Half-term marks from SW19

As Wimbledon enters week two, Paul Newman grades the main contenders and wraps up the other key moments so far

Kings and Queens of the comeback

Juan Martin del Potro (out for a year with a wrist injury), Mardy Fish (who had a recent heart problem) and Kim Clijsters (how long have you got?) have all reached the fourth round after overcoming major physical issues, but Brian Baker and Mirjana Lucic, in very contrasting ways, were the comeback stories of the first week.

Baker, who made his first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament for seven years at the recent French Open, was playing in the Middle Tennessee Tennis League last summer after five years out of the sport and a succession of injuries, which required five operations. Now, after coming through qualifying to take his place in the main draw at Wimbledon for the first time, he is through to the last 16.

Lucic, having beaten the former Wimbledon finalist and world No 9 Marion Bartoli in the second round, subsequently lost to Roberta Vinci, but the 30-year-old Croat's return is a remarkable story. A Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1999, she did not play a Grand Slam tournament for eight years after fleeing an abusive father and suffering personal and financial turmoil.

Highlight of the week: Shvedova's 'golden set'

Lukas Rosol's all-or-nothing shot-making as he beat Rafael Nadal was breathtaking to watch. Judging by all his previous form and his subsequent straight-sets defeat by Philipp Kohlschreiber, it was surely a once-in-a-lifetime performance.

Camila Giorgi, a 20-year-old Italian qualifier ranked No 145 in the world, is through to the last 16 after knocking out two seeds, Flavia Pennetta and Nadia Petrova, but the women's performance of the first week had to be Yaroslava Shvedova's "golden set", in which she won all 24 points against Sara Errani.

Only one other player – Bill Scanlon against Marcos Hocevar at Delray Beach in 1983 – has performed that feat in the Open era. Shvedova also broke her own record for the number of consecutive points won in a match by a woman. Six years ago she won the first 23 points against Amy Frazier in Memphis. On that occasion, incredibly, Shvedova went on to lose 1-6, 6-0, 6-0. This time she won 6-0, 6-4 to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time.

A pat on the back, too, for Andrew Jarrett, the referee. The All England Club took some stick for closing the roof all day on Friday, when the predicted bad weather never actually arrived, but Jarrett has played a blinder in getting all third-round matches completed in the first week.

On the way up...

As physical strength continues to prove more important than ever it becomes harder for young players to make a breakthrough. The days of 17-year-olds like Boris Becker and Maria Sharapova winning Wimbledon are surely gone.

David Goffin, a 21-year-old Belgian who looks more like a 12-year-old just out of a PE lesson, built on his French Open run to reach the third round, while Sloane Stephens gave the US hope of life after the Williamses.

Britain's young women also gave a good account of themselves, especially Heather Watson and Johanna Konta. Watson (left) became the first home female player to win on Centre Court for 27 years, while Konta, in her first Wimbledon, almost knocked out the No 28 seed, Christina McHale. Konta received British citizenship this year, having been born and raised in Australia until she was 14, and looks to have a big future.

...and on the way down

Might the Championships have seen the last of two favourites of SW19 in Venus Williams and Andy Roddick? Williams, fighting an incurable auto-immune disease, looked a shadow of her former self in going out in the first round, while Roddick, his form dragged down by injuries, may be starting to wonder how much longer he wants to be an also-ran. Was that a farewell kiss to the crowd after he lost to David Ferrer on Saturday?

Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic, two former world No 1s, continued their slides with first-round exits. However, there has been no greater fall than that of Australian tennis. Exactly 50 years after Rod Laver won his first Grand Slam, beating fellow Aussies in all four finals, not one Aussie man won a singles match here. Sam Stosur, who was knocked out in round two, was the only Aussie woman to win a match.

Wimbledon: Week one in figures

23.02: The time that Andy Murray's match against Marcos Baghdatis ended – the latest finish for a match at Wimbledon

5:31 hrs: Marin Cilic beat Sam Querrey in five hours and 31 minutes, the second longest match in the tournament's history

1: Yaroslava Shvedova: the first to win a set without losing a point

75: Aces hit by Nicolas Almagro, more than any other player

120: The speed (in mph) of the fastest women's serve – by Sabine Lisicki

0: No one left in Murray's half of the draw has reached the final