LONDON - Federer has left Nike. Nine of the top 10 women’s seeds took flight in the first week of the tournament. So have seven of last’s year’s eight semifinalists. And ailing Andy Murray, local icon and two-time champ, exiled himself the day before the tournament started.
Still, as Wimbledon enters halftime, there are so many familiar trappings. As much a part of tableau as barbered lawns, the strawberries and complaints about the court assignments, we have Federer, Nadal and Djokovic—winners of 13 of the last 15 men’s titles—surging into week two. And, of course, we have Serena Williams, seeded No.