The second Monday of Wimbledon is traditionally hyped as one of the best single days of tennis each year. That reputation is warranted as the day usually features all of the final 16 men and 16 women slugging it out for spots in the quarterfinals. For tennis fans, it's a great day to plop down in front of the TV and wallow in all the grasscourt greatness.

Unfortunately, many of us won't get to see much of what transpired on the lawns of Wimbledon today. The networks, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that tennis fans really don't need to see live tennis on this, the best single day of tennis. Go figure.

To be fair, ESPN2 has done a good job with their Wimbledon coverage throughout the first week. I wasn't too enthusiastic about their French Open coverage a few weeks ago, but they have been handling the Big W quite nicely. They have been beginning their live coverage at the crack of dawn--actually before dawn for those of us on the West Coast--and have continued right up through the end of play each day. What more could you want?

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The women took center stage at Wimbledon today as all four quarterfinals took to the lawns of Centre Court and Court 1. Unfortunately, the clashes of the last eight women failed to provide much in the way of compelling tennis matches.

Each match-up featured one of the top four seeds. In each case, the higher seeded woman advanced to Thursday's semifinals. Three of the matches were routes as Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Elena Dementieva continued their romps through the tournament. None of these three were really tested in their matches which was a little surprising since Serena was up against Victoria Azarenka who has emerged as the most exciting new star of 2009. Venus dispatched Agnieszka Radwanska while Dementieva straight-setted Italian veteran Francesca Schiavone.

Continue reading "Wimbledon Women's Quarters Fizzle"