2008 Wimbledon Championships


The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in England. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from 23 June to 6 July 2008. It was the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year.
Spanish player Rafael Nadal won the first Wimbledon title of his career; the first Grand Slam tournament he had won other than the French Open. Nadal defeated five-time defending champion Roger Federer in the final in what many regard as the greatest tennis match of all time. In the women's singles, Venus Williams claimed her fifth title, and first win over her sister Serena in a Wimbledon final. The performances of Britons Andy Murray in the men's singles and Laura 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, in time for the 2008 Championships. The retractable section of the new roof was completed for the 2009 Championships.

Point and prize money distribution

Point distribution

Below are the tables with the point distribution for each discipline of the tournament.

Senior points

Prize distribution

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.
EventRound of 16Round of 32Round of 64Round of 128
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
Mixed Doubles*£92,000£46,000£23,000£10,500£5,200£2,600£1,300
*£6,750£3,750
Invitation Doubles£17,000£14,000

* per team

Champions

Seniors

Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal def. Roger Federer, 6–4, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7
Venus Williams def. Serena Williams, 7–5, 6–4
Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjić def. Jonas Björkman / Kevin Ullyett, 7–6, 6–7, 6–3, 6–3

Women's Doubles

Serena Williams / Venus Williams def. Lisa Raymond / Samantha Stosur, 6–2, 6–2

Mixed Doubles

Bob Bryan / Samantha Stosur def. Mike Bryan / Katarina Srebotnik, 7–5, 6–4

Juniors

Boys' Singles

Grigor Dimitrov def. Henri Kontinen, 7–5, 6–3

Girls' Singles

Laura Robson def. Noppawan Lertcheewakarn, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1

Boys' Doubles

Hsieh Cheng-peng / Yang Tsung-hua def. Matt Reid / Bernard Tomic, 6–4, 2–6, 12–10

Girls' Doubles

Polona Hercog / Jessica Moore def. Isabella Holland / Sally Peers, 6–3, 1–6, 6–2

Other events

Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles

Donald Johnson / Jared Palmer def. Jacco Eltingh / Paul Haarhuis, walkover

Ladies' Invitation Doubles

Jana Novotná / Kathy Rinaldi def. Martina Navratilova / Helena Suková, 5–7, 6–3,

Senior Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles

Ken Flach / Robert Seguso def. Jeremy Bates / Anders Järryd, 7–6, 6–7,

Wheelchair Men's Doubles

Robin Ammerlaan / Ronald Vink def. Stéphane Houdet / Nicolas Peifer, 6–7, 6–1, 6–3

Notable stories

Betting scandal

There were allegations in a dossier that several matches, including eight at Wimbledon, were under suspicion of being fixed by professional gambling syndicates after bookmakers noted unexpected spikes in betting patterns. The dossier, released on the Sunday prior to the first day of play, had been commissioned by the Association of Tennis Professionals, Women's Tennis Association, International Tennis Federation, 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 , 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." 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. Match fixing became a prominent issue in the media after the 2007 Orange Prokom Open, where the then World No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko came under suspicion of colluding with gamblers, and gambling company Betfair took the unprecedented step of voiding all bets on a match of his with Martín Vassallo Argüello.

Pigeon killing controversy

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, the sport club that plays host to the Championships, came under fire from animal activists for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons. The marksmen were ordered to use hawks to scare them away, but when some failed to do so, the marksmen killed them, which led to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals group releasing a statement admonishing the practice and subsequently, referring to the Animal Welfare Act 2006, contacting the Metropolitan Police.
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. The marksmen were hired by the All England Club and, armed with rifles, 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." 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. 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. A swarm of bees descended upon the area surrounding the All England Club; this caused the clearing out of the players' lawn and a temporary cessation of some interviews. 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, whilst others claimed that a similar resolution to the pigeon problem was sought, with the bees being professionally exterminated.
, in her first round juniors match against Alexa Guarachi

British performance

The British public were treated to some palpable success, as London-based Laura Robson became the first British girl to win the Girls' juniors competition since Annabel Croft in 1984. 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. She garnered considerable media attention; with a large crowd gathered to watch both her semi-final and final matches, the latter of which was on No. 1 Court, she called it an "overwhelming experience." British-based gambling company Ladbrokes slashed her odds of winning Wimbledon before 2020 from 50/1 to 20/1.
In the seniors, 2007 mixed doubles champion Jamie Murray could not replicate his triumph of the previous year with new partner Liezel Huber, after his 2007 partner Jelena Janković opted not to play in order to concentrate on the singles competition. Murray and Huber reached the semi-finals where they were knocked out by Bob Bryan and Samantha Stosur.
In the seniors singles competition, the most significant impact was made by Scottish player Andy Murray, when he became the first British player to reach the quarter-finals since Tim Henman in 2004. Murray, often castigated in the British media for his surly manner, won the crowd's affections with his five-set victory over Richard Gasquet. 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 native Scotland.
Chris Eaton from Surrey, the ATP No. 661, successfully began his campaign in qualifying, and then caused a major surprise by beating ATP No. 114 Boris Pašanski in the first round. 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.

A tournament of upsets and surprises

The men's side of the draw was notable for the performances of Marat Safin and Rainer Schüttler, ranked 75th and 94th respectively on entering the tournament. Safin caused an upset in the second round when he defeated Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets, on the way to his first ever Wimbledon semi-final, where he lost to Roger 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, where he was defeated in straight sets by the eventual champion Rafael Nadal. Schüttler had earlier defeated Arnaud Clément in an epic quarter-final that lasted two days.
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 and Svetlana Kuznetsova—all failed to reach the quarter-finals. Maria Sharapova suffered her earliest exit at Wimbledon when she lost to Alla Kudryavtseva in the second round; this was also her earliest exit at a Grand Slam since the 2003 US Open. Recent French Open champion and newly crowned World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic was stunned in the third round by Chinese wild card entrant and World No. 133 Zheng Jie. This was the earliest exit by a top seed at Wimbledon since Martina Hingis lost in the first round in 2001, 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 by Tamarine Tanasugarn and Agnieszka Radwańska, respectively. This was the first time since seedings began at Wimbledon in 1927 that none of the top four seeds managed to advance past the fourth round. Zheng Jie became the second Chinese player to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, and the first wild card entry ever to reach the semi-finals, where she was defeated by eventual runner-up Serena Williams. Meanwhile Tanasugarn reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final by virtue of her victory over Janković, losing to the eventual champion Venus Williams.

Singles players

;Men's Singles
;Women's Singles

Day by day

Singles seeds

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.

Men's Singles">2008 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Singles">Men's Singles

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:
SeedRankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingPoints wonPoints afterStatus
11 Roger Federer6,9001,0007006,600Runner-up, lost to Rafael Nadal
22 Rafael Nadal5,7557001,0006,055Champion, defeated Roger Federer
33 Novak Djokovic5,360450354,945Second round lost to Marat Safin
44 Nikolay Davydenko3,11515052,970First round lost to Benjamin Becker
55 David Ferrer3,00535753,045Third round lost to Mario Ančić
66 Andy Roddick2,280250352,065Second round lost to Janko Tipsarević
77 David Nalbandian2,1007552,030First round lost to Frank Dancevic
810 Richard Gasquet1,6104501501,310Fourth round lost to Andy Murray
98 James Blake2,01575351,975Second round lost to Rainer Schüttler
1025 Marcos Baghdatis1,090250150990Fourth round lost to Feliciano López
1120 Tomáš Berdych1,29045075915Third round lost to Fernando Verdasco
1211 Andy Murray1,55502501,805Quarter-finals lost to Rafael Nadal
139 Stan Wawrinka1,61551501,760Fourth round lost to Marat Safin
1416 Paul-Henri Mathieu1,345150751,270Third round lost to Marin Čilić
1514 Fernando González1,40575351,365Second round lost to Simone Bolelli
1615 Radek Štěpánek1,3605751,430Third round lost to Mikhail Youzhny
1717 Mikhail Youzhny1,3051501501,305Fourth round lost to Rafael Nadal
1822 Ivo Karlović1,220551,220First round lost to Simon Stadler
1912 Nicolás Almagro1,4855351,515Second round lost to Guillermo García López
2027 Lleyton Hewitt1,0501501501,050Fourth round lost to Roger Federer
2123 Juan Carlos Ferrero1,13525035920Second round retired against Mischa Zverev
2218 Fernando Verdasco1,300751501,375Fourth round lost to Mario Ančić
2319 Tommy Robredo1,30035351,300Second round lost to Tommy Haas
2428 Jarkko Nieminen1,05075351,010Second round lost to Marin Čilić
2533 Dmitry Tursunov9687575968Third round lost to Janko Tipsarević
2631 Ivan Ljubičić980755910First round lost to Jürgen Melzer
2732 Nicolas Kiefer9707575970Third round lost to Rafael Nadal
2829 Gilles Simon1,03035751,070Third round lost to Richard Gasquet
2930 Andreas Seppi1,01535351,015Second round lost to Marat Safin
3026 Gaël Monfils1,053750978Withdrew due to shoulder injury
3135 Feliciano López950752501,125Quarter-finals lost to Marat Safin
3234 Michaël Llodra951355921First round lost to Mario Ančić

The following players would have been seeded, but they withdrew from the event.
RankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingPoints afterWithdrawal reason
13 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga1,4151501,265Knee injury
21 Juan Mónaco1,24551,240Back injury
24 Carlos Moyá1,09551,090Shoulder injury

Women's Singles">2008 Wimbledon Championships – Women's Singles">Women's Singles

† 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.
RankPlayerPoints beforePoints defendingPoints afterWithdrawal reason
21 Tatiana Golovin1,160601,100Back injury

Main draw wild card entries

The following players received wild cards into the main draw senior events.
Men's Singles
  1. Jamie Baker
  2. Alex Bogdanovic
  3. Jérémy Chardy
  4. Xavier Malisse
Women's Singles
  1. Elena Baltacha
  2. Naomi Cavaday
  3. Katie O'Brien
  4. Urszula Radwańska
  5. Melanie South
  6. Carla Suárez Navarro
  7. Samantha Stosur
  8. Zheng Jie
Men's Doubles
  1. James Auckland / Jamie Delgado
  2. Neil Bamford / Josh Goodall
  3. Richard Bloomfield / Ken Skupski
  4. Alex Bogdanovic / Jonathan Marray
  5. Chris Eaton / Alexander Slabinsky
Women's Doubles
  1. Elena Baltacha / Naomi Cavaday
  2. Amanda Elliott / Katie O'Brien
  3. Anne Keothavong / Melanie South
  4. Anna Fitzpatrick / Anna Hawkins
  5. Sarah Borwell / Jocelyn Rae
Mixed Doubles
  1. James Auckland / Elena Baltacha
  2. Alex Bogdanovic / Melanie South
  3. Richard Bloomfield / Sarah Borwell
  4. Jamie Delgado / Katie O'Brien
  5. Ross Hutchins / Anne Keothavong

    Main draw qualifier entries

Men's Singles

Men's Singles Qualifiers
  1. Andreas Beck
  2. Christophe Rochus
  3. Frederico Gil
  4. Philipp Petzschner
  5. Kevin Kim
  6. Édouard Roger-Vasselin
  7. Izak van der Merwe
  8. Jesse Levine
  9. Pavel Šnobel
  10. Stefano Galvani
  11. Alexander Peya
  12. Jan Hernych
  13. Sergiy Stakhovsky
  14. Simon Stadler
  15. Chris Eaton
  16. Dawid Olejniczak
Lucky Losers
  1. Ilija Bozoljac
  2. Tobias Kamke

    Women's Singles

Women's Singles Qualifiers
  1. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
  2. Zuzana Ondrášková
  3. Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová
  4. Séverine Brémond
  5. María José Martínez Sánchez
  6. Viktoriya Kutuzova
  7. Maria Elena Camerin
  8. Stéphanie Foretz
  9. Magdaléna Rybáriková
  10. Rika Fujiwara
  11. Eva Hrdinová
  12. Mathilde Johansson

    Men's Doubles

Men's Doubles Qualifiers
  1. Amer Delic / Brendan Evans
  2. Frederico Gil / Dick Norman
  3. K. J. Hippensteel / Tripp Phillips
  4. Petr Pála / Igor Zelenay
Lucky Losers
  1. Johan Brunström / Adam Feeney
  2. Mikhail Elgin / Alexander Kudryavtsev
  3. Hugo Armando / Jesse Levine

    Women's Doubles

Women's Doubles Qualifiers
  1. Maria Kirilenko / Flavia Pennetta
  2. Raquel Kops-Jones / Abigail Spears
  3. Jorgelina Cravero / Betina Jozami
  4. Andrea Hlaváčková / Olga Savchuk
Lucky Losers
  1. Christina Fusano / Angela Haynes
  2. Ayumi Morita / Junri Namigata
  3. Anna Smith / Georgie Stoop

    Withdrawals

The following players were accepted directly into the main tournament, but withdrew with injuries, suspensions or personal reasons.
;Men's Singles
;Women's Singles