Wimbledon 2015: Talking points from Day 6

The defending ladies champion goes out

Petra Kvitova failed to defend her title this year

A day after Serena Williams proved she has the mind of a gladiatorial warrior, the defending champion Petra Kvitova wilted in the heat of Centre Court to Jelena Jankovic in three sets.

Having obliterated her first two opponents for the loss of just three games, perhaps the two-time ladies champion was undercooked for a match against a player who whilst not at the level she once was, is still dangerous.

Kvitova is known to have an aversion with hot temperatures and coupled with the illness that forced her to withdraw from the traditional women’s warm up tournament in Eastbourne, it is understandable why her mind didn’t seem to be in the right place for this match. But it still shouldn’t have excused them. Stopping midpoint to challenge a ball that clearly was in, smacked of someone desperate to win free points by any means necessary.

Kvitova has always struggled with the media spotlight and the fame that comes with being a successful tennis player. Her high power game can easily breakdown when her mind isn’t as totally focused on the job. When you look at the number of high profile shocks she’s suffered since 2011, this is quite a regular occurrence.

It perhaps isn’t a surprise that she has won her two Wimbledon titles coming in as the ‘B side’ to Maria Sharapova and Eugenie Bouchard.

Her fragile belief compared to those surrounding her coupled with her earlier illness and allergies concocted a recipe for disaster. It only needed a gutsy display from a competent player to expose it. This loss will now see Kvitova drop outside the world’s top five, but maybe that’s not a bad thing considering the Czech is at her most dangerous flying under the radar.

Murray’s big serve test up next after Federer sails through his

Roger Federer dropped a set before going past Sam Groth

Whilst there has been carnage in the bottom half of the women’s draw, everything is still pointing to an Andy Murray Vs Roger Federer semi-final in the men’s. Both dropped a set in their third round matches, but both eventually recovered with ease to advance to the second week.

For all the talk about Milos Raonic breaking the Wimbledon serving speed record, it was actually the giant Australian Sam Groth who got closest to Taylor Dent’s impressive mark with a 147mph serve in the first set. Unfortunately for the Aussie, his base game is a lot less consistent than Raonic and although he managed to knick a set off Federer through a tie break, the result was never in doubt.

Next up for Federer is Roberto Bautista Agut. A Spaniard who went life and death with Benoit Paire in the second round and was crushed by Murray on Centre Court last year. In other words, it would be a huge surprise if the seven time champion was to depart on Monday evening.

Andy Murray could be tested by Ivo Karlovic in the fourth round

After Federer’s easy passage against a massive server, Murray will have to tackle his own ace machine in the fourth round. 36-year-old Ivo Karlovic is still going strong, knocking out crowd favourite Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and averaging over 40 aces per match so far this week. The problem for Karlovic is that the Scot revels in playing against big servers who don’t have much else to back them up with.

The way that Murray dismantled another big server in Kevin Anderson at Queens was almost sadistic. If that form is anything to go by, the Croat will be in for a long afternoon against the No.3 seed.

Anything can happen in tennis. Their bodies might fail them, they could have a severe off day and a certain Tomas Berdych could lie ahead for Federer in the quarters but these two so far have looked a class apart in the ‘easier’ half of the men’s draw.

Are Medical Time Outs becoming a problem?

Andy Murray recieves treatment on his shoulder during his match against Andreas Seppi

During Murray’s defeat of Andreas Seppi, the subject of injuries and medical time outs came to the fore in the men’s game. After being crushed in the first two sets, Andreas Seppi took a six minute timeout to get treatment on a sore ankle. For the next 40 minutes, Murray didn’t win a game. As the crowd began to buzz with nervousness, it was then the Scot’s turn to take a time out on a shoulder problem. He won six games in a row to win the set and the match.

Murray claimed in his post-match press conference that the break in play froze his shoulder up – which had been bothering him for a couple of days – which hampered his serve. There is no reason to dispute that but to see such a drastic drop in play across all areas of his game is slightly alarming. Having always been injury prone, Murray’s lack of confidence in his body might have caused him to panic more than he should have against an opponent he was treating with as much distain as someone when they throw a tea bag into a bin.

But this goes beyond just a peculiarity in one match. The idea of breaking up an opponent’s rhythm has never been far from the game but it has certainly escalated in the past 12 months. Novak Djokovic has often been accused of exaggerating minor injuries into full blown collapses in order to distract his opponents. The number of five minute time outs on the tour has increased to the point that administrators and rule makers are considering either shortening the time a trainer is allowed on court or banning them all together.

Gamesmanship has always been a part of sport. It may not be ethical but is just another hurdle athletes must overcome in order to best their foes. The problem with injuries is that only the player in question will know just how much of an effect it truly is having on their body. Would it be fair to punish a player in serious discomfort for another crying wolf?

For men like Murray who have previously been susceptible to this tactic from more savvy operators, it is about time that they address a factor in the sport that looks as if it is becoming more and more prevalent with each passing week.