The second day at Wimbledon featured the 1st round match-ups for players in the bottom half of the draw.
The bounce of the ball has been quite high at SW19 but perhaps that might not be the only scenery worthy of note as there seems to have been an installation of the installed high-speed rail as Seppi, Federer, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Kvitova, Kerber and a host of others raced through their openers.
Defending champion, Petra Kvitova continued from where she left off on Centre Court, breezing past the challenge of Kiki Bertens in 35 minutes. Angelique Kerber played a perfect match against Carina Witthoeft without losing a game. Another fast one was the victory of Agnieszka Radwanska over Lucie Hradecka.
Following the high profile loss of Carla Suarez Navarro on Monday, it was to be seen whether the upsets were ready to roll in at the All England Club. The big upsets came to town in the women’s draw Tuesday as one-time Slam finalists Simona Halep and Eugenie Bouchard blew their hopes of making their major breakthrough at SW19.
Simona Halep lost in three sets to “lowly” Jana Cepelova while last year finalist fell after a dismal performance to a largely unknown Ying-Ying Daun.
Elsewhere, there were wins for Caroline Wozniacki, Ekaterina Makarova, Alize Cornet, Sabine Lisicki, Heather Watson, Timea Bacsinszky, Garbine Muguruza, Casey Dellacqua, Monica Niculescu, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Silvia Soler, Denisa Allertova and Camila Giorgi among a few others.
In the men’s draw, RogerFederer needed 68 minutes as he made a perfect start to his quest for an unprecedented 8th Wimbledon title. The second seeded Swiss recorded a 6-1 6-3 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur.
Home favourite, Andy Murray had no troubles as he won in straight sets to see off the threat of Mikhail Kukushkin while two-time winner, Rafael Nadal was in great form as he dispatched Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets. Alexandr Dolgopolov had little time to spare, racing into the second round with a 7-6 6-1 6-2 win over Kyle Edmund. The likes of Roberto Baustista, Andreas Seppi, Benoit Paire, Fabio Fognini, Gilles Simon and Jiri Vesely also recorded comfortable straight sets wins.
Tomas Berdych booked a second round pass seeing off Jeremy Chardy in fourth sets, coping with the darkness whie Jo-Wilfred Tsonga also needed four sets to overcome Gilles Muller.
Borna Coric registered his first win at Wimbledon after seeing off Sergiy Stakovsky in five sets.
There were wins as well for Ivo Karlovic, Samuel Groth, James Duckworth, Albert Ramos, Gael Monfils, James Ward, Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Triocki, Vasek Pospisil, Dustin Brown and a few others.
American Jack Sock was the biggest casualty in the men’s draw; losing out to Samuel Groth.
2nd round action in the top half of each draw is slated for Wednesday, 1st July, 2015. Enjoy!
The first day of action at the All England Club offered tennis at its entertaining best. Here is a succinct review of how the duels panned out.
World No. 1 and defending champion, Novak Djokovic, albeit several sloppy moments for his standards, saw off the hitherto potentially dangerous first round clash against Philip Kohlschreiber. It was like Novak was playing Tarot as the number “10”regarded as card of the wheel of fortune was key to his victory. The German had the challenge of serving to stay in each of the three sets, all three coming in the 10th game of each set and on each occasion, the German failed to hold serve. Djokovic, who was broken once in the fifth game of the third set when he was a break ahead, triumphed 6-4 6-4 6-4.
Maybe sloppiness was the theme for players ranked No. 1 today as Serena Williams overcame a sloppy start, which saw her broken in the first game of the match against Gasparyan, to run 6-4 6-1 winner over the qualifier.
The match-up between Liam Broady and Marinko Matosevic lasted over three hours and was drama-packed. The former went down two sets to love but showed incredible courage to fight back and win in five sets in what represents his first 5-set duel in a Grand slam tourney much to the delight of the home crowd. It ended 5-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-3.
Another five-set encounter was served to the audience at SW19 by the veteran duo of Lleyton Hewitt and Jarkko Nieminen. These two had a lot in common. Both, 34years of age, were making their last appearances at Wimbledon; pretty much explains the source of the hunger to hang in on till the end. It was Nieminen that took the decider.
As Bastian Schweinsteiger watched on, Ana Ivanovic raced through her match against Yi-Fan Xu dropping only two games; 6-1 6-1.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, there were wins for Stanislas Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, John Isner, Marin Cilic, Kevin Anderson, David Goffin, Dominc Thiem, Bernard Tomic, Tommy Haas and Richard Gasquet amongst others. Fernando Verdasco survived the threat of Martin Klizan in five sets.
In the women’s draw, Maria Sharapova, Kirsten Flipkens, Victoria Azarenka, Sara Errani, Venus Williams, Samantha Stosur, Urszula Radwanksa, Sloane Stephens, Lucie Safarova, Andrea Petkovic and Belinda Bencic amidst others coped well with the differing challenge posed by their first round opponents.
The match between Heather Watson and Caroline Garcia was tied at one-set all when it was suspended for play to resume Tuesday due to bad light.
There was no big casualty on the first day at SW19. First round action continues Tuesday with the likes of Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep kick-starting their Wimbledon, 2015 campaign. It promises more drama. Enjoy!
At the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the first ATP Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year presented exciting match-ups availing several players the opportunity to avenge losses they were reeling from. Milos Raonic, Roger Federer as well as Novak Djokovic took the opportunities and got them over with.
Alexandr Dolgopolov conjured an interesting run to the semis of the 2014 BNP Paribas Open where he recorded notable victories over Milos Raonic and Rafael Nadal. The Round of 32 at this year’s event presented the 24 year old Canadian with an opportunity to avenge last year’s loss to the Ukrainian and he took it. Milos recorded a straight sets win; it ended 7-6(2) 6-4. When asked if the previous clash at Indian Wells was on the back of his mind during the match, Raonic admitted he had put it into consideration just prior to the match. He said;
“Not during the match, but definitely beforehand I put a big emphasis from what I wanted to do differently from last year.”
Prior to Sunday’s final loss to Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer had only lost a singles tennis match to one man in 2015; Andreas Seppi. The defeat came at Melbourne Park where the Italian was a 4-set winner over the legendary Swiss. After Federer saw off Diego Schwartzman to set up a clash with Seppi, he was quick to point out that the match-up was one he eagerly looked forward to.
“I’m happy to play him again” said Federer. “I was very disappointed with the performance I had in Australia. I am happy I’m happy I’m getting an opportunity to play him right away again.”
The Swiss Maestro knew he got a shot at redemption. He didn’t pass it over; ran out 6-3 6-4 victor over the Italian in 82 minutes. His comments afterwards reinforces John Ford’s claim that “delay in vengeance delivers a bigger blow.” Quite obvious Federer pretty much would cope better without such blows and the man himself was very pleased with the outcome he so much desired.
“It was good to play him right away again and erase it from memory. This was one of those matches i was very happy it was over.”
Federer made his way to the final without dropping a set and he might have relished the likelihood of getting to avenge his loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2014 final in the Southern California desert. This time around though, against the best and the most consistent player in recent years, his campaign was unsuccessful. The Nole came out on top in three sets after a gruelling tennis battle that lasted well over 120 minutes. The Serb left a sour taste in the mouth of the World No. 2 winning his 4th Indian Wells title and his 21st Masters 1000 crown. Federer’s revenge mission was aborted but in fact, revenge, a dish best served cold, was served out by Djokovic to Federer on the occasion of their 38th clash. Their 37th clash came on the 28th day of February, 2015 in the final at Dubai where Federer conquered the 27 year old in straight sets to clinch his 7th title Dubai Crown. For his confidence and his season, the World No 1 was pleased with the win.
“It’s going to give me confidence, not just for future matches that I play against [Federer], but for Miami and the rest of the season.” Djokovic said.
Call it vengeance, revenge, call it redemption, Gary Schmidt thinks it sweet and even though Milos and Roger did not hoist the title, you can be sure that like Djokovic, they at least found oasis in the desert and left with some sweet taste buds. For them, vengeance must definitely taste like the sweet palm dates which Indian Wells of California is known to be blessed with.
You can follow the writer on twitter @iamsammieleo,
At the season-ending tournament in London, the second round of matches in both groups has been concluded with Novak Djokovic’s demolition of Stanislas Wawrinka on Wednesday night. Federer has been in the grove while Novak Djokovic has been on fire. One of the most interesting features of the singles encounters so far decided is that no match has been decided in three sets; in fact, no match has been fiercely contested.The first match of the tourney saw Kei Nishikori topping Andy Murray 6-4, 6-4. The second match of the day saw Roger Federer exert sweet revenge on Raonic following his loss to him in Paris. The 17-time major winner saw off the young Canadian 6-1, 7-6(0).
In Group A’s opener, Stanislas Wawrinka was in devastating form as he blitzed through his duel with Tomas Berdych dropping only two games; 6-1, 6-1. Novak Djokovic must have been jealous of the Swiss’ feat and finished off Marin Cilic, the US Open Champion, in similar fashion; 6-1, 6-1.’
The first of the second round of matches in Group B featured the winners of Sunday’s matches and Roger Federer demonstrated his superiority over Nishikori winning 6-3, 6-2. In the night’s session, Andy Murray, in what has thus far remained the most competitive of matches at the 02 Arena, saw off Milos Raonic in straights sets; 6-3, 7-5. In Group A, Tomas Berdych revived the hopes of qualification by sweeping aside Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1. In what was anticipated as the blockbuster thus far, Novak Djokovic firmly displayed his dominance by hammering Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-0. Dominance as depicted by the rankings? The players at the tourney are ranked as shown below.
Novak Djokovic
Roger Federer
Stanislas Wawrinka
Kei Nishikori
Andy Murray
Tomas Berdych
Milos Raonic
Marin Cilic
Perhaps, the most intriguing of facts thus far is that no player has beaten an opponent ranked above him (you can do a check with the round up and the rankings). Ever questioned the credibility of the ATP rankings? The ATP defines the rankings as “… the merit-based objective method…” and this stance is quite unquestionable, at least as the displays thus far at the 02 Arena suggest. It is settled that in a tennis match, like the game of thrones, ‘there is no middle ground’ and the ATP rankings provide the hierarchy. However, the reality is that the hierarchy has never been the static reflection of the abilities of players. Otherwise, the lads battling at the 02 would never have been there. In fact, a Roger Federer would never have risen atop the pack and the Serb, who rules at the moment, won’t be in the race to end the season as number 1 for the third time. It’s high time a remainder was posted that the beauty of sports, sometimes, is found in upsets. If the routine thus far remains the governing norm at the 02, then there is no stopping Novak Djokovic’s triumph over Roger Federer in the final come the 16th day of November. On the 7th of September, Novak Djokovic was brought down to planet earth in shocking fashion by Kei Nishikori in their semi-final match at Flushing Meadows. The 14th ranked Marin Cilic, who emerged Champion at the US Open made it to the final after stunning a certain Roger Federer in straight sets. Wawrinka was king at Aussie Open crushing Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Wawrinka has on several occasions this season fallen to opponents ranked outside the top 20 this season and Federer suffered a fourth round loss at Roland Garros in the hands of Ernest Gulbis; upsets are part of the game and will be around forever. What is unknown is if they will spring up at the 02 and how soon they really will.
Stanislas Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic have each branded this ‘season career-best’ thus far. I am pretty sure same goes for Milos. I am more certain their bests have not come by an allegiance to keeping the hierarchical order on the South African Airway Rankings. Let’s get the upsets shows on! Till then, enjoy!
The 02 Arena in London is ready to host the big guns in the game of men’s singles tennis as the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals come to town from the 9th day of November to the 16th day of November, 2014. It promises great tennis as well as fascinating sights. The stage is set for the showdowns. I will gladly put you through those in Group B; Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic. It’s a mixture of experience and its opposite, at this stage, as Andy Murray (5) and Roger Federer (12) have a total of 17 tourney appearances between them while Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori are making their first appearances at the season-ending event; the men are pitched against the rookies. Experience is vital but it wouldn’t be apocalypse if we see a rookie rocking it like it is concert-time at the 02 Arena. The doors to the semis in the group are firmly held wide and ajar. Each of these players is in London due to his fortunes during a very long season. This article, in making a case for the chance of progression of each player, considers their season among other factors.
ROGER FEDERER
The Swiss enters the tournament for a record 13th straight year as the most successful man in the history of the tournament. He has won the crown at 02 a record six times (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 & 2011). It is particularly more impressive when you get to know he has won five of those six without being beaten as he lost once on his route to the final in 2007; are we still talking tennis? In his 12 visits to the World Tour Finals, he has only failed on just two occasions (2002 and 2008) to make it out of the group stage. He has compiled a total of 44-11 as match record at the Tour finals. The 33-year old, though failed to win a major this year, enters the tourney with the best match record on tour this season with his 68-11 match record. It has been an impressively brilliant campaign for the father of four who has risen from a lowly World No. 8 to within reachable distance of the pinnacle of the ATP World tour rankings as he battles it all out with Novak Djokovic in the race to finish the year as No. 1. He has five titles to show for his successful season with triumphs at Dubai, Halle, Cincinnati, Basel and the hitherto elusive Shanghai Masters. The world No. 2 has only lost once in fifteen matches as his 14-match winning streak was snapped at the Paris Masters by Milos Raonic, a group opponent at this year’s tourney. Talking group opponents, the Swiss hold an advantageous 19-14 (11-11 against Andy Murray, 2-2 to Kei Nishikori and 6-1 against Milos Raonic) match record in total. He has however met Andy Murray thrice at the tourney and has got the better of the Brit on the three occasions. His last match before this tourney saw him lose out to Raonic, young Canadian for the first time in seven matches and he gets the chance to set things straight as he starts out against Raonic later on Sunday.
The saintly Federer, who was just awarded the ATP Fans’ Favourites for a record 12th straight year will be looking to use his charm on the London crowd once again; the charm which once got him their support over their very own Andy Murray in 2011. Federer is Federer and should all things remain equal, with his impressive indoors record, the trip to the semis should be as easy as the adventure to the net we have become used to in recent times.
KEI NISHIKORI
The 24-year old Japanese is in London after a great season which sees him ranked No. 5 in the world. His qualification makes him the first Asian player to ever qualify for the Tour Finals. He boasts of a 52-12 match record this season with four titles this season for his tourney-conquests at Kuala Lumpur, Memphis, Barcelona and Tokyo. The Japanese made it to the finals of the US Open losing to Marin Cilic in straight sets. He starts out against Andy Murray against whom he has never won in three attempts. It must be mentioned though that their most recent meeting was at Brisbane in 2013 and the gap between both players has since being breached and if the rankings are to be put into consideration, the Scot is quite well behind Kei. He has a total match record of 6-6 against group opponents as he is tied with Federer on 2-2 and holds an impressive 4-1 record over Milos Raonic. It is up to the young gun to justify his place on the rankings when he takes to court in the first singles’ match of the tourney.
ANDY MURRAY
The 27-year old who missed out on this tournament due to a back surgery last year endured a frustrating season prior to the fall. He seems to be rediscovering the form that got him as high as world No. 2 and two grand slam titles. It is his 6th appearance at the Tour finals having made it five consecutive appearances before missing out on last year’s. His best result at the 02 Arena has been in the form of semi-final appearances in 2008, 2010 and 2012. Murray’s greatest challenge will be Roger Federer, whom he has lost to thrice at the 02 Arena and if he must conquer the Swiss maestro, he knows he needs the crowd. Since the US Open, he has compiled a massive 20-3 match record and has titles at Shenzhen, Valencia and Vienna to show for his efforts. His cumulative match record against group opponents is at a modest 15-14 as he is 11-11 against Federer, 3-0 against Kei Nishikori and 1-3 against Milos Raonic. Andy’s fine form must continue if he is to proceed from this group and his first match against Kei Nishikori, to me, presents him perfect opportunity to bag a win; it should be quite safer from there.
MILOS RAONIC
The young Canadian will be hoping his serving prowess will come in handy as he makes his debut at the Tour Finals. He is at the tournament after a career-best season with a match record of 48-18 and an ATP 500 tour title at Washington D.C. the 23-year old has little or nothing to lose and his experience here will be of great use in the promisingly future that looms ahead of him. He must however be ready and who says that “future” cannot start this week? The semi-finalist at Wimbledon will be hoping his deficit 5-11 cumulative record against his group opponents will be mere numbers. He starts out against the great Roger Federer and will be hoping to carry on from his giant-strangling win over the Swiss in Paris, the first and only win in 7 matches. Perhaps, another interesting point is the hold he has got over Andy Murray who he has bossed on three out of four meetings, a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win at Indian Wells their most recent encounter. Against Kei Nishikori, he has won just once in 5 meetings and will need to improve if he is to make a mark at the season-ending show.
The stage is set and the men are raring to go. You might disagree as you have the right to but I believe it is just a matter of days before the men are separated from the lads; my picks for the semis are ROGER FEDERER and ANDY MURRAY but the young shall grow someday.
The “Mecca” of tennis sport is ready for the crowning of its “KING” and this year, the men’s singles title remains in familiar hands.
Prior to the semi-final clashes, each between a man representing the “”PRESENT” and the other, a younger racquet dubbed the “FUTURE”, Miss S. Clarke would have been forgiven if she had attempted to invite Future to perform a version of The Offspring’s “The Future is Now” but it was far from necessary; THE FUTURE MUST WAIT.
The final of the men’s singles will be contested by two men who know what it feels like to be pronounced KING at the All England Club and sip some champagne from the trophy; it’s NOVAK DJOKOVIC against ROGER FEDERER.
This piece offers you an analysis on their different paths to the finals, stats relevant to their cause as well as a succinct statement in respect of the rivalry between these two greats among many other interesting details.
Wimbledon, the Championships, is the oldest tournament in the history of the tennis sport and remains the only grand slam played on the sport’s original surface; grass. The fast nature of the surface as well as the low bounce encourages aggressive attacking play and reduces, though recently to a little extent, the importance attached to the modern tennis’ need for a great level of efficiency from the baseline.
Note: R round, i.e.1R= 1st round, QF= quarter-finals. SF= semi-finals, F= final
ROUTE TO THE FINAL:
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
The Nole who is No. 2 on the ATP World rankings, thanks to the special seeding procedure at Wimbledon, came into the tournament seeded no. 1. The Serb saw off the challenges of Andrey Golubev, (1R; 6-0, 6-1, 6-4) Gilles Simon (3R; 6-4, 6-2, 6-4) and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (4R; 6-3, 6-4, 7-6)in straight sets.
He came through in four sets against Radek Stepanek (2R; 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6) and Grigor Dimitrov(SF; 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 7-6) while he was stretched to five sets by Marin Cilic (QF; 6-1, 3-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2)
ROGER FEDERER
The Swiss ranked No. 4 in the world and seeded fourth is another beneficiary of the special seeding procedure which saw him seeded ahead of countryman and friend, Stan Wawrinka, who is currently ranked as No. 3 on the ATP World rankings.
The greatest champion at the All England Club overcame the challenges of Paolo Lorenzi (1R; 6-1, 6-1, 6-3), Gilles Muller (2R, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3), Santiago Giraldo (3R, 6-3, 6-1, 6-3), Tommy Robredo (4R, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4) as well as Milos Raonic (SF; 6-4, 6-4, 6-4)in straight sets. The sternest test thus far came in form of a four-set triumph over Stan Wawrinka (QF; 3-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4)
THE RIVALRY
The imminent clash on Centre Court on Sunday is the 35th meeting between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic and the Swiss holds a slim advantage going into Sunday’s final. He leads 18-16. It is however closer if their match record at majors is put into consideration. The Swiss still leads though; 6-5. The two have met just once on grass and it came in form of a semi-final clash on Centre court in 2012 with Federer triumphing in four sets. Their record at Wimbledon therefore stands at 1-0 in favour of the Basel native.
The two have only faced each other in the final of just one grand slam event and this was at the US Open in 2007 which Roger Federer won in straight sets. However, it should be noted that that final marked Novak Djokovic’s first appearance in the final of a grand slam and it is manifestly clear that it’s a different Novak Djokovic. In 2014, the two have net on three occasions. On the 28th of February, Roger Federer defeated Novak Djokovic at the semi-finals in Dubai on his way to being the eventual champion. Vengeance came in sweeter fashion for Novak Djokovic as beat Federer to the crown at Indian Wells on the 16th of March. The duo met again at the Monte Carlo Masters in the semi-finals with Federer winning in three sets; Roger Federer leads 2-1.
2014
ROGER FEDERER
Players
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
2; Dubai and Halle
Titles
3; Indian Wells, Miami and Rome
40-7
Match record
36-4
4; Brisbane, Dubai Monte Carlo and Halle
Finals
4; Indian Wells, Miami, Rome and French Open
Aussie open(SF),French Open (4R)
Grand slams
Aussie open(QF),French Open (F)
THE PREVIEW
The semi-final victory for Roger Federer over Canadian Milos Raonic avails him the opportunity to contest his 25th grand slam final while Novak Djokovic is into his 14th grand slam final.
Most pundits out there will tell you that Federer’s chance of winning another major is higher at SW19 than any other major and maybe the man himself knows it. He is regarded by many as the greatest player on grass and his haul of a record 14 grass-court titles says it all. Federer holds a 17-7 record in grand slam finals while the Serbian holds a 6-7 record in finals of majors.
Both men have had to wait for a while in the bid to add to their tally of grand slam titles. Since his triumph at the 2013 Australian Open, Novak Djokovic has contested in 5 majors without a win even though he made to the final of 3 of these 5 majors.
His opponent on Sunday has had to wait a lot longer though for this opportunity. Since his win at Wimbledon in 2012, not only has Federer failed to win a major, he has not made the final of a grand slam. This final presents the opportunity for Roger Federer to add to his tally of 17 grand slam titles. It is worthy to note that Rafael Nadal is close to Federer’s tally; the Spaniard is on 14.
The 32-year old Swiss is a 7-time champion at Wimbledon (2003-2007, 2009 & 2012) while Novak Djokovic was champion at this same event in 2011 where he dethroned Rafael Nadal who was the 2010 champion. Roger Federer has been to the final on eight occasions with his only loss coming in a five-set loss to Rafael Nadal in 2008.
Meanwhile, it is Novak Djokovic’s third Wimbledon final; the third in four years. His record in the final at Wimbledon stands at 1-1. He contested last year’s final losing out to Andy Murray in straight sets. This final also represents the opportunity for the Serb to take one-step leap on the ATP World rankings as a win will see him leapfrog Rafael Nadal unto the No. 1 spot. Roger Federer, on the other hand, bidding for an unprecedented 8th Wimbledon title, has a 73-8 record at the All England Club. Novak Djokovic holds a match record of 44-8 at the event.
I am not superstitious but if you are, this might be an interesting fact for you. Gilles Muller, Federer’s 2nd round opponent might just be Roger Federer’s lucky charm. In every tournament that Roger Federer has faced the German, he has gone ahead to win the title. It happened in 2005 at Indian Wells, Bangkok in 2005 and the US Open in 2008. If it happened again, I might as well consider my viewpoint on superstition.
The table below represent the stats of the players thus far at this year’s event.
ROGER FEDERER
PLAYERS
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
69
ACES
73
5
DOUBLE FAULTS
9
1
TIMES BROKEN
8
13
BREAK POINTS FACED
29
127MPH
FASTEST SERVE
136MPH
24
BREAK OF SERVE
27
84
UNFORCED ERRORS
130
230
WINNERS
240
1
SETS LOST
4
177
TOTAL GAMES
218
606
TOTAL POINTS
746
1
TIE BREAKS PLAYED
6
1
TIE BREAKS WON
4
83%
AVERAGE % OF 1ST SERVE WON
77%
68%
AVERAGE % OF 2ND SERVE WON
58%
WHAT IS KEY FOR EACH PLAYER?
The nature of the surface necessitates the need for a player to have, not just a working serve, but an incredibly effective one to be crowned champion at the All England Club; this explains the recent struggle of Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon.
The two finalists must be aware of the need to make the most of their serves while biding their time to see what can be done on the opponent’s service game. From the table of stats above, it is evident that both players have done a good job with their serves in the tournament.
As a matter of fact, Roger Federer can be said to have delivered a serving master-class through the course of the tournament. It is yet to be seen though how Federer will cope against the player referred to by many as possessing the best returning prowess the sport has seen.
This ability of Djokovic as well as his backhand, his greatest weapon, will be key factors in the determination of Sunday’s final. Novak Djokovic will have to be cautious of Federer’s aggressive attacking tendencies seen to have been furthered strengthened by the input of Stefan Edberg.
The Serb will have to hit his shots wide and deeper towards the baseline to curtail Federer’s frequent adventure to the net. The aggressiveness hurt the Nole during their clash earlier in the year at Dubai and failure to deal with it on Sunday will do damage to Novak Djokovic’s chances.
As for Roger Federer, it is to be admitted that apart from the efficacy of his serves, he has done a great job with his return and has cut out a large chunk of the errors that characterised his play recently. As the stats show, he has been broken just once and has been engaged in a tie-break on just one occasion. He will need to keep this up as well as ensure that there is variety on his elegant one-handed backhand as opposed to going for just the slice. It is no secret that the longer a rally goes, the fewer the chances of Roger Federer winning that point. This was exploited to great effect by Stan Wawrinka in the 1st set of their quarter–final clash. It follows that Roger Federer needs to make Djokovic play according to his own terms; he needs to dictate the match and keep the points short.
It is worthy to note that the longer the match, the more likely it is for Novak Djokovic to emerge victorious. However, a positive for Federer is that he has spent less time on the courts than his opponent.
The mental state of the two players will be crucial as well. The fact that Federer is a 7-time winner at the All England club endears him to the crowd and this could work as an advantage as last year’s final shows that there is a high tendency for Novak Djokovic to get irritated when there is a hostile crowd. However, the Serb will be threading on familiar grounds as well and with the doggedness he has shown over the years mentally, he might as well be up for this mental battle.
WHAT THEY SAY
Novak Djokovic
“This is where he has most success in his career, winning many titles. He’s been looking very good throughout the whole tournament, very dominant with his matches. I’m sure that he wants to win this title as much as I do. Most of the matches we played against each other went the distance, so I am going to be physically ready and fit to go the distance. But it’s a good chance for me to try to win against him on his favourite surface on his favourite court”
Roger Federer
“I’m extremely happy to be in another final. We always play good matches against each other. We’ve played each other a lot in the past six months and it has gone back and forth a bit. Novak is a great champion; he’s used to these occasions. He’s won here before and knows how to get it done. It is really important for me to stay aggressive against him, and especially here at Wimbledon. Novak can hurt you down the line or cross-court on both sides. I hope it’s going to be a good match”
It’s a big final to look up to and based on the pedigree of the two finalists, it is difficult to stick out one’s neck as to who would eventually come out on top.
VERDICT
It’s not my call. IT’S YOURS!!!!!!!!!
PREDICT AND WIN!
Who would win the 2014 Wimbledon Men’s Single Final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer and in how many sets?
Predict as a comment ONLY on the Blog and the first correct answer stands a chance of winning airtime of the following network providers (MTN, Etisalat, Airtel and GLO).
Your Phone Number of any of the above network providers should be part of the answer to enable us send the airtime to you.
Answer should be given on or before 2pm tomorrow the 6th of July, 2014.
All roads lead to Paris on Sunday, the 25th day of May, 2014 as 128 male singles’ tennis players enter the first round of the Roland Garros. It is the second grand slam of the year and it promises to be fireworks at the Stade Roland Garros until the 8th day of June, 2014 where only one man will stand alone in the arena, not of sand and blood in the old Roman gladiatorium, but of red dust; the Philippe Chatrier court.
This piece previews the action by taking a look at the chances of the top guns during the tourney as well the possibility of an outsider carting away with the crown on the 8th day of June. That will be attempted presently but a brief consideration of the peculiarity of the tournament itself is necessary.
PLAYING SURFACE:
The French Open is the only clay-court grand slam of the year and the slow nature of the surface bears significations. It is the most physically demanding of all tournaments on tour as a match is potentially a five-setter with the fifth incapable of being decided by a tie-breaker.
. The slow nature of the surface and high bounce give little room for short points and as a result, clay court matches are characterised by long rallies and this is a phenomenon that cannot be ruled out at the Roland Garros. It is also noteworthy to point out that the slow nature of the surface necessitates that a player hunting for the crown at Roland Garros must be astute defensively and this fact explains the advantage the surface grinds out to baseliners.
The foregoing fact is responsible for the usual inability of the guys with the big serve or the serve-and -volleyers to impose their games on the clay court against the very best on it. It explains the inability of the likes of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Boris Becker as well as Stefan Edberg to win a title at the Stade Roland Garros. In fact, Pete’s best result in Paris came in form of a semi-final showing in 1996. It is therefore not surprising that only Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer have won both the French Open and Wimbledon in the Open era.
The nature of the surface also has ensured that the weakness of Rafael Nadal serve, particularly his second serve, over the years has had no grave consequence for the greatest on clay. The defending champion is Rafael Nadal and maybe it is needless to tell you that; but I just did.
THE MAJOR CONTENDERS:
RAFAEL NADAL.
The world no. 1 and defending champion enters the draw in Paris in the hunt for his 5th straight Roland Garros title which would take his overall French open titles to 9.
There is definitely a love-affair between the duo of Nadal and the La Coupes des Mousquetaries and the affair seem unbreakable. The Spaniard has only lost once in Paris where he has made his home over the last decade; his safest refuge. He has won 8 out of 9 possible titles since making his debut at Roland Garros in 2004 at the age of 18. The only loss in Paris came against a certain Robin Soderling who was runner-up to eventual winner, Roger Federer.
That bite on the trophy is what we have got used to and we lie in wait to see whether or not there is a Robin-esque feat in the offing; Robin is simply the name but, unfortunately, it is not in the realm of English folklore. In Paris, Rafael Nadal has compiled an incredibly dominant 59-1 record; Unbeatable?
There are however concerns, not as to his credentials on red clay, but as to the aura of invincibility that has characterised his game over the past decade as to whether or not it has been lost as this clay-court season for Rafael Nadal has been a catastrophe.
Don’t be carried away by that. By anybody’s standard, a clay court title in Madrid and a match record of 11-3 on the red dust is a perfect way to enter into the draw at the Roland Garros but there is only one Rafael Nadal. On the red clay, he is the greatest the sport has ever seen. This season marks the first time in the past decade that Rafael Nadal has lost more than two matches on clay in the same year.
His loss to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Rome Masters means that out of his four usual clay court tourneys: Monte Carlo, Barcelona Open, Madrid Masters and the Rome Masters, he only managed to win one; Madrid Masters. In Madrid, there was no Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer withdrew due to the birth of Lenny and Leo. The major cause for concern will however be the fact that he has struggled against players he hitherto dominated not only on clay but on other surfaces as well. He lost to Nicolas Almagro in the quarters at Barcelona failing to find his rhythm against his countryman after an impressive first set. Prior to that loss, Nadal held a 10-0 ATP head-to-head record over Almagro. In the Principalities, he lost to David Ferrer in the quarters and that marked his first loss on clay since 2004 against the same man he easily dispatched in straight sets in the final to capture his most recent French Open title. In Rome, he also struggled in wins over Gilles Simon, Mikhail Youzhny and Andy Murray. But these haven’t changed the fact that Rafael Nadal remains the favourite in Paris. He has posted a 34-6 match record this season with three tour-level titles.
He is in the top half of the draw with the likes of Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov, David Ferrer as well as Stanislas Wawrinka. A lot is at stake for the man who has just acquired Madrid citizenship. The 28-year old is in the hunt for his 14th Grand Slam title which would take him closer to Roger Federer’s haul of 17 major titles.
He also faces the battle to retain his position at the top of the ATP rankings with Novak Djokovic on his heels. Anything short of a semi-final appearance for the Spaniard would see Novak Djokovic reclaim the World no. 1 spot regardless of the Serbian’s performance. If Nadal were to lose in the final to another opponent, he would need to hope that the Nole loses at or before the quarterfinal stage. A final between the two will however mean that the winner of the tie takes “ALL”. But Rafa has shown over the years that, if fully fit, he has the shoulders to lighten the burden of expectations. Rafa has 8 titles in Paris and he has won it for the past four years but his last attempt to make it five consecutive titles ended early in 2009. The possibility of a fifth straight title has appeared again and the tennis world is waiting!!!
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
The world No. 2 would fancy the chance of clinching the elusive French Open title to complete his set of slams having won all other grand slam titles. He looks to become the eighth man in tennis history to win the four grand slams. The Serbian returned to action at the Rome Masters last week having withdrawn from partaking at the Madrid Masters due to a wrist injury that hampered his tournament in Monaco.
The win against Rafael Nadal at the Rome Masters signals his recovery from the niggling injury as well as serving as a statement of intent. The Serbian’s best result at the French Open came in 2012 where he lost 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to Rafael Nadal in the final. In the past three years, he has made it to at least the semis losing his 43 matches winning streak in his productive 2011 to Roger Federer in the semis and losing narrowly last year in five sets to the eventual champion in the semis in what was tagged by many as the “final before final”.
He would look to attempt to put an end to Rafael Nadal’s dominance in Paris. The Nole, more than any other man, knows that with a little inconsistency that has crept into Nadal’s play on clay this season, this is perhaps his biggest opportunity to land the French Open title and he has made no secret of the desire to do just that. Four wins in the last four matches against Rafael Nadal will give the man from from Belgrade the much needed confidence if the title comes down to a battle between the top two players in the world and as pointed out earlier, Djokovic could overtake Rafa as the world No.1 male singles tennis player. He enters the tournament having won three Masters’ titles this year at Indian Wells, Miami and recently in Rome at the expense of the king of clay
He boasts of a 24-3 match record so far this season. As expected, the world No. 2 is in the bottom half of the draw. He challenges Joao Sousa in the first round. He could meet Marin Cilic in the third round and Milos Raonic in the quarters. A potential semi final berth against Roger Federer is a mouth watering prospect. Other big names in the bottom half of the draw include Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
From a tactical viewpoint, the fact that Novak Djokovic who arguably possesses the best returning prowess on tour which is key to the success he has enjoyed over Rafael Nadal recently and he would have to come to courts with the goods if he is to end Nadal’s reign in Paris.
Whether or not Djokovic is ready to stage and capable of successfully leading a revolution in Paris is one other issue that will be on the mind of teeming tennis fans over the next two weeks.
STANISLAS WAWRINKA
The Swiss No. 1 is one of the possible contenders for the French Open title this year. Last year, he lost 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 to Rafael Nadal in the quarters but it is a different Stan this year.
He is the only man on tour who can boast of having won a Grand Slam title 2014 having won his first grand slam title in January after staging a surprising victory over Novak Djokovic in the quarters before besting Rafael Nadal (in the final) 6-3,6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to win the Australian Open.
The French Open is played on what he considers his best playing surface; red clay. With his win at the Melbourne Park, Stan will agree with the writer that a major is won after seven matches and these seven matches are all not going to be against seven of the top ten players; the group of players he hasn’t lost to this year.
In 2014, the Swiss is 6-0 against players ranked in the top ten. He has beaten Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer already this year. The writer believes the record is very much down to the fact that Stan has got his tactics absolutely spot on against the top guns.
He would however have to tackle his record this year against players ranked outside the top ten. He fell to 20-year-old Austrian, Dominic Thiem in the second round at the Madrid Masters. He failed to make the quarters in Rome this year falling to Tommy Haas in three sets. He had exits just before the quarters at the Indian Wells (lost to Kevin Anderson) and Miami (lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov). A positive for the Stan is that he has a Masters’ clay court title this year already after seeing off countryman and friend, Roger Federer in three sets in the final at Monte Carlo.
He is also the only man to have beaten Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same Grand Slam. He goes to Paris with a 21-5 match record this season with three tour titles. He has been drawn in the top half of the draw alongside the likes of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and David Ferrer as well as Grigor Dimitrov among others. He opens his title bid against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the first round. He might meet Fabio Fognini in the fourth round with a quarter final clash with Andy Murray a possibility. Should the Swiss make it to the semi final, there could be a rematch of the 2014 of the Australian Open. Stan is the player who serves us with the wow just as much as the woe. What he would treat us to at the French Open remains unknown. If the 29-year-old harbours any hope of winning the title in Paris, he must rediscover the secret of going past players ranked outside the top ten without losing the magic that gets him past the top guns. He has broken the Grand slam bubble. Can he add another?
ROGER FEDERER
There is a man with 4 kids on tour and not only is he ranked No. 4, he is the fourth seed in Paris. He has also been a runner up at the Stade Roland Garros to the King of clay on four occasions (2006-08, 2011); some coincidence?
He is however not in the running for anything close to four titles at the Stade Roland Garros. He is the only other active winner of the French Open from Rafael Nadal having won the crown in 2009; A poor clay-court player? Absolutely no! Roger Federer crashed out in Paris last year after a dismal performance against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the quarters.
His year was pretty much messed up in 2013. It is however a different sight of the 17-time grand slam winner in 2014. The back injury that restricted his play last year seems non-existent and the larger frame of his racquet has proved to be an efficient addition to his arsenal. The extent to which the Swiss maestro will cope with high backhands with his one-handed backhand will go a long way into determining the success he achieves in Paris. It is very much unlikely that Federer will venture to the net frequently as he did on the hard-courts to great effect. In my opinion, Stefan Edberg, who could not lay hands on the crown in Paris during his career, is unlikely to be of great help to Federer’s quest for his second French Open title.
It has however not been the most ideal preparation for the 32-year-old who had to pull out of the Madrid Masters due to the birth of his second set of twins. He made an early exit at the Rome masters crashing out to Jeremy Chardy.
A positive is his appearance in the final of the Monte Carlo losing to his Swiss friend, Stanislas Wawrinka in three sets. The slow playing surface and the physically demanding terre batue mean that the chance of Federer adding to his haul of 17 slams is slimmer in Paris than at any other major. Federer who is ranked No. 4 will not meet Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic until the semis and would therefore fancy the opportunity of going past other players.
A potential semi final berth against Novak Djokovic in the semis will be fancied by the Swiss as opposed to a clash with his nemesis, Nadal, who he has only beaten just twice on clay in 15 meetings. On clay against Novak, Federer is tied 3-3 with Roger Federer winning their 2011 semi final clash at Roland Garros. He enters the draw with a 28-6 match record this season. He has a 58-14 match record at Roland Garros. Federer has been drawn in the bottom half of the tourney and thus; a potential semi final berth against Novak Djokovic in the semis. He plays Lukas Lacko in the first round and could meet Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round with a quarter-final clash against Tomas Berdych a possibility. One thing is certain, Fed isn’t the mug in the dirt and you would rule out the maestro at your own peril.
He has taught us that over and over again with his resurgence this season. The writer expects a decent outing for the Swiss though but does not see him lifting the trophy on the 8th of June. I wish Roger would prove me wrong though.
DAVID FERRER
The Spaniard was the finalist last year losing in straight sets to countryman, Rafael Nadal after seeing off Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the quarters. His inclusion in the list of players who could well pose a challenge to Nadal’s regime at Roland Garros is based on the suitability of his game to clay. The writer however believes that the 5th seed has been very much inconsistent since his final appearance in Paris last year and the draw has failed to be kind to him. He has fallen into the same half with Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and the bright Dimitrov.
He fell at the 4th round of the Aussie Open losing to Berdych in four sets. The 32-year-old has a match record of 27-10 this season with a title in Buenos Aires. He will however be boosted by semi final showings at Monte Carlo (after beating Nadal in the quarters) losing to the eventual winner, Stan Wawrinka and Madrid where he lost to Nishikori in three sets. Snapping a clay-court 17-match losing streak against Nadal at Monaco is a very well a morale booster for the world No. 5. Just like Stan has broken the bubble earlier this year, who says Ferrer is out of it. Me? It’s up to David!!!!!!
ANDY MURRAY
Andy Murray might feel a little fortunate to have found himself on this list but for now, this is where the 27-year-old belongs. He is however unlikely to cart away with the title.
He is in the top half of the draw and has shown little promise having made a slow recovery from the back surgery he had last year. He enters the draw with a 21-9 match record this year and still in search of his first silverware this year. He starts off against Andrey Golubev as he hopes to improve on his best result in Paris being his semi-final appearance in 2011 where he fell to Rafael Nadal.
The possibility of the first silverware coming at a major on a surface where he has never won against a top eight player is almost improbable. The chances of the 6th seed couldn’t be any slimmer this year.
OUTSIDERS:
With due respect to the likes of Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori, Fabio Fognini as well as Alexandr Dolgopolov, the writer believes that, despite the surge in their level of play and much improved level of consistency against the top guns, Roland Garros has come a little too early for them to win their first major.
I however believe that the stage is set for them to make an impact on the big stage.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, Stade Roland Garros remains Rafael Nadal’s home; his safest refuge. For me, he is still very much the safest bet. He has however been, by his standard, vulnerable this year on clay and Novak Djokovic poses the biggest threat to the dominance of the ‘’King’’ in Paris.
For the first time in years, the possibility of power changing hands in Paris looks more likely than ever. We wait to see if the “treasonable plot” to overthrow the “King” is successfully executed and whether or not the King is vulnerable enough for his defences to be breached.
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