'24 Wimbledon Day 3 Order of Play & Discussion

[meganfernandez]

was at Wimbledon yesterday..the whites and green grass certainly have a grace and class..the grass, at least on court 3, looks very short, though - looks more like a green carpet than a lawn..and on day 2, already a bit worn out near the baseline!

Did you stay on one court all day? The amount of seating on the outer courts looks very small, so I wonder if fans can court-hop or if they have to stay in one place all day. And if you leave for the restroom or to get a snack, can someone save your seat? Can you get back in or do you have to queue up again?

yes, seats can be saved..we camped out at court 3 for a while then hopped..long lines though, everywhere..the buyback tickets to centre court etc can now be got more easily...they scan the QR on your W app and send you a message when your turn comes

The buyback thing QR code sounds wonderful. Did you get them? How do you get a code and join the waitlist? On the app? And then they give you a certain amount of time to come pick them up?

[meganfernandez]

I had never seen Navarro play. That is one lovely FH. The BH is not bad either.

She is zoning. Good movement, too.

[meganfernandez]

I know but (Fognini's) 37, ranked 94, playing mostly Challengers, and it's B5. I figured he was coming to collect his R1 or R2 prize money. Ruud should not lose to him, even on grass.

I watched all of the first three sets because Fognini is just about my favorite player to watch of all time. He played a tremendous match all the way up until 5-2 and two breaks in the third and is simply better than Ruud on grass when he is focused. Clay used to be his only good surface, but like many 30-somethings, the long points have become too much of a grind for him on clay and grass accentuates his exquisite feel (maybe the best on the tour) and terrific transition game to get to the net and knock off volleys when he sees he is in an advantageous situation.

But then, after never being broken, he pulled a Fognini and choked like a dog after missing a match point while serving at 5-2. He got broken for the first time, was broken again at 5-4 and could not hit a ball on his strings while losing the tiebreak 7-1. At that point, I don't know what happened because I stopped watching, sick to my stomach. I checked the score occasionally and saw that he was holding serve easily in the fourth set, and when he broke for 5-3, I started watching again, only to see him gag four more match points with double faults and a Ponch's favorite, a swing volley from inside the service line (a shot he never attempted in the first three sets), butchering it badly. He finally held his nerve and his serve after facing a break point, finishing it off with an easy forehand winner.

When the ball was in play, Fognini was the better, more creative player from start to finish. He in to his seventh third round at Wimbledon (Ruud has zero) and, if his body holds up (a major question mark), he will have a real shot to beat Bautista Agut or Sonego to get to his first-ever fourth round at Wimbledon.

Wow, that's a thorough report!

Oddly, I saw Fognini was playing last week and I thought it was Wimbledon qualifying. (It was Mallorca.) I told a friend I couldn't believe Fognini was still grinding away in Wimbledon qualifying. For what? And now he's in a good position to make the fourth round. What do I know?

[ashkor87]

@meganfernandez the QR code is on the Wimbledon app..they scan it in the special area marked buyback tickets just near murray mound .then you get a text message when your seat is available

[nelslus]

I watched some of the Fognini match, too.....although, I then went back to sleep before the match ended. Fun stuff.

.....But.....apparently, none of you are chatting about.....Goffin was up 5-0 in the fifth set. Only to lose in a fifth set tiebreakers, to Macháč.

[JTContinental]

I had never seen Navarro play. That is one lovely FH. The BH is not bad either.

She is zoning. Good movement, too.

Most improved player in the last year, IMO

[ti-amie]

I hate ESPN's delay. I'm following scores on the Wimbledon site since they're current.

[JTContinental]

Tommy Paul won 12 out of the last 13 points to finish off his match in 5 sets, and the one point he did lose, Virtanen hit the net and the ball died on Tommy's side.

[nelslus]

I hate ESPN's delay. I'm following scores on the Wimbledon site since they're current.

Tennis Channel sometimes has the same problem- a point or two (or more) behind.

[nelslus]

I had never seen Navarro play. That is one lovely FH. The BH is not bad either.

She is zoning. Good movement, too.

Most improved player in the last year, IMO

Paolini would like to have a word with you....

[JTContinental]

She is zoning. Good movement, too.

Most improved player in the last year, IMO

Paolini would like to have a word with you....

Having just watched her play a set against Minnen, she can miss me with her criticism...

[nelslus]

Most improved player in the last year, IMO

Paolini would like to have a word with you....

Having just watched her play a set against Minnen, she can miss me with her criticism...

....But then, hit you with reality. French Open singles and doubles finals.

And, I thought a lot of that first set with Minnen was mostly fun and well played, BTW- although the first set tiebreaker WAS messy.

[JTContinental]

Paolini obviously having better results, but also had less to improve, IMO, compared to Navarro who started out a glorified club pro.

[nelslus]

Paolini obviously having better results, but also had less to improve, IMO, compared to Navarro who started out a glorified club pro.

At the end of last year, Emma was ranked #32. https://www.coretennis.net/tennis-playe ... nking.html

Paolini was ranked #30. https://www.coretennis.net/tennis-playe ... nking.html

They both truly started crawling out of Scrub-Land last year. Albeit- sure, Paolini's previous years were better, rankings-wise, than Navarro's.

Paolini also won Dubai this year. So, IMO and at this point in time- she's most improved.

[meganfernandez]

I watched some of the Fognini match, too.....although, I then went back to sleep before the match ended. Fun stuff.

.....But.....apparently, none of you are chatting about.....Goffin was up 5-0 in the fifth set. Only to lose in a fifth set tiebreakers, to Macháč.

Horrendous. Don't try to profit from Andy's misfortune at Wimbledon.