 Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 02 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |  Photographer: Susan Mullane
Date: 03 Jul 2008 |
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| 03 Jul 2008 - Wimbledon - Eleanor Preston | |
| Rain man Dimitrov wins at Wimbledon |
Grigor Dimitrov might come from Bulgaria but that does not stop the 17-year-old from feeling at home at Wimbledon. “So far it suits me and it’s not bad,” said Dimitrov, who beat Mexico’s Cesar Ramirez 63 75 to earn a place in the semifinals of the boys’ Championships. “I love the British weather. It’s been windy and rainy and that’s my favourite. I like it especially when it’s raining and it’s all dark. Yesterday I went on court and off three times because of the rain but if you are focused it is not a problem. They should call me the rain man.”
Dimitrov plays Filip Krajinovic of Serbia in the last four at Wimbledon and knows that he will have to improve again to beat Krajinovic. “I’ve been trying to do my basic game but I will need to pull off something special to beat Filip. The guy that I am playing against is really talented and I have to find the best way to beat him easy, otherwise I will have to find another way. I think I have a good chance.”
Finland’s Henri Kontinen will take on top seeded Australian Bernard Tomic in the other boys’ semifinal on Friday. Kontinen is a member of the ITF/Grand Slam Touring Team and says he owes his success to the support he gets from tennis’s governing body. “It makes a big difference,” said Kontinen. “It’s been a great help and support and the results show how much support they give us. When team-mates are playing I will go and support them if I can and they will do the same for me. We are really close together.”
Kontinen beat Australia’s Dane Propoggia to set up his meeting with Tomic, who beat Henrique Cuhna of Brazil in the other boys’ quarterfinal. “I’m not surprised I’ve done well on grass. I played aggressive tennis, I like coming forward to the net so it seems to suit this surface. I’m learning a lot here. It’s a new experience playing on grass. The movement is different and your serve and volley game definitely develops during these weeks. I’m volleying a lot more than before. It’s tradition in Finland to watch all the grand slams and, for me, Wimbledon is the best one. It’s the only grass-court grand slam. It has so many traditions and everyone respects this as the biggest grand slam. It’s an honour to be playing here in the semifinals.”
In the girls’ semifinals, 14-year-old British wildcard Laura Robson continued to impress with a 75 64 quarterfinal win over ninth seed Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia and will get even more attention at her home grand slam if she beats Romana Tabakova of Slovakia in the semifinals. Third seeded Thai Noppawan Lertcheewakarn saw off the other Briton in the quarters, Naomi Broady, with a 67 63 64 victory and will play Tamaryn Hendler after the Belgian scored the upset of the day by ending the title dreams of the Netherlands’ Aranxa Rus, who was seeded two.
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