Wimbledon Early Rounds: Djokovic Get His Comeuppance

Fresh off the presses, fresh off the court, and fresh out of excuses. Novak Djokovic, he of the big game and bigger mouth, got blown off the court today by former number one Marat Safin. There is a delicious irony here, not only because Djokovic spent the run-up to Wimbledon spouting off at the mouth about Roger Federer's supposed irony, but also that the man who beat him is actually the gold standard in tennis space cadet-land, Marat Safin. Djokovic was literally blown away)(and figuratively; gusty winds today at the All-English) by the former number one, and now needs to spend some quality time figuring out what he wants to be known for; his inarguably huge talent, or his ridiculously big mouth.

After a ghastly start, American men are slowly pulling themselves together. Andy Roddick and James Blake are into the second round, and journeyman Bobby Reynolds just pushed into the third round of a Grand Slam for only the second time in his career. The player whose performance is the most concerning; however, is Sam Querrey. After washing out in the first round against Juan Carlos Ferrero, there are some serious questions about the direction his career is heading. This guy's got a game tailor made for grass; big serve and heavy groundstrokes. The thing that he's missing is a bit more intangible, he doesn't seem to have the commitment or desire to be great. Sadly, he sometimes will publicly admit this.

Nadal and Federer both are looking incredibly sharp, Federer's actually on court right now in the second round and is disposing of Robin Soderling, and Nadal plays his second round match tomorrow. Best early finding though is Rafa's blog on The Times website. Definitely check it out and add it to your blogroll, it's just a blast. Dude is in the middle of a huge tourney, and all he can talk about is Spain in the Eurocup semis.

On the women's side, top seed Ana Ivanovic just squeaked by Natalie Dechy today, winning 10-8 in the third set (remember at Wimbledon, there are no tiebreakers in final sets). She actually faced a match point in the second set, but managed to right the ship. The Williams sisters both look to be in good form early on. Serena just got off the court after winning her second round match, and Venus looked very solid yesterday. In the same vein, Maria Sharapova's first serve was clicking yesterday, and if that keeps up, she is going to be very tough to beat.
Remember, you can keep up with everything going on at wimbledon.com. Also check out ESPN 2 each morning for early round coverage.