By Caroline Cameron

What just happened?

Two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has been ousted from Wimbledon in the second round.

World No. 100 Lukas Rosol beat the French Open champ in what is now one of the biggest upsets in the history of Wimbledon.

I remember being utterly shocked when I heard that Robin Soderling had upset Nadal in the 2009 French Open fourth round.  And although Rafa is the King of Clay, this second round upset at Wimbledon is more surprising cause it was against an unknown in the second round.

To make matters worse for Nadal, he was clearly upset throughout the match.  Rafa complained to the chair umpire that Rosol was distracting during the Spaniard’s service games.  At the end of the fourth set, it appeared that Nadal purposefully bumped Rosol as the two players passed walking to their chairs.

Regardless of what happened, this upset completely changes the tournament.  Now Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Martin Del Potro and other players on Nadal’s half of the draw have an even better chance to reach the Wimbledon finals.  Although Roger Federer is on Djokovic’s side of the draw, with Nadal out, Federer’s chances go up and so should his confidence.

Who knows what will happen next.

By Caroline Cameron

Federer used to own Wimbledon.

The last time Federer won Wimbledon was in 2009 and the 16 Grand Slam champ hasn’t won a Major since the 2010 Australian Open.   Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have dominated the Majors the past year and a half and they’ve played each other in the last four Grand Slam finals.

If Federer can find a way to win Wimbledon this year, it would be huge.  Here’s why:

1. Federer would tie Pete Sampras’ record of 7 Wimbledon titles, the most in the open era.
2. Federer would reclaim the No. 1 ranking and tie Pete Sampras for most weeks at No. 1.
3. Our heads would explode.

If Federer wants to win Wimbledon, it means he has to play better than Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.  Unfortunately, I don’t’ see that happening.

Some other thoughts:

- In the women’s game, six different women have won the past six Majors.  If Maria Sharapova can win the French Open and Wimbledon the same year, it would be great for the women’s game.  I think she’ll do it.

- Remember John Isner and Nicolas Mahut’s marathon Wimbledon match in 2010?  Well, the two could play each other in this year’s second round.  I can only imagine what they both thought when they saw the draw.

- Can the real Serena Williams please stand up?  She’s all over the place.  Either she’ll come into Wimbledon and dominate her opponents or she’ll lose early on.

- This is Kim Clijsters final Wimbledon because she is retiring after the U.S. Open.  She has hardly played this season due to injury and she’ll have a difficult first round match against Jelena Jankovic.

- Canadian Milos Raonic’s game is made for the grass courts and his game keeps improving.  Raonic has a great opportunity to get past the second round at Wimbledon, but he’ll have to beat fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the process.

Caroline Cameron

Who is excited? Cause I am and I hope you are too.

Tomorrow at 10am live on Sportsnet ONE, Thornhill native Milos Raonic will face Roger Federer in the quarterfinals in Halle.

The two have met twice before, with Federer winning both matches in Indian Wells and Madrid this year.  In both meetings, Raonic won the first set, but that was it.   At the Madrid Masters tournament this spring, Federer won 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).  It was an even closer match than the score suggests, and if a few points had gone Raonic’s way he would have beaten the 16 Grand Slam champ.

So what makes tomorrow’s match more exciting than Federer and Raonic’s previous matchups?  Simple: it’s on grass.

Federer is one of the greatest grass court players of all time and Raonic’s booming serve and powerful forehand are made for the surface.   Despite reaching the French Open semifinals, Federer hasn’t been playing his best tennis while Raonic has looked extremely comfortable early on in Halle.  If Raonic’s serve keeps working for him and he uses his serve and volley game, he can win the match.

Regardless of the outcome, I’m betting that it’s going to be a tough and close match.

By Caroline Cameron

Maria Sharapova is a star; not just in the tennis world, but in the mainstream.   And a star is exactly what the WTA needs.

With the Williams sisters on their way out, Kim Clijsters headed for retirement, and a slew of world no. 1 players in the past few years, the women’s game has suffered.

But now, Sharapova is back in the spotlight after winning a career Grand Slam with the French Open title and on Monday, she’ll regain the no. 1 ranking for the first time since 2008.

No offense to previous world no. 1 players like Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, and Dinara Safina, but the WTA must be ecstatic to have Sharapova back on top.  Serena Williams and Sharapova bring the most attention to the women’s sport.  The more Sharapova wins, the more attention the sport will get from viewers and sponsors.

According to Forbes, Sharapova is the top paid female athlete in the world and she made their most recent list of the ‘Most Powerful Celebrities’.  And remember, this was all before she regained the no. 1 ranking and won a Career Grand Slam.

But between the Canon, Motorola, and Cole Haan sponsorship deals, Sharapova has remained focused on her tennis career, which almost came to an end in 2008 when she underwent shoulder surgery.

“I never felt this happy, it’s really incredible,” Sharapova told NBC after winning the French Open.  “I’ve been through a lot in the past few years.  It certainly wasn’t the quickest comeback.”

And the comeback is far from over.  It’s an exciting summer ahead for Sharapova as she’ll be competing in her first Olympic Games and she has Wimbledon and the U.S. Open to look forward to.  The WTA can only hope that Sharapova’s winning ways continue.