SUPERHERO DELPO 

As if fans needed another reason to love the Tower of Tandil, Juan Martin del Potro... The man who claimed the 2009 US Open title by beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer back to back has endured far more than his fair share of injuries. Never one to dwell on the “why me?” Delpo has unequivocally maintained a flawless reputation for fairness and sportsmanship amid umpteen comebacks. And that goodwill extends to fans even when staring down defeat, it seems.

On his way to a surprise exit against former world No.10 Ernests Gulbis on No.3 Court on Thursday, the big Argentine was quick to turn his concerns to the stands when a spectator fainted in the searing heat. Delpo immediately sent bottled water up to reach the woman. Never one to seek praise, he was quick to downplay his good deed when asked about it.

“The doctors help a lady. We were scared about the situation, but it was nothing. Nothing happened in the end,” he said.

HANTUCHOVA HANGS UP HER RACKETS

They say it’s best to bow out on top, and Daniela Hantuchova did just that – sort of. A year on from her final Grand Slam appearance here at The Championships, the former world No.5 announced her retirement from the roof of the Broadcast Centre, where she is working as a commentator for Fox Sports Asia. Hantuchova reached the fourth round at The Championships on four occasions, most recently in 2011, while her best singles performance at a Grand Slam came at the Australian Open, where she reached the semi-finals in 2008. She also played in three Grand Slam doubles finals – two in Melbourne, and one at Roland Garros – but truly made her mark in mixed doubles early in her time on the WTA Tour, completing the career Grand Slam at the US Open in 2005 with Mahesh Bhupathi.

A three-time Olympian, Hantuchova also won the Fed Cup with Slovakia in 2002 and the Hopman Cup alongside Dominik Hrbaty in 2005. But two months on from her final WTA appearance in May, she informed her fans on Facebook that she will still be following the Tour, “just from now on without a tennis bag on my shoulders”.

“Being part of the WTA, ITF, the Slovak Fed Cup and Olympic team has been the biggest blessing and privilege,” the 24-year-old added. “Words are not enough to explain all the thankfulness towards everybody that takes care of us.”

VAN GAAL IN THE HOUSE

One famous face enjoying the boilover was former Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal. The Dutchman was in the stands for Magdalena Rybarikova's shock victory over No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova on Centre Court. Those sunglasses weren’t disguising anyone, Louis.

GIANTKILLER 

John Isner and Dudi Sela had fans giggling under their breath before they’d even struck a ball in their second-round clash on Thursday. The 6ft 10in American and 5ft 9in Israeli were a picture of contrast in their pre-match photograph at net. It’s not the first time the diminutive Sela has had to contend with an enormous height disparity. In a light-hearted moment three years ago, the Israeli dragged a linesman’s chair to net to give himself a boost to hug 6ft 11in Ivo Karlovic after losing their second-round match in Bogota.

On Thursday, it was Sela who had the last laugh with a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 upset of the No.23 seed. This came despite Isner thumping down a whopping 100 winners, including 45 aces. It’s not the first time the pair had seen the funnier side to their height difference. Isner posed with his racquet level across the top of Sela’s head in a pre-match photograph three years ago, before winning the Atlanta final.

THIEM AUSTRIA

Unheralded Austrian Sebastian Ofner deems clay “my favourite footing” but the 21-year-old with the slick-back hair may want to rethink that after his breakthrough on the slick grass courts of Wimbledon over the past week and a half. Ofner, whose career didn’t kick into gear until he finished school, took down American No.17 seed Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2 for the biggest win of his career on Thursday. The world No.216 had earlier beaten Brazil’s Thomaz Bellucci in his Grand Slam main draw debut having won through three rounds of Qualifying at Roehampton, where he fought back from two sets down to stun teenager British hopeful Jay Clarke in the final round. World No.8 Dominic Thiem had earlier flown the flag for Austria with a four-set win over Gilles Simon and Ofner gave the Thiem family plenty more to cheer about. He trains at Thiem’s coach Gunther Bresnik’s academy under the tutelage of none other than Wolfgang Thiem, Dominic’s father.

COMEBACK QUEENS REIGN

Despite the sickening knee injury which brought Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ Wimbledon run to an end on Thursday, there was a string of feel-good stories in the women’s draw as five players on the comeback from lengthy stints on the sidelines reached the third round. Mattek-Sands’ opponent Sorana Cirstea was in tears after seeing the American carried off on a stretcher. It was an unfortunate way for the Romanian to advance to the last 32 for the third time at Wimbledon. But the 26-year-old is no stranger to injury herself, having spent stints out of the game since 2015 with right shoulder problems.

Kazakhstan’s Zarina Diyas continues her comeback after eight months sidelined with a wrist injury. Her win over Australia’s Arina Rodionova sets up a third-round showdown with Petra Martic, the Croatian who made a surprise run to the French Open fourth round after 10 months out due to a back injury. Like Martic, former world No.35 Polona Hercog was forced to come through Qualifying after a horror eight months overcoming a shoulder blade stress fracture, patella problems in her left knee, a torn ligament in her right wrist and just to make matters worse, surgery to remove her appendix. The comeback story of the day, arguably belonged to Slovakia’s Magdalena Rybarikova, however, who pulled off the biggest upset of the women’s event so far with victory over pre-tournament favourite Karolina Pliskova. The 28-year-old is returning after a seven-month lay-off for surgery on her left wrist and right knee almost a year ago.

"I had two surgeries and haven't played for seven months,” Rybarikova said. “I've just beaten Karolina Pliskova. That is absolutely amazing.

DIMITROV SHOWTIME

Seeing the magic flow from Grigor Dimitrov’s strings is almost to be expected. But when the Bulgarian pulls off two of the shots of the tournament on the two biggest points of the match it’s sure to get the highlight reels rolling on replay. In his battle with Marcos Baghdatis, a fellow former Wimbledon semi-finalist, Dimitrov was serving for the second set when he flicked what he thought was an out-ball behind his back, miraculously keeping the point alive before claiming the set two shots later. Only a hot shot on match point would top that. And he delivered, scrambling for a dive-volley winner to secure a convincing straight-sets result.

“I remember when I was a junior I played a few matches that I finished similar, but I didn't expect him to get that last ball, that's for sure. I mean, I knew I had to cover the line, but I was like, come on. The ball was solo,” Dimitrov said.

“It's just that moment. That's how it is. This is where I feel I can count a lot on, you know, sort of my shots and you improvise. The last point was just great.

“The one behind the back, I thought the ball was out so I just kept on walking to the chair, and luckily nobody said anything.”

 

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