04:13. > :04:18.Ljubicic. What lessons will he have learnt? Well, they played different
:04:18. > :04:23.styles of game. Richard Gasquet has the opportunity to hurt Andy Murray
:04:23. > :04:28.quite a bit there. Ljubicic was coming in so much, giving Murray a
:04:29. > :04:33.target. Gasket will stay on the baseline. -- Gasquet. That is one
:04:33. > :04:37.of the best matches so far that we have, on Monday. Gasquet is
:04:37. > :04:41.probably the most talented player out there. Even at this stage, it
:04:41. > :04:44.is safe to say that game will not be interrupted by the weather
:04:44. > :04:49.because the forecast for Monday is 32 degrees. If you are coming, do
:04:49. > :04:55.not wear very much. Let's go back to the biggest moment in a young
:04:55. > :04:59.British girl's life. Welcome to the big time, Laura Robson. 17 years
:04:59. > :05:03.old and up against former champion Maria Sharapova, who won the title
:05:03. > :05:09.seven years ago when she was just 17. Robson has had a tricky year
:05:09. > :05:16.because of injury. But she did seize the moment. She rattled in to
:05:16. > :05:19.a 4-1 lead in the first set. At that point, all round Wimbledon, on
:05:19. > :05:24.all of the outside courts, as the score was being flashed up, people
:05:24. > :05:29.were going, can she really win this? Were you amazed at the
:05:29. > :05:32.confidence she showed from the word go? So impressed with the quick
:05:32. > :05:36.start. Maria Sharapova is one of those players that normally takes
:05:36. > :05:40.advantage of a player that is a little bit nervous, a little bit
:05:40. > :05:43.overwhelmed. But Laura Robson came out showing huge fire power and a
:05:43. > :05:48.lot of courage. It took Maria a couple of games to get into the
:05:48. > :05:58.match and then it got good. They found themselves in a first set
:05:58. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:14.tie-break. Here we are at 2-2. Can Another big serve. Sharapova still
:06:14. > :06:51.
:06:51. > :07:01.struggling on the backhand wing to We haven't seen one of those for
:07:01. > :07:01.
:07:01. > :08:02.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds
:08:02. > :08:06.The fifth double fault of the set Just half a step late. Sharapova's
:08:06. > :08:16.backhand cross-court is so impressive. At full stretch, she
:08:16. > :08:40.
:08:40. > :08:47.And that is what a champion comes up with, a few mongers return and
:08:47. > :08:51.an even bigger forehand. -- a huge return and an even bigger forehand.
:08:51. > :09:01.It has been a while since she won a Grand Slam title but she still
:09:01. > :09:28.
:09:28. > :09:33.The backhand cross-court, again. Well, you picked it. The forehand
:09:33. > :09:36.of Robson was the key shot at the start of the set, but this is
:09:36. > :09:46.becoming a major weapon for the Russian. And now she has the mini-
:09:46. > :10:13.
:10:13. > :10:23.Very close. Miss Robson is challenging the call. I think it
:10:23. > :10:23.
:10:23. > :11:03.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds
:11:03. > :11:08.was wide, but is worth the Sharapova had to battle, but in the
:11:08. > :11:14.end it was the former champion who took the opening set. She took it
:11:14. > :11:17.7-6. That was a fantastic effort by
:11:17. > :11:21.Laura Robson, but you felt there was an inevitability that she would
:11:21. > :11:26.not be able to reach those heights in the second set, because
:11:26. > :11:33.Sharapova is not a former champion for nothing. Here we are, with a
:11:33. > :11:39.tremendous rally at the start of the second set. And here, Robson
:11:39. > :11:44.managing to get one back. That is a really, really brutal forehand
:11:44. > :11:54.winner gets into the hitting zone for Laura Robson. -- when it gets
:11:54. > :11:54.
:11:54. > :11:58.into the hitting zone. I am sure nobody in the Robson camp, if you
:11:58. > :12:05.had offered them 7-6, 6-3 before the match, they would probably have
:12:05. > :12:09.taken it. I know you were on number one court watching that. The
:12:09. > :12:13.atmosphere was extraordinary. was amazing at the end of the match,
:12:14. > :12:17.especially when Robson made a run to catch up. And have never seen an
:12:17. > :12:21.atmosphere on court number one quite like it. The crowd gave the
:12:21. > :12:30.players a standing ovation, but really for Laura Robson. It was
:12:30. > :12:34.It is almost easy to play on number one court against the defending
:12:34. > :12:37.champion. Is the test for Laura Robson how she copes with playing
:12:37. > :12:42.in challengers in the middle of nowhere against people no one has
:12:42. > :12:46.ever heard of, and how you managed to work away at the rankings?
:12:46. > :12:49.Absolutely. I am a big believer in mastering every level before
:12:49. > :12:54.climbing to the next. For her, that means winning the challengers and
:12:54. > :12:57.then doing well in the lower Tear tournaments and working her way up.
:12:57. > :13:01.There is no question that she has to accumulate some victories and
:13:01. > :13:08.get some confidence on her own, but she has a great future. What she
:13:08. > :13:13.has, you cannot teach - ball- striking, big shots and big weapons.
:13:13. > :13:17.Sharapova's serve was, on occasions, bewilderingly bad. Can she win this
:13:17. > :13:23.serving that poorly? It has got better than it was. Before, on her
:13:23. > :13:27.bad days it was five out of seven, and now it is one or two days out
:13:27. > :13:31.of seven. She is so mentally strong and she fights through it so well,
:13:31. > :13:35.but you wonder if she were to get to a Grand Slam final and face a
:13:35. > :13:39.Williams sister, or a tough competitor, would it hold up? That
:13:39. > :13:44.is the biggest question. In her biggest match to date since coming
:13:44. > :13:49.back from surgery, it wasn't there, 10 double faults. Some days, it is
:13:49. > :13:59.there. You have no idea with her. Let's move on to the other British
:13:59. > :14:03.player involved today, we thought Elena Baltacha had been here before,
:14:03. > :14:09.four times in the Wimbledon second round. Just once had she reached
:14:09. > :14:14.round three. The world No. 20, Penshaw way, of China, was the
:14:14. > :14:19.formidable obstacle before her today. Baltacha showed the intent
:14:19. > :14:22.to bring the wall down. A crucial point came in the 9th game, as the
:14:22. > :14:27.British number one showed the form that saw the triumph in Nottingham
:14:28. > :14:37.this month. What a way to do it. Baltacha held her nerve to serve
:14:38. > :14:41.
:14:41. > :14:48.out the first set. Ace cent of Peng Shuai then raised her level,
:14:48. > :14:54.broke early and took command of the second set. The 20th seed took that
:14:55. > :15:02.set 6-2 to enforce a decider. A deep breath for Elena and the
:15:02. > :15:09.renewed determination to match the 2002 display here. Peng was equally
:15:09. > :15:18.feisty. Baltacha broke, then Peng broke back. Baltacha broke again.
:15:18. > :15:24.Could she see it out this time? Well, not if Peng could help it.
:15:24. > :15:31.Another break back. The battle still on. Baltacha saved three
:15:31. > :15:39.match points at 5-6 down in the final set as the Court 18 drama
:15:39. > :15:42.built to a climax. The end came all too soon for Elena. Peng won on a
:15:42. > :15:45.fourth match point. Baltacha remains the last British woman to
:15:45. > :15:55.reach the third round here nine years ago. She is confident there's
:15:55. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :15:58.I am performing very consistently on a week-to-week basis. That is
:15:59. > :16:02.on a week-to-week basis. That is why I'm not terribly disappointed.
:16:03. > :16:07.I know I'm moving in the right direction. I still haven't fully
:16:07. > :16:12.peaked yet. There are still things I need to get better at. Look, I'm
:16:12. > :16:14.hungrier than ever. I want to keep going. Agonising, though? It was
:16:14. > :16:18.tough. I was watching the end of tough. I was watching the end of
:16:18. > :16:22.that match. She was so close. She's a great competitor. She's improved
:16:23. > :16:27.so much over the last few years. She is playing really well. I like
:16:27. > :16:32.what she said. She is not going to let it again her down. Has she
:16:32. > :16:35.still got room for improvement? think so. I saw her play here a
:16:35. > :16:40.couple of years ago. She is a completely different player. Looks
:16:40. > :16:46.more sure of herself out there. Certainly, there's a limit to how
:16:46. > :16:49.high she can go. Grand Slam Champion might be out of her league.
:16:50. > :16:56.It does mean there is no British involvement in the ladies singles
:16:56. > :16:58.into the second week. Remarkably, are we looking at a possible final
:16:59. > :17:02.or another title for Venus or another title for Venus
:17:02. > :17:09.Williams? The draw is cutting up. Today up against a player who had
:17:09. > :17:14.as many Spanish names as it is humanly possible to have in a name
:17:14. > :17:19.- Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Venus was impressive today. She was
:17:19. > :17:24.so impressive. This is the best match Venus has played in over a
:17:24. > :17:29.year. She was crisp, sharp and aggressive. Maria Jose Martinez
:17:29. > :17:35.Sanchez was never in this match. talk about the serve about
:17:35. > :17:38.Sharapova - that was a good rally which the Spanish girl won. We talk
:17:38. > :17:42.about the serve from Sharapova's point of view as a minus. The serve
:17:42. > :17:46.from Venus is such a massive plus. It was working in this match.
:17:46. > :17:53.Occasionally, the serve can go off. When she has complete control of it,
:17:53. > :17:59.she is nearly impossible to beat on grass. I don't know if anybody
:17:59. > :18:02.watching this tonight has an ante- post bet on Venus Williams winning
:18:02. > :18:09.the ladies singles this year. If that betting slip was sitting in
:18:09. > :18:15.your pocket at the moment, whatever odds you have got, it is looking
:18:15. > :18:19.odds you have got, it is looking good at the moment. So far, so good.
:18:19. > :18:24.The second round was just two players playing some attacking
:18:24. > :18:28.tennis and it was a great match. I was happy to have won. Today was
:18:28. > :18:32.really straightforward which was great compared to the round before.
:18:32. > :18:36.So I'm happy to be in the second week. As we are getting more
:18:37. > :18:41.serious in the tournament, any new outfits coming out, anything
:18:41. > :18:49.planned? No. This is just it for this tournament. This was actually
:18:49. > :18:54.a lot of work to prepare so one is enough and that's my lucky outfit.
:18:54. > :18:57.As a former champion yourself, we were talking about Sharapova at key
:18:58. > :19:01.moments playing like a champion, Venus playing like a champion at
:19:01. > :19:05.key moments. As the tournament progresses and she and her sister
:19:05. > :19:09.are the only two former champions in the draw, what is it they are
:19:09. > :19:13.able to draw on that the rest can't? They come up with huge shots.
:19:13. > :19:16.We saw that with Sharapova against Robson, when the chips are down,
:19:16. > :19:20.the top players, they are not afraid to go for it and they come
:19:20. > :19:26.up with that something special. With Venus and Serena, that is the
:19:26. > :19:29.case. For Serena it could be a serve or a big ground stroke from
:19:29. > :19:32.Venus. Especially here at Wimbledon, you can never count them out.
:19:32. > :19:35.not the ability to do it and execute the shot, it is the
:19:35. > :19:39.knowledge of how to do it and the confidence? The confidence and the
:19:39. > :19:44.courage. They don't back away when the score is close and the match is
:19:44. > :19:48.on the line. OK. There were lots of Russian players on show today in
:19:48. > :19:54.the men's and ladies singles. We saw Sharapova win earlier on. For
:19:54. > :20:04.the rest, it was a day of mixed fortunes. We have been saying the
:20:04. > :20:14.Russians are coming but today most It was a case of Aussie rules in
:20:14. > :20:19.five sets. Tursunov was also given his
:20:19. > :20:27.marching orders. Could the women do any better? No
:20:27. > :20:35.for Svetlana Kuznetsova! She was bundled out by Yanina Wickmayer.
:20:35. > :20:45.And it got worse. Lot lot last year's finalist Vera Zvonareva
:20:45. > :20:46.
:20:46. > :20:56.ground to a halt, but it is not over until it is Petrova. There was
:20:56. > :21:04.
:21:04. > :21:11.For those of you who like these kind of stats, it ensured that ever
:21:11. > :21:15.since the game went open in 1968, there has been an Australian player
:21:15. > :21:19.into the third round of the men's singles. So far, the men's singles
:21:19. > :21:25.have been going on quite smoothly until mid-afternoon on Centre Court
:21:25. > :21:28.today when Andy Roddick came up against Feliciano Lopez, the man
:21:28. > :21:32.against Feliciano Lopez, the man with a big serve. What a big serve
:21:32. > :21:39.he has to the backhand side. Were you surprised to see Roddick fall
:21:39. > :21:42.by the wayside? So surprised. Roddick has such a good record
:21:42. > :21:48.against Lopez. Really, what impressed me most was the passing
:21:48. > :21:52.shots he was able to come up with in the tie-break. He was able to
:21:52. > :22:01.get Roddick's serve back and pass him at the net. That is not easy to
:22:01. > :22:07.do. APPLAUSE So here we go into the third set now. As you can see, this
:22:07. > :22:14.is a big break opportunity for Lopez again. It is a beautiful - it
:22:14. > :22:18.is a thing of beauty that shot. He swings through it so magnificently.
:22:18. > :22:22.It is like a cricketer trying to play the ball through cover point.
:22:22. > :22:27.This is match point. Roddick, his dream of getting to a Wimbledon
:22:28. > :22:33.final again thwarted. Three times final again thwarted. Three times
:22:33. > :22:35.he's got to the final. Three times he's lost. Has his ship sailed once
:22:36. > :22:40.and for all? REPORTER: Do you let thoughts creep
:22:40. > :22:44.in that it might never happen for you here? Do you let that come into
:22:44. > :22:50.your thoughts? Sure, you are human. Of course it does. You may never
:22:50. > :22:56.get your favourite job either. No offence to your current employer!
:22:56. > :22:59.LAUGHTER Any job is great. I'm doing all right! That's good. Me
:22:59. > :23:03.too. My question was, it must be harder and harder as the year goes
:23:03. > :23:07.on to think that this dream of yours... Yes, it is similar to the
:23:07. > :23:12.question you just asked. You keep moving forward. Until you decide to
:23:12. > :23:16.stop. At this point, I'm not stopping so I'm moving forward.
:23:16. > :23:21.sets to love is a great advantage. I knew that Andy is going to be
:23:21. > :23:25.there. He is a great fighter. He is such a good player. I think it is a
:23:25. > :23:30.very important win for me overall. At what point did you know you had
:23:30. > :23:35.it? Well, when I was shaking hands with Andy, I think! To be honest,
:23:35. > :23:43.you never know. I was a bit nervous. It is always difficult to close a
:23:43. > :23:48.match. So I'm so happy to be here talking to you. So with Andy
:23:48. > :23:53.Roddick... Disappointment. It won't get easier for him as the years go
:23:53. > :23:58.on. We are never going to forget that epic final with Roger a few
:23:58. > :24:01.years back. It's been a tough year for Andy. He has not won a lot of
:24:01. > :24:06.matches. It has been disappointing with some injuries. Hopefully, he
:24:06. > :24:15.can go into the hard-court season. There is no question he has to make
:24:15. > :24:18.a few changes. The days when he could bludgeon people off court are
:24:18. > :24:25.gone? Absolutely. Roddick has a big serve but he does not have the
:24:26. > :24:30.ground strokes to back it up. Guys, once they can get his serve back,
:24:30. > :24:35.they can get into the rally with him. You hope he will be able to
:24:35. > :24:42.get that forehand bigger but he will have to add another shot.
:24:42. > :24:52.Let's see what else happened today before the heavens opened. It's
:24:52. > :24:52.
:24:52. > :25:02.been a tough first week. As they say, TFI, Thank Fred It's Friday.
:25:02. > :25:04.
:25:04. > :25:08.There was success for the French as Marion Bartoli went through.
:25:08. > :25:13.Richard Gasquet also enjoyed that Friday feeling and Simone Bolelli
:25:13. > :25:16.will have the weekend to contemplate his three-set loss. In
:25:16. > :25:24.typical Friday fashion, Daniela Hantuchova clocked out early from
:25:24. > :25:32.this year's tournament losing in three sets to Victoria Azarenka. It
:25:32. > :25:37.was definitely "happy hour" for Petra Kvitova. She said goodbye to
:25:37. > :25:41.Roberta Vinci in straight sets. So as far as the seeds are concerned
:25:41. > :25:48.who have fallen by the wayside, Andy Roddick has bitten the dust in
:25:48. > :25:58.the men's draw. In the women's, three high-profile names have gone
:25:58. > :25:59.
:25:59. > :26:06.today - Vera Zvonareva, the number- two seed, Petkovic and Svetlana
:26:06. > :26:11.Kuznetsova. As we have now seen, Vera Zvonareva has gone out, what
:26:11. > :26:16.does that mean from Venus's point of view? Her draw has opened up
:26:16. > :26:22.significantly. Up next is the young lady who beat her last year,
:26:22. > :26:25.Pironkova. To play the type of players that are out of her section
:26:25. > :26:33.like Vera Zvonareva, who would get a lot of balls back, you have to
:26:33. > :26:38.like her on that bottom half of the draw. I watched Wosniacki play
:26:38. > :26:44.today, does she still strike you as somebody who is smissing that X
:26:44. > :26:47.Factor? Maybe so -- Who is missing that X Factor? Maybe so on the
:26:47. > :26:51.grass. You would almost like to see a player take more risk on the
:26:51. > :27:01.grass. She is so good. There is no question she will win a Grand Slam.
:27:01. > :27:03.
:27:03. > :27:07.I'm not convinced grass is the surface for her. Tomorrow is People
:27:07. > :27:17.Saturday and the Royal Box will be full of great sports stars from a
:27:17. > :27:39.
:27:39. > :27:42.whole variety of disciplines. This Federer and Djokovic? Is that
:27:42. > :27:45.fairly straightforward for them tomorrow? I think so. Both those
:27:46. > :27:49.guys are playing so well on the grass. Federer looked so unbeatable
:27:49. > :27:53.last night and Djokovic, he is saying how much he likes this grass,
:27:53. > :27:57.it is playing slower, the ball is bouncing higher. He can return
:27:57. > :28:02.anyone's serve. That is key for a guy that has lost once this year.
:28:02. > :28:06.It is key for us to have British interest into the second week and
:28:06. > :28:11.Andy Murray is there after a few nerve tingling moments? You will
:28:11. > :28:15.always get the nerve-tingling moments. It is the steamroller that
:28:15. > :28:19.is gathering pace down a hill and it is unstoppable until it does
:28:19. > :28:23.grind to a halt. What is your take on where he is at the moment?
:28:23. > :28:33.has handled this first week great. The first round he started slowly,
:28:33. > :28:37.then got a huge run. Ljubicic is a high quality opponent. Andy Murray
:28:37. > :28:41.is into the fourth round. No major crisis in his game. He is looking
:28:41. > :28:48.great. Two names on this first Friday who will be winning in nine
:28:48. > :28:54.days' time? Oh gosh. Two names? Sharapova. Two names. I'm concerned