Day 8, Part 1

:00:47. > :01:04.Beautiful reactions! That was just sumptuous, superb. Beautiful

:01:05. > :01:20.forehand. Nothing stopping how now, is there?

:01:21. > :01:56.Its 33 years since a British woman, Jo Durie, played in the

:01:57. > :02:04.quarterfinals of Wimbledon but today Johanna Konta will walk out onto

:02:05. > :02:08.Centre Court as one of eight people competing for the Rose plate. We are

:02:09. > :02:12.on weather watch as 20 minutes ago the rain came on, the covers were

:02:13. > :02:17.brought on. We got ten minutes of play on the outside court but then

:02:18. > :02:22.they were rushed off. Everyone is patiently waiting because as of this

:02:23. > :02:29.moment, the rain has moved away and we are hoping the rain will stay

:02:30. > :02:35.away and the play will start on outer courts.

:02:36. > :02:38.Johanna Konta faces a stern test today on Centre Court against the

:02:39. > :02:43.world not to Simona Halep, but she has proved at Wimbledon that she can

:02:44. > :02:50.handle the pressure on the world stage. She did it yesterday against

:02:51. > :02:55.Caroline Garcia. It promises to be a fascinating day of tennis. Venus

:02:56. > :02:58.Williams, the five times champion, has overcome personal difficulties

:02:59. > :03:05.to reach the quarterfinals but she's potentially got her toughest test

:03:06. > :03:14.yet. Against the 20 rolled champion in France, Jelena Ostapenko, who was

:03:15. > :03:22.just eight few weeks old when Venus baby Venus made her debut.

:03:23. > :03:31.Garbine Muguruza faces Svetlana Kuznetsova who has been in terrific

:03:32. > :03:35.form and has not yet dropped a set. Coco Vandeweghe may be the 24th seed

:03:36. > :03:42.but she has become an outside tip for the time -- title. She says

:03:43. > :03:47.she's playing with confidence. But so is her opponent today, the

:03:48. > :03:55.unseeded Magdalena Rybarikova, who was the convincing winner when the

:03:56. > :03:59.two met at Roland Garros this year. Jo Konta is third on Centre Court

:04:00. > :04:03.this afternoon. The expectancy is already building around the

:04:04. > :04:11.All-England Club and the apathy is sure to be electric. A win for --

:04:12. > :04:15.the atmosphere is sure to be electric. But a win for Simona Halep

:04:16. > :04:19.will mean she ends the week as women's number one. So much is at

:04:20. > :04:24.stake today. We have an added bonus for those at onset at court because

:04:25. > :04:30.Novak Djokovic and Adrian Mannarino did not get on court yesterday to

:04:31. > :04:32.pay their match so they are walking out right now, we will be going to

:04:33. > :04:43.that match soon. They will be certainly keen to find

:04:44. > :04:49.out about the weather number one Court.

:04:50. > :04:54.So, I mentioned it is all about the weather as far as the other

:04:55. > :05:02.2/4-finals are concerned, so let's find out how much rain has arrived.

:05:03. > :05:07.We can expect the covers to be on and off through the rest of the day.

:05:08. > :05:12.We have a fairly cloudy picture coming, 80% risk of a shower up

:05:13. > :05:17.towards 5pm. There will be a lot of dry weather in between. At about

:05:18. > :05:21.6pm, we're expecting some heavy and persistent rain to move across

:05:22. > :05:24.Wimbledon so we've already had the maximum temperature, it's coming

:05:25. > :05:28.down and will continue to do so into the evening. A much different feel

:05:29. > :05:33.to the weather today than we had of late. Even into the evening, we'll

:05:34. > :05:37.hang on to the heavy and persistent rain. But tomorrow it clears quite

:05:38. > :05:41.early in the morning, we should see it leave Wimbledon at 7am, high

:05:42. > :05:46.pressure builds, the sun comes out and it will feel pleasantly warm.

:05:47. > :05:51.One good thing about the rain is at least the pollen level is moderate.

:05:52. > :05:56.That is good for some, thank you, Carol. We will keep an eye out for

:05:57. > :05:59.the rain today. After yesterday's magical manic Monday, we all

:06:00. > :06:03.breathed a sigh of relief except Novak Djokovic who might feel little

:06:04. > :06:12.bit of a different emotion because he did not play. The reason for that

:06:13. > :06:16.was Jo Konta's 3-set battle and then the thrilling, nerve tingling epic

:06:17. > :06:24.that was Rafa Nadal against Charles Muller. It was -- Gilles Muller.

:06:25. > :06:30.There was a lot of outstanding tennis and reactions under extreme

:06:31. > :06:35.pressure. Nadal threw everything at Muller but he served so well and

:06:36. > :06:41.held firm. At the stat that stands out is that Rafa had 16 break points

:06:42. > :06:47.and only converted two, including five in the fifth set. But on the on

:06:48. > :06:54.the other side of the net, Muller produced the victory of his life.

:06:55. > :06:57.15-13 in the fifth and final set, four hours and 48 minutes, and

:06:58. > :07:00.experience that will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to

:07:01. > :07:15.have a ticket on Court Number One yesterday. Charles -- Gilles Muller

:07:16. > :07:18.into the quarterfinals at the age of 34.

:07:19. > :07:22.Djokovic probably not happy with the organisers here because it happened

:07:23. > :07:26.to be back in 2007 when he had a three-day match on Court Number One,

:07:27. > :07:30.and then had to pull out of the semifinal because of blisters. Is it

:07:31. > :07:34.happening again for Novak Djokovic to? They are warming up on Centre

:07:35. > :07:40.Court under the roof, where not even going to worry about the weather

:07:41. > :07:41.here, we have tennis all the way, so let's join the commentators for this

:07:42. > :07:51.match. A little later than advertised,

:07:52. > :07:56.let's go with the unfinished piece of the jigsaw from manic Monday.

:07:57. > :08:00.Djokovic there, this time last year he held all four major titles. 12

:08:01. > :08:09.months on, gluten-free and grand free. Fall from grace chakra grand

:08:10. > :08:13.slam free. A fall from grace it is still an explained. He looked

:08:14. > :08:19.imperious at Eastbourne, he has only lost 19 games and no set in getting

:08:20. > :08:23.to this point. So this could be a Phoenix like to return to the top of

:08:24. > :08:27.the game. What's your instinct, John, about how this much might play

:08:28. > :08:33.out? I think Novak Djokovic is going to have too much class for

:08:34. > :08:39.Mannarino. I'm not sure that they offer was the greatest thing but

:08:40. > :08:42.Djokovic has been around for a long time, he's had to play two big

:08:43. > :08:45.matches back-to-back because of weather in the Grand Slams, I do

:08:46. > :08:50.think it will affect him. If he were to have a five set match, which I

:08:51. > :08:55.don't think will happen, there could be an effect. But if he wins come to

:08:56. > :09:00.become its no big deal for him. From Mannarino's point of view, this is

:09:01. > :09:04.the biggest match of his career. I presume he will have been like a

:09:05. > :09:12.caged tiger survey, pacing up and down, especially as that Nadal match

:09:13. > :09:19.went on and on, saying, tell me, someone make a decision. The longer

:09:20. > :09:23.that went on, the amount of nervous energy he must have been expending

:09:24. > :09:27.must have been considerate. It must have been a lot. The ones who have

:09:28. > :09:32.been there and done it before, it's another thing. Having said that, he

:09:33. > :09:39.had two back-to-back five set matches, so the extra day of rest

:09:40. > :09:43.might have done him good. I think it's 50-50 whether or not it's good

:09:44. > :09:50.or bad for Mannarino. Here's another of those players, many of them are

:09:51. > :09:55.getting on, he's 29 now but will know from Gilles Muller that there

:09:56. > :09:58.is no definitive age where tennis players reach their peak. He's good

:09:59. > :10:52.to be at his peak today and he's going to challenge the fact that.

:10:53. > :11:02.Could be in for a long afternoon! Points like that! Mannarino there,

:11:03. > :11:05.beautiful point. The way he constructed those ground strokes,

:11:06. > :12:36.good angles, good pace. Not quite firing yet. That was a bit

:12:37. > :12:41.ambitious from that position on the court, and this hit return but

:12:42. > :13:46.effective. -- it was a mis-hit return.

:13:47. > :13:52.There were a lot of long rallies in that opening game. There's

:13:53. > :13:56.Mannarino, he's one of those players, if you're not a regular

:13:57. > :14:01.tennis watcher, might have passed you by. Certainly his passage to

:14:02. > :14:05.this stage might have passed you by. Were it not for the inter-didn't he

:14:06. > :14:11.had when he barged a ball boy when he was going to the net, and he paid

:14:12. > :14:16.a ?7,000 fine, after which he didn't seem to show much contrition. He was

:14:17. > :14:20.justifying himself saying, can Wimbledon operate without players, I

:14:21. > :14:25.don't think so, they can go without ball boy. Notwithstanding, he's a

:14:26. > :14:29.feisty character and a maverick. He'll need all those elements of his

:14:30. > :14:50.character this afternoon. I think you'd like to take those

:14:51. > :14:54.comments back, on reflection. -- I think he would like to take those

:14:55. > :14:59.comments back. But his tennis game, anybody who's come back from two

:15:00. > :15:01.sets to one in two consecutive matches in Wimbledon, you have to

:15:02. > :15:19.respect him in terms of what he brings to the court.

:15:20. > :15:29.I saw one set of his match against Gael Monfils and he was hitting the

:15:30. > :15:32.ball like a dream. This is the kind of start he does not want. Real

:15:33. > :16:12.pressure on his serve. Great from Djokovic! And you can see

:16:13. > :16:18.from the way the ball came off Mannarino's racket, the speed it was

:16:19. > :16:26.going out, and look at the spin, watch how the ball came off the

:16:27. > :16:51.racket. What a debt that was. The anticipation was so good.

:16:52. > :16:58.Obviously, not a great start there. Maybe look at the bit tight on a

:16:59. > :17:04.couple of shots there. Really breathing hard, just a few of those

:17:05. > :17:07.Centre Court nerves. But Djokovic already moving so well around the

:17:08. > :17:29.court. A fabulous start for him. He's hitting the ball well now.

:17:30. > :17:34.Should say, if you're looking at the wide angle of Centre Court, you'll

:17:35. > :17:39.see lots of empty seats, don't forget, play was not scheduled to

:17:40. > :17:57.start until 2pm, so a lot of people will have to reschedule their day.

:17:58. > :18:05.And I'm sure we'll have a full house when Venus Williams, Jelena

:18:06. > :18:07.Ostapenko, Simona Halep and Jo Konta are in action this afternoon in the

:18:08. > :18:18.women's quarterfinals. He's clutching his side at the

:18:19. > :18:21.moment, Mannarino. And a lot of ground strokes are ending up in the

:18:22. > :18:33.net at the moment. Or over the end. Either way,

:18:34. > :19:01.Djokovic in complete control. So, Novak, we're just hearing and

:19:02. > :19:05.seeing, has asked for the doctor. How extraordinary, you'd think he

:19:06. > :19:10.would be round the other side of the chair seem to Mannarino, he looks

:19:11. > :19:16.like the one in trouble. Novak has come out and hasn't missed a ball,

:19:17. > :19:26.hardly, extraordinary. Let's see what he produces from his magic bag.

:19:27. > :19:29.Maybe just got a headache? They're not treating any part of his body,

:19:30. > :19:37.so you're probably right, probably something to do with that rather

:19:38. > :19:42.than a physical side with the body. Otherwise he would have... Mannarino

:19:43. > :19:44.was the one I was looking at. While you're here, doc, look at my

:19:45. > :19:54.opponent! He's playing pretty well with a

:19:55. > :20:00.headache. And Andre Agassi thinks it's funny!

:20:01. > :20:09.This is one of those situations where, if you are the underdogs, as

:20:10. > :20:10.Mannarino clearly is, you desperately wants to get your score

:20:11. > :20:41.on the board. No doubt about that. Nicely done. He's got such compact

:20:42. > :20:45.ground strokes, in particular on the backhand side, there's almost no axe

:20:46. > :20:50.swing but he deals with that low ball so well and gets himself prime

:20:51. > :20:55.position on top of the net. You want to be hitting bodies like this. --

:20:56. > :21:49.volleys like this. That height. Oh, that's a brilliant point. Both

:21:50. > :21:59.players. And Marino played well in this rally, but not getting much

:22:00. > :22:03.change out of Novak at the moment. It's amazing how the game sounds

:22:04. > :22:09.different beneath this roof. Just the flight resonance and the Echo is

:22:10. > :22:25.it a different ambulance. -- ambulance.

:22:26. > :22:33.Well, he's been scurrying all over the place, Novak. How much pressure

:22:34. > :22:38.is he putting Mannarino? Mannarino can't breathe out here at the

:22:39. > :22:42.moment. He's hitting good ground strokes and he's getting no reward

:22:43. > :23:35.for it. Literally no reward. This could be 4-0. Barely 12 minutes.

:23:36. > :23:45.That is outstanding! What backhand. It's the shortest backswing on the

:23:46. > :23:53.tour. There's movement there. But he gets the power. Really good rotation

:23:54. > :24:07.of the hips on that shot. Fabulous extension, drives it.

:24:08. > :24:10.He must have unbelievably strong forearms and biceps to hit shots

:24:11. > :25:25.like that with no backswing. Never mind on the scoreboard, the

:25:26. > :25:26.difference psychologically between 3-1 and 4-0 is not to be

:25:27. > :25:56.underestimated. So, he's on the scoreboard and he is

:25:57. > :26:16.just. -- and he is under way, just. He earned that game. That's to put

:26:17. > :26:22.it mildly. He had to withstand some immense ground strokes. He's still

:26:23. > :26:25.holding that hit area, so I hope that's not go into causing any

:26:26. > :27:21.problems. Superb shot, that. You can really

:27:22. > :27:29.see the racket acceleration of Djokovic, and within that whip to

:27:30. > :27:29.get the ball up and over the net quickly and accelerate through the

:27:30. > :27:57.core. Mannarino is having to play so many

:27:58. > :28:07.balls way, way below the net, because so deep. He is. He gets some

:28:08. > :28:12.beautiful angles, Mannarino. That was unlucky, that was going to be a

:28:13. > :28:18.winner, in all probability. He's losing, 4-1 down, it could have been

:28:19. > :28:22.5-0, but already some very entertaining points going on. The

:28:23. > :28:26.problem is whenever you see the top seeds play and you look at who they

:28:27. > :28:30.come up against, and you look for an upset, you say, where are the

:28:31. > :28:34.weapons, the big shots that can knock one of the top seeds out? And

:28:35. > :28:40.unfortunately for Mannarino, he doesn't have one big weapon. He's

:28:41. > :28:43.tidy, he does everything well, he's irritating to play because he

:28:44. > :28:48.doesn't hit much spin and he gets a lot of balls back, but there's

:28:49. > :28:52.nothing to really hurt someone like Novak unless he has a bad day and it

:28:53. > :29:03.doesn't look like he's having a bad day. A really bad day. Mannarino

:29:04. > :29:09.lives in Malta, for reasons... I know not!

:29:10. > :29:19.We can maybe have a chat bit later on, if this goes some distance,

:29:20. > :29:23.about the 30-something season, he's almost there, it amazing. The guys

:29:24. > :29:27.who have been at the top for a long time, you'd expect them to stay

:29:28. > :29:31.there, but there's a huge number of players in their late 20s and early

:29:32. > :29:53.30s who are serious players on the main stage.

:29:54. > :30:03.That's well struck in the end. Novak looking at that, maybe it clipped

:30:04. > :30:09.the line. When you have an overhead against Novak Djokovic, memo, hit it

:30:10. > :30:10.away from him! Otherwise! He stood his ground well, that could have

:30:11. > :30:50.taken his head off! That is classy, it really is. Using

:30:51. > :30:54.the backhand to good effect in some of these rallies. We have seen the

:30:55. > :31:01.short backswing, this one had such good disguise there. UMPIRE: Ladies

:31:02. > :31:04.and gentlemen, please, switch off the mobile phones during the match.

:31:05. > :31:43.Thank you. Second ace of the match, 30th of the

:31:44. > :32:30.tournament to date and he is in the game now.

:32:31. > :32:39.What hitting, what hitting from both sides of the net. It really is. You

:32:40. > :32:43.can see why Mannarino is where he is in this drill now. How he's beaten

:32:44. > :32:54.the players he's beaten, playing like this. The ground strokes

:32:55. > :33:02.standing toe to toe with Novak in that rally. He will have to do that

:33:03. > :33:08.for three hours to beat Novak. May be Gilles Muller's win acts as a

:33:09. > :33:39.spur to him, it can be done. Absolutely.

:33:40. > :35:01.That body language told you, what was I doing?

:35:02. > :35:11.Missed it. What a shriek from Djokovic. How far did Mannarino have

:35:12. > :35:15.to run to stay in that rally? If Novak Djokovic has a headache this

:35:16. > :35:17.shriek at the end of it probably wouldn't have done it any good. But

:35:18. > :35:40.what a point. That is the first really bad error

:35:41. > :35:51.he has made. Came out of that forehand. High-quality game, though.

:35:52. > :35:53.It is excellent tennis. Another two or three hours of this, please. Not

:35:54. > :36:23.bad. For a Tuesday lunchtime. I love seeing this from Djokovic. It

:36:24. > :36:49.is a really good sign. He is genial, lovely, code Lee Novak

:36:50. > :36:51.at Eastbourne and now he is venomous, I'm in the mood for it

:36:52. > :37:33.Djokovic here. That was a curious backhand Djokovic

:37:34. > :37:37.hit. It was a sort of slice, a floating slice and when he first hit

:37:38. > :37:42.it I thought it would go along and it sort of died at the end.

:37:43. > :38:12.Mannarino thought that. Yes, and the change of pace affected Mannarino.

:38:13. > :38:25.Food for thought for Agassi. But his man is in the lead and Adrian

:38:26. > :38:28.Mannarino will have to serve to stay in the first set. If you are

:38:29. > :38:34.coaching you wouldn't teach somebody to hit the ball as Mannarino does

:38:35. > :38:40.was done with such short backlift but it does mean you are in pole

:38:41. > :38:44.position at some points. Looking at this replay, at what point, maybe

:38:45. > :38:48.the answer is never, would Novak have thought that would be a drop

:38:49. > :38:52.shot because it is indistinguishable from a backhand drive? It is too

:38:53. > :38:57.late for him there. Some anything is going to a drop shot for the player

:38:58. > :39:00.who decides to go for it. He has to know where his opponent is standing,

:39:01. > :39:06.he has to be aware of where he is standing. If he is too far back you

:39:07. > :39:15.don't go for it. If your opponent is too far in you don't go for it. And

:39:16. > :39:18.then it's the disguise, you've got to put all of those components into

:39:19. > :39:21.it and there Mannarino was perfect. He was in the right position, his

:39:22. > :39:23.opponent in the wrong position, or the right position for him to make

:39:24. > :39:27.the drop shot, and the disguise was perfect. The drop shot is a shot

:39:28. > :39:31.that has come back into vogue in the last four or five years. For a while

:39:32. > :39:35.it wasn't used so much but now with these big hitters on the baseline

:39:36. > :39:39.you have to have the drop shot, you must take them out of their rhythm.

:39:40. > :39:46.It is used a lot more than it has been for years and I love it because

:39:47. > :39:50.it has been such a fitness shot. -- finis. New balls, serving to stay in

:39:51. > :40:26.the opening set. That one literally you would have to

:40:27. > :40:31.have your wedge, bring your wedge out of the golf bag because this is

:40:32. > :41:27.the only way you could get that back. No chance. Brilliant.

:41:28. > :41:47.I know it is a kind of easy and lazy analogy to make almost, but these

:41:48. > :41:49.are the most brilliant squash shots, down the line, into the wall,

:41:50. > :42:37.fantastic. I'm not sure he needed to do that

:42:38. > :42:41.but anyway. He didn't, it was fun anyway. That was a Centre Court

:42:42. > :42:46.shot. He may not have too many matches on the Centre Court but he

:42:47. > :42:52.needs to entertain. No need to do that but I'm glad he did. It was

:42:53. > :43:01.fun. He won't be glad he did if he loses this game. That's true.

:43:02. > :43:12.You're kidding. He listened to you, you told him not to hit it back to

:43:13. > :43:17.Novak on the overhead. Also, he looked up almost to say there is no

:43:18. > :43:33.son there, so he couldn't use that as an excuse. That was just a

:43:34. > :43:41.horrible miss. -- there is no sun. He is shaking his hips. Horrible

:43:42. > :43:47.overhead shots one after the other. And then a loose forehand. He was

:43:48. > :43:54.hitting those so well three or four minutes ago. It's amazing how things

:43:55. > :43:59.suddenly, it is like a flick of a switch. It wouldn't surprise me if

:44:00. > :44:08.he calls for the trainer if he were to lose this set.

:44:09. > :45:00.That is too good. He was a little off balance on one backhand. It

:45:01. > :45:03.seemed like it was a bad bounce, or the spin or whatever caught him off

:45:04. > :45:12.guard and he could never really recover in the rally.

:45:13. > :45:29.That is beautifully played. That is the way to hold the shot, he gets

:45:30. > :45:34.the racket head back early, holds, and waits until Agassi... Agassi!

:45:35. > :45:36.And told Novak Djokovic moves down the court. Comes down the box and

:45:37. > :46:17.says, "Give me that racket!" Once he was that far out of court,

:46:18. > :46:22.Mannarino, Djokovic had all the aces.

:46:23. > :47:00.That was a horrible mis-hit from Djokovic, which he acknowledges.

:47:01. > :47:08.It's very hard to play those back, isn't it, with spin going

:47:09. > :47:09.everywhere? So, after 37 minutes of what has been hugely entertaining

:47:10. > :47:38.Tuesday lunchtime fare, set point. Mannarino goes long. Djokovic goes

:47:39. > :47:43.one set up. SUE BARKER: Djokovic takes the first

:47:44. > :47:46.set comfortable, you just wonder if those two five set back-to-back

:47:47. > :47:51.matches for Mannarino and how much it has taken out of him. We will be

:47:52. > :47:54.back on Centre Court in a moment. Over on Court Number Two Jamie

:47:55. > :47:58.Murray and Martina Hingis, top seeds in the Mixed Doubles, have taken the

:47:59. > :48:03.first set, going well, that is the feature match on the red button.

:48:04. > :48:11.Judy Murray is out there watching as well. And Venus Williams is out on

:48:12. > :48:16.the practice court at Aorangi Park, the only former champion left in the

:48:17. > :48:21.draw. Last won the title here nine years ago. But always looking good

:48:22. > :48:26.and serving well. This is Coco Vandeweghe might look at this. I

:48:27. > :48:29.love watching her play. She throws everything into every rally and a

:48:30. > :48:37.beautiful natural volleyer. And there he is, the famous headband,

:48:38. > :48:43.it's Pat Cash. Let's see how quick he is moving. Coco will learn a lot

:48:44. > :48:48.from Pat and we enjoyed listening to him talk about the technique and

:48:49. > :48:58.getting into the mind of a champion. You can do better than that, Pat.

:48:59. > :49:03.You see, you never lose it. There you go. Coco will hopefully be on

:49:04. > :49:07.Court Number One later to face Rybarikova. Andy Murray was here

:49:08. > :49:11.earlier. I was surprised as I drove in at 8:30am he was in the car

:49:12. > :49:15.behind and I thought that was only to come in when not playing but he

:49:16. > :49:18.would have watched Carol Kirkwood on breakfast TV and seen the rain was

:49:19. > :49:21.coming and wanted to get the practice on the grass court because

:49:22. > :49:24.when the rain comes down you are sent on to the indoor courts and

:49:25. > :49:29.that is really not the thing you want to do when you want to come out

:49:30. > :49:33.tomorrow. I hope that is not coming. Some dark sky around here but no

:49:34. > :49:38.trouble on Centre. We have the roof and that is where we are going back

:49:39. > :49:48.under now. UMPIRE: Second set, Novak Djokovic to serve.

:49:49. > :49:55.Well, Adrian Mannarino knew that he had an uphill task when he walked on

:49:56. > :50:17.Court an hour or so ago and he knows it for sure now.

:50:18. > :50:24.I'm quite surprised given the fact he has been flexing that hip muscle

:50:25. > :50:26.so much, his hip basically for the whole match, that we have not had

:50:27. > :50:42.the doctor called. I agree. That was a bad bounce, pure and

:50:43. > :51:31.simple. The first case of the match for

:51:32. > :52:06.Novak. -- ace. Tomas Berdych will doubtless be

:52:07. > :52:09.watching this with interest somewhere, whether here on the

:52:10. > :52:11.complex or at his hotel because he's waiting for the winner of this in

:52:12. > :52:29.the quarterfinals. Well, he almost got himself out of

:52:30. > :52:39.jail there, Mannarino. What a great volleyer. And also in this half of

:52:40. > :52:43.the draw is Roger Federer after that demolition job on Grigor Dimitrov

:52:44. > :52:50.last night. A lot of neutral observers would like to see a

:52:51. > :52:56.Djokovic- Federer in the final. That is on Friday and there is a lot of

:52:57. > :53:01.tennis between then and now. There was a spot on the court Djokovic

:53:02. > :53:03.didn't like around the service line. I'm not sure exactly what it was but

:53:04. > :53:44.he was not happy with something. Were you surprised by the Agassi

:53:45. > :53:50.linkup? Well, it was when it happened was a bit surprising to me.

:53:51. > :53:51.But Agassi has been untapped. He should be out there in some role or

:53:52. > :54:17.another. He's a genius. Over the years I've been lucky to

:54:18. > :54:22.sit next to Agassi a couple of times when he's been talking about

:54:23. > :54:28.players. He can dissect a player's game in about five minutes. He's

:54:29. > :54:43.brilliant at it. Djokovic was lucky that he managed to get him.

:54:44. > :54:50.I also like the way Djokovic is very close to the baseline on a lot of

:54:51. > :54:54.these rallies, very Agassi like, Agassi had this territory from about

:54:55. > :54:56.a foot from the baseline and he commanded that area and moved his

:54:57. > :55:29.opponents around. A shriek of frustration but he's

:55:30. > :55:36.moving Mannarino around all over the court. Maybe he senses, a bit like

:55:37. > :55:38.the wounded prey, that Mannarino is not 100%. Keep him moving all the

:55:39. > :56:14.time. That was a fabulous rally. It was

:56:15. > :56:20.superb, wasn't it? Both players hitting pretty flat, particularly

:56:21. > :56:22.Mannarino. But even Djokovic in that rally, not much are on the ball,

:56:23. > :56:31.very flat and through the court but it's so accurate. -- not much arc.

:56:32. > :56:53.Break point for the Serb. Frustration for Mannarino. Maybe

:56:54. > :57:00.it's just the relentlessness of the pounding. That leads to mistakes

:57:01. > :57:05.like that. Does it matter that Agassi is not there on a full-time

:57:06. > :57:08.basis, that he comes and he goes? I think it would be better if he was

:57:09. > :57:13.here for longer but we don't know what the arrangement is yet. It was

:57:14. > :57:21.curious to appoint him at the French Open. It is not exactly something

:57:22. > :57:29.you would in a ideal world. Agassi is a busy chap. I think as much as

:57:30. > :57:41.we can get him, let's take him. Djokovic has also added Mario Ancic,

:57:42. > :57:48.a Croatian player I'm sure you will remember, to his coaching panel. A

:57:49. > :57:49.lot of gardening work going on from Novak today. He's not happy with the

:57:50. > :58:25.condition of Centre Court. He is looking at the court again.

:58:26. > :59:13.I'm not sure the court was to blame for that one.

:59:14. > :59:17.That was like a computer game, wasn't it? Just brilliant striking

:59:18. > :00:20.of the ball. He isn't happy about the court, he

:00:21. > :00:24.seemed like a batsmen who wants to go and prod down the pitch marks.

:00:25. > :00:27.Alastair Cook is in the box today, perhaps he could help him out. But

:00:28. > :00:38.that doesn't look good, just inside the court.

:00:39. > :00:53.He took his discontent with the caught out on the ball there. -- his

:00:54. > :00:57.discontent with the court. I'm not sure how great a horticulturalist

:00:58. > :01:02.you are. At this stage, if there are bits of the court that aren't great,

:01:03. > :01:06.and he is shaking his head, at everything, really. Is there

:01:07. > :01:13.anything you can do about it at this point? I'm not sure you can. There

:01:14. > :01:33.is no time to rest the court, and you pay attention to it when winners

:01:34. > :01:37.are talking about it. He is getting run all over the place. Djokovic

:01:38. > :01:52.hasn't moved more than three metres either side. Trying to get Djokovic

:01:53. > :01:57.to move finally, but it didn't work. That is a tremendous performance

:01:58. > :02:03.really, so accurate. You saw Federer play last night, in periods. How

:02:04. > :02:11.would you compare where Djokovic is at the moment compared to where

:02:12. > :02:16.Federer is? It is tough. You see how well Federer is playing. Djokovic,

:02:17. > :02:24.you feel like he is fighting his way into.

:02:25. > :02:43.As if on cue, the former England captain.

:02:44. > :03:00.S so the second set has followed the exact pattern of the first. S that

:03:01. > :03:09.is that slow backhand slice that he uses sometimes. When Novak can get

:03:10. > :03:17.back into the middle of the court and get that position he wants on

:03:18. > :04:03.the baseline. A good change of pace on that backhand sometimes.

:04:04. > :04:37.Djokovic isn't like Raonic, Querrey, Anderson. One break of serve and

:04:38. > :04:46.it's over. Where would you place him in the men's league at the moment?

:04:47. > :04:51.His serve is a different type of serve. He is a placement server, he

:04:52. > :04:57.has got power as well but he uses it to get himself set up for the second

:04:58. > :04:59.strike. It is an excellent serve, I wouldn't put it in the top five, but

:05:00. > :05:12.it is still a fine serve. That is fabulous tennis, just

:05:13. > :05:39.brilliant. You don't see that very often. Here

:05:40. > :05:48.we go again. He will have a trowel in his bag for

:05:49. > :06:04.the quarterfinal. And a rate! That really is brilliant. What a

:06:05. > :06:25.great game from the number two seed. He looked like a 12 times Grand Slam

:06:26. > :06:29.champion there. Did he ever. I hate to keep talking about the Agassi

:06:30. > :06:35.situation, you can't work on that shot but that is the sort of shot

:06:36. > :06:38.that Agassi, look at that, his knees almost touching the ground, and that

:06:39. > :06:43.wasn't a fluke when he hit it down the line there, you have to have

:06:44. > :06:48.such perfect timing. Look at the course to Bill to you there. Yes,

:06:49. > :06:55.look at how low the ball was, nice and firm, eyes on the ball, heads

:06:56. > :07:02.doesn't move at all and the pose at the end. Or maybe he just took a

:07:03. > :07:10.long time getting up. That would be you! I would still be down. The

:07:11. > :07:14.thing for me about where he is in his game, the game is still there,

:07:15. > :07:18.it has been there. It is the mind that hasn't been there. I like the

:07:19. > :07:23.explosions he has had when he is missing balls, that to me shows me

:07:24. > :07:27.that he wants this. He's back. There were times in the French Open when I

:07:28. > :07:31.wasn't quite sure he was, particularly in that last set

:07:32. > :07:39.against Thiem. He does seem distracted by the condition of the

:07:40. > :07:43.court here. But Mannarino has other things on his mind, like the

:07:44. > :07:48.scoreboard which shows Djokovic a set and a break to the good. It was

:07:49. > :08:04.a very late night! A bit upright Matt Foreman, is it

:08:05. > :09:01.the hip the back? We are heading towards one hour.

:09:02. > :09:03.This is a very nice match, but is it unfair to say there is only one

:09:04. > :09:21.winner? You are exactly right. That ball checked a little. S we

:09:22. > :09:23.have had some great points, but you just can't see how Mannarino can get

:09:24. > :09:41.back into this. UMPIRE: Mr Mannarino is challenging

:09:42. > :09:47.the call on the right far sideline. The ball was called out.

:09:48. > :09:48.The crowd think it was all right. But it wasn't.

:09:49. > :10:34.UMPIRE: The call stands. Mr Mannarino has to challenges

:10:35. > :10:37.remaining. A magnetic attraction to the Mannarino overhead, for in a row

:10:38. > :11:18.and he has hit the ball straight back to him. There is an"! ".

:11:19. > :11:20.That slow backhand slice from Djokovic is causing a bit of

:11:21. > :11:45.trouble. Djokovic shaking his head in

:11:46. > :11:47.frustration. That was a pretty ambitious shot he tried from that

:11:48. > :12:29.position on the court. He is taking a lot of time here,

:12:30. > :13:07.Novak. This is a bad couple of points he

:13:08. > :13:12.has played here. That is his first double fault today. And the crowd

:13:13. > :13:14.are enjoying this match, and so to that end, they would quite like the

:13:15. > :13:33.Frenchman to break here. That was just 106 mph, but it was

:13:34. > :14:45.impeccably placed. That is just a sensational rally,

:14:46. > :14:50.such thoughtful shotmaking, a beautiful execution from the

:14:51. > :15:00.Frenchman, and he breaks back. A lot of the crowd on their feet. Because

:15:01. > :15:08.they want to see this for at least another couple of sets. That was

:15:09. > :15:15.great stuff. There is Mannarino, 29 years old, 51 in the world or

:15:16. > :15:18.thereabouts, but he has been hovering there for many years. What

:15:19. > :15:22.is happening in the men's game that we suddenly have a third of the draw

:15:23. > :15:31.who are over 30? It is the whole physicality of the players now. What

:15:32. > :15:35.goes in behind their treatment. The people that they have, the trainers,

:15:36. > :15:42.the diet, all that sort of stuff has come into play, they are taking care

:15:43. > :15:46.of themselves a lot more. It is amazing, the longevity of careers

:15:47. > :15:56.now. But it is also incredible how players hit peaks at different

:15:57. > :15:59.points in their careers, if you look at Gilles Muller last night, it's

:16:00. > :16:11.almost like it has taken him this long to work out what his peak is.

:16:12. > :16:19.There is one of the greats, Henri Leconte. And talking about

:16:20. > :16:27.longevity, this is Djokovic's tournament, he hasn't missed a Grand

:16:28. > :16:29.Slam for effectively 30 years. He is trying to get into his 39th Grand

:16:30. > :17:20.Slam quarterfinal today. He is looking so good, Novak

:17:21. > :17:25.Djokovic, you couldn't really see how the Frenchman would get back in.

:17:26. > :18:43.And then he gave away two cheap points.

:18:44. > :18:49.This looks comfortable game, but it isn't often that you comfortable

:18:50. > :19:13.games when you play against the best players.

:19:14. > :19:23.So we do find ourselves at four each.

:19:24. > :19:33.What a fantastic bonus this is for the Centre Court crowd today. Two

:19:34. > :19:40.women's quarterfinals later on, and Jo Konta in action. Is Novak

:19:41. > :19:50.changing his racket again? I think he is. Jo Konta is the second match

:19:51. > :19:57.against Simona Halep, after Venus Williams against Yelena Arzhakova.

:19:58. > :20:47.If -- Yelena Orlova to and if you have just switched on and

:20:48. > :20:49.wonder why we are playing under the roof, we have had some rain, and

:20:50. > :21:03.more is threatened the later. So if discretion is the better part

:21:04. > :21:08.of anything else, and obviously this match had to be completed early. To

:21:09. > :21:19.get the quarterfinals finally sorted out.

:21:20. > :21:39.So the pressure is on Mannarino now to come out and serve to stay not

:21:40. > :21:49.just in this second set, but you would suspect, the match as well. S

:21:50. > :21:54.you have got to give the Frenchman a lot of respect for the way he has

:21:55. > :22:00.hung in there, this looked like it was going to be a comfortable two

:22:01. > :22:09.sets to love the Djokovic, but he Han Ying, and a couple of errors

:22:10. > :22:13.from Novak and it is back on serve. There is not much happening on the

:22:14. > :22:23.outside courts, but the covers have come off.

:22:24. > :22:29.Someone has just whispered in my ear that the rain has started again.

:22:30. > :22:35.What they will want to do definitely is get the four women's

:22:36. > :22:45.quarterfinals done, so Garbine Muguruza, Svetlana Kuznetsova,

:22:46. > :22:50.Rybarikova and Coco Vandeweghe, it isn't impossible that we could play

:22:51. > :22:51.all four women's quarterfinals back to back here on Centre Court and

:22:52. > :23:04.finish at 11 o'clock tonight. The authorities will be hoping that

:23:05. > :24:21.this does not go to 15-13 in the fifth.

:24:22. > :24:33.Fantastic! Vat was like a game of chess, and then Mannarino just

:24:34. > :24:39.turned the ball over. I'm surprised he had any energy left, he had to

:24:40. > :24:40.hit a winner there or he was done! What control and what accessories

:24:41. > :25:30.and he put into that last backhand. That was a very solid and

:25:31. > :25:44.occasionally spectacular hold by the Frenchman.

:25:45. > :26:29.Mannarino has got his rhythm back. He is playing so well. Novak is

:26:30. > :28:47.puffing, he is getting runaround. One of the great things about tennis

:28:48. > :28:53.is that there are so many different ways to play the game. If people are

:28:54. > :29:01.watching now who were in grossed in the Nadal/ Muller match last night,

:29:02. > :29:08.both players were shaping the ball, it clears the net by so much, but so

:29:09. > :29:12.much more flat hitting here. There is no defined way about which is

:29:13. > :29:17.better. You find the way that you want to play the game. But it does

:29:18. > :29:22.mean that a match like this, the contrast in style between if you

:29:23. > :29:29.were playing Nadal or Djokovic makes the game eternally fascinating,

:29:30. > :29:35.doesn't it? It does. This is why winning a Grand Slam is so tough,

:29:36. > :29:38.you play different people, different speeds, different ways that they

:29:39. > :29:47.play, different service coming at you. This match, Mannarino is one of

:29:48. > :29:56.the flattest hitters I have seen in a long time, there is almost no arc

:29:57. > :30:01.to the ball. He is like Jimmy Connors in a lot of ways. A very

:30:02. > :30:05.distinguished group of guests in the Royal Box. We saw Virginia Wade a

:30:06. > :30:13.few moments ago. 40 years on from her triumph here. When Max Robertson

:30:14. > :30:25.on BBC radio famously said, Virginia Wade take tea with the Queen.

:30:26. > :30:42.If Jo Konta got to the final on Saturday... Is there any

:30:43. > :30:44.suggestion... That the Queen is going to come? Is that what you were

:30:45. > :31:12.about to say? I haven't heard that. They are hitting the ball so well,

:31:13. > :31:15.when someone makes an error like that, it's like, why did he do that?

:31:16. > :31:28.Well, because they have too every now and again.

:31:29. > :31:43.That's an unusual error there. 30-15, second serve. Well, a couple

:31:44. > :31:51.of points for Mannarino to take us into a tie-break.

:31:52. > :32:29.Well played. The potential for calamity there was huge.

:32:30. > :32:38.UMPIRE: Tie-break. Each player now receives one additional tie-break.

:32:39. > :32:39.Because we don't have a colossal big server here, this is a very

:32:40. > :33:02.interesting tie-break. It is so good. Great start from

:33:03. > :33:07.Mannarino's point of view. How well did he take charge of that? Opened

:33:08. > :33:12.it up here, got Novak out of position and pushes down on the

:33:13. > :33:27.accelerator on the forehand. What a start.

:33:28. > :35:05.Three points against the serve at the start of this tie-break.

:35:06. > :35:12.That was a very tentative second serve from Djokovic. 83 mph. Four

:35:13. > :35:51.points against the serve in a row. UMPIRE: Mr Djokovic is challenging

:35:52. > :36:02.the call on the right far sideline, the ball was called out.

:36:03. > :36:16.This is very close. But it's very out. The call stands. I think that

:36:17. > :36:22.challenge was a bit tactical from Novak. I think he just wanted to

:36:23. > :36:35.sort of reboot, get his mind back into the game here.

:36:36. > :36:39.It is possible to hold serve in this tie-break and Mannarino has the

:36:40. > :36:50.edge. This is a classic shot. It comes up

:36:51. > :37:01.and you think he's going to hit this really hard, and there it goes,

:37:02. > :37:07.pushes it in short. His hip seems to have got better. It seems to be

:37:08. > :37:58.remarkably better now. This is breathtaking stuff, it

:37:59. > :38:02.really, really is. He is... Novak must be thinking this fellow is a

:38:03. > :38:13.real pest down the other end of the line. He just refuses to go away.

:38:14. > :38:18.He's moving so well. We always have those stats about how far players

:38:19. > :38:28.run during a match. It would be fascinating to see those.

:38:29. > :38:54.After all that we are back on serve now.

:38:55. > :39:05.That was a tense shot. You could feel the tension in that rally. Just

:39:06. > :39:39.slightly came out of that ball, just lifted up when he went to hit it.

:39:40. > :39:49.You can always tell when Djokovic is tense because the ball gets bounced

:39:50. > :40:01.more and more before the serve. And those last two points you can tell

:40:02. > :40:21.Mannarino is tense too. But it is still on serve. This is a big point.

:40:22. > :40:37.A bit wild of there. Almost got impatient.

:40:38. > :40:42.So, three errors in a row from Mannarino and after an hour and a

:40:43. > :41:33.half two set points for Djokovic. UMPIRE: Mr Mannarino is challenging

:41:34. > :41:37.the call on the right side line. Djokovic isn't bothering with the

:41:38. > :41:52.challenge from Mannarino, as far as he is concerned that ball was in. He

:41:53. > :41:57.is in complete charge now. That is the third shirt change of the match

:41:58. > :42:00.so far. The mannerisms have been strange today in some ways.

:42:01. > :42:05.Sometimes you have heard him shout, then he's moaning about the court,

:42:06. > :42:10.he gets a bit angry, and you think he seems to be a bit off his game.

:42:11. > :42:16.And he wins a couple of points, then he starts smiling. The bottom line

:42:17. > :42:21.is, you can see how focused he is and that's what you love to see.

:42:22. > :42:25.When he's in this kind of frame of mind you know that he's back

:42:26. > :42:30.mentally. That's what has been missing from his game in such large

:42:31. > :42:35.areas through the last year. If Mannarino had one that second set it

:42:36. > :42:41.might have been a very interesting match. But it's a very long way back

:42:42. > :42:45.now for him. Very long way back. You can see on the stats, Djokovic

:42:46. > :42:50.getting hurt when he misses his first serve, that's very impressive.

:42:51. > :42:55.Djokovic only winning 44% of his second serve points. Mannarino

:42:56. > :43:02.handling his serve really well. The unforced errors, Djokovic has toured

:43:03. > :43:06.a half times as many winners so very aggressive. Djokovic lost his

:43:07. > :43:10.concentration when he was up the break and played a couple of sloppy

:43:11. > :43:13.points and ended up losing his serve. All credit to the Frenchman

:43:14. > :43:18.to hang in there. When that tie-breaker was being played he knew

:43:19. > :43:24.that realistically the Frenchman had to win that tie-breaker to stay in

:43:25. > :43:33.this match. At 2-0 you cannot see it. He played three bad shots in a

:43:34. > :43:40.row. After it was all square in the tie-breaker. Djokovic played one

:43:41. > :43:45.tie-break against Ernests Gulbis in the last round. He has still yet to

:43:46. > :43:53.lose is set at Wimbledon 2017. This is the first set that Mannarino has

:43:54. > :43:59.served first in. If he can hold serve here throughout this set the

:44:00. > :44:00.pressure might build on Djokovic. He has to hang his hat on that at

:44:01. > :44:15.least. Djokovic doing to him what he did to

:44:16. > :45:35.Djokovic. I don't think Novak was too

:45:36. > :45:39.impressed with that. That was a contentious swat at the end. What

:45:40. > :45:43.was that!? He didn't like this, if you look at the look he gave him, he

:45:44. > :46:33.gave him the cold stare down. Mannarino surely had to come in on

:46:34. > :46:37.one of those shots. Yes, he had a couple of opportunities and didn't

:46:38. > :46:41.take them and then paid the price. He's lost his opening service game

:46:42. > :46:42.in the first two sets and is in danger of completing an unwanted

:46:43. > :47:15.hat-trick here. With played for an hour and 37

:47:16. > :47:21.minutes, Mannarino has struck two volleys.

:47:22. > :47:45.It's safe to say he's happier at the back the court.

:47:46. > :47:52.It's also an indication, perhaps, of the changing nature of the sport. 20

:47:53. > :47:56.years ago he wouldn't have gone through a couple of rounds playing

:47:57. > :48:10.this kind of style of tennis, would he? No.

:48:11. > :48:37.I thought Djokovic was in this rally and then bosh.

:48:38. > :48:43.He was helped by a couple of errors from Djokovic's racket but that is a

:48:44. > :48:48.really solid hold from the Frenchman.

:48:49. > :48:59.He did well there, actually. Mannarino. I thought when he played

:49:00. > :49:02.that vastly exaggerated... Whatever that shot was, that fly swatting

:49:03. > :49:08.backhand drop shot which he basically gave the point away with,

:49:09. > :49:14.he thought the match was over but he fought back. A couple of errors from

:49:15. > :49:17.Djokovic but he is an entertainer, that's for sure. Mannarino has been

:49:18. > :49:25.fun to watch. The crowd have loved him. Max Whitlock amongst the great

:49:26. > :49:31.and the good in the Royal box today. Two gold medals in the time it takes

:49:32. > :49:48.some tennis players to get a time violation.

:49:49. > :50:04.The first very obvious sign of frustration from Novak. He was

:50:05. > :50:09.looking, again, as you can see from that, at the condition of the court,

:50:10. > :50:10.especially on the baseline. That is where he is particularly unhappy

:50:11. > :50:57.about the state of the court. Ambitious. This may be a ridiculous

:50:58. > :51:00.thing to say but on a grass court has a player ever asked for a role

:51:01. > :51:05.to be brought out midway through a game? I don't know but I think it

:51:06. > :51:12.would be a first. It would be a classic if he did.

:51:13. > :51:24.There is another of those super ambitious shots from Mannarino. But

:51:25. > :51:43.Djokovic almost missed it. I think Mannarino thought he had.

:51:44. > :52:59.The entertainment level remains high.

:53:00. > :53:06.Lots of little subplots here. Djokovic's unhappiness with the

:53:07. > :53:10.state of the court, some really extravagant attempted drop shots by

:53:11. > :53:13.the Frenchman, some of which are more successful than others, and

:53:14. > :53:30.Djokovic 2-0 and 1-1 in the third. Oh! What was that? What was that

:53:31. > :53:35.exactly? Talk me through that shot. It looked like he would kick the

:53:36. > :53:37.ball. He thought it would be out and then he realised it was not and he

:53:38. > :53:54.very nearly had to go to A It is the wonder of the scoring

:53:55. > :53:57.system in tennis that in 20 seconds, 0-30 on the Mannarino serve, and

:53:58. > :54:30.suddenly this could be the game right

:54:31. > :54:37.SUE BARKER: We are leaving this match on BBC Two but don't worry it

:54:38. > :54:42.continues on BBC One, so if you want to continue watching this match you

:54:43. > :54:46.can, it's over on BBC One. They are enjoying the tennis under the roof,

:54:47. > :54:49.I think it will be one of those days where the play will be on and off,

:54:50. > :54:53.they've had the covers on and off for the last couple of hours or so

:54:54. > :54:57.but the good news is it is dry at the moment and we could have a

:54:58. > :55:02.fairly dry spell for the next hour or two, we certainly hope so. Play

:55:03. > :55:06.is about to get under way on the outside courts. Everyone is still

:55:07. > :55:09.enjoying their Wimbledon experience, they are on the hill watching the

:55:10. > :55:25.drama unfold on Centre Court but I'm pleased to say those with a ticket

:55:26. > :55:30.on number one Court have got some tennis at last. It was supposed to

:55:31. > :55:32.start at 1pm but they only walked on a short time ago and this is Garbine

:55:33. > :55:34.Muguruza, a former finalist here, up against Svetlana Kuznetsova, a

:55:35. > :55:37.two-time Grand Slam champion who has only dropped 21 games en route to

:55:38. > :55:40.the last eight. It is 1-1, it is dry, that's the good news, let's

:55:41. > :55:41.join our commentators for this one. Annabel Croft is alongside Gigi

:55:42. > :56:17.Salmon. The longest rally of the match in

:56:18. > :56:25.game three, a bruising encounter between the two. That was just

:56:26. > :56:30.wonderful ball striking from both girls. It was Kuznetsova who had the

:56:31. > :56:33.opportunity to come out a little earlier in the rally. She eventually

:56:34. > :56:38.got up there but terrific dipping ball from Muguruza made that volley

:56:39. > :57:08.difficult. 17 shots in that last rally.

:57:09. > :57:15.Well, look at that, dancing around that ball, getting something on this

:57:16. > :57:18.and a lot of wrist action in the forehand swing. Drops the racket

:57:19. > :57:20.head, wraps it around the strings and then creates incredible angle.

:57:21. > :57:47.Accelerating that racket head. Lovely from Kuznetsova, her first

:57:48. > :57:51.break point of this quarterfinal. She is hitting a lot of balls into

:57:52. > :57:56.the forehand corner of Muguruza. No player particularly likes going that

:57:57. > :57:57.way. They preferred to move off to the left. But it's causing quite a

:57:58. > :58:21.lot of damage. For someone so tall, Muguruza, she

:58:22. > :58:24.is over six feet tall, she gets down to this one really well, bends her

:58:25. > :58:52.knees, beautiful backhand through the court.

:58:53. > :59:10.Have another look at this. Again, really well balanced, gets that body

:59:11. > :59:13.weight through the court, really transferring it, plants those feet

:59:14. > :59:38.and stays very low throughout the swing.

:59:39. > :59:47.So, from double break point down, Muguruza, a former finalist here at

:59:48. > :00:29.Wimbledon, 2015. It felt like there was a little bit

:00:30. > :00:32.of a breeze, it has got inside Court One, you can hear it on the

:00:33. > :00:42.microphones, you can see it on Conchita Martinez's hair.

:00:43. > :00:49.So that means extra footwork. You will probably find that both of them

:00:50. > :01:13.might not go for so much. They might both need to pull their

:01:14. > :01:19.margins and a little bit. Good hold for Garbine Muguruza. Her coach,

:01:20. > :01:24.1994 champion Conchita Martinez, watches on. We are in the early

:01:25. > :01:27.stages. That was another very good game to get under her belt, under

:01:28. > :01:33.immense pressure there, and she didn't blink. She just came up with

:01:34. > :01:37.some big hitting from the back of the court, both of these players

:01:38. > :01:42.very powerful ball strikers, heavily struck ball, they will both go for

:01:43. > :01:48.depth and precision to try to out play and get that first hit in. Both

:01:49. > :01:52.have already looked to come forward. And in the absence of Serena

:01:53. > :01:56.Williams, and Maria Sharapova not being here, every player knows they

:01:57. > :02:00.have a chance, especially at this stage, down to the last eight, this

:02:01. > :02:06.is a golden opportunity for some of these players to take a first Grand

:02:07. > :02:12.Slam title, some a second or third. I don't know how much of a as a

:02:13. > :02:15.player you feel that, but it is a good opening. It is a very good

:02:16. > :02:22.opening when you consider four out of the eight have Grand Slam titles,

:02:23. > :02:26.and the other player who doesn't, Simona Halep, has been in two Grand

:02:27. > :02:31.Slam finals, but so much at stake, so much opportunity, and it is who

:02:32. > :02:34.is going to handle that and the pressure and the nerves and the

:02:35. > :02:54.anticipation, who will handle that the best.

:02:55. > :03:03.Svetlana Kuznetsova number 32 -- 32 years of age, currently sits number

:03:04. > :03:27.eight in the world. She has altered her service motion

:03:28. > :03:43.over the years, she had some shoulder problems awhile back.

:03:44. > :03:49.Sometimes she goes for broke on the first serve. I feel as if she is

:03:50. > :03:54.with the wind down this side, that one flattened out of it, she needs

:03:55. > :03:59.to put some more spin on the ball. That last serve only 86 mph,

:04:00. > :04:02.sometimes she pulls back and goes for complete spin, so you have to

:04:03. > :04:28.keep guessing what she is going to go for.

:04:29. > :04:39.And from holding to love, Svetlana Kuznetsova has been broken to love.

:04:40. > :04:48.Well, Muguruza standing up to the challenge there, both of them

:04:49. > :04:51.hitting with the speed and acceleration of the racket head out

:04:52. > :04:56.here, but Muguruza standing up to it and she created the angle with the

:04:57. > :05:00.last forehand, opened up the angles on the court. So she is being a tiny

:05:01. > :05:27.bit braver, but waiting for the right ball to strike out with.

:05:28. > :05:33.There you can see the looped take-back, and that is on that

:05:34. > :06:00.forehand. Muguruza by contrast is the lower

:06:01. > :06:08.ranked player at number 15, having dropped out of the top ten, once the

:06:09. > :06:12.2000 points she got for the French Open last year dropped off. She

:06:13. > :06:22.could go back into the top ten with a win here.

:06:23. > :06:33.And I'm also happy to say, Annabel, it looks a bit brighter out here. I

:06:34. > :06:35.didn't want to say, but it does. The clouds have lifted. Not sure how

:06:36. > :06:54.long for, but for now. Very clean ball striking from

:06:55. > :06:58.Muguruza. This is just such a simple combination, get your opponent out

:06:59. > :07:01.wide on the return of serve, a short reply, look at the intensity and

:07:02. > :07:03.movement, great footwork getting that ball in front. No hesitation on

:07:04. > :08:05.that forehand. A little bump of the fist from

:08:06. > :08:11.Garbine Muguruza, she has held and consolidated her break to take a 4-1

:08:12. > :08:15.lead in the first set. It is quite a pacey match, 18 minutes gone,

:08:16. > :08:18.already five games played, and a little bit of extra breeze in the

:08:19. > :08:22.air today, so players having to adapt to that and be quite

:08:23. > :08:26.versatile, but they also need to get the intensity of the footwork going

:08:27. > :08:29.so that if balls swell around, you can adapt to it. Everyone was

:08:30. > :08:34.talking about the victory over Angelique Kerber in the last round,

:08:35. > :08:37.but it is how they both played, and you said you popped down to the

:08:38. > :08:41.court towards the end, and the crowd were giving Muguruza a standing

:08:42. > :08:49.ovation for the quality of her tennis that day. They were, she got

:08:50. > :08:53.a massive standing ovation, and she was out in the middle of the court

:08:54. > :08:57.for quite some time, soaking it all up. They just appreciated the tennis

:08:58. > :09:03.she played. It was a terrific contest, tight match, but she came

:09:04. > :09:07.through it 6-4 in the final set. She does have a special connection here

:09:08. > :09:12.with Wimbledon. She has been in the finals before, people like the way

:09:13. > :09:32.she plays, and she has incredible poise on the court.

:09:33. > :09:48.She does say she is still surprised at the success she has had on grass.

:09:49. > :09:55.I think she takes the ball incredibly early, particularly off

:09:56. > :09:59.return of serve, she tries to stay up on that baseline, particularly on

:10:00. > :10:01.second serves, she will really move forward, and the backhand side is

:10:02. > :10:30.really effective. This is just incredible ball

:10:31. > :10:33.striking, and you can see getting her opponent off balance, and then

:10:34. > :10:37.stepping it in an flattening it out down the line, great balance once

:10:38. > :10:40.again. That is an incredible replay, and gives you an indication of the

:10:41. > :11:04.strike. A fairly comfortable hold for

:11:05. > :11:11.Svetlana Kuznetsova, the Russian who has had one final this year, her

:11:12. > :11:11.40th career final, just to highlight the experience that Kuznetsova does

:11:12. > :12:11.have. Kuznetsova did so well together

:12:12. > :12:15.back, that was squashed defensive shot, relatively new in tennis, but

:12:16. > :12:26.so effective, particularly on grass, it stayed really low and that was a

:12:27. > :12:34.difficult shot. And we just saw a very pensive looking Kuznetsova

:12:35. > :12:37.coach, the Spaniard Carlos Martinez. Long-term relationship, had a brief

:12:38. > :12:50.spell apart, but decided they were better off together.

:12:51. > :12:57.She is building momentum on the service games, getting a lot of

:12:58. > :13:04.points behind serve. She is keeping Kuznetsova guessing which way she is

:13:05. > :13:10.going to go, and it is a big serve. UMPIRE: The call stands. Miss

:13:11. > :13:35.Kuznetsova has two challenges remaining.

:13:36. > :13:43.Just looking really strong on server the moment, Garbine Muguruza.

:13:44. > :13:49.Applauded by her coach, she is one game away from the first set. We are

:13:50. > :13:52.rattling through these games. I don't know whether they have looked

:13:53. > :14:11.ahead to the weather and see that this is only a small window. They

:14:12. > :14:15.have decided not to faff! Muguruza, when she zones, she is lethal on any

:14:16. > :14:21.surface. She is, because of that power that she possesses, and you

:14:22. > :14:25.were talking about why does she think that she is good on grass, but

:14:26. > :14:28.the things that are so important on a grass court, you need to serve

:14:29. > :14:33.well and you need to return well, and another Spanish player, she has

:14:34. > :14:38.been out injured for a while, but she is coaching Jelena Ostapenko,

:14:39. > :14:53.Korea -- Guerrigez, she said that it is

:14:54. > :15:00.the person who has the most courage on grass, and get in early. Perhaps

:15:01. > :15:08.they are both doing that. S UMPIRE: Let, first service. The on

:15:09. > :15:15.court chats can be very entertaining if you understand the language.

:15:16. > :15:17.Sometimes it can be dipping into a bit of a soap opera as well, quite

:15:18. > :15:33.entertaining. We should say that this is a fifth

:15:34. > :15:45.meeting between these two, second this year. Kuznetsova picked up her

:15:46. > :15:49.600th career match went last time. Muguruza does lead the head-to-head,

:15:50. > :16:34.but this is the first time they have met on grass.

:16:35. > :16:45.Well played, Kuznetsova. This is good tennis, isn't it? Outfoxing

:16:46. > :16:49.Muguruza on that last point, slight change of tactics, going to the

:16:50. > :16:50.sliced backhand a few more times, mixing up the rhythm, waiting for

:16:51. > :17:27.the right ball to strike out. Well played, Kuznetsova, second love

:17:28. > :17:30.hold, and a happier Carlos Martinez, coach of Kuznetsova, but it is

:17:31. > :17:42.Muguruza who is now in a position to serve for the first set. An

:17:43. > :17:44.excellent game from Kuznetsova, an hard court you would be able to hear

:17:45. > :18:26.that footwork around the court. Well, she will be disappointed with

:18:27. > :18:31.that. You can see she is getting exasperated with herself. That was

:18:32. > :18:33.an opportunity, a floated second serve sitting there in biting you to

:18:34. > :20:03.be hit, she didn't connect with it. There is another free point of that

:20:04. > :20:05.serve. She finds it difficult to read some of the Serbs, she has

:20:06. > :20:59.mixed it up well today. Once again, that kind of whipping

:21:00. > :21:35.action, the acceleration of the racket face through the court.

:21:36. > :21:42.Fantastic rally, and there is the reaction from Garbine Muguruza. A

:21:43. > :21:49.clean set of tennis, a happy coach in Conchita Martinez. The crowd

:21:50. > :21:54.enjoyed that, a set to the good, 6-3. That was a fabulous last point,

:21:55. > :22:02.a Battle of two strong minds in the last rally. Muguruza the one who

:22:03. > :22:06.hung in there, and held her position. It was brave stuff, she

:22:07. > :22:11.was just biding her time, both of them really going hell for leather

:22:12. > :22:16.in that last rally. That was a great final points to finish off this

:22:17. > :22:19.first set. They are so similar in the way they are constructing the

:22:20. > :22:24.points out here. It is about trying to wait for the right ball, but

:22:25. > :22:28.being brave, both of them with great backhands from what we have seen

:22:29. > :22:36.today. Kuznetsova with a little more spin on that left-hand side, but

:22:37. > :22:43.under the roof, let out an enormous roar, that is what that last point

:22:44. > :22:47.meant. As did Conchita Martinez. Yesterday she was getting really,

:22:48. > :22:50.really uptight in the support camp, tying her hair up, then letting it

:22:51. > :22:55.down, then tying it up, then letting it down again, holding her head in

:22:56. > :23:00.her hands. Taking a look at the statistics from the first set. Just

:23:01. > :23:08.one double fault and peace. Fairly high serving from Kuznetsova,

:23:09. > :23:14.winning a higher percentage behind the second serve points, and the

:23:15. > :23:19.break points, she created two of them but wasn't able to convert on

:23:20. > :23:20.any of them. So, Garbine Muguruza is set away from her Wimbledon

:23:21. > :23:41.semifinal. If she could have had one, what

:23:42. > :23:46.would have been the coaching chat to Kuznetsova at the end of that first

:23:47. > :23:49.set? Very good question. She is taking her game to Muguruza, just

:23:50. > :23:57.Muguruza has done it a little bit better. I would say perhaps to bring

:23:58. > :24:02.in some of that variety that we saw that we are starting to have a

:24:03. > :24:23.little more impact. She maybe needs to introduce that a little bit more.

:24:24. > :24:32.A prime example was that last rally. There were about two or three shots

:24:33. > :24:35.when it was a mid-court ball, she could have struck it into the corner

:24:36. > :24:38.and moved forward, there was even one shot where she slightly

:24:39. > :24:42.hesitates, she thinks about it, takes half a step forward, and then

:24:43. > :25:05.I think that was the last forehand winner.

:25:06. > :25:13.There is a little hesitation where you don't feel she wants to move

:25:14. > :25:19.forward. Kuznetsova got to the final here at Wimbledon in 2005, she was

:25:20. > :25:24.moving forward well then. Earlier on in Muguruza's career, she played a

:25:25. > :25:27.lot of doubles with Carla Suarez Navarro, and decided to focus more

:25:28. > :25:56.on the singles, but I think it stopped her from moving forward.

:25:57. > :26:05.We are seeing some lovely rallies from the back of the court. We talk

:26:06. > :26:11.so much about the players and the latter stages of their career, Roger

:26:12. > :26:16.Federer, Venus Williams, but Svetlana Kuznetsova, she is 32 years

:26:17. > :26:21.of age, and people forget she is a two-time Grand Slam champion, I know

:26:22. > :26:24.it was 2004 US Open and 2009 French Open, and she has got herself in the

:26:25. > :26:29.last couple of years back into the top ten. Yes Chris she had her

:26:30. > :26:33.moment out on the tour where she didn't enjoy her tennis and lost a

:26:34. > :26:36.little bit of form and confidence, just didn't really enjoy it any

:26:37. > :26:43.more, then she decided to go and live back in her home country of

:26:44. > :26:46.Russia, and she started to find life away from the courts, and just

:26:47. > :26:50.reinvigorated herself, and then decided that she did miss playing

:26:51. > :27:07.tennis and tried to inject some extra energy into it.

:27:08. > :27:12.That is great ball striking, and it is admirable that she has been ever

:27:13. > :27:35.such a long time, now started to play some of her tennis again.

:27:36. > :27:43.That is outstanding. That was never coming back.

:27:44. > :27:49.That is that third ball of the rally that has become so important in

:27:50. > :27:52.tennis, not willing to be pushed behind the baseline after that first

:27:53. > :28:00.strike on the serve, take the ball on the rise.

:28:01. > :28:05.Are you surprised that Muguruza didn't kick on as well as she could

:28:06. > :28:10.or would have done after winning the French Open title last year? It

:28:11. > :28:13.isn't the first time we have seen that, where players breakthrough,

:28:14. > :28:16.get their first Grand Slam title or gets to world number one, and then

:28:17. > :28:20.suddenly that feeling of hunting down things and then becoming the

:28:21. > :28:22.hunted, it is a different feeling, and players take time to adjust to

:28:23. > :28:31.it. He didn't catch it! We won't have

:28:32. > :29:07.him in the cricket team. Well, this just proves how good she

:29:08. > :29:09.is up at the net, beautiful feel, held her nerve up at the net, great

:29:10. > :29:32.control. Break point opportunity for Svetlana

:29:33. > :29:37.Kuznetsova. Hasn't had one of those since the third game of the first

:29:38. > :29:41.set. She is up to her level, the intensity level has gone up another

:29:42. > :29:52.couple of notches. There is a sense of urgency, good footwork.

:29:53. > :30:04.Looking to really strike out on the return of serve, very aggressive.

:30:05. > :30:12.What a terrific backhand this was. You can see the early preparation,

:30:13. > :30:19.right in for the drive volley and a clever wrong-foot. No hesitation in

:30:20. > :30:43.there. That would have felt good. That was even better.

:30:44. > :30:50.She had to save the break point and does so, closes out the game, both

:30:51. > :30:55.players on the board in the set two but Muguruza leads 1-0. You only

:30:56. > :31:00.have to look at the way that she walks around the court, it is kind

:31:01. > :31:02.of a struct, but it is a sense of purpose, it is a sense of belonging,

:31:03. > :31:33.and a real sort of sense of belief. I think since she has played this

:31:34. > :31:35.event without Sam Sumyk, her official coach, here at the

:31:36. > :31:47.sidelines she just focuses on herself.

:31:48. > :31:57.Too good from Kuznetsova. I think in the past when he has been sitting

:31:58. > :31:59.there, if things aren't going well, you see this massive connection

:32:00. > :32:04.where she is constantly turning around to him and looking sort of

:32:05. > :32:07.exasperated. But there is a feeling she is really taking responsibility

:32:08. > :32:14.for herself out here. She has done well.

:32:15. > :32:22.They do have quite a volatile relationship. Very much so.

:32:23. > :32:28.Sometimes those on court exchanges, he speaks in English, sometimes she

:32:29. > :32:32.goes into Spanish, and he says sort Dominic stopped speaking in Spanish.

:32:33. > :32:47.It is gripping. But maybe not that productive.

:32:48. > :32:57.I think she has made that. Again, it is Kuznetsova this time he doesn't

:32:58. > :33:02.want to go behind the baseline, she is hugging the baseline, bending the

:33:03. > :33:03.knees and absorbing the pace and almost guiding that one down the

:33:04. > :33:40.line. There is the hold for the Russian, a

:33:41. > :33:46.little fist pump from the seventh seed and world number eight. She

:33:47. > :33:59.stays ahead on serve. So, Svetlana Kuznetsova just going

:34:00. > :34:04.through the full process of what she needs to do, how she needs to do it.

:34:05. > :34:08.She is such a great, colourful character, Svetlana Kuznetsova. When

:34:09. > :34:12.you Peter Hirst she will laugh and recently said that while your coach

:34:13. > :34:17.your family, are your support network but she also relies on it 23

:34:18. > :34:21.kilo American bully hound. I'm not really a dog person and I don't know

:34:22. > :34:26.if that means something to you but I imagine at 23 kilos, I have a child

:34:27. > :34:32.who is half that and is pretty heavy. Is that a big dog. Yes, it is

:34:33. > :34:36.a big dog. She says he is like my emotional support, if you are with

:34:37. > :34:40.your team they are a little bit sad if you lose and if you win they are

:34:41. > :34:45.a little bit happy but with the dog it is always the same. It is a

:34:46. > :34:48.welcome relief. She is so nice and so popular and she is a fun

:34:49. > :34:53.character, she has always been good to interview. I think she's been a

:34:54. > :34:59.very popular part of the tour. She is quite straightforward, isn't she?

:35:00. > :35:04.There is not too many frills attached to her, not too many

:35:05. > :35:07.dramas. She works hard and she has had a terrific career. I can't help

:35:08. > :35:10.but think about the tour finals last year when in the middle of the match

:35:11. > :35:13.against Radwanska she got some scissors and cut her ponytail off. I

:35:14. > :35:35.remember that, it's quite funny. You never really get a sense that

:35:36. > :35:38.Muguruza worries about what the scoreline was. Obviously she needs

:35:39. > :35:42.to keep the score line tight in the second set and keep up that level

:35:43. > :35:44.but she appears to play every point on its merit and goes for broke and

:35:45. > :36:17.doesn't hold back. Muguruza is a very clever player.

:36:18. > :36:25.She is a great ball striker but she is trying to outmanoeuvre Kuznetsova

:36:26. > :36:29.and get the first hit and look to move forward. Not too many unforced

:36:30. > :36:31.errors. She is trying to play with aggression but consistency and that

:36:32. > :37:52.is always a difficult balance. Well, she looked across at her coach

:37:53. > :37:56.them, Kuznetsova, with a little bit of a wry smile on her face because

:37:57. > :38:00.that was an opportunity because she had Muguruza on the defensive at

:38:01. > :38:24.full stretch. She had the ball where she wanted it.

:38:25. > :38:31.That is quite a sight to see her in full flow. I am sure the

:38:32. > :38:35.photographers got a great shot of the backhand, she almost had both

:38:36. > :38:36.feet off the ground and launched into it. Muguruza is such an elegant

:38:37. > :39:37.player. More frustration from the Russian.

:39:38. > :39:40.It is high intensity from Muguruza's racket at the moment. She is not

:39:41. > :39:44.holding back and putting enough spin on the ball just to control it. Not

:39:45. > :39:48.too many unforced errors. Really going after her. Crikey, that shot

:39:49. > :40:51.sums it up, doesn't it? With that Muguruza has her first

:40:52. > :41:08.break points of the second set. Conchita is a little tense. She was

:41:09. > :41:40.very tense up there. She is playing every point from that support box.

:41:41. > :41:50.Great touch at the end from Kuznetsova. Brave break point down.

:41:51. > :41:55.She took charge in the last point, didn't she? You can see she had

:41:56. > :41:58.Muguruza on the defence, full stretch, beautiful view again. She

:41:59. > :42:01.seems to have had a lot of success when she has gone up there. She has

:42:02. > :42:03.gone up there sparingly that when she does she has so much control and

:42:04. > :42:30.feel. To good. To good from Muguruza.

:42:31. > :42:34.There is the break machine needed just the one break of serve in the

:42:35. > :42:42.first set. Will it be the same in the set two? She edges ahead with

:42:43. > :42:46.the break. So, we are eight minutes shy of an hour on court. It is a bit

:42:47. > :42:52.head scratching as to what Kuznetsova can do apart from try and

:42:53. > :42:55.come forward a little more. As you said, when she has come forward she

:42:56. > :43:01.looked in control, she has good touch and could feel the weight of

:43:02. > :43:04.the shot from Muguruza is just not giving her those opportunities. It

:43:05. > :43:08.isn't and that's why I felt when she threw in a couple of sliced balls,

:43:09. > :43:12.and spices for any play on a grass court, we see Roger Federer using it

:43:13. > :43:16.effectively and Andy Murray uses it all the time, it mixes the rhythm of

:43:17. > :43:20.the match and if the ball stays very low you cannot thunder balls through

:43:21. > :43:24.the court the way she's hitting it now because she's in her rhythm and

:43:25. > :43:28.she is comfortable with the pace of the match, you have to start coming

:43:29. > :43:33.up the back of the ball. Sometimes when you use the slice a lot it can

:43:34. > :43:37.create an opportunity for a shorter ball to then attack. She does seem a

:43:38. > :43:42.little hesitant to come forward, Kuznetsova, whereas Muguruza doesn't

:43:43. > :43:46.actually. She is playing with an awful lot of confidence at the

:43:47. > :43:51.moment, the Spanish player. Runner-up here in 2015. Would go

:43:52. > :43:56.back into the world's top ten with a win here. You feel that Kuznetsova

:43:57. > :43:58.has gone a little bit too much into the backhand side because her

:43:59. > :44:04.backhand is phenomenal from Muguruza. If you were going to try

:44:05. > :44:09.and mix it up, I don't know, I feel she has maybe gone into that

:44:10. > :44:12.strength a little bit too much. Early on in the first set she was

:44:13. > :44:14.kind of targeting and pulling her out wide on the forehand side and it

:44:15. > :46:38.was working quite well. What a change up this was, we

:46:39. > :46:41.haven't seen too much of this kind of play but going backward when she

:46:42. > :46:49.plays it but wonderful feel, enough height over the net look at how the

:46:50. > :47:08.ball dies. Really stunning. That would have felt really good.

:47:09. > :47:17.Gosh, not sure what happened there, she lost her balance on the return

:47:18. > :47:21.of serve. There is the split step and you can see the ball got too far

:47:22. > :47:53.out in front and ended up reaching for it.

:47:54. > :47:59.You can see she is just indicating to herself to calm down. A little

:48:00. > :48:03.bit over anxious on the forehand and that's the first sign of a few

:48:04. > :48:10.jitters on the forehand. Turned the racket face over to early in the

:48:11. > :48:42.swing. Giving herself a little hand direction of calm down.

:48:43. > :48:56.That was the right idea. She had done everything right until the

:48:57. > :49:01.final shot. It was the right shot but she just didn't execute it well.

:49:02. > :49:03.She was berating herself at the end of that point. Having to work so

:49:04. > :49:43.hard for the points out here. Frustration on the face of Svetlana

:49:44. > :49:50.Kuznetsova who looks up to her coach, Carlos Martinez, because my

:49:51. > :49:56.Muguruza moves to within two points to being back in the Wimbledon

:49:57. > :50:00.semifinals. Eight points. Eight points doesn't sound a lot if you

:50:01. > :50:01.looked at it like that. How different it feels mentally when you

:50:02. > :50:16.are playing a match. Well played. She has such great

:50:17. > :50:27.touch and feel when she is around the net. This is a beautiful

:50:28. > :50:29.half-volley pick-up. Look at that, great timing, and there is the split

:50:30. > :50:53.step ready for the next one. Oh dear. It is a little too much for

:50:54. > :51:13.him. Having a little rest. The pressure is firmly being applied

:51:14. > :51:18.by the Spanish player. She is playing with more and more freedom

:51:19. > :51:20.and she really has had her foot on the accelerator right from the word

:51:21. > :52:00.go and hasn't really looked back. That is stunning. At the moment it

:52:01. > :52:06.needs to be that quality to win the point. It does. All three of those

:52:07. > :52:09.ground strokes of Muguruza didn't really come out of the centre of the

:52:10. > :52:14.strings. She was slightly missed connecting with it and was off

:52:15. > :52:15.balance when hitting her ground strokes, Kuznetsova really took

:52:16. > :52:34.advantage on the last one. Well, I think she feels she's got to

:52:35. > :52:40.do something different, and taking the bull by the horns there, nicely

:52:41. > :52:47.controlled volley. Those are not easy around that mid-court area.

:52:48. > :52:55.Very, very important hold for the Russian player who is in her fourth

:52:56. > :52:58.Wimbledon quarterfinal, but her first since 2007. It is still

:52:59. > :53:06.Muguruza with the break in the second. You feel as if she had to

:53:07. > :53:13.change something up because Muguruza was just so in her rhythm, so in her

:53:14. > :53:17.comfort zone, and those last couple of points in that last game maybe

:53:18. > :53:21.put an element of doubt in Muguruza's head. Maybe she will

:53:22. > :53:26.change things up, she might come forward a bit more and it adds a bit

:53:27. > :53:29.of pressure on the next service game. Weather-wise, what do we think

:53:30. > :53:35.of those clouds? It doesn't look that good. You could try and be a

:53:36. > :53:39.bit more positive. It is looking a bit bleak. They are rattling through

:53:40. > :53:43.this one, just over an hour on the clock. It's amazing, take somebody

:53:44. > :53:47.like Serena Williams, a legend of the game, and how things open up and

:53:48. > :53:52.the opportunities here for these players through to the quarterfinals

:53:53. > :53:56.to be the trophy on Saturday. That is the thing, as you mentioned

:53:57. > :54:00.earlier, all of them know there is a massive opportunity in this draw.

:54:01. > :54:04.Serena Williams is not here this year. She is expecting her first

:54:05. > :54:10.child and all of the players in the field left field they can probably

:54:11. > :54:14.beat anybody who is in the draw. So, you know, there are going to be a

:54:15. > :54:18.few extra nerves but from what we've seen of the evidence of Muguruza,

:54:19. > :54:26.she seems incredibly composed and really contained ten is out here. --

:54:27. > :54:49.contained tennis out here. You could see her working her way

:54:50. > :54:54.forward, trying to get that Sean Paul. Once again she had done all

:54:55. > :54:59.the hard work, it was just finished that short ball. Muguruza used the

:55:00. > :55:04.left hand to get the ball dipping. I think Kuznetsova fell she had done

:55:05. > :55:06.enough to make that, she was surprised to look up and see she

:55:07. > :55:39.hadn't got the ball over the net. More good defence from Muguruza. She

:55:40. > :55:42.has moved really, really well. I think it's a massive improvement in

:55:43. > :55:45.her game. She has had her injury problems over the last couple of

:55:46. > :55:51.years and it has prevented her from being as fit as she would like but

:55:52. > :55:52.this year she looks really different. She's moving as well as

:55:53. > :56:24.I've ever seen her move. She just got a little bit tight on

:56:25. > :56:31.it, and sometimes those balls that look relatively simple suddenly feel

:56:32. > :56:35.pretty horrible. The ball just slightly moved to one side as she

:56:36. > :56:43.went to hit it but even so she will be very disappointed she didn't mail

:56:44. > :56:53.that. Maybe she changed her mind. -- didn't nail that. She didn't change

:56:54. > :56:57.her mind on that one. She didn't. She knew what she wanted to do

:56:58. > :57:02.coming in on the shorter return. Brings up two gain points to put her

:57:03. > :57:10.one game away to the Wimbledon semifinals.

:57:11. > :57:19.There is the point, there is the game and there is the fist pump. The

:57:20. > :57:21.2015 finalist here. Kuznetsova now is in a position to serve to stay in

:57:22. > :57:40.the Championships. That would have felt good for

:57:41. > :57:45.Muguruza to get that first point, try and play with even more freedom,

:57:46. > :57:53.more aggression. She can really go for broke.

:57:54. > :58:12.UMPIRE: Miss Muguruza is challenging the call on the left service line.

:58:13. > :58:16.We didn't hear the initial call. I did not hear a call and I don't

:58:17. > :58:27.think she did either. The umpire was right, re-corrected it. Marijana

:58:28. > :59:03.Veljovic. They have been some bruising

:59:04. > :59:10.encounters from the back of the court.

:59:11. > :59:18.That was a lot of venom went into that last backhand. And the final

:59:19. > :00:10.finish as well. It's almost a case of who can hit harder out here.

:00:11. > :00:18.Good game, great game from Svetlana Kuznetsova. She holds to 15 ounces

:00:19. > :00:30.to Garbine Muguruza, if you want that place in the semifinals it's

:00:31. > :00:34.over to you -- and says. Where are the nerves really at? How much does

:00:35. > :00:38.she believe in herself trying to serve this out? There has been no

:00:39. > :00:43.letup so far. She has played an extremely high level, in so

:00:44. > :00:46.incredibly focused with her eye line. She has not really lifted her

:00:47. > :00:51.head and looked all around, she's just got on with the business. In

:00:52. > :00:54.the last game I think Kuznetsova upped the ante and gave an extra

:00:55. > :00:58.injection of pace throwing everything at the last game and

:00:59. > :01:04.putting Muguruza under a little bit more defence and a bit more

:01:05. > :01:08.pressure. Out hitting her opponent in the last game. Yes, Svetlana

:01:09. > :01:13.Kuznetsova is so experienced, she's been on the tour four years, been

:01:14. > :01:17.there, seen it, done it, owns a couple of Grand Slam titles. But

:01:18. > :01:21.Muguruza is looking for a place back in the Wimbledon semifinals. She was

:01:22. > :01:25.last there in 2015 when she went all the way to the final. She says in

:01:26. > :01:28.her own words, not comfortable on the surface, don't know how to play

:01:29. > :01:49.on this surface, you wouldn't know it from looking at her.

:01:50. > :01:54.That would have felt fantastic and just getting that first point under

:01:55. > :02:42.her belt. Garbine Muguruza moves to within two

:02:43. > :02:47.points of the Wimbledon semifinals. She was going for big targets Meese,

:02:48. > :02:48.Muguruza, still with the pace on the ball but certainly not going into

:02:49. > :03:13.the corners. That's only the second forehand that

:03:14. > :03:16.we've seen which has just rolled into the net, where she hasn't

:03:17. > :03:49.struck through the ball. Well, well, well. Can you believe

:03:50. > :03:55.it? She's played some of those drive volleys, so bravely, way more

:03:56. > :04:00.difficult than this one. You can see the spin and the rotation on the

:04:01. > :04:13.ball. She must have taken her eye off it.

:04:14. > :04:29.I'm sure her heart is racing right now.

:04:30. > :04:38.That will slow it down a little bit! Perfect way to bring up a match

:04:39. > :04:42.point. Kuznetsova will challenge, though. It was good, which means

:04:43. > :04:57.it's match point, Muguruza. And there it is! Garbine Muguruza is

:04:58. > :05:04.into her second Wimbledon semifinal, and she's also back in the world's

:05:05. > :05:11.top ten. Delight for the 1994 champion Conchita Martinez.

:05:12. > :05:15.Disappointment for Kuznetsova, but today, it's about Garbine Muguruza.

:05:16. > :05:19.She rarely put a foot wrong, it was a clean performance from the Spanish

:05:20. > :05:24.player, who moves through to the Wimbledon semifinals. Yeah, she

:05:25. > :05:26.really was the better player today. She did everything a little bit

:05:27. > :05:30.better. Such focus and concentration. Yes, a few nerves

:05:31. > :05:36.towards the end, but my goodness, what a serve to come up with in that

:05:37. > :05:38.last game at 30-30. It was fabulous, and she's in contention for this

:05:39. > :05:44.title, that's for sure. She really is. Disappointment for Svetlana

:05:45. > :05:47.Kuznetsova, but Garbine Muguruza has been so good in this tournament.

:05:48. > :06:01.Kuznetsova waits for her opponent, which is nice to see. I'm sure there

:06:02. > :06:05.will be some signing of balls. You do get the sense that the crowds and

:06:06. > :06:11.the fans at Wimbledon have really taken to Garbine Muguruza. She gives

:06:12. > :06:18.the crowd that lovely smile and they really respond to her honourable

:06:19. > :06:23.she's a very elegant player, wonderful to watch on court, and

:06:24. > :06:28.she's dropped just one set, that was to Angelique Kerber in the last

:06:29. > :06:31.round. She had only one break point against her today. The crowd maybe

:06:32. > :06:34.thought they were not going to get any tennis today because of the

:06:35. > :06:42.weather forecast, and they have had a whole match! It didn't last long,

:06:43. > :06:47.either. Garbine Muguruza, through in straight sets. She's through to the

:06:48. > :06:53.semifinals, and we can hear from her now. She's speaking with Rishi

:06:54. > :06:57.Persad. Many congratulations, a straight sets win over Grand Slam

:06:58. > :07:02.champion, in just bigger and 15 minutes - how well do you think you

:07:03. > :07:06.played today? I think I played good. I was very clear what I had to do.

:07:07. > :07:10.We've played a lot of tennis together. I'm happy that it worked

:07:11. > :07:13.out. You looked like you were playing with a lot of aggression and

:07:14. > :07:21.freedom, would that be fair? I think so. I'm trying not to think a lot,

:07:22. > :07:25.go for it, play my game, and the rest is nothing. You were a finalist

:07:26. > :07:33.here two years ago, how different a person are you today? Well, it seems

:07:34. > :07:36.far away from the. It's not that far, but I think I'm a different

:07:37. > :07:41.player, I've learned a lot of things, I know how to play more calm

:07:42. > :07:46.now so I think it's a big change. What does it mean to you to be back

:07:47. > :07:50.in the semifinal here at Wimbledon? It means a lot, my breakthrough was

:07:51. > :07:54.here. To be back, hopefully going through to the finals, makes me so

:07:55. > :07:58.happy. At this stage, does it matter who is on the other side of the net

:07:59. > :08:04.in these late stages of the Grand Slam? Definitely. I think the

:08:05. > :08:08.players who are now here are because they are playing well, so it doesn't

:08:09. > :08:13.matter, because they're name great. You certainly played great today,

:08:14. > :08:17.congratulations. SUE BARKER: She certainly did. She's

:08:18. > :08:21.got a powerful, all court game which really thrives on a grass court. She

:08:22. > :08:27.loves to come forward and to get into the net. She volleys so well.

:08:28. > :08:31.There was a dip in form after the French Open last year. But really,

:08:32. > :08:36.she looks to be playing her very best tennis right now, and coming

:08:37. > :08:43.food at just the right time as she eases into the last four. Over on

:08:44. > :08:49.Centre Court earlier today, Novak Djokovic, the number two seed, eased

:08:50. > :08:51.through into the quarterfinals. This match was held over from yesterday

:08:52. > :09:03.because of the long Rafael Nadal match. So this was an ex goal on

:09:04. > :09:07.Centre Court today. And Jamie Murray and Martina Hingis are the top seeds

:09:08. > :09:18.in the mixed doubles, and they came through in straight sets today. And

:09:19. > :09:23.they are the overwhelming favourites, so much experience,

:09:24. > :09:34.between Murray and Martina Hingis, winner of 17 Grand Slam doubles

:09:35. > :09:37.titles! And the British team, the wild cards into the men's doubles,

:09:38. > :09:42.they are through to the men's quarterfinals, their first ever

:09:43. > :09:54.Grand Slam quarterfinal. In the last round, they put out the eighth

:09:55. > :09:59.sides. Well done to them. The ladies fought a final acts on Centre Court,

:10:00. > :10:03.Venus Williams is going well against the Jelena Ostapenko. This is the

:10:04. > :10:19.oldest wherein the tournament, up against the youngest, Ostapenko.

:10:20. > :10:23.That is now on BBC One. We are preparing for the next match on

:10:24. > :10:28.Court No. 1. I hope those rain clouds stayaway. Here at the

:10:29. > :10:33.Championships, the BBC have been celebrating 90 years of covering

:10:34. > :10:37.this great Championship. We're going back 40 years now, and we have

:10:38. > :11:18.picked out some of the stories from 1977. I think we'll see Virginia!

:11:19. > :11:24.Sharma done it! A British victory at last, for the first time since Ann

:11:25. > :11:50.Jones. Can't get over how Brown the Centre

:11:51. > :11:57.Court was when Bjorn Borg was on it. Virginia Wade, was it really 40

:11:58. > :11:59.years ago? Jo Konta, everywhere she has been over the last couple of

:12:00. > :12:06.years, she has been breaking British records. It was Jo Durie, and if she

:12:07. > :12:10.gets through today, we will start talking about 40 years and Virginia

:12:11. > :12:17.as well! Play continues under the roof on Centre Court. Out on Court

:12:18. > :12:20.No. 1, we have Magdalena Rybarikova up against Coco Vandeweghe, coached

:12:21. > :12:23.by Pat Cash, and she certainly has a big game, suited to the grass

:12:24. > :12:33.courts. She's been talking to John Inverdale.

:12:34. > :12:43.All credit to the American - she has a game to take her further.

:12:44. > :12:47.Semifinals in Australia, quarterfinalist here, do you feel

:12:48. > :12:51.you are in the groove? I think this year has been my best year in tennis

:12:52. > :12:55.so far, as far as results don't. Making the semifinals in Australia

:12:56. > :12:59.was a huge stepping stone and validation for me that I could go

:13:00. > :13:04.through, go one step further and achieve my dream is. Are you one of

:13:05. > :13:07.those players who looks at the draw and thinks, maybe things are opening

:13:08. > :13:15.up for me? No, I don't really look at the draw too much. I just look at

:13:16. > :13:20.who is in front of me. I played Rybarikova in the French Open and

:13:21. > :13:26.lost, so hopefully it is a different result this time around. The British

:13:27. > :13:31.public probably don't know, why are you called Coco? I'm named after my

:13:32. > :13:36.grandmother, who was Miss America. Everyone in my family has a nickname

:13:37. > :13:41.all my siblings, none of us go by our real names. I would not turn

:13:42. > :13:48.around if somebody called Colin at me. Your grandmother was Miss

:13:49. > :13:52.America, how cool is that?! It is really cool, we have a trophy in our

:13:53. > :13:57.house, my grandparents basically raised me, it was like a second mum

:13:58. > :14:02.and another dad. The Wimbledon trophy would look very good next

:14:03. > :14:08.door to it! Yeah, I think that's a great idea!

:14:09. > :14:12.SUE BARKER: Such a bubbly personality, Coco Vandeweghe. And

:14:13. > :14:15.here she comes on to court, with Magdalena Rybarikova, in her first

:14:16. > :14:24.ever ran slam quarterfinal. Huge moment for them. Both players have

:14:25. > :14:29.the chance to get deep into the Wimbledon Championships, a place in

:14:30. > :14:35.the last four. We will expect some big hitting from these two players.

:14:36. > :14:41.That's our next match on Court No. 1. We can hear from Rybarikova now.

:14:42. > :14:45.Injuries, she only started playing again around February, to build up

:14:46. > :14:50.her world ranking. She came to play on the grass courts at Surbiton,

:14:51. > :14:54.semifinalist at Nottingham, she has prepared herself well for the

:14:55. > :14:59.Championships. She has been talking to Lee McKenzie. You have had an

:15:00. > :15:03.incredible Wimbledon, how are you feeling? I am speechless, I have to

:15:04. > :15:09.say. It was my dream always to play well at Wimbledon. Before, eight

:15:10. > :15:12.years in a row I was in the first round, so I was a bit disappointed,

:15:13. > :15:16.and it was getting into my head, this tournament is not really for

:15:17. > :15:21.me, but now, I'm a quarterfinalist. What do you think the difference is

:15:22. > :15:25.with how you are playing now, maybe mental strength as well? I always

:15:26. > :15:33.love it on grass, it's my favourite surface. When I was 20, I won my

:15:34. > :15:37.first title in Birmingham. I had a few other titles on grass. I enjoy

:15:38. > :15:41.it and I think it is good for my game. I was always hoping that I

:15:42. > :15:45.would lay well at Wimbledon, and finally I made it, it's amazing.

:15:46. > :15:50.Maybe it's because I hadn't played for seven months, and after last

:15:51. > :15:56.year's Wimbledon, I had two surgeries, so maybe that's why I am

:15:57. > :15:59.more relaxed in my head. You have beaten Coco Vandeweghe before, you

:16:00. > :16:04.have beaten her already this year, but she's going to be tough? I think

:16:05. > :16:09.she might even take the title this year as a mesh is the favourite. She

:16:10. > :16:17.plays really amazing on grass. I hope I'm going to find some way, but

:16:18. > :16:22.if not... Such honesty, saying you think your opponent can win the

:16:23. > :16:30.title! She should be a bit more confident than that, she has a

:16:31. > :16:34.lovely game, lovely sliced back hand, it takes you back a few years.

:16:35. > :16:38.Let's get the thoughts of our commentators, Tracy Austin and Sam

:16:39. > :16:43.Smith. SAM SMITH: So many injuries, Tracy,

:16:44. > :16:46.and we always need a nice story at Wimbledon, someone that's had an

:16:47. > :16:50.enormous amount of injuries, particularly over the course of last

:16:51. > :16:55.year, two operations since she played here last year.

:16:56. > :17:00.TRACY AUSTIN: Really a fairy tale for her. She had surgery on her left

:17:01. > :17:04.wrist and on her white knee. Well, if you're going to have surgery, you

:17:05. > :17:09.might as well get it all out of the way! But someone who is in really

:17:10. > :17:14.good condition is Coco Vandeweghe, still only 25 years of age, from

:17:15. > :17:18.Santa Fe. It sounds lovely. I've got a feeling the fact that Bill Gates

:17:19. > :17:22.and Phil Mickelson live there, it probably is lovely! But she's a long

:17:23. > :17:25.way from that California sunshine right now. She made the

:17:26. > :17:35.quarterfinals here a couple of years ago. Fourth round in 2016, and said

:17:36. > :17:40.that she flew back to California and was devastated at her loss to

:17:41. > :17:43.Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Tracy, you are a California girl yourself, this

:17:44. > :17:48.is the one I think she really wants, Wimbledon? Absolutely. This is the

:17:49. > :17:53.one she has set her sights on, because she knows her game matches

:17:54. > :18:00.up so well for this surface. She's not lost a set along the way. She

:18:01. > :18:06.beat fellow American Allison risk, also fantastic on the grass courts.

:18:07. > :18:16.And Caroline Wozniacki yesterday, that was a real contrast in styles.

:18:17. > :18:19.That was a real test against fifth seed, who's been playing so well.

:18:20. > :18:23.And that was a big eye-opener for many of us watching the women's

:18:24. > :18:28.four. We always knew the women's game was going to throw up anything

:18:29. > :18:32.at this year's Championships but we did not exactly 28-year-old from

:18:33. > :18:35.Bratislava to be one of them. I actually thought she had come in on

:18:36. > :18:42.a protected ranking, because she had not played for seven months. But she

:18:43. > :18:58.did so well on her restart, 453 back in February, to 87, an extraordinary

:18:59. > :19:04.rise. Ilkley, do you know where that is? I don't, about four hours away?

:19:05. > :19:13.Not bad, which direction, do you think, Tracy? North? Yes! It's up in

:19:14. > :19:18.Yorkshire. Where they produce rate cricketers, but that's another topic

:19:19. > :19:24.entirely. Her big one was taking out the Eastbourne champion Karolina

:19:25. > :19:31.Pliskova. That was an astonishing comeback and it really opened up her

:19:32. > :19:37.Wimbledon. Never beyond the third round. But this is something to

:19:38. > :19:41.raise a few eyebrows. Vandeweghe goes in as the favourite but she has

:19:42. > :19:51.a rather poor head-to-head and a grass court loss as well. That was

:19:52. > :19:58.quite a long time ago, though. The French Open, that is by far Coco's

:19:59. > :20:03.worst surface on the clay. The power of Coco defused on that surface and

:20:04. > :20:07.enhanced on the grass. And power is a word definitely used to describe

:20:08. > :20:22.Vandeweghe. I actually think this is a nice

:20:23. > :20:24.contrast in styles as well. Rybarikova, she handled the power of

:20:25. > :20:31.Pliskova extremely well in that 3-set win. Pat Cash, the 1987

:20:32. > :20:36.champion here at Wimbledon. He has done a fabulous job. I think they

:20:37. > :20:41.are very well matched. We will talk about that later. You see him

:20:42. > :20:46.chatting to an elderly gentleman, that's Ian Barkley, who was his

:20:47. > :20:58.coach about 30 ears ago, and they a big celebration. The team there of

:20:59. > :21:03.Rybarikova, I'm sure they did not expect to be here in week two. This

:21:04. > :21:07.match does not exactly spring out from the order of play, but it might

:21:08. > :21:13.be one of those which surprises us all, if they both play well.

:21:14. > :21:24.Absolutely. It's about handling the expect handling the moment and the

:21:25. > :21:28.opportunity. Rybarikova, never been to a quarterfinal, obviously, but

:21:29. > :21:31.she has backed up her big win over Pliskova nicely.

:21:32. > :22:46.UMPIRE: First set, Miss Vandeweghe to serve.

:22:47. > :22:54.The big question, how she will manage the Vandeweghe service power.

:22:55. > :23:07.She has only been broken four times so far in the tournament.

:23:08. > :23:15.Tracy, what do you feel the game will be for Coco? Now she's working

:23:16. > :23:21.with Pat Cash, she has actually got a game plan! So what do you think it

:23:22. > :23:24.will be, against a very tricky opponent? I think for Coco, it's to

:23:25. > :23:33.give herself some margin, because she hits with enough power.

:23:34. > :23:42.Nice recovery from 0-30 down in this opening game for Vandeweghe. I spoke

:23:43. > :23:45.to Pat Cash yesterday, and he said that he really had to convince her

:23:46. > :23:50.that you don't need to hit 20 winners from the back court in a

:23:51. > :23:53.match. They don't have to be outright winners, you can hit with

:23:54. > :24:14.power, you can hit with margin, and you can force the stakes.

:24:15. > :24:21.Yeah, they started working together, her previous coach, Craig Carden,

:24:22. > :24:25.was with her for about 18 months, and she actually worked with Martina

:24:26. > :24:29.Navratilova, but he actually walked out after she lost in the first

:24:30. > :24:40.round against Rybarikova, which is very unusual.

:24:41. > :25:48.Will see both players with the odd serve-volley next in.

:25:49. > :26:57.Coco looking a little nervous in this game.

:26:58. > :27:06.Well, that's interesting. Rybarikova at the other end has not headed off

:27:07. > :27:11.for her chair that quickly. A couple of doubles in the game for

:27:12. > :27:12.Vandeweghe, and that is not an ideal start to her second Wimbledon

:27:13. > :27:30.quarterfinal. Tracy, I think you are from a couple

:27:31. > :27:36.of hours drive away? About an hour and 45 minutes. Use or Coco when she

:27:37. > :27:40.was growing up - what did you make of her all those years ago?

:27:41. > :27:45.Obviously, has always had tremendous power, comes from a very athletic

:27:46. > :27:50.family. She's strong. Really didn't start taking tennis seriously until

:27:51. > :27:54.she was a teenager, was playing other sports, basketball... She won

:27:55. > :28:09.the junior US Open, and was kind of raw, rough around the edges.

:28:10. > :28:17.She had the big weapons, like I said, but didn't always choose the

:28:18. > :28:19.right shot. Particularly shot selection, but is becoming a smarter

:28:20. > :28:47.player. She managed to lose in the first

:28:48. > :28:53.round in her first eight Wimbledons! I'm not sure how she did that, with

:28:54. > :28:57.her skills! Considering she won her very first tournament on grass, and

:28:58. > :29:04.that was at Birmingham eight years ago.

:29:05. > :29:18.Wow! Nicely done from Rybarikova. That takes a lot of skill and feel.

:29:19. > :29:22.A ball that's coming at you this hard, to take all the pace out of

:29:23. > :29:51.it. That ball is probably travelling at around 70mph.

:29:52. > :30:01.Coco Vandeweghe looking very uptight out here. This means so much to her,

:30:02. > :30:11.this tournament. Also because she realises this is a big opportunity.

:30:12. > :30:17.Semifinalist this year at the Australian Open, lost in three sets

:30:18. > :30:18.to Venus Williams. Coming off the court feeling, very much that was

:30:19. > :30:33.one that got away. Beautifully done. Great balance

:30:34. > :30:54.there. Always had a big forehand. The

:30:55. > :31:02.backhand has improved over the last couple of years.

:31:03. > :31:14.Sam, talking about the opportunity that Coco sees in this match,

:31:15. > :31:17.playing against unseeded player, the only unseeded player left in the

:31:18. > :31:27.quarters, ranked 87 in the world. Right now, it's getting in the way.

:31:28. > :31:47.Let's see if she can settle herself down. Yeah.

:31:48. > :32:03.This is something that Pat Cash has really tried to impress upon

:32:04. > :32:05.Vandeweghe that she has the kills on the forecourt and on grass, so handy

:32:06. > :32:17.to move forward. That was a rather dusty forehand

:32:18. > :33:38.from Vandeweghe. ??LINE BREAK UMPIRE: Enter -- Pat

:33:39. > :33:43.looking very even keeled. He's trying to make sure that Coco

:33:44. > :34:15.improves her attitude on court. Not get distracted. Stay positive.

:34:16. > :34:19.Vandeweghe we've got quite a quarter-final. It's Rybarikova wo

:34:20. > :34:32.had leads 2-1 with the early break. Talk to me about pressure in tennis

:34:33. > :34:38.matches and what sort of pressure is on Rybarikova? Well, I think her

:34:39. > :34:46.pressure would be possibly thinking - this might be a rare opportunity,

:34:47. > :34:50.ranked 87. I can't imagine that she'd be thinking at the beginning

:34:51. > :35:01.of the tournament that she'd make the quarter-finals, but she's played

:35:02. > :35:06.just splendid tennis. Oh. Oh. Well, she's almost the bionic woman, isn't

:35:07. > :35:13.she, with that wrist surgery she had last year. But she was very pleased.

:35:14. > :35:17.Her surgeon said my wrist will take four months, it took four months.

:35:18. > :35:21.The knee, apparently he said it would take one month to recover, it

:35:22. > :35:25.took four months. That was a longstanding knee injury. The wrist

:35:26. > :35:35.she hurt in a tournament before Wimbledon last year? She played with

:35:36. > :36:16.it for a while with a lot of pain. She says she's pain-free.

:36:17. > :36:25.She does a terrific job of taking all of the pace out of the power.

:36:26. > :36:26.The Vandeweghe with the powerful. Rybarikova, with that gentle slice

:36:27. > :36:44.stays so low. It's not often you get in a

:36:45. > :36:45.Wimbledon quarter-final two players for whom grass is their favourite

:36:46. > :37:27.surface. It's not often you have two players

:37:28. > :37:28.on the women's tour moving forward. Magdalena Rybarikova 114 times up at

:37:29. > :37:38.the net. I feel like we're talking about a

:37:39. > :37:43.different tennis planet. Yeah. Different solar system to the world

:37:44. > :37:50.of the ground strokes. The last time I can remember two young ladies

:37:51. > :38:12.approaching so much was was Henin and Marezo.

:38:13. > :38:18.This will test Vandeweghe's composure here. She was not pleased

:38:19. > :38:25.with missing that second serve. This is where Pat Cash comes in. He says

:38:26. > :38:38.you have to have the mentality of a champion, play point by point. Gave

:38:39. > :38:57.examples of Rafael Nadal and way back when, Jimmy Connors.

:38:58. > :39:11.Wow. That is beautiful tennis from Magdalena Rybarikova. You saw the

:39:12. > :39:13.short slice, the deep slice, topspin. Giving Vandeweghe lots of

:39:14. > :40:13.looks. She doesn't seem too stressed. She's

:40:14. > :40:21.enjoying herself out here. Meanwhile, down at the other end, in

:40:22. > :40:27.stress city... Oh, dear. Dear. I always feel there's a lot of

:40:28. > :40:41.pressure on Coco even if it's subconscious because her grandfather

:40:42. > :40:48.Ernie, was an MBA - Legend. Played for the Nicks. Her mum is a two-time

:40:49. > :40:59.Olympian. Her grandmother was Miss America! It's not exactly an

:41:00. > :41:04.underachieving family, is it? She's named after her grandmother,

:41:05. > :41:15.Colleen, shortened to Coco. Very close she is to her grandparents.

:41:16. > :41:21.I used to see Ernie, her grandfather, at many of the

:41:22. > :41:23.tournaments, couldn't hurt to have him around so often. He was very

:41:24. > :42:03.competitive. What a mentor. Yes. Beautifully done. Just getting going

:42:04. > :42:07.over here on Court 1. Vandeweghe down a break. Getting on top of

:42:08. > :42:12.things in this opening set. I wonder what it's like to be from such a

:42:13. > :42:19.successful family? You also can't mention Coco, can you, without all

:42:20. > :42:23.the achievements of her family. Her mum, I mean, you must have seen her

:42:24. > :42:30.around the tennis circuits. A big character, isn't she? She is. Yeah,

:42:31. > :42:34.I mean, she's definitely an important figure in Coco's life. Her

:42:35. > :42:41.parents divorced very early. It was her mother who was really the

:42:42. > :42:52.driving force behind Coco's tennis. So supportive. Her mother was a

:42:53. > :42:59.winner in the American team in 76 in Montreal. She was at her best during

:43:00. > :43:02.the 1980, during the boycott. Can you imagine having your sporting

:43:03. > :43:04.dream taking away from you. The swimmers and the runners get one

:43:05. > :43:41.short every four years. You spoke about the mental part that

:43:42. > :43:46.Pat has set her. He set her tricky aI signments. One was to focus on

:43:47. > :43:51.the fist point of every game. He will be fuming at that return. --

:43:52. > :44:09.first. Rybarikova came out with a clear

:44:10. > :44:11.game plan, slipped there where there is not much grass left in the middle

:44:12. > :44:43.of the baseline. There is not a lot of zen reflection

:44:44. > :44:59.from Coco at the back of the court. It's not Maria Sharapova back there.

:45:00. > :45:06.Nicely done there. Rybarikova is not giving Vandeweghe a lot of rhythm.

:45:07. > :45:19.That's very purposeful. Doesn't want to try and just blast ground strokes

:45:20. > :45:29.with Vandeweghe. That's actually what eventually in the previous

:45:30. > :45:40.match. Her opponent then was the favourite for this event.

:45:41. > :45:55.That last point was an example - hit hard with Coco a couple and then

:45:56. > :46:00.threw in the slice, stayed down low and the short angle. Using the link

:46:01. > :46:25.and the court as well. APPLAUSE

:46:26. > :46:29.Better. She got the first point. Tennis is a problem solving game.

:46:30. > :46:35.How does she counter act this slow balling tactic? She's got to have

:46:36. > :46:38.really good foot work and get down low for those slices and give

:46:39. > :47:02.herself more margin, build the point.

:47:03. > :47:10.Much better. APPLAUSE

:47:11. > :47:18.It's really about hanging in the point long enough, with good depth

:47:19. > :47:51.until you can get a shot, middle of the court, with the forehand.

:47:52. > :48:12.There is something sometimes rather lackadaisical about Rybarikova.

:48:13. > :48:16.She's driven a lot of coaches to distraction. A really good service

:48:17. > :48:39.game from Vandeweghe. Vandeweghe's the fourth ranked

:48:40. > :48:44.American behind Serena, Venus and Madison. There were 15 of them in

:48:45. > :48:51.the single draw. They are like buses, one coming after another.

:48:52. > :48:55.Where have they all sprung from? I think there's a much better job of

:48:56. > :49:00.taking care of the top juniors, starting at a young age and really

:49:01. > :49:10.managing that transition into the pros, making sure they have good

:49:11. > :49:18.coaching, good physios and good trainers and keeping track of them.

:49:19. > :49:25.For example, Christine is without a coach, the Fed Cup captain was

:49:26. > :49:29.watching the matches. There is a like a safety net, isn't it, it

:49:30. > :49:34.seems. A lot of duty of care? Absolutely. They call it Team USA,

:49:35. > :49:39.everybody is proud to be a part of it. It just feels much more like

:49:40. > :49:46.everybody is on the same team instead of individuals. Team

:49:47. > :50:01.Cash-Vandeweghe in a little trouble here. Here.

:50:02. > :50:21.That's what Cash doesn't want to see. You have got to accept, you

:50:22. > :50:22.will get bad bounces, bad calls, but don't show your opponent the

:50:23. > :51:33.negativity. UMPIRE: The ball was called out.

:51:34. > :51:45.Miss Vandeweghe has one challenge remaining.

:51:46. > :51:56.Game Miss Rybarikova. Solid game from Rybarikova. What a way to

:51:57. > :52:00.answer the Vandeweghe service game. She has to sense that Vandeweghe is

:52:01. > :52:07.uptight on the other side of the net.

:52:08. > :52:13.Just the one break. That was in the opening game of the match.

:52:14. > :52:40.Vandeweghe serving now to stay in this first set.

:52:41. > :52:48.Often times Vandeweghe, she gets a little anxious. She goes to the

:52:49. > :52:51.tried and true, which she's done for years, which is - hit harder. She's

:52:52. > :53:00.got to play smarter. You can just see in the back of your

:53:01. > :53:17.picture Pat shouting to his old coach, Ian, there.

:53:18. > :53:27.Nice. Nice. APPLAUSE

:53:28. > :53:33.On Sunday night they had a little celebration, 30 years since Pat

:53:34. > :53:37.climbed up to the Player Box in that black-and-white head band. I heard

:53:38. > :53:42.his whole team from 30 years game. Yeah. Ian, obviously, the long time

:53:43. > :53:44.coach. I was lucky enough to work with him for a couple of months,

:53:45. > :54:20.what a lovely man. APPLAUSE

:54:21. > :54:32.Her feet entrenched. You might have heard an extra roar, but not just

:54:33. > :54:51.for this sublime lob. So very well caught as well. In the deep.

:54:52. > :54:59.Fourth double fault of this set for Vandeweghe. Only served 15 coming in

:55:00. > :55:04.here in four matches. Very unsettled. All the pressure coming

:55:05. > :55:15.into this quarter-final as the favourite, it's not sat very well

:55:16. > :55:21.with the American. Rybarikova makes the initial breakthrough. Rybarikova

:55:22. > :55:29.takes the opening set by 6-3 in just over 30 minutes.

:55:30. > :55:34.Well, she can dare to dream, can't she? It's the Wimbledon hum is

:55:35. > :55:50.around this court. First serve percentage. Second serve

:55:51. > :55:57.as well. 67% for Rybarikova. Of course, never faced a break point.

:55:58. > :56:01.Just such a solid, clean set. Only two unforced errors from Rybarikova.

:56:02. > :56:06.Don't wake her up. That's extraordinary, isn't it. First ever

:56:07. > :56:12.Grand Slam quarter-final. Her first at Wimbledon. Even that last return,

:56:13. > :56:17.just realising that she's off balance there. Just got it back in

:56:18. > :56:27.play with good place am. Not playing out of her comfort zone. You I don't

:56:28. > :56:36.feel that Vandeweghe is playing within herself. Reason when

:56:37. > :56:43.Rybarikova won the toss and elected to receive. They can get rid of the

:56:44. > :56:46.nerves. It sends the nerves to Vandeweghe's racquet, right from the

:56:47. > :56:56.get go. It was Coco that was broken in that first game. 12 months ago

:56:57. > :57:02.she limped out of Wimbledon. She could hardly move or hold the

:57:03. > :57:06.racquet with all the injuries and the upcoming operations she had

:57:07. > :57:10.scheduled. What a difference a year makes. Now can Rybarikova handle the

:57:11. > :58:16.pressure. Up a set here, serving at the start of the second.

:58:17. > :58:22.Giving her some of her own medicine. A couple of beautiful backhand

:58:23. > :58:56.slices. This was the time to press ahead for

:58:57. > :59:00.Rybarikova, with the momentum coming out of that opening set. But

:59:01. > :59:06.Vandeweghe, a chance here to change the course of this match. Three

:59:07. > :59:09.break points. The first under the Rybarikova serve.

:59:10. > :59:14.And that was a very soft break there.

:59:15. > :59:20.APPLAUSE Just maybe things are looking up for

:59:21. > :59:34.the fourth ranked American. Apparently when Pat Cash took her

:59:35. > :59:39.own he couldn't believe she was 25 in the world. Why is she 25, she

:59:40. > :59:44.should be five with what she's got. I think that set Pat quite a task.

:59:45. > :59:49.He has inflicted a lot of 80s hard rock bands on her though. I don't

:59:50. > :59:56.think their taste in music is quite gelling. He understands what it's

:59:57. > :59:59.like to have very high achieving parents. His mother was twos-time

:00:00. > :00:34.Olympic swimmer. That's where Vandeweghe I think

:00:35. > :01:12.could still improve, those improvised shots.

:01:13. > :01:46.Much better footwork from Vandeweghe.

:01:47. > :01:55.Don't forget, you can have three incorrect challenges a set and the

:01:56. > :01:57.next Rwanda if it goes to a tie-break. And that has clipped the

:01:58. > :02:25.line. So far, the lines judges on Court No. 1 have

:02:26. > :02:31.been spot on. That is great foot speed from Rybarikova. And a

:02:32. > :03:27.fantastic racket once she got there. Amazing execution.

:03:28. > :03:43.Vandeweghe's first service percentage dipping down to 46%.

:03:44. > :04:07.Rybarikova looking for the immediate break back.

:04:08. > :04:27.Grass is a tricky surface, but a then with the wind, it really makes

:04:28. > :05:16.it much more difficult. I don't like to say it, but I think

:05:17. > :05:41.there is a storm brewing up down at the Vandeweghe end of the court.

:05:42. > :05:55.Not a bad idea. I don't think she needed to cut it quite so fine.

:05:56. > :06:25.Apart from the opening service game of this set, when she had a little

:06:26. > :06:27.lapse, you wouldn't know she was playing in her first Grand Slam

:06:28. > :06:53.quarterfinal. Tracy, you played in many of the

:06:54. > :07:01.great stadiums around the world. You played legends on this court, what

:07:02. > :07:08.is it like when the wind gets up on stadium courts? Yeah, oftentimes you

:07:09. > :07:13.can look at the top of the stadium, and if there is a flag, it will be

:07:14. > :07:17.moving one-way, and down on the playing surface, it will be moving

:07:18. > :07:21.in the opposite direction. You really have to pay attention to it.

:07:22. > :07:25.It's just such a different day-to-day, compared to the rest of

:07:26. > :07:41.the Championships. It's much, much cooler. Irwin is quite a factor in

:07:42. > :07:44.this match. -- the wind. For Vandeweghe, it's very evident that

:07:45. > :07:53.there is a lot of bubbling right underneath the surface. And multiple

:07:54. > :08:33.times, it has come out, already in this match.

:08:34. > :09:42.SAM SMITH: It will be fascinating to see if Rybarikova can keep up this

:09:43. > :10:20.level. Ranked 87 in the world, has been as high as 31.

:10:21. > :10:35.Awful lot of fidgeting in the stands, a few rain jackets, everyone

:10:36. > :10:40.has come prepared. I made sure I backed everything today! The

:10:41. > :10:48.players, are they going to be hold for a moment? One thing you need in

:10:49. > :10:52.those racket bags - industrial strength hairspray, because it's

:10:53. > :11:01.blowing up like you've never seen out here! Here they come. Ladies and

:11:02. > :11:05.gentlemen, play is suspended. TRACY AUSTIN: I love the system here

:11:06. > :11:15.where it is a one, then it moves to a three, then four, that means, get

:11:16. > :11:19.off the court quickly! Before Kelly Thompson gets... She gets wheeled

:11:20. > :11:23.away, sometimes they can end up being heart of the court covering

:11:24. > :11:28.process! Not a bad time for Vandeweghe to head off back to the

:11:29. > :11:35.locker room, find her game, find her composure. Find her coach! For

:11:36. > :11:40.Rybarikova, well, we'll see if she is as relaxed as she has been for

:11:41. > :11:44.the last 49 minutes. Looks like a cool customer, but how they spend

:11:45. > :11:48.this time - and it can be an infinite amount of time, Tracy,

:11:49. > :11:54.can't it? I think Pat Cash will move faster than he did 30 years ago, to

:11:55. > :11:57.get to Coco! But the problem, we don't know how long this is going to

:11:58. > :12:02.be. We will keep an eye on the covers. If they just cover but don't

:12:03. > :12:09.inflate, it means they don't anticipate too long a delay. It is

:12:10. > :12:10.going to be a little messy this afternoon, as we go into the

:12:11. > :12:25.evening. It must not be raining too hard,

:12:26. > :12:35.because half the crowd, they're not moving. Tracy, this is England. What

:12:36. > :12:38.English person do you know comes out without there am further? Have you

:12:39. > :12:46.ever known me, even in California, you look in my bag, I've got my

:12:47. > :12:51.brolly! I've got one as well! You've been coming here for so many years,

:12:52. > :12:58.you're Tameka honorary Englishwoman, you're trained! What is the first

:12:59. > :13:04.port of call, jump in the shower, see the coach, or...? Obviously, it

:13:05. > :13:12.depends on how long it looks like it's going to rain. As we saw,

:13:13. > :13:15.Rybarikova had taping on her thigh. If you're going to take a shower,

:13:16. > :13:21.you're going to have to start all over again. That's one thing that's

:13:22. > :13:27.really important, that the players bring extra clothing, extra outfits,

:13:28. > :13:31.times two or three, depending on the weather report in the morning. So

:13:32. > :13:43.you've got nice dry clothes, dry socks. Dry Andes, very important! I

:13:44. > :13:51.wasn't going to go there. The bags are almost bigger than the players

:13:52. > :13:57.these days. Suitcase! Six or seven wickets. How many rackets did you

:13:58. > :14:01.take on to court, back in the day, when you were the best in the world?

:14:02. > :14:08.It's funny, I was looking at pictures the other day, probably

:14:09. > :14:22.three. And now, all the rackets are so fine tuned.

:14:23. > :14:34.According to the temperature, they'll tighten the strings.

:14:35. > :14:45.Come on, how often did you break a string? Not very often. Was it but?

:14:46. > :14:58.Yes. I still use duct now, it's interesting, people like Roger

:14:59. > :15:03.Federer use a hybrid. -- gut. That nice mixture is what Roger Federer

:15:04. > :15:11.uses, and Serena. Most of the time they're strong at different

:15:12. > :15:18.tensions. We are just chattering on here, because they haven't

:15:19. > :15:33.inflated... I think now, we're going to take a little pause.

:15:34. > :15:40.SUE BARKER: Of course we will be right back there if play resumes.

:15:41. > :15:43.They're actually playing on the outside courts, so that's rather

:15:44. > :15:49.strange. Anyway, in the meantime, we're going to bring you some tennis

:15:50. > :15:53.chairs it does continue on Centre Court, and that's over on BBC One.

:15:54. > :16:00.But here, we're going out to Court No. 2 from earlier today, and it's

:16:01. > :16:46.the doubles, including the number one seeds.

:16:47. > :17:06.First ace of the match. Yeah, both of these are renowned for big

:17:07. > :17:50.serves. Four consecutive points to hold

:17:51. > :17:55.serve. Ryan Harrison, from a big tennis family. But, the father,

:17:56. > :18:02.played collegiate tennis at Oklahoma State university. He went on to

:18:03. > :18:09.become a head coach at John Newcombe's tennis Academy in the

:18:10. > :18:29.States. He's even married a tennis player as well.

:18:30. > :18:43.Effective covering at the net from Kontinen. He's got exceptional

:18:44. > :18:56.hands, the Finn, and John Peers is an exceptional athlete as well.

:18:57. > :19:07.Fantastic reflexes at the net once again. An awkward height. It is good

:19:08. > :19:12.to cross in doubles early, because it puts a bit of tentativeness in

:19:13. > :19:19.the mind of the return about what's going to happen. Lovely serve from

:19:20. > :19:24.John Peers, he's really flowing with that action already. Good

:19:25. > :19:31.combination, these two, best in the world currently.

:19:32. > :19:40.It over miscue! Yeah, perhaps a little bit too keen to produce a

:19:41. > :19:45.really acute angle. They've been playing together since April, or

:19:46. > :19:55.they've been world number one since April of this year. So, a routine

:19:56. > :20:02.hold of serve in the opening two aims of this quarterfinal.

:20:03. > :20:10.You can see how keen the Finn is to cross and get involved at the net

:20:11. > :20:20.already, really impose his world number one status. Michael Venus,

:20:21. > :20:26.then, completing the cycle. Sorry, one too early, it's 1-1! It has been

:20:27. > :20:37.a long fortnight! Hand of apology offered from this

:20:38. > :22:20.man, because the backhand return was a bit of a shanked lob.

:22:21. > :22:30.So, break point opportunity created by the number one seeds. Fantastic

:22:31. > :22:36.response. Second ace of the match for the number ten seeds. Nice sense

:22:37. > :23:04.of calm as well from the Kiwi born American.

:23:05. > :23:22.This is the moment the returners love, when they get a second serve

:23:23. > :23:26.to look at, in doubles. You thought this was all the net players, but

:23:27. > :24:02.look at the brilliance from Michael Venus.

:24:03. > :24:08.What a rally, what a point! Alternately, Venus holds serve,

:24:09. > :24:29.seeing off two break points. It was a fabulous way to secure the

:24:30. > :24:32.game, a really long point, but Venus getting there in the end, after that

:24:33. > :24:36.superb backhand volley. Look at this. Ryan Harrison, ever alert at

:24:37. > :24:56.the net. Through the space between them,

:24:57. > :25:04.where a lot of the doubles balls go. 6ft 3, manages to do something with

:25:05. > :25:12.it, aided by the net cord! Watcher point that was. Already, so young in

:25:13. > :25:18.this match, both Grand Slam champions this year, these two.

:25:19. > :25:23.Quite outstanding. So, Kontinen serving now. We are on serve, fourth

:25:24. > :26:10.game, first set. This really does come down to a

:26:11. > :26:16.moment of inspiration, a bit of luck. May be the first serve goes

:26:17. > :26:45.missing from somebody, and then there's an in.

:26:46. > :26:51.The Australian Open was just one of five tournaments with John Peers

:26:52. > :27:07.that Kontinen won. Ryan Harrison, you just caught a

:27:08. > :27:13.glimpse of him, with his back to us, he's ranked as high as 41 in the

:27:14. > :27:20.world in singles these days. First title, in Memphis. He was a top

:27:21. > :27:23.junior, the USDA had real high hopes of this young man. He's starting to

:27:24. > :27:37.come good now, and I think the confidence from the doubles will

:27:38. > :27:43.infuse into his singles in the end. So, all four players have had their

:27:44. > :27:47.first service game, all of them have held firm, no breaks of serve to

:27:48. > :27:54.this point. Michael Venus, saving two break points in the third game.

:27:55. > :28:39.The net cord just taking it above the outstretched racket of Venus.

:28:40. > :28:51.What an exchange, my goodness, there were some quick reflexes, too! Every

:28:52. > :28:56.time these two get the practice court as well, they will be fully to

:28:57. > :29:02.each other, about 3ft between them at the net, just to increase their

:29:03. > :29:07.reflexes. Couldn't do anything about that, a net cord as well as a firm

:29:08. > :29:12.shot. It really is like watching The Matrix film at the moment! Two break

:29:13. > :29:46.points once again. It's secured by the kournment number

:29:47. > :29:58.one seeds, Ryan Harrison broken. -- tournament. There's a lovely story,

:29:59. > :30:05.Michael Venus, born in New Zealand, the kiwi, he moved across to the

:30:06. > :30:12.States and when he was very, very young the family moved to America.

:30:13. > :30:26.That fella on the right. He started playing in the States, college

:30:27. > :30:30.tennis. He played for New Zealand and played at Lousiana State

:30:31. > :30:34.University and bumped into this man on the left, Ryan Harrison. Got on

:30:35. > :30:40.well with the family. His dad is the coach. They became close, hung out

:30:41. > :30:44.together. He became an older brother to young Ryan. He was the groom at

:30:45. > :30:49.his wedding. He taught him how to drive. How nice is that story.

:30:50. > :30:53.Suddenly they come out and win the French Open, a really bonding

:30:54. > :31:07.experience. It just shows you just how so great to play with a partner

:31:08. > :31:09.you know so well. Really good mates. Nice to see them having Tour as

:31:10. > :31:28.well. That's how fine the margins are. The

:31:29. > :32:10.call was a good one. He's so inventive and creative,

:32:11. > :32:14.Kontinen she's solid within that. Sometimes his creativity can get the

:32:15. > :32:20.better of him. Too adventurous, like then. Missing the bounce smash, too

:32:21. > :32:46.much cut on the ball. John Peers, the server, had a good

:32:47. > :32:49.grounding. Coming through Bailey University, college tennis. The 6

:32:50. > :33:02.foot 2 Melbourne resident. 12 doubles titles to his name this

:33:03. > :33:10.man, the server. 11 runnerup spots over the years. This is his sixth

:33:11. > :33:15.Wimbledon. Runner up two years ago with Jamie Murray who was on this

:33:16. > :33:21.court just pryer with Martina Hingis. The number one seeds

:33:22. > :33:32.consolidate the break leading 4-2. For me already the top seeds have

:33:33. > :33:33.that crispness around the net. Everything they volley seems to have

:33:34. > :33:44.a little bit more pop on the ball. APPLAUSE

:33:45. > :33:52.What an acute angle created at the net Bihar Harring. -- by Harrison.

:33:53. > :33:56.Watch Ryan Harrison, looks how quickly he sees it. A tough volley

:33:57. > :34:04.toic ma. Comes round the outside of the ball, so he has to get there.

:34:05. > :34:32.Wonderful touch again at the net by the American. It's often the way,

:34:33. > :34:36.isn't it, go right at the net man and Ryan Harrison hit that firmly.

:34:37. > :34:43.John Peers has very quick hands as well. Everybody on the court has,

:34:44. > :34:46.but that was struck with venom. APPLAUSE

:34:47. > :35:15.??LINE BREAK UMPIRE: new balls, please.

:35:16. > :35:23.Winning the 2017 Australian Open, 15th Grand Slam as a team together.

:35:24. > :35:28.Contesting their seventh Grand Slam here.

:35:29. > :35:36.Inventiveness really has been in evidence throughout the tournament

:35:37. > :35:40.to this point. It's really strange actually their success because, you

:35:41. > :35:43.know, Henri Kontinen hasn't done that much of the French Open, not

:35:44. > :35:48.beyond the second round before, second round Australian Open as

:35:49. > :35:52.well. Suddenly, winning Wimbledon Mixed Doubles and the Australian

:35:53. > :35:57.Open together with his partner. She won the World Tour Finals together.

:35:58. > :36:01.That a huge event in London of course. That gave them a lot of

:36:02. > :36:34.confidence to springboard them into the first slam of the year.

:36:35. > :36:42.You mentioned the accomplishment of Venus, but Henri Kontinen winning

:36:43. > :36:48.the 2017 was the first Finnish player man or woman to win a Grand

:36:49. > :37:04.Slam in singles or doubles, a real pioneer for sport from his country.

:37:05. > :37:08.We thought on the back of losing, the KFinn who retired, we wondered

:37:09. > :37:13.what the backup would be and then suddenly Henri Kontinen comes here

:37:14. > :37:16.on the green stuff, wins the Mixed Doubles with Heather Watson and then

:37:17. > :37:20.the Australian Open as well, with this partner. He's become a real

:37:21. > :37:32.force. Indeed the world number one. Top of the tree. Very strong player.

:37:33. > :37:36.He's a big brawny unit, you can see. Strong core and racquet acceleration

:37:37. > :37:39.and gorge ghouls silky hand skills as well.

:37:40. > :37:56.APPLAUSE So the Number Ten seeds now serving

:37:57. > :38:02.to stay in the opening set. Harrison to serve.

:38:03. > :38:14.These guys haven't managed to engineer any break points so far and

:38:15. > :38:19.succumbed on the other hand Ryan Harrison's last service game. What

:38:20. > :38:24.that does of course is just create that little seed of doubt in the

:38:25. > :38:36.their minds. It's important for them to hold on here and ask a question

:38:37. > :38:42.of the top seeds. He didn't even flinch there as that boomer came

:38:43. > :38:46.down beside her. He really went for it on that second serve, 131mph.

:38:47. > :39:42.Following a first serve at 133. Sharp intake of breath as that ball

:39:43. > :39:59.went slamming around the stands. Seems really quite unusual to

:40:00. > :40:04.suggest that Ryan Harrison was the man that got broken earlier on in

:40:05. > :40:07.the set because he's just sending down some really big deliveries

:40:08. > :40:14.there and going for that second serve that came up at 131mph was

:40:15. > :40:18.brash, but fine, because he had leeway in the game. That is the

:40:19. > :40:24.risks the top double players will play. When you win Roland Garros you

:40:25. > :40:29.have been through the ring wringer at some stage. They will have faced

:40:30. > :40:32.chaos through the draws in their lifetime and used to deal with it,

:40:33. > :40:42.frankly. En route here they conceded a couple of sets along the way. They

:40:43. > :40:45.have had two four set matches. Two five set matches, Harrison and

:40:46. > :40:49.Venus. Their opponents some four setters. It's about how you deal

:40:50. > :40:54.with problems on the doubles courts. They are going to come. Have you to

:40:55. > :41:01.see it as a challenge and find out how you're going to solve it as

:41:02. > :41:36.problem as a team. Peers serving for the set.

:41:37. > :41:45.UMPIRE: 0-15. What a return by Konta, came directly at him. He

:41:46. > :41:50.controlled the racquet head. Yeah, he's very strong. That was rifled

:41:51. > :41:57.right into his body. That brings up set point for the

:41:58. > :42:58.number one seeds. Well reached by Konta. The number

:42:59. > :43:10.one seeds take the first set after 26 minutes here on Court No. 2.

:43:11. > :43:17.There's a very big disparity here. It will hopefully show up on this

:43:18. > :43:22.set summary. There it is. Halfway down, 75% second serve points won

:43:23. > :43:30.for the top seeds. The tenth seeds, by contrast, just 25%. That is huge

:43:31. > :43:35.at this level. 50% more second serves won for the senior seeds, the

:43:36. > :43:38.ones and twos in the world. Quite outstanding. The solitary break

:43:39. > :43:44.converted from three opportunities that they had. So that just a little

:43:45. > :43:55.sign of what's been going on out here. So every time that the

:43:56. > :43:59.underdogs, if you will, the French Open champions hit second serve they

:44:00. > :44:03.are under a lot of pressure from the world's best teams. They have big

:44:04. > :44:06.serves. It can haunt them. At the they are so big. If they go flat

:44:07. > :44:10.out, light out, they are suddenly down on a lot of second serves that

:44:11. > :44:14.is when they are vulnerable. In a way it might be smart for them to

:44:15. > :44:18.take a little bit of heat off the first serve, slow it down a little,

:44:19. > :44:21.in the name of getting more in. It's be oious the returners are licking

:44:22. > :44:27.their lips when they are seeing that second serve situation. They might

:44:28. > :44:32.have considered that. Let's see what unfolds in the play ahead. Harrison

:44:33. > :44:37.and Venus conceded the first set in their victory over the tournament

:44:38. > :44:39.number six seeds in the third round. Can they do the same again here?

:44:40. > :44:52.First game, first set. Second set. Venus opening with an unreturnable

:44:53. > :44:56.serve. I tell you what, don't both teams play at such speed as well. No

:44:57. > :44:57.messing around, is there? It's almost as if they've seen the

:44:58. > :45:14.weather forecast. He's very sprightly the Melbourne

:45:15. > :45:19.resident, this man here, with the cap on, John Peers, they good

:45:20. > :45:25.athlete, very live, explosive first step.

:45:26. > :45:33.-- very. Paired up in January 2016. Took their first title in Brisbane,

:45:34. > :45:52.the pair at the near end here. This man, between April 2013 and

:45:53. > :46:02.December 2015 he was with Jamie Murray for quite a while, winning

:46:03. > :46:05.titles. They did very well together. UMPIRE: Game Harrison and Venus.

:46:06. > :46:23.First game, second set. Konta appears very business like in

:46:24. > :46:29.the way in which they march around the court. No time wasted. Decisive

:46:30. > :46:54.in their pre-serve conversations briefly. Someone is dosing off.

:46:55. > :47:07.Oh, what a delightful volley, my goodness. Backhand win, carving it

:47:08. > :47:13.across court. The second coming off the on court effects mic was so

:47:14. > :47:23.crisp. Look at that, right off the Robbing he, fully aware. -- racquet,

:47:24. > :47:28.fully aware. First double fault of the match for

:47:29. > :47:58.the number one seeds. Whats a big return from Michael

:47:59. > :48:05.Venus there, off the backhand side. Sweet timing. Suddenly now they have

:48:06. > :48:31.a little bit of an opportunity here. 15-30.

:48:32. > :48:37.A little temporary sense of let down for there for Ryan Harrison. Had a

:48:38. > :48:44.second serve to look at. Couldn't make the return. Missed opportunity.

:48:45. > :48:49.Can Venus do better at 30-30 all in this game? Standing back

:48:50. > :48:58.respectfully on the big serve of the World Number One player. That is

:48:59. > :49:15.big, 130mph. Fastest of the match so far. For the Number Ten seeds.

:49:16. > :49:31.APPLAUSE .. So from 15-30 down, three

:49:32. > :50:01.consecutive points won by Kontinen. Will remain on serve, third game.

:50:02. > :50:15.That's double fault number three for the Number Ten seeds.

:50:16. > :50:24.Oh, that's a brilliant shot down-the-line. Really calling on

:50:25. > :50:28.that forehand. When you consider that Ryan Harrison's backhand was

:50:29. > :50:34.very deep, that was just a moment of brilliance from John Peers.

:50:35. > :50:41.Well, this is the man that got broken in the opening set as well,

:50:42. > :50:49.young Harrison. Youngest player on the court, 25 years old, from

:50:50. > :50:56.Austin, Texas. Got his weight behind that to ensure it.

:50:57. > :51:02.APPLAUSE Really important that he holds on

:51:03. > :51:11.here otherwise psychologically he's going to be wounded. Can ill afford

:51:12. > :51:16.a second break of his serve. Terrifically executed overhead.

:51:17. > :51:22.APPLAUSE This is really well taken by Michael

:51:23. > :51:28.Venus here. He back pedalled a lot to get behind it. As the tallest man

:51:29. > :51:37.on court, he just thrashed it away. APPLAUSE

:51:38. > :51:43.Thundering into the back of the court, 127mph.

:51:44. > :51:50.I would say that these two, the serving duo now, are just a little

:51:51. > :51:53.bit more serve dependent than the other team. The other team are

:51:54. > :52:11.perhaps a little more balanced, making a few more returns.

:52:12. > :52:25.Is UMPIRE: Game, Harrison and Venus. A

:52:26. > :52:30.good response from Ryan Harrison. He got behind on his own serve, but

:52:31. > :52:36.rattled off four consecutive points to hold serve and, my goodness, did

:52:37. > :52:45.he throw-in some thunder bolts as well. A change of officiating crew

:52:46. > :52:51.taking place here on Court No 2. You can see, look at that, total serve

:52:52. > :52:54.returns in, 13% more for Kontinen and Peers. That is what we suggested

:52:55. > :52:58.at the end of the opening set as we saw the graphic. A lot of those

:52:59. > :53:02.returns are coming in off second serve, too. These two, sat down with

:53:03. > :53:06.racquets in the air, look very, very relaxed. Ryan Harrison, it's really

:53:07. > :53:10.good for him. It seems to bring out his light hearted side when he's

:53:11. > :53:14.playing doubles. Hopefully, like we've seen with so many players,

:53:15. > :53:19.that confidence can just infuse into his singles game now. He is a

:53:20. > :53:24.wonderful ball striker. Alongside his good mate, Michael Venus, they

:53:25. > :53:28.have been long time friends. Dad of Ryan, on the right, still coaches

:53:29. > :53:31.Michael on the left. It's unusual thaw can't coach your own Sonny

:53:32. > :53:34.more. He has had multiple coaches since. You can coach your son's best

:53:35. > :54:27.friend. -- son. Really went for it on that forehand,

:54:28. > :54:32.only found the middle of the net. That will go down as a massive

:54:33. > :54:36.opportunity squandered. Big unforced error there. Prides himself on his

:54:37. > :54:49.forehand, he couldn't get it over the net.

:54:50. > :54:53.Still again, the top seeds unhindered, unblemished on their own

:54:54. > :55:16.serve so far. Oh, that is delightful. My goodness.

:55:17. > :55:21.Such a great touch. They have given themselves a good platform to work

:55:22. > :55:23.from. He can be inventive there, look at that, just killing all the

:55:24. > :55:59.pace. Gorgeous from Peers. That's four double faults for this

:56:00. > :56:20.pairing now. Oh, brilliant return, my goodness,

:56:21. > :56:25.into the vacant space for an out right winner. Almost every game we

:56:26. > :56:29.see a little sparkle of brilliance from Henri Kontinen. Look at that,

:56:30. > :56:40.really attacking that big serve of Venus rein and taking it on.

:56:41. > :56:52.-- Venus and taking it on. From the number one seed it was almost from

:56:53. > :56:57.the sublime and ridiculous. The shot from Kontinen outstanding followed

:56:58. > :57:02.by a shank. Getting ambitious there, a bit gung ho. Look how strong the

:57:03. > :57:07.return was from Kontinen. He was taken wide with the serve. Quality

:57:08. > :57:10.delivery. This man, one big step to the right and, boom, it comes back

:57:11. > :57:24.with more pace than it came down with. Break point being faced by the

:57:25. > :57:25.number ten seeds, once again. Venus saved two breaks points in the third

:57:26. > :57:59.game of the first set. UMPIRE: Deuce.

:58:00. > :58:03.SUE BARKER: We will leave that match. It's 4-3 on serve in the

:58:04. > :58:12.third. They are watching the rain come down now. They are not back out

:58:13. > :58:18.on Court 2. We can update you on the big stories so far. Novak Djokovic

:58:19. > :58:21.held over from yesterday, he won his match against Mannarino to go

:58:22. > :58:25.through in straight-sets to face Berdych in the quarter-final

:58:26. > :58:34.tomorrow. No day's rest for him. He will be there tomorrow. Garbine

:58:35. > :58:37.Muguruza, former French Open champion, came through in

:58:38. > :58:42.straight-sets against Kuznetsova. She is getting better and better

:58:43. > :58:55.with each match shech is a runner up coached here. Coached by Martinez.

:58:56. > :59:01.Wonderful win on Court No. 1. Venus Williams raced through. 6-3, 7-5.

:59:02. > :59:06.She is through the five-time champion. We say goodbye here on BBC

:59:07. > :59:11.Two, but there's plenty of tennis to look forward to. We have the roof on

:59:12. > :59:19.Centre Court. On BBC One at the moment Britain's number one, Johanna

:59:20. > :59:24.Konta, locked-in battle with Simona Halep. Entering a first set

:59:25. > :59:31.tie-break. Johanna Konta battling a hard on Centre Court as they watch

:59:32. > :59:35.under the umbrellas on Henman Hill. More tennis on BBC One. Johanna

:59:36. > :59:36.Konta, join us there in just a moment. For now, from all of us

:59:37. > :59:48.here, goodbye. 'From the heights

:59:49. > :59:51.of the Scottish Highlands