Day 5 Today at Wimbledon

Welcome. All the action, the biggest stories, incisive analysis.

A big test for the man who still hasn't found what he's looking for.

Vertigo - could two British women make round three?

And is the unforgettable Fire still burning in the three times losing

It is the Late, Late Show tonight. We have the first lady of tennis

fashion. That is your coat. What do you think? I'm amazed that I fit in

it. It is heavy. It is the Alex Noble designed thing. He designs

outfits for Lady Gaga. Would you wear that going on to court?

Probably not. It might be in the Wimbledon Museum one day. We have

to rattle through this evening. We are going to rush through the Andy

Murray story because I'm sure most of you saw it on BBC One. Anyway,

Andy Murray was on court against a big man, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia.

A big man with an absolutely massive serve. Murray had a hiccup

in his first set on Monday but has What was your take on the way he

It was a high quality match. He played very well. Andy Murray was

made to work. You could sense he was happy to get through the first

week, happy about his game and feeling good about week two. At one

set each, were you worried from a Murray point of view? I got worried

deep in the 4th. But Murray is so solid, he does not look as stressed

as he has in the past. He looks more at ease. And he is playing

great. Winning at Queen's has given him so much confidence. That was a

magnificent shot down the line. The key point to make is that Ljubicic

was playing well, but Murray was playing better. If you enjoyed this

at Queen's, here it comes again. Is there an element of luck, or is

that brilliance? That is pure talent. You cannot teach that.

People spend years on court and cannot master anything like this,

but it is his amazing court sense, court awareness and hand-eye co-

ordination. It ended up getting tight towards the end of the 4th

set, but eventually, much to that child's delight, here he is serving

at match point. Take that! And here we go, into the second week once

again. Oh knows how far this is You will have tough sets, tough

moments in Grand Slams. Something that will give you pleasure was the

shot through the legs. That was fantastic. It was just one of those

things that was just in the right position. I tried it at Queen's and

have tried it a couple of times in practice since and I have not

missed one. You look like a plonker when you do, so I am glad I made it.

Just one of those things! It was high-skill, really. You can call it

what you want, it is one of those shots that you do not get to try

very often and luckily I have His next round against Richard

Gasquet, who is coached by the same man who has control against

Ljubicic. What lessons will he have learnt? Well, they played different

styles of game. Richard Gasquet has the opportunity to hurt Andy Murray

quite a bit there. Ljubicic was coming in so much, giving Murray a

target. Gasket will stay on the baseline. -- Gasquet. That is one

of the best matches so far that we have, on Monday. Gasquet is

probably the most talented player out there. Even at this stage, it

is safe to say that game will not be interrupted by the weather

because the forecast for Monday is 32 degrees. If you are coming, do

not wear very much. Let's go back to the biggest moment in a young

British girl's life. Welcome to the big time, Laura Robson. 17 years

old and up against former champion Maria Sharapova, who won the title

seven years ago when she was just 17. Robson has had a tricky year

because of injury. But she did seize the moment. She rattled in to

a 4-1 lead in the first set. At that point, all round Wimbledon, on

all of the outside courts, as the score was being flashed up, people

were going, can she really win this? Were you amazed at the

confidence she showed from the word go? So impressed with the quick

start. Maria Sharapova is one of those players that normally takes

advantage of a player that is a little bit nervous, a little bit

overwhelmed. But Laura Robson came out showing huge fire power and a

lot of courage. It took Maria a couple of games to get into the

match and then it got good. They found themselves in a first set

tie-break. Here we are at 2-2. Can Another big serve. Sharapova still

struggling on the backhand wing to We haven't seen one of those for

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds

The fifth double fault of the set Just half a step late. Sharapova's

backhand cross-court is so impressive. At full stretch, she

And that is what a champion comes up with, a few mongers return and

an even bigger forehand. -- a huge return and an even bigger forehand.

It has been a while since she won a Grand Slam title but she still

The backhand cross-court, again. Well, you picked it. The forehand

of Robson was the key shot at the start of the set, but this is

becoming a major weapon for the Russian. And now she has the mini-

Very close. Miss Robson is challenging the call. I think it

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 61 seconds

was wide, but is worth the Sharapova had to battle, but in the

end it was the former champion who took the opening set. She took it

7-6. That was a fantastic effort by

Laura Robson, but you felt there was an inevitability that she would

not be able to reach those heights in the second set, because

Sharapova is not a former champion for nothing. Here we are, with a

tremendous rally at the start of the second set. And here, Robson

managing to get one back. That is a really, really brutal forehand

winner gets into the hitting zone for Laura Robson. -- when it gets

into the hitting zone. I am sure nobody in the Robson camp, if you

had offered them 7-6, 6-3 before the match, they would probably have

taken it. I know you were on number one court watching that. The

atmosphere was extraordinary. was amazing at the end of the match,

especially when Robson made a run to catch up. And have never seen an

atmosphere on court number one quite like it. The crowd gave the

players a standing ovation, but really for Laura Robson. It was

It is almost easy to play on number one court against the defending

champion. Is the test for Laura Robson how she copes with playing

in challengers in the middle of nowhere against people no one has

ever heard of, and how you managed to work away at the rankings?

Absolutely. I am a big believer in mastering every level before

climbing to the next. For her, that means winning the challengers and

then doing well in the lower Tear tournaments and working her way up.

There is no question that she has to accumulate some victories and

get some confidence on her own, but she has a great future. What she

has, you cannot teach - ball- striking, big shots and big weapons.

Sharapova's serve was, on occasions, bewilderingly bad. Can she win this

serving that poorly? It has got better than it was. Before, on her

bad days it was five out of seven, and now it is one or two days out

of seven. She is so mentally strong and she fights through it so well,

but you wonder if she were to get to a Grand Slam final and face a

Williams sister, or a tough competitor, would it hold up? That

is the biggest question. In her biggest match to date since coming

back from surgery, it wasn't there, 10 double faults. Some days, it is

there. You have no idea with her. Let's move on to the other British

player involved today, we thought Elena Baltacha had been here before,

four times in the Wimbledon second round. Just once had she reached

round three. The world No. 20, Penshaw way, of China, was the

formidable obstacle before her today. Baltacha showed the intent

to bring the wall down. A crucial point came in the 9th game, as the

British number one showed the form that saw the triumph in Nottingham

this month. What a way to do it. Baltacha held her nerve to serve

out the first set. Ace cent of Peng Shuai then raised her level,

broke early and took command of the second set. The 20th seed took that

set 6-2 to enforce a decider. A deep breath for Elena and the

renewed determination to match the 2002 display here. Peng was equally

feisty. Baltacha broke, then Peng broke back. Baltacha broke again.

Could she see it out this time? Well, not if Peng could help it.

Another break back. The battle still on. Baltacha saved three

match points at 5-6 down in the final set as the Court 18 drama

built to a climax. The end came all too soon for Elena. Peng won on a

fourth match point. Baltacha remains the last British woman to

reach the third round here nine years ago. She is confident there's

I am performing very consistently on a week-to-week basis. That is

on a week-to-week basis. That is why I'm not terribly disappointed.

I know I'm moving in the right direction. I still haven't fully

peaked yet. There are still things I need to get better at. Look, I'm

hungrier than ever. I want to keep going. Agonising, though? It was

tough. I was watching the end of tough. I was watching the end of

that match. She was so close. She's a great competitor. She's improved

so much over the last few years. She is playing really well. I like

what she said. She is not going to let it again her down. Has she

still got room for improvement? think so. I saw her play here a

couple of years ago. She is a completely different player. Looks

more sure of herself out there. Certainly, there's a limit to how

high she can go. Grand Slam Champion might be out of her league.

It does mean there is no British involvement in the ladies singles

into the second week. Remarkably, are we looking at a possible final

or another title for Venus or another title for Venus

Williams? The draw is cutting up. Today up against a player who had

as many Spanish names as it is humanly possible to have in a name

- Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez. Venus was impressive today. She was

so impressive. This is the best match Venus has played in over a

year. She was crisp, sharp and aggressive. Maria Jose Martinez

Sanchez was never in this match. talk about the serve about

Sharapova - that was a good rally which the Spanish girl won. We talk

about the serve from Sharapova's point of view as a minus. The serve

from Venus is such a massive plus. It was working in this match.

Occasionally, the serve can go off. When she has complete control of it,

she is nearly impossible to beat on grass. I don't know if anybody

watching this tonight has an ante- post bet on Venus Williams winning

the ladies singles this year. If that betting slip was sitting in

your pocket at the moment, whatever odds you have got, it is looking

odds you have got, it is looking good at the moment. So far, so good.

The second round was just two players playing some attacking

tennis and it was a great match. I was happy to have won. Today was

really straightforward which was great compared to the round before.

So I'm happy to be in the second week. As we are getting more

serious in the tournament, any new outfits coming out, anything

planned? No. This is just it for this tournament. This was actually

a lot of work to prepare so one is enough and that's my lucky outfit.

As a former champion yourself, we were talking about Sharapova at key

moments playing like a champion, Venus playing like a champion at

key moments. As the tournament progresses and she and her sister

are the only two former champions in the draw, what is it they are

able to draw on that the rest can't? They come up with huge shots.

We saw that with Sharapova against Robson, when the chips are down,

the top players, they are not afraid to go for it and they come

up with that something special. With Venus and Serena, that is the

case. For Serena it could be a serve or a big ground stroke from

Venus. Especially here at Wimbledon, you can never count them out.

not the ability to do it and execute the shot, it is the

knowledge of how to do it and the confidence? The confidence and the

courage. They don't back away when the score is close and the match is

on the line. OK. There were lots of Russian players on show today in

the men's and ladies singles. We saw Sharapova win earlier on. For

the rest, it was a day of mixed fortunes. We have been saying the

Russians are coming but today most It was a case of Aussie rules in

five sets. Tursunov was also given his

marching orders. Could the women do any better? No

for Svetlana Kuznetsova! She was bundled out by Yanina Wickmayer.

And it got worse. Lot lot last year's finalist Vera Zvonareva

ground to a halt, but it is not over until it is Petrova. There was

For those of you who like these kind of stats, it ensured that ever

since the game went open in 1968, there has been an Australian player

into the third round of the men's singles. So far, the men's singles

have been going on quite smoothly until mid-afternoon on Centre Court

today when Andy Roddick came up against Feliciano Lopez, the man

against Feliciano Lopez, the man with a big serve. What a big serve

he has to the backhand side. Were you surprised to see Roddick fall

by the wayside? So surprised. Roddick has such a good record

against Lopez. Really, what impressed me most was the passing

shots he was able to come up with in the tie-break. He was able to

get Roddick's serve back and pass him at the net. That is not easy to

do. APPLAUSE So here we go into the third set now. As you can see, this

is a big break opportunity for Lopez again. It is a beautiful - it

is a thing of beauty that shot. He swings through it so magnificently.

It is like a cricketer trying to play the ball through cover point.

This is match point. Roddick, his dream of getting to a Wimbledon

final again thwarted. Three times final again thwarted. Three times

he's got to the final. Three times he's lost. Has his ship sailed once

and for all? REPORTER: Do you let thoughts creep

in that it might never happen for you here? Do you let that come into

your thoughts? Sure, you are human. Of course it does. You may never

get your favourite job either. No offence to your current employer!

LAUGHTER Any job is great. I'm doing all right! That's good. Me

too. My question was, it must be harder and harder as the year goes

on to think that this dream of yours... Yes, it is similar to the

question you just asked. You keep moving forward. Until you decide to

stop. At this point, I'm not stopping so I'm moving forward.

sets to love is a great advantage. I knew that Andy is going to be

there. He is a great fighter. He is such a good player. I think it is a

very important win for me overall. At what point did you know you had

it? Well, when I was shaking hands with Andy, I think! To be honest,

you never know. I was a bit nervous. It is always difficult to close a

match. So I'm so happy to be here talking to you. So with Andy

Roddick... Disappointment. It won't get easier for him as the years go

on. We are never going to forget that epic final with Roger a few

years back. It's been a tough year for Andy. He has not won a lot of

matches. It has been disappointing with some injuries. Hopefully, he

can go into the hard-court season. There is no question he has to make

a few changes. The days when he could bludgeon people off court are

gone? Absolutely. Roddick has a big serve but he does not have the

ground strokes to back it up. Guys, once they can get his serve back,

they can get into the rally with him. You hope he will be able to

get that forehand bigger but he will have to add another shot.

Let's see what else happened today before the heavens opened. It's

been a tough first week. As they say, TFI, Thank Fred It's Friday.

There was success for the French as Marion Bartoli went through.

Richard Gasquet also enjoyed that Friday feeling and Simone Bolelli

will have the weekend to contemplate his three-set loss. In

typical Friday fashion, Daniela Hantuchova clocked out early from

this year's tournament losing in three sets to Victoria Azarenka. It

was definitely "happy hour" for Petra Kvitova. She said goodbye to

Roberta Vinci in straight sets. So as far as the seeds are concerned

who have fallen by the wayside, Andy Roddick has bitten the dust in

the men's draw. In the women's, three high-profile names have gone

today - Vera Zvonareva, the number- two seed, Petkovic and Svetlana

Kuznetsova. As we have now seen, Vera Zvonareva has gone out, what

does that mean from Venus's point of view? Her draw has opened up

significantly. Up next is the young lady who beat her last year,

Pironkova. To play the type of players that are out of her section

like Vera Zvonareva, who would get a lot of balls back, you have to

like her on that bottom half of the draw. I watched Wosniacki play

today, does she still strike you as somebody who is smissing that X

Factor? Maybe so -- Who is missing that X Factor? Maybe so on the

grass. You would almost like to see a player take more risk on the

grass. She is so good. There is no question she will win a Grand Slam.

I'm not convinced grass is the surface for her. Tomorrow is People

Saturday and the Royal Box will be full of great sports stars from a

whole variety of disciplines. This Federer and Djokovic? Is that

fairly straightforward for them tomorrow? I think so. Both those

guys are playing so well on the grass. Federer looked so unbeatable

last night and Djokovic, he is saying how much he likes this grass,

it is playing slower, the ball is bouncing higher. He can return

anyone's serve. That is key for a guy that has lost once this year.

It is key for us to have British interest into the second week and

Andy Murray is there after a few nerve tingling moments? You will

always get the nerve-tingling moments. It is the steamroller that

is gathering pace down a hill and it is unstoppable until it does

grind to a halt. What is your take on where he is at the moment?

has handled this first week great. The first round he started slowly,

then got a huge run. Ljubicic is a high quality opponent. Andy Murray

is into the fourth round. No major crisis in his game. He is looking

great. Two names on this first Friday who will be winning in nine

days' time? Oh gosh. Two names? Sharapova. Two names. I'm concerned