–

The British weather forecasters have a bit of a cheeky sense of humo(u)r about things.

Which might be a job requirement because so much of what they have to share with their audience can be rather dank and depressing.

So the forecast for the next two days at Wimbledon might need a little elaborating.

For Thursday, with some catching up to do, the good news is that the rain seemingly won’t be a factor.

But the term “moderate breeze” is raaaaaaawther a euphemism. It will be a steady 15 mph, with gusts up in the high 20s. All of which means that the “real” temperature with the wind chill factored it will be more like 15C.

Friday’s forecast has a ton of rain overnight, with the probability of precipitation rarely dipping below 50 per cent for the entire day and evening.

(It seems “11 mph” is gentle, but “15 mph” is moderate. So do with that what you will).

Wimbledon Day 4 – Men’s singles final results

Wimbledon Day 4 – Women’s singles final results

Wimbledon Day 4 – Doubles final results

******************************************

Canadian Content

Both Denis Shapovalov and Cana-Chilean Alejandro Tabilo saw their late-scheduled second-round matches cancelled on Wednesday with the backlog.

So both will be at it today, and both have good shots at getting to the third round.

Shapovalov will play Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in a battle of 25-year-olds with one-handed backhands. Altmaier also has his moments of pure shotmaking. But the fact that he was on clay at Challengers up to a week before Wimbledon – three of them after Roland Garros – tells you he’s probably happy just to be in the second round.

***Shapovalov at Wimbledon in 2017, vs. Jerzy Janowicz***

His first-round, five-set win over young British wild card Arthur Fery was not only his first-ever main draw win at the AELTC; he had won just one set before this year in two previous tries against players ranked outside the top 80. He did play some grass-court tuneups in previous years, but any wins he did have came against fellow dirtballers.

As for Tabilo, he had to come back Wednesday and finish off his first-round match. Which, unlike some others, he did without incident over Dan Evans. He faces young Italian Flavio Cobolli.

But we’re most looking forward to Leylah Fernandez taking on Caroline Wozniacki for the first time.

******************************************

Potential upsets

There are a number of matches that look to be very competitive on Thursday, although it might be a stretch to call them potential upsets:

Hurkacz v Fils and Rune v Seyboth Wild on the men’s side. Putintseva v Siniakova and Saville v Kostyuk on the women’s side.

Even Ruusuvuori v Tsitsipas could have its moments. And Laura Siegemund will leave no stone unturned to upend Elena Rybakina’s rhythm.

But there are some fascinating battles for “British supremacy”, too, even as someone was bumped off Centre Court for the (possibly career-final) doubles match involving the Murray brothers.

Katie Boulter vs Harriet Dart. Jack Draper vs. Cameron Norrie (who was the British No. 1, and for a long time, until fairly recently).

******************************************

Fed sighting at WImbledon today

Roger Federer and wife Mirka are expected to be in the Royal Box at Wimbledon on Thursday, when two of Federer’s contemporaries – Novak Djokovic in singles, and Andy Murray in doubles – are scheduled to play.

Federer has expressed some hesitancy about returning to Wimbledon since his retirement. And you can get it. It was his back yard during his career. And going there in civvies is just a vivid reminder that he’s not playing any more.

He did show for the “Center Court centenary” celebration two years ago, but spoke of his going back and forth on that decision before ultimately deciding he needed to be there.

Mrs. Federer (and her daughter) couldn’t wait until today. She took in the all-Italian clash on Wednesday.

Hello, Mirka 👋#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/vFRvTtXres
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2024

Raducanu speaks Mandarin!

Most tennis players speak English reasonably well as a second (or third) language. Probably a requirement as it’s the working language of their workplace.

But it’s fascinating to see a Brit (or an American, or an Aussie) speaking another language – and especially one like Mandarin. Which many spend a lifetime learning. Raducanu is Chinese on her mother’s side. But you know she grew up speaking English at home as it was the common language between her mother and her Romanian father.

It also takes guts to do it with the “world” watching, because you know people will be grading her.

Emma talking in Mandarin about Zhang Shuai 🥰#Raducanu | #EmmaRaducanu pic.twitter.com/vYcemZUclQ
— Emma Raducanu Fans (@RaducanuNews) July 3, 2024

******************************************

Roster filling out in Guadalajara

It’s a tough time slot now for the Mexicans, the week before the US Open and down to a WTA 500, but they’ve now added Caroline Garcia to the mix this year.

(Even more so because her agents are involved with the competing Cleveland event. But again – this is emblematic of the current WTA because her ranking means she doesn’t really get to pick).

They also have the top South American player – Beatriz Haddad Maia. And the two Canadians (Fernandez and Andreescu). And defending champion Maria Sakkari, and Victoria Azarenka.

So it’s slowly falling into place even if Sakkari is the only top 10 player officially confirmed so far.

******************************************

It’s only a fixture if you HIT it

Not that Coco Gauff needed any extra breaks, as she got through Romanian Anca Todoni quite easily.

But this might well have been a first in the brief history of the Centre Court roof.

Achievement unlocked – strangest way to win a point 🔒#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Pozbudw0ci
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 4, 2024

Eagle eyes by the chair umpire, too.

(Also notable in this one is that Todoni, in her first Grand Slam main draw after getting through the qualifying at Roehampton, is seven months YOUNGER than Gauff. This will be happening more every year, of course. But it just points out how precocious Gauff has been.

******************************************

Doubles star power in Bastad

The Bastad tournament, normally a sleepy little gap ATP 250 on clay after Wimbledon and before the summer hard-court season, is the place to be this year.

Because of the Olympic event being on clay at Roland Garros, these “gap” tournaments are seeing players who normally would never be there.

Except Casper Ruud. He’s usually there.

🇪🇸🤝🇳🇴 We’re happy to announce that Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud will join forces and compete in this year’s doubles tournament in Båstad.

Will they have a shot at the double’s title and do you have a suitable name on this power combo?#nordeaopen #båstad #tennis #atp pic.twitter.com/LwEpder0kP
— Nordea Open (@NordeaOpen) July 3, 2024

But not only does Bastad have Rafael Nadal, they also have Nadal and Ruud teaming up for doubles, as Nadal preps to try for another medal with Carlos Alcaraz later this month.

******************************************

Venus visit in Toronto

Last year, the National Bank Open had keynote speaker Maria Sharapova at a new “gender equity” sports conference it began three years ago.

Which was weird on a few levels – notably because it was the MEN who were in Toronto last year. Also because no one will ever remember Sharapova for her work on gender equity in the sport.

***Venus and Serena practice on adjacent courts in Toronto, back in 2019.***

But this year’s conference makes more sense: Venus WIlliams will be the keynote speaker for the event, which takes place on Aug. 7 – a Wednesday around lunchtime, during the tournament, at an event space in suburban Woodbridge (about a 15-minute drive from the tournament site, assuming no rush-hour traffic).

Also – the WTA will be in town this year.

Get your wallets out, though; tickets range from $350 – $400 Canadian.