Wimbledon Day Four: Nadal squeaks by, but Sharapova falls to the fashion police

By James Borg

Thursday, June 26, 2008 | 3:50 p.m.

LONDON – After yesterday's fireworks that lit up the men's singles – the vanquishing of No. 3 seed Novak Djokocic by Marat Safin – there was talk of another possible second round calamity.

After the first round, Rafael Nadal, the second seed, told the press he was concerned with Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. "I have a very tough draw. I am playing Gulbis next."

What's so special about Gulbis? Well, although not 20 till August, he made it to the fourth round at the US Open last September and this propelled him into the top 50. At this year's Roland Garros he lost a quarterfinal to Djokovic. In short, as they say here at Wimbledon - on the day and on grass, anything can happen.

“Rafa” was right to be cautious. The 19 year old’s powerful serves and huge powered him to a first set 7-5 surprise lead. There was the faint whiff of firework smoke again.

But Nadal stepped up a gear and stormed through the second and kept his nerve to claim the third on a tiebreak. The Spaniard broke Gulbis at 5-3 in the fourth before sealing a 5-7 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 win to set up a third round match against Germany's Nicholas Kiefer.

Was Nadal happy? "Very happy with my win today. I know I had a very tough opponent. Before the match I knew that."

Well the crowds got their whiff of firework smoke. It would have seemed almost a disappointment not to have a shock defeat at the end of the day.

Third seed and 2004 champion Maria Sharapova entertained spectators and newspaper photographers all week with her tuxedo and shorts outfit. But she ran into the fashion police in Alla Kudryavtseva, one of the 18 Russian women here this year.

They met at the French Open last year, where Kudryavtseva picked up only five games. The 20 year old is ranked just 154 in the world and has never won a WTA tournament. But she made quick work of Sharapova today – 6-2, 6-4.

Kudryavtseva said she was motivated by Sharapova’s obsession with fashion this year. " I don't like her outfit. It's a little too much of everything."

Sharapova was understandably dazed after the match.

"Everything happened so fast. Some days the balls don't bounce where you want them and they don't land where you want them. Losses are disappointing for everyone. I guess it's my turn to be disappointed today."

Venus Williams faced Anne Keothavong of Great Britain in the second round. The match time of 1 hour and 44 minutes and a first set of 69 minutes give an idea of the quality of the match.

The first five games were critical. Keothavong fell 2-0 behind but she broke serve in the third game clinched by a second double fault at deuce from Williams. She then held serve in a seven-deuce game, saving four break points to level the match. In the next game Williams’ grittiness allowed her to save eight break points before finally holding serve. Keothavong managed to hang in until the 12th game and at 6-5 down her two errors on the backhand made her finally forfeit the set.

Williams, the seventh seed and a four-time Wimbledon champion breezed through the second set completing her 7-5, 6-2 win.

" I made a lot of errors and I am not completely happy with the way I played but it is just about getting through to the next round."

But the fourth day proved to be a bad day for the Americans.

Rainer Schuettler produced an upset as he knocked out American No. 9 seed James Blake. The German gained a revenge victory for his first round loss at the French Open to win 6-3 6-7 (8-10) 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Andy Roddick, the leading hope for the United States, faced Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia, who is a tough opponent on any surface. Anybody who sports a tattoo with Dostoevsky's words: “Beauty will save the world” sounds like a pretty hopeful character.

The first set went to 6-6 and Roddick edged through 7-5 in the tiebreak. The crowd sensed the possibility of an upset here.

Roddick was slightly bad-tempered and looked frustrated, more so when Tipsarevic took the second set 7-5. And the third 4-6. The tiebreak in the fourth set was a tense affair; Tipsarevic took it 7-4 and wrapped up the match as darkness was about to fall.

This was Roddick's worst ever result at Wimbledon – a second round defeat. He's been a finalist twice and a quarter-finalist last year.

But Tipsarevic is a tough opponent. This is the man who kept Federer on court at the Australian Open this January for five grueling sets, relinquishing the final set at 10-8. Enough said.

On a final sad note, former champion Lindsay Davenport was forced to withdraw, shortly before her scheduled second round match, due to a knee injury.

The 32 year old needed a medical timeout during her first round match and an MRI scan afterward. The 1999 winner was making a comeback at Wimbledon after a two-year gap when she lost an epic final against Venus Williams in 2005. The future?

" I'm looking forward to the Olympics and the US Open" she said, "I'm not looking further than that."

Asked if she would come back next year, to Wimbledon she replied: "I guess not."

James Borg, a freelance journalist, has covered the All-England Lawn Tennis Championships for 31 years. He spent a few months in Las Vegas and did work for Caesars Palace. He lives in London.