LONDON -- It appears that 1980s pop music and an Australian influence are the perfect recipe for Wimbledon success.
At least, that appears to be the case for 25-year-old Coco Vandeweghe, who clinched a 6-2, 6-4 victory over American compatriot Alison Riske on Saturday.
Tennis
Coco Vandeweghe secures her place in week two of Wimbledon for the third straight year; defeating compatriot Alison Riske 6-2, 6-4. She didn't make things easy for herself in that last set, though - allowing Riske to come back to 4-4 from a 4-1 lead. With her immense power and new coach Pat Cash's influence, we'll be seeing much more of Vandeweghe in the future, I've no doubt.
Vandeweghe's Grand Slam performance is getting gradually better and better. And she's confident of more success:
Q. Can you tell me a little bit about depth and how that's changed in the many years you have been here? Seems like things are much deeper.
VANDEWEGHE: I think there is some very solid depth of players that can make an impact against a top player. I mean, I'm an example of that myself.
Q. Are you starting to get used to going deeper in Grand Slams than you ever achieved before?
VANDEWEGHE: Yeah, I think so. Once you have done it once, it's easier to do it the second time. I think the first time making a second week of a Grand Slam is probably the most difficult, second to defending it. I think that's a different kind of pressure that is self brought upon.
Elsewhere, fellow Americans Shelby Rogers and Jared Donaldson didn't see the same success. Shelby lost to top-seeded Angelique Kerber in a tight three-set battle, while Donaldson fell to eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem for the second time this year. (Perhaps a dose of a-ha for the prematch playlist next year might help...)
Big 4 continue the charge
Despite Murray's minor wobble in the second set against Fabio Fognini on Friday, the big four charged into the second week without dropping another set.
The big four lineup for Monday:
Novak Djokovic vs. Adrian Mannarino
Roger Federer vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Rafael Nadal vs. Gilles Muller
And apparently, Novak had a lot to say on the matter in his postmatch press conference...
Tennis
In his postmatch press conference, Novak Djokovic, among other things, spoke about the grass, his passion, Wall Street, coaches, paradoxes and philosophy. The total word count (including questions) was 2,469, unofficially the longest of this fortnight.
When will the retirements ... retire?
Dudi Sela became the ninth man to retire in the men's singles draw at this year's Championship; he withdrew from his match on Saturday against Grigor Dimitrov while trailing 6-1, 6-1.
Tennis
Dudi Sela spotted talking heatedly with coaching team following his injury retirement in match against Grigor Dimitrov. That's our 9th retirement on the men's side - 1 shy of an Open Era record at Wimbledon (10 in 2008). Will Wimbledon be forced to change the rules on retirement before next year's Championships?
At Wimbledon, first-round losers earn £35,000, which may not be much to a Federer or a Djokovic but is a huge sum to many other contenders.
The ATP are trying a new approach on a trial basis whereby a player can withdraw before a first-round match and still collect his full prize money (up to twice a year). A lucky loser, who is on standby after being beaten in the final round of qualifying, then gets that place and would earn further prize money only if he wins the match.
Will Wimbledon follow suit?
On this day in history...
On Monday, the youngest player in the draw -- 19-year-old Ana Konjuh -- will face 37-year-old Venus Williams, the oldest player in the draw -- for a place in the quarterfinals.
Quite a cool matchup, huh?
However, Konjuh is practically a veteran compared with Martina Hingis, who on July 8, 1996 -- at the age of 15 years and 9 months -- became the youngest Grand Slam champion of all time, when she teamed with Helena Sukova at Wimbledon to win the women's doubles title.
More than a Grand Slam title at steak...
Garbine Muguruza charged to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Sorana Cirstea on Saturday, but the Spaniard was having bigger issues than prematch nerves the night before their meeting...
Tennis
Garbine Muguruza, the 2015 Wimbledon finalist, had a surreal experience the night before her victory over Sorana Cirstea. "We were cooking steaks," she said. "I did a lot of steaks. It was so much smoke and the fire alarm was under where you cook. This was for 20 minutes - we didn't know what to do until someone touched a button, then it went off. I felt scared - are they going to come just because of steak?" No questions of Muguruza being undercooked, though - the 2016 French Open winner didn't drop a set in opening week.
Muguruza will face No.1 seed Angelique Kerber on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.
If the shoe fits...
Milos Raonic -- who beat 25th-seeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (3), 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday and plays Alexander Zverev next -- revealed some interesting (or bizarre?) match tips in his press conference...
Tennis
Last year's beaten finalist Milos Raonic has some excellent quirks. After eating dates during his straight-sets win over Albert Ramos-Vinolas, the No. 6 seed then revealed he would quite possibly go through three pairs of shoes during a five-setter. "You have the little pimples on the bottom. New shoes have fresher pimples," Raonic said postmatch. Even the smallest of advantages is an advantage, Milos...
Double the fun
As the singles draw funnels down to the final 16, fear not. There is still plenty of wonderful Wimbledon action going on over in the doubles draw....
Tennis
Among the great joys of Wimbledon: all the doubles action on the side courts. Often overlooked, these matches feature some of the best angles, most stunning touch shots, and quickest reflexes on stage these two weeks. For tennis fans: heaven. Here's a little snippet from Ct. 17. The great Indian star Sania Mirza to the right.
