Wimbledon 2012 Update: Americans Fish and Baker Out at Wimbledon
July 3, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
American qualifier Brian Baker’s run at Wimbledon 2012 ended Tuesday in the fourth round with a 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3 loss to 27th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Kohlschreiber reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. Baker was playing in Wimbledon’s main draw for the first time after being off the tour for more than five years because of a series of operations, including to his right elbow. The 126th-ranked Baker was trying to become the third American qualifier to reach the quarterfinals at the All England Club. He was ranked 458th at the start of 2012 but now will rise inside the top 100. This is a huge accomplishment to raise over 300 spots.
France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won a one-set deficit and several rain delays to beat American Mardy Fish 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 Tuesday and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Tsonga lost the first set before the match was suspended on Monday, and it was halted twice more because of rain after it was resumed. This was the last time with the fifth-seeded Frenchman leading 4-2 in the fourth set. Tsonga left the court briefly after the second set to get treatment on his back, but returned to break Fish in the next game. He was in extreme control after that, and served out the match with an ace. Fish was playing in his first tournament since having a procedure on his heart in late May and was trying to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second year in a row. Unfortunately he failed to do so.
“I played well enough to win,” said Fish. “I would have beaten a lot of players today. He’s one of the best players in the world on this surface and one of the best players in the world, period. I was certainly satisfied with the way I competed and the way I played. He didn’t play as well yesterday as he did today. I played better yesterday than I did today maybe. So who knows what happens if there’s not a rain delay.”
