WIMBLEDON 2011: The return of the Williams sisters

Venus Williams, Champion of Wimbledon in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008


Serena Williams Champion of Wimbledon in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010

All eyes will be on the mercurial Williams sisters, Serena and Venus when the grass-court Wimbledon Grand Slam 2011 tournament begins Monday, 20 June 2011.

These 2 sisters have an astonishing 20 Grand Slam singles titles between them.

They faced each other 8 times in Grand Slam women singles finals, including 4 times in the Wimbledon finals with Serena winning 6 times and Venus winning 2 times.

Serena and Venus have won the Wimbledon titles a record 9 times in the past 11 years with Venus winning 5 times and Serena winning 4 times.

That unprecedented achievement made Wimbledon looks like their second home, their own backyard playground as well as favourite hunting ground for more success in the women tennis world.

For Serena, 29, the younger of the Williams sisters, it will be her first Grand Slam tournament this year 2011 and only the second event—since she took home a second consecutive title from the All England Club in July 2010.

Her nearly yearlong absence resulted from a series of health issues, including two foot operations and blood clots in her lungs, that she said left her depressed and “on my deathbed.”

The long absence also dropped her world ranking from world no.1 to world no 26 as of today.

Serena holds 27 Grand Slam titles, which include 13 Grand Slam singles titles, 12 in the women doubles, all the time partnering sister Venus and 2 in the mixed doubles.

She completed the career Grand Slam or better known as Serena Slam in 2002 and January 2003 when she won the 2002 French Open, Wimbledon and US Open Title as well as the 2003 Australian Open title, each time she beat her sister, Venus in the finals..!!! What an achievement!!

All in all, in singles, Serena won the Australian Open 5 times, the Wimbledon 4 times, the US Open 3 times and the French Open, 1 time, the sole victoy came in 2002.

Venus, 31 and curently world number 33, meanwhile, was sidelined by a hip injury from January 2011 until June 2011.

She has 21 Grand Slam titles which consist of 7 in singles, 12 in women's doubles, partering younger sister Serena and 2 in mixed doubles.

Her 7 Grand Slam singles titles include 5 Wimbledon titles and 2 US Open titles. Venus has never won the French Open and Australian Open.

So, can we see a repeat of the Serena vs Venus in the 2011 Wimbledon final?

Other interesting facts at the 2011 Wimbledon.


Can 6 time Wimbledon champions Roger Federer make a real run at a seventh Wimbledon title?


Can 2 times Wimbledon champions and 6 times French Open champions, Rafael Nadal extend his recent excellence to 5 titles in a span of 6 Grand Slam tournaments?



Can Novak Djokovic recover from the end of his 43-match winning streak in 2011 to win a major title other than the 2 Australian Open titles in 2008 and 2011?


Can Britain's Andy Murray finally—and mercifully—put an end to the locals’ 75-year wait for a British male champion at the All England Club?



Can world No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki win her first Grand Slam title?



Could China’s Li Na win her second Grand Slam singles titles in a row after her surprise 2011 French Open title?



Will the Russian beauty Maria Sharapova end her 3 1/2 -year major drought to win a 4th Grand Slam title? Sharapova won the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open.

My guess is as good as your guess. Thanks for reading and Cheers!!

Its Hot yet its Cold..!! Global warming???

Global warming and Green House effect?

Could that be the reasons for the extreme weather conditions that are now creating havoc in the northern and southern hemisphere?

In the northern hemisphere continents such as USA, Canada and Europe – the weather is extremely cold.

In contrast, it is now terribly hot in the southern hemisphere, for instance Australia….

In the US, at least 23 deaths were reported as a result of a destructive winter storm and the extreme cold, with temperatures dropping to record lows in parts from Minnesota to Vermont.

Some places recorded temperature as low as minus 48 degree Fahrenheit (minus 44 Celsius)...!!!

A glaze of ice and snow caused widespread power failures from the southern and central United States to the East Coast.

Authorities said it could be a week before some communities have electricity again.

Air travelers hunkered down as airports in much of the central and eastern
United States announced flight cancellations or delays.

Tree limbs encased in ice tumbled onto roads and crashed onto power lines
in hard-hit Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma on Tuesday and overnight.

In Arkansas -- where ice was 3 inches (nearly 8 centimeters) thick in some places, people huddled next to portable heaters and wood-burning fires as utilities warned electricity may be out for a week or more.

Northwest Arkansas has been hit hard, all schools and universities were closed throughout state.
In Michigan, a man found in the snow Monday became the eighth person in 9 days to be found dead in that state.

Thomas Pauli, 52, was discovered at an auto salvage business in Grand Rapids.

In Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, more than 300,000 homes and businesses were in the dark as ice and snow coated parts of the states.

In Arkansas, about 300,000 customers lacked power Wednesday morning.

At least 470,000 were in the dark in Kentucky.

That’s pretty cold right.

However in the southern hemisphere, it is totally the opposite.

Australia for instance recorded the highest temperature in a century, up to 43 degree Celsius...!!

Among the most badly affected were the world top tennis players currently taking part in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year – The 2009 Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Serena Williams of the US may have escaped the extreme cold in her country, but she was caught in the sweltering heat in Melbourne.

Serena - a 3 time Australian Open champion and chasing her 10th Grand Slam singles titles, nonetheless reached the final after beating, Elena Dementieva, 6-3, 6-4 today.

In the final, Serena will face Russia’s Dinara Safina who beat another Russian, Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 7-6 in the other semi final.

Despite her fine run so far, Serena, like many other players, complained about the extreme heat – which is bad for any outdoor sports.

"Before they closed the roof I was having an out-of-body experience, it was so hot. I felt I was watching someone play in a blue dress, and it wasn't me, because it was so hot out there." She said after beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter final.

“Yeah, absolutely. It was really, really hot today. And, uhmmm, it was really hot today.” She bemoans again after beating Dementieva in the semi final.

A beaten Elena Dementieva gives thanks for the Rod Laver Arena roof as temperatures soar past 40C in Melbourne. “We couldn't survive outside in this temperature."

"It was hot for everyone, you know. They were ready to die, not to survive a day like that." Dementieva expresses her sympathy for the moths which plagued the exposed Rod Laver Arena

"If you tell me now, I will go to the fridge. I will put myself in for few days." Spain’s 15th seed player Fernando Verdasco plans a new way to cope with the Melbourne heat.

Ok, hot or cold – I wish Roger Federer or Fedex good luck…

Please win your 4th Australian Open Titles and 14 Grand Slam singles titles overall – to equal Pete Sampras record......

Federer advanced to the final of the 2009 Australian Open with a straight sets win over Andy Roddick 6-2 7-5 7-5.

Go Federer Go… I hate Nadal…..!!!!!!!!! sorry Nadal fans out there... no hard feelings...