Adieu Amelie

Former world no. 1 Amelie Mauresmo announced today that she would be retiring from professional tennis. Suffice it to say, it wasn't totally unexpectedly, but it's still incredibly sad to lose a player with so much class and grace both on and off the court.

“I don’t want to train anymore. [...] I had to make a decision, which became evident in the last few months and weeks. When you grew older, it’s more difficult to stay at the top. [...] It’s a bit sad, but this is the right decision. I was lucky enough to have an exceptional career and to experience very strong feelings on the court. [...] I dreamt of this career, I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam title. I lifted trophies in every city in the world and I lived 10 magical and unbelievable years."

The two-time Grand Slam champion finished 2009 ranked #21. She amassed 25 titles in her career including the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, both over Justine Henin in the finals, to claim her two major wins. The final match of her career took place at this year's US Open when she lost in the second round to Alksandra Wozniak 4-6, 0-6. I was fortunate enough to see Mauresmo's final match win in the first round at this year's US Open. She will be sorely missed.

Wimbledon: Women's Second Week Preview

Dinara Safina [1] vs. Amelie Mauresmo [17]
Caroline Wozniacki [9] vs. Sabine Lisicki
Venus Williams [3] vs. Ana Ivanovic [13]
Agnieszka Radwanska [11] vs. Melanie Oudin

Virginie Razzano [26] vs. Francesca Schiavone
Elena Dementieva [4] vs. Elena Vesnina
Victoria Azarenka [8] vs. Nadia Petrova [10]
Serena Williams [2] vs. Daniela Hantuchova

Going into the second week, all eyes are on the Williams sisters who were and still are the favorites to meet in the finals. The defending champion Venus will have to get through Ana Ivanovic while her sister Serena will meet up with Daniela Hantuchova as a rematch of their infamous match two years ago with Serena cramping on court.

Number one seed Dinara Safina has done well to reach this far, but this is admittedly her least favorite surface. She has to get through former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo if she wants to claim that maiden Slam title.

It'll be interesting to see how the battle of the Elenas turn out, but what will be more interesting to watch is how far Melanie Oudin can continue her Cinderella run at Wimbledon. Even if she is defeated by Agnieska Radwanska, it would have been a terrific tournament for her.

Prediction: I'm still betting on an all-Williams final, but their semifinal opponents which I initially predicted (Kuznetsova and Zvonareva) are out of the tournament. So instead I expect Venus to face Mauresmo while Dementieva will try to go up against Serena.