Centre Court

Tennis meted out in installments continued at Wimbledon on Friday at a miserly pace. The day's two men's semifinals were not completed, forcing the now-familiar pattern of this rainy tournament. The heavens opened and drenched Centre Court, interrupting the opening match between 13th-seeded Todd Martin and unseeded MaliVai Washington. The two Americans managed to wedge in four sets before play was halted about 7:30 p.m., when officials anticipated yet another rain front.

Reporting from Wimbledon, England Maria Sharapova won the first of her three major championships at Wimbledon in 2004. She was 17 years old, she stunned Serena Williams , 6-1, 6-4, in the final, and it seemed as if the teenager who pounded the ball consistently and was full of confidence would collect Grand Slam titles routinely. Sharapova is 24 now. She also owns a U.S. Open title and an Australian Open title, but the Russian has not won a major since she had shoulder surgery in 2008.

Mildew is beginning to be a problem. Sheets of rain delayed play for six hours Wednesday at Wimbledon and nearly postponed every match for the first time in five years. The dampness permeated even the spirits of long-suffering fans who took refuge under any overhang and decamped in any available stairwell. Only two of 52 scheduled matches took place, causing a scheduling headache for officials.

Almost 200 minutes into one of those Wimbledon matches that meander toward darkness and feature raucous patrons who just might have had, you know, a sip, the Thousand Oaks tower prepared to serve at 4-5 in a fifth set. Sam Querrey walked along behind the baseline holding tennis balls while the Centre Court fans finished doing the globally deathless scourge known as "The Wave," their joy swelling when some dignitaries in the Royal Box joined in.

Today's featured matches Centre Court (beginning at 5 a.m. PDT): Top-seeded Rafael Nadal, the defending champion, faces 33-year-old American veteran Michael Russell; 2010 French Open champion Francesca Schiavone, seeded sixth, takes on Jelena Dokic; Britain's great hope Andy Murray, seeded No. 4, plays Daniel Gimeno-Traver. Court 1 (5 a.m.): 20-year-old American Alison Riske plays 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva, seeded No. 2 this year; in the third match, Andreas Beck faces eighth-seeded Andy Roddick.

Featured matches Centre Court Beginning 5 a.m. PDT Roger Federer vs. Jurgen Melzer; Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova; Sam Querrey vs. Andy Murray Court 1 Beginning 5 a.m. PDT Kim Clijsters vs. Justine Henin; Novak Djokovic vs. Lleyton Hewitt; Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. Rafael Nadal. Court 2 Beginning 4 a.m. PDT Venus Williams vs. Jarmila Groth; Caroline Wozniacki vs. Petra Kvitova; Yen-Hsun Lu vs. Andy Roddick.

Looks like it's a week for tennis upsets. Roger Federer was defeated by Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Centre Court in the Wimbledon quarterfinals , just two days after Serena and Venus Williams were knocked off the court by less experienced opponents. If Rafael Nadal goes down in the semifinals, it'll officially become the year of the upstarts. Is there some sort of underdog effect going on? It sure seems like it, though as I blogged earlier this week, studies show that front-runners are usually more motivated to win. That intuitively makes sense: They have more to lose than their opponents.

Centre Court: Martina Navratilova (1), Fort Worth, Texas vs. Amanda Dingwell, Australia. Guillermo Vilas (15), Argentina vs. Pat Cash, Australia. Pam Shriver (5), Lutherville, Md. vs. Betsy Nagelsen, Kapalua Bay, Hawaii. Court No. 1: Mary Joe Fernandez, Miami vs. Chris Evert Lloyd (2), Boca Raton, Fla. Ivan Lendl (1), Czechoslovakia vs. Leonardo Lavalle, Mexico. Jimmy Connors (3), Sanibel Harbor, Fla. vs. Robert Seguso, Prarie Oaks, Fla. Court No. 2: Tim Mayotte (10), Bradenton, Fla. vs.

Two big changes are coming to Wimbledon, one this year, one in 2019. Tournament organizers announced Tuesday that this year's men's and women's singles champions will each receive $2.4 million, a significant increase over the $1.75 million last year's winners, Roger Federer and Serena Williams, received. Prize money will increase for all players in all categories. Also, it was announced that a retractable roof will be built over Court No. 1 in an attempt to avoid rain delays.