WIMBLEDONE! Part 5: Serena Slammed!

(this. SUCKS.)

Well folks, the dark magic took out No. 1 Serena Williams today. It was the only REAL upset on a day of many dramatic matches, but it was certainly a doozy. Serena's 34-match win streak has ended! If it truly has been a bit of Brit sorcery that's been stirring up the bad juju these past 8 days, it boomeranged back at them this afternoon as Laura Robson also got knocked out of the competition. Once again, Britain's hopes for a female Slam champion are crushed.

(life is sad.)

But let's stay with Serena, shall we? Let's acknowledge that Lisicki is certainly no slouch on grass and that she has the peculiar distinction of taking out the newly crowned French Open champ here at Wimby three years running. So she definitely has the skills to compete. All the same though, Serena should've won this match. Sure, she dropped the first set, but then she was in total control. She won  nine straight games to claim the second set and take a 3-0 lead in the third. The players then traded breaks, giving Serena a 4-2 lead. And then that was the last game she won as Lisicki fought her way through the next four games to take the match.

Afterwards Serena said, "I probably couldn't be more disappointed. I think I may have backed off of a success. I was playing something successful. I didn't continue that path. The result didn't go the way it could have gone had I continued to play the way I did in the second set. I felt that I was on the verge of winning. At that point I just was physically unable to hold serve. ... You have to be ready and willing to hold your serve. I wasn't willing or able, probably didn't even want to hold my serve today."

Wasn't willing or able... because of outside forces? MAYBE. Now the field is wide open for the final 8 women. It could seriously be anyone's for the taking. Personally, I'd love to see Sloane Stephens or Li Na take the title. Whatever happens, I assume it will be a crazy and drama-filled final week.

Over on the men's side, Novak, Murray, Ferrer, Berdych and even injured Delpo got through. I expect the WIMBLEDONE! curse to strike at least one of them on Wednesday when the men's quarters are played. Who can survive??? Stay tuned...