| 2008 Wimbledon Championships | |
|---|---|
| Date | 23 June – 6 July |
| Edition | 122nd |
| Category | Grand Slam (ITF) |
| Draw | 128S / 64D / 48XD |
| Prize money | £11,812,000 |
| Surface | Grass |
| Location | Church Road SW19,Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom |
| Venue | All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club |
| Attendance | 475,812 |
| Champions | |
| Men's singles | |
 Rafael Nadal | |
| Women's singles | |
 Venus Williams | |
| Men's doubles | |
 Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjić | |
| Women's doubles | |
| Serena Williams /Venus Williams | |
| Mixed doubles | |
Bob Bryan / Samantha Stosur | |
| Wheelchair men's doubles | |
 Robin Ammerlaan /Ronald Vink | |
| Boys' singles | |
 Grigor Dimitrov | |
| Girls' singles | |
 Laura Robson | |
| Boys' doubles | |
 Hsieh Cheng-peng /Yang Tsung-hua | |
| Girls' doubles | |
 Polona Hercog /Jessica Moore | |
| Gentlemen's invitation doubles | |
| Donald Johnson /Jared Palmer | |
| Ladies' invitation doubles | |
 Jana Novotná /Kathy Rinaldi | |
| Senior gentlemen's invitation doubles | |
| Ken Flach /Robert Seguso | |
The2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played ongrass courts at theAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club inWimbledon, London in the United Kingdom.[1][2] It was the 122nd edition of theWimbledon Championships and were held from 23 June to 6 July 2008. It was the thirdGrand Slam tennis event of the year.
Spanish playerRafael Nadal won the first Wimbledon title of his career; the firstGrand Slam tournament he had won other than theFrench Open. Nadal defeated five-time defending championRoger Federer in thefinal in what many regard as the greatest tennis match of all time.[3][4][5] In the women's singles,Venus Williams claimed her fifth title, and first win over her sisterSerena in a Wimbledon final (she had lost the previous two). The performances of BritonsAndy Murray in the men's singles andLaura Robson in the girls' singles were able to arouse significant interest from the home crowd.
Following the completion of the 2007 Championships, the new fixed roof was put in place at Centre Court, in time for the 2008 Championships. The retractable section of the new roof was completed for the 2009 Championships.
Below are the tables with the point distribution for each discipline of the tournament.
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Round of 128 | Q | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Men's singles | 1000 | 700 | 450 | 250 | 150 | 75 | 35 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's doubles | 0 | N/a | N/a | 0 | 0 | |||||||
| Women's singles | 140 | 90 | 60 | 2 | ||||||||
| Women's doubles | 0 | N/a | N/a | 0 | 0 |
The total prize money for 2008 championships was £11,812,000. The winner of the men's and women's singles title earned £750,000.[6][7]
| Event | W | F | SF | QF | Round of 16 | Round of 32 | Round of 64 | Round of 128 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
| Singles | £750,000 | £375,000 | £187,500 | £93,750 | £50,000 | £28,125 | £17,000 | £10,250 | £6,500 | £3,250 | £1,625 |
| Doubles* | £230,000 | £115,000 | £57,500 | £30,000 | £16,000 | £9,000 | £5,250 | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| Mixed doubles* | £92,000 | £46,000 | £23,000 | £10,500 | £5,200 | £2,600 | £1,300 | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| Wheelchair doubles* | £6,750 | £3,750 | £2,250 | £1,250 | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
| Invitation doubles | £17,000 | £14,000 | £10,500 | £9,500 | £9,000 | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a | N/a |
* per team
Rafael Nadal def.
Roger Federer, 6–4, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(8–10), 9–7[8]
Venus Williams def.Serena Williams, 7–5, 6–4[9]
Daniel Nestor /Nenad Zimonjić def.
Jonas Björkman /
Kevin Ullyett, 7–6(14–12), 6–7(3–7), 6–3, 6–3[10]
Serena Williams /Venus Williams def.Lisa Raymond /Samantha Stosur, 6–2, 6–2[11]
Bob Bryan /Samantha Stosur def.Mike Bryan /Katarina Srebotnik, 7–5, 6–4[12]
Grigor Dimitrov def.
Henri Kontinen, 7–5, 6–3[13]
Laura Robson def.
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1[14]
Hsieh Cheng-peng /Yang Tsung-hua def.Matt Reid /Bernard Tomic, 6–4, 2–6, 12–10[15]
Polona Hercog /Jessica Moore def.Isabella Holland /Sally Peers, 6–3, 1–6, 6–2[16]
Donald Johnson /Jared Palmer def.Jacco Eltingh /Paul Haarhuis, walkover
Jana Novotná /Kathy Rinaldi def.Martina Navratilova /Helena Suková, 5–7, 6–3, [10–5]
Ken Flach /Robert Seguso def.Jeremy Bates /Anders Järryd, 7–6(7–1), 6–7(5–7), [10–7]
Robin Ammerlaan /Ronald Vink def.
Stéphane Houdet /Nicolas Peifer, 6–7(8–10), 6–1, 6–3
There were allegations in a dossier that several matches, including eight at Wimbledon, were under suspicion of beingfixed by professional gambling syndicates after bookmakers noted unexpected spikes in betting patterns.[17] The dossier, released on the Sunday prior to the first day of play, had been commissioned by theAssociation of Tennis Professionals (ATP),Women's Tennis Association (WTA),International Tennis Federation (ITF), and four Grand Slams earlier in the year, and was compiled by bookmakers. An official said, "If you look at a tournament, you might see one match for £23,000 [in betting turnover], one for £27,000, one for £36,000 and one for £4.5m. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that something is going on in the last one."[18] Betting on Wimbledon matches was popular in 2007, with over £420m wagered on bets.
To help deal with any potential gambling problems, the All England Club restricted access to player's changing rooms this year, allowing only the player and their coach permission. It was hoped that this would make communication between gamblers and players more difficult.[18] Match fixing became a prominent issue in the media after the2007 Orange Prokom Open, where the then World No. 4Nikolay Davydenko came under suspicion of colluding with gamblers, and gambling companyBetfair took the unprecedented step of voiding all bets on a match of his withMartín Vassallo Argüello.
TheAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the sport club that plays host to the Championships, came under fire from animal activists for usingmarksmen to shoot down dive-bombingpigeons. The marksmen were ordered to usehawks to scare them away, but when some failed to do so, the marksmen killed them, which led to thePeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) group releasing a statement admonishing the practice and subsequently, referring to theAnimal Welfare Act 2006, contacting theMetropolitan Police.[19]
Several players complained about the pigeons distracting them during play, and because of the inefficient nature of the hawks, rapid action was sought on the Sunday evening before the tournament began.[20] The marksmen were hired by the All England Club and, armed withrifles, shot several birds. When the media broke the story on Monday, a spokesman for the All England Club defended the club's approach, saying that, "The hawks are our first line of deterrent, and by and large they do the job. But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn't deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach."[21] By Tuesday however, the Metropolitan Police wildlife crime unit had been alerted to the practice by PETA, after allegedly infringing the Animal Welfare Act 2006.Bruce Friedrich, vice-president of PETA, wrote in a letter to the All England Club chairman Tim Phillips, that the birds did not represent "a demonstrable risk to public health and safety", and the activity was therefore in violation of the Act.[20] A Wimbledon spokesperson subsequently announced that they had reneged on their policy, and that the All England Club would no longer shoot pigeons.
A similar, but more inconspicuous, incident also occurred on the Sunday evening before the Championships. Aswarm ofbees descended upon the area surrounding the All England Club; this caused the clearing out of the players' lawn (where competitors gather after play) and a temporary cessation of some interviews.[22][23] Further disruption was caused because organizers had to alter the overnight queuing system, in order to protect people. This was the first time that bees had caused disruptions at the All England Club. Some media outlets reported that the bees deserted the grounds after around 90 minutes,[23][24] whilst others claimed that a similar resolution to the pigeon problem was sought, with the bees being professionally exterminated.[22]
The British public were treated to some palpable success, as London-basedLaura Robson became the first British girl to win theGirls' juniors competition sinceAnnabel Croft in1984. Fourteen-year-old Robson, the youngest player in the Girls' juniors, had to beat players aged up to eighteen, the maximum age allowed for entry into the juniors.[25][26] She garnered considerable media attention;[25][27][28] with a large crowd gathered to watch both her semi-final and final matches, the latter of which was onNo. 1 Court, she called it an "overwhelming experience."[29] British-based gambling companyLadbrokes slashed her odds of winning Wimbledon before 2020 from 50/1 to 20/1.[28]
In the seniors, 2007 mixed doubles championJamie Murray could not replicate his triumph of theprevious year with new partnerLiezel Huber, after his 2007 partnerJelena Janković opted not to play in order to concentrate on the singles competition.[30]Murray and Huber reached the semi-finals where they were knocked out byBob Bryan andSamantha Stosur.
In the seniors singles competition, the most significant impact was made byScottish playerAndy Murray, when he became the first British player to reach the quarter-finals sinceTim Henman in2004. Murray, often castigated in the British media for his surly manner, won the crowd's affections with his five-set victory overRichard Gasquet[31][32] (details of this match are given in theDay 7 summary). The Murray–Gasquet match was watched by over 10 million people in the UK, and it was watched by more than 50% of the potential viewing public in his nativeScotland.[33]
Chris Eaton fromSurrey, theATP No. 661, successfully began his campaign in qualifying, and then caused a major surprise by beating ATP No. 114Boris Pašanski in the first round.[34]Anne Keothavong was the first British woman to directly qualify to the main draw since 1998, however no British woman made it beyond the second round.
The men's side of the draw was notable for the performances ofMarat Safin andRainer Schüttler, ranked 75th and 94th respectively on entering the tournament. Safin caused an upset in the second round when he defeatedAustralian Open championNovak Djokovic in straight sets,[35] on the way to his first ever Wimbledon semi-final, where he lost toRoger Federer. After more than five years without reaching the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament, and thirteen consecutive Grand Slam tournaments without advancing past the second round, Schüttler also reached his first Wimbledon semi-final,[36] where he was defeated in straight sets by the eventual championRafael Nadal.[37] Schüttler had earlier defeatedArnaud Clément (who had previously not advanced to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament since reaching the final of the2001 Australian Open) in an epic quarter-final that lasted two days.[38]
The women's side of the draw saw some of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history, in which the top four seeds—Ana Ivanovic,Jelena Janković,Maria Sharapova andSvetlana Kuznetsova—all failed to reach the quarter-finals.[39] Maria Sharapova suffered her earliest exit at Wimbledon when she lost toAlla Kudryavtseva in the second round; this was also her earliest exit at a Grand Slam since the2003 US Open. RecentFrench Open champion and newly crowned World No. 1Ana Ivanovic was stunned in the third round by Chinesewild card entrant and World No. 133Zheng Jie. This was the earliest exit by a top seed at Wimbledon sinceMartina Hingis lost in the first round in2001, and Zheng Jie also became the lowest-ranked player ever to defeat a top seed at the tournament. Janković and Kuznetsova were both toppled in the fourth round byTamarine Tanasugarn andAgnieszka Radwańska, respectively. This was the first time since seedings began at Wimbledon in 1927 (and the first time in the Open Era) that none of the top four seeds managed to advance past the fourth round. Zheng Jie became the second Chinese player (afterLi Na in2006) to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, and the first wild card entry ever to reach the semi-finals (a feat later achieved bySabine Lisicki in2011), where she was defeated by eventual runner-upSerena Williams. Meanwhile, Tanasugarn reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final by virtue of her victory over Janković, losing to the eventual championVenus Williams.
The following are the seeded players and notable players who withdrew from the event. Seedings based on ATP and WTA rankings as of 16 June 2008. Rankings and points before are as of 23 June 2008.
The Men's singles seeds is arranged on a surface-based system to reflect more accurately the individual player's grass court achievement as per the following formula:
| Seed | Rank | Player | Points before | Points defending | Points won | Points after | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Roger Federer | 6,900 | 1,000 | 700 | 6,600 | Runner-up, lost toRafael Nadal [2] |
| 2 | 2 | Rafael Nadal | 5,755 | 700 | 1,000 | 6,055 | Champion, defeatedRoger Federer [1] |
| 3 | 3 | Novak Djokovic | 5,360 | 450 | 35 | 4,945 | Second round lost to Marat Safin |
| 4 | 4 | Nikolay Davydenko | 3,115 | 150 | 5 | 2,970 | First round lost to Benjamin Becker |
| 5 | 5 | David Ferrer | 3,005 | 35 | 75 | 3,045 | Third round lost to Mario Ančić |
| 6 | 6 | Andy Roddick | 2,280 | 250 | 35 | 2,065 | Second round lost toJanko Tipsarević |
| 7 | 7 |  David Nalbandian | 2,100 | 75 | 5 | 2,030 | First round lost toFrank Dancevic |
| 8 | 10 | Richard Gasquet | 1,610 | 450 | 150 | 1,310 | Fourth round lost toAndy Murray [12] |
| 9 | 8 | James Blake | 2,015 | 75 | 35 | 1,975 | Second round lost toRainer Schüttler |
| 10 | 25 |  Marcos Baghdatis | 1,090 | 250 | 150 | 990 | Fourth round lost toFeliciano López [31] |
| 11 | 20 | Tomáš Berdych | 1,290 | 450 | 75 | 915 | Third round lost toFernando Verdasco [22] |
| 12 | 11 | Andy Murray | 1,555 | 0 | 250 | 1,805 | Quarter-finals lost toRafael Nadal [2] |
| 13 | 9 | Stan Wawrinka | 1,615 | 5 | 150 | 1,760 | Fourth round lost toMarat Safin |
| 14 | 16 | Paul-Henri Mathieu | 1,345 | 150 | 75 | 1,270 | Third round lost toMarin Čilić |
| 15 | 14 |  Fernando González | 1,405 | 75 | 35 | 1,365 | Second round lost to Simone Bolelli |
| 16 | 15 | Radek Štěpánek | 1,360 | 5 | 75 | 1,430 | Third round lost toMikhail Youzhny [17] |
| 17 | 17 | Mikhail Youzhny | 1,305 | 150 | 150 | 1,305 | Fourth round lost toRafael Nadal [2] |
| 18 | 22 | Ivo Karlović | 1,220 | 5 | 5 | 1,220 | First round lost toSimon Stadler [Q] |
| 19 | 12 | Nicolás Almagro | 1,485 | 5 | 35 | 1,515 | Second round lost toGuillermo García López |
| 20 | 27 | Lleyton Hewitt | 1,050 | 150 | 150 | 1,050 | Fourth round lost toRoger Federer [1] |
| 21 | 23 | Juan Carlos Ferrero | 1,135 | 250 | 35 | 920 | Second round retired againstMischa Zverev |
| 22 | 18 | Fernando Verdasco | 1,300 | 75 | 150 | 1,375 | Fourth round lost toMario Ančić |
| 23 | 19 | Tommy Robredo | 1,300 | 35 | 35 | 1,300 | Second round lost toTommy Haas |
| 24 | 28 | Jarkko Nieminen | 1,050 | 75 | 35 | 1,010 | Second round lost toMarin Čilić |
| 25 | 33 | Dmitry Tursunov | 968 | 75 | 75 | 968 | Third round lost toJanko Tipsarević |
| 26 | 31 | Ivan Ljubičić | 980 | 75 | 5 | 910 | First round lost to Jürgen Melzer |
| 27 | 32 | Nicolas Kiefer | 970 | 75 | 75 | 970 | Third round lost toRafael Nadal [2] |
| 28 | 29 | Gilles Simon | 1,030 | 35 | 75 | 1,070 | Third round lost toRichard Gasquet [8] |
| 29 | 30 | Andreas Seppi | 1,015 | 35 | 35 | 1,015 | Third round lost toMarat Safin |
| Gaël Monfils | 1,053 | 75 | 0 | 978 | Withdrew due to shoulder injury[40] | ||
| 31 | 35 | Feliciano López | 950 | 75 | 250 | 1,125 | Quarter-finals lost toMarat Safin |
| 32 | 34 | Michaël Llodra | 951 | 35 | 5 | 921 | First round lost toMario Ančić |
The following players would have been seeded, but they withdrew from the event.
| Rank | Player | Points before | Points defending | Points after | Withdrawal reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 1,415 | 150 | 1,265 | Knee injury[41] |
| 21 | Juan Mónaco | 1,245 | 5 | 1,240 | Back injury[40] |
| 24 | Carlos Moyá | 1,095 | 5 | 1,090 | Shoulder injury[40] |
| Seed | Rank | Player | Points before | Points defending | Points won | Points after | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ana Ivanovic | 4,188 | 450 | 90 | 3,828 | Third round lost to Zheng Jie [WC] |
| 2 | 3 | Jelena Janković | 3,685 | 140 | 140 | 3,685 | Fourth round lost toTamarine Tanasugarn |
| 3 | 2 | Maria Sharapova | 3,706 | 140 | 60 | 3,646 | Second round lost toAlla Kudryavtseva |
| 4 | 4 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | 3,565 | 450 | 140 | 3,255 | Fourth round lost to Agnieszka Radwańska [14] |
| 5 | 5 | Elena Dementieva | 2,745 | 90 | 450 | 3,105 | Semi-finals lost toVenus Williams [7] |
| 6 | 6 | Serena Williams | 2,676 | 250 | 700 | 3,126 | Runner-up, lost toVenus Williams [7] |
| 7 | 7 | Venus Williams | 2,606 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 2,606 | Champion, defeatedSerena Williams [6] |
| 8 | 8 | Anna Chakvetadze | 2,436 | 90 | 140 | 2,486 | Fourth round lost toNicole Vaidišová [18] |
| 9 | 9 | Dinara Safina | 2,257 | 60 | 90 | 2,287 | Third round lost to Shahar Pe'er [24] |
| 10 | 12 |  Daniela Hantuchová | 2,007 | 140 | 60 | 1,927 | Second round lost toAlisa Kleybanova |
| 11 | 10 | Marion Bartoli | 2,030 | 700 | 90 | 1,420 | Third round lost toBethanie Mattek |
| 12 | 13 | Patty Schnyder | 1,940 | 140 | 2 | 1,802 | First round lost toCasey Dellacqua |
| 13 | 14 | Vera Zvonareva | 1,912 | 0 | 60 | 1,972 | Second round lost toTamarine Tanasugarn |
| 14 | 11 | Agnieszka Radwańska | 2,011 | 90 | 250 | 2,171 | Quarter-finals lost toSerena Williams [6] |
| 15 | 15 |  Ágnes Szávay | 1,645 | 91 | 140 | 1,694 | Fourth round lost toZheng Jie [WC] |
| 16 | 16 |  Victoria Azarenka | 1,386 | 90 | 90 | 1,386 | Third round lost toNadia Petrova [21] |
| 17 | 17 | Alizé Cornet | 1,248 | 60 | 2 | 1,190 | First round lost toAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova [Q] |
| 18 | 22 | Nicole Vaidišová | 1,153 | 250 | 250 | 1,153 | Quarter-finals lost toZheng Jie [WC] |
| 19 | 19 | Maria Kirilenko | 1,208 | 2 | 2 | 1,208 | First round lost toVera Dushevina |
| 20 | 20 | Francesca Schiavone | 1,201 | 60 | 60 | 1,201 | Second round lost toAnabel Medina Garrigues |
| 21 | 18 | Nadia Petrova | 1,211 | 140 | 250 | 1,321 | Quarter-finals lost toElena Dementieva [5] |
| 22 | 23 | Flavia Pennetta | 1,122 | 2 | 60 | 1,180 | Second round lost to Ai Sugiyama |
| 23 | 24 | Katarina Srebotnik | 1,110 | 90 | 2 | 1,022 | First round lost toJulia Görges |
| 24 | 26 | Shahar Pe'er | 1,027 | 90 | 140 | 1,077 | Fourth round lost toElena Dementieva [5] |
| 25 | 25 | Lindsay Davenport | 1,055 | 0 | 60 | 1,115 | Second round withdrew due to knee injury |
| 26 | 29 | Sybille Bammer | 977 | 60 | 60 | 977 | Second round lost toPeng Shuai |
| 27 | 28 | Virginie Razzano | 1,015 | 2 | 2 | 1,015 | First round lost toEvgeniya Rodina |
| 28 | 27 |  Alona Bondarenko | 1,018 | 90 | 60 | 988 | Second round retired againstBarbora Záhlavová-Strýcová [Q] |
| 29 | 33 | Amélie Mauresmo | 832 | 140 | 90 | 782 | Third round lost toSerena Williams [6] |
| 30 | 31 | Dominika Cibulková | 902 | (20)† | 2 | 884 | First round lost toZheng Jie [WC] |
| 31 | 30 |  Caroline Wozniacki | 932 | 60 | 90 | 962 | Third round lost toJelena Janković [2] |
| 32 | 32 |  Sania Mirza | 867 | 60 | 60 | 867 | Second round lost toMaría José Martínez Sánchez [Q] |
† The player did not qualify for the tournament in 2007. Accordingly, points for her 16th best result are deducted instead.
The following player would have been seeded, but she withdrew from the event.
| Rank | Player | Points before | Points defending | Points after | Withdrawal reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Tatiana Golovin | 1,160 | 60 | 1,100 | Back injury[40] |
The following players receivedwild cards into the main draw senior events.[42]
Men's singles | Women's singles
|
Mixed doubles
James Auckland /Elena BaltachaAlex Bogdanovic /Melanie SouthRichard Bloomfield /Sarah BorwellJamie Delgado /Katie O'BrienRoss Hutchins /Anne KeothavongMen's doubles[edit]Men's doubles qualifiers
Lucky losers | Women's doubles[edit]Women's doubles qualifiers
Lucky losers
|
The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries, suspensions or personal reasons.
|
|
| Preceded by | Grand Slams | Succeeded by |
