A quick update in the midst of a busy week, in which I at least had a chance to watch Roger Federer's first match in Hamburg with his new racquet he is experimenting with. Everything looked good initially in the first set. What I often find so surprising in tennis, however, is how quickly things can change with dramatic results. In what seemed to be no time at all, Federer was suddenly down a break and Daniel Brands (who gave Rafael Nadal some problems at the French Open this year) was serving for the first set. Maybe Roger just wanted to make him feel good on his birthday, which is today, because in the second and third sets he was back in control again without too much worry, other than taking a little longer than I would like to close out the match at 3-6 6-3 6-2.
Sometimes tricky matches can be helpful in the beginning of a tournament and I'm hoping this will be the case in this situation. He needs time to get used to this new 98 inch (compared to the 90 he has been using for years) Wilson racquet. I personally am very glad he is giving this a try. He has been called stubborn at times by some, which great champions often can be, wanting to continue to use the techniques that have worked so well in the past. After his surprising early round loss at Wimbledon this year, though, it became obvious something needed to change if he wanted to continue at the top of his game, having already dropped to #5 in the rankings. Hopefully this move will give him some new power and a larger sweet spot to work with for his ultra-sweet shots. Confidence is also key as he goes into the second half of the season and some wins, especially a tournament win, would certainly help him in this regard.
A new national holiday should be declared in the U.K. on this 7th day of the 7th month, the day the 77 year drought of having a British Wimbledon champ ended. The tension was palpable as Andy Murray served for the championship at 5-4 in the third set. Having three championship points at 40-love it seemed like it was a done deal. However, #1 ranked Novak Djokovic is never one to back down, no matter how unlikely a comeback looked down two sets to none. But it seemed in a heartbeat it was suddenly break point instead, three times to be exact, which Murray fought off with everything he had. When his 4th championship point came along he took it, raising his arms toward the press in exhilaration. After the tears and disappointment last year when he had been so close in his loss to Roger Federer he had finally done it, bringing fans all across the United Kingdom to their feet in joy and relief. For all of history he will be remembered as the man who brought them another Wimbledon crown after what seemed like (per Roger Federer a few years ago) 150,000 years.
I had the privilege of watching the final with a friend who grew up in Scotland, who even brought some strawberries and cream for us to enjoy to commemorate the event, so I got to be even more involved in the joy the country was experiencing after such an extended time. Now that it's over I think they would say it was worth the wait.
Though the match had its moments of stress for Murray fans in the long rallies, breaks back and forth, and especially the last service game, overall it could have been a lot more stressful. Surprisingly Andy was able to win this in straight sets, which I never would have guessed from the start. Djokovic just seemed a bit weary out there, probably worn down from his epic match with Del Potro, and simply didn't have the same ability to fight it out this time. Andy played some very strong and smart tennis and fully deserved his straight set win to etch his name forever with the champions of Wimbledon.
Marion Bartoli was also a first time Wimbledon champion this weekend, as well as being her first major title. I'm sure there was hardly a person in the world who would have had her name in the winners box in their draw before the tournament started. It doesn't matter that she didn't have to beat a top ten opponent - no one will remember that in the history books - and that her opponent took out both last year's champion and finalist. It's the last match that counts and Bartoli played determined tennis, while her opponent, Sabine Lisicki, emotionally exhausted from all that the fortnight had required of her, simply didn't have what it took to hardly even make it a contest. You couldn't help but feel for her as she struggled with tears at different times during the match. But in the end, no matter who you were cheering for, how could anyone not be happy for Marion Bartoli, the joy evident in everything she did, including her climb up to the player's box to collect hugs from her team. She is also the first person who plays with both hands on each side to win Wimbledon. Since I also play the same way, that novelty couldn't escape my attention.
And finally, history was made again by the amazing Bryan Brothers, who now hold all four grand slam titles simultaneously, as well as the Olympic gold medal. What an incredible achievement by these highly talented and very likeable guys. And now in a couple months they will have the opportunity to go for a calendar year grand slam at the U.S. Open.
So Wimbledon is over for another year and soon we will be fully into the build-up to the final hard court slam of the year. More stories to be written, more curiosity as to who will hold the next trophy, but in the meantime history has been made in several ways and we will long remember many of the stories created in this wacky and wild fortnight.
After all the crazy upsets the first week of Wimbledon, here we still end up with the predicted (by many) final, for the men anyway. The fans of Roger Federer still were adjusting to him not being at least in the quarterfinal, and couldn't help but wonder what the outcome would have been if he had been in the semi, but that's irrelevant at this point. The fact is that it is again Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray facing off on Sunday.
For those who didn't get a chance to watch the match between Djokovic and Juan Martin Del Potro you missed an epic! Everyone was wondering how Delpo would fare with his knee injury against the greatest mover in the game. How about if we just say "no issue." The level of tennis in this match was one rarely seen. The amount of power, the jaw dropping gets with awe inspiring returns, the sheer determination on both sides was no less than incredible. I kept thinking I had seen the best and then they would come up with something more. It was really a shame someone had to lose that one, as they both gave it their all and both deserved to win it. And I never realized Delpo could be so funny. From his instruction to the ball of how to go over the net after a barely missed shoelace volley, to jumping up on the edge of the player stands and giving a guy a high five, along with a few others really gave the crowd a new appreciation for the gentle giant, along with his amazing tennis. I would have loved to see him make it through to another final, but if nothing else this showed himself as well as the fans what he is capable of. Hopefully he will be able to put a run together again soon. It would be fun to see him with another grand slam trophy - well, as long as it's not Roger Federer he's beating, that is. :)
The second men's semifinal wasn't the same high level of tennis as the first one, but it still had its drama. For some reason I was expecting this to be a fairly easy win for Andy Murray. Jerzy Janowicz had other ideas, however. After splitting the first two sets I was pretty surprised when Andy gave up a break in the third, thinking once he had found his game he would cruise. But all of a sudden things turned around again. I think Janowicz's drop shots were starting to really irritate Murray, and when Jerzy acted rather unsportsman-like by hitting the net with his racquet after a missed shot, with boos from the crowd, I think it triggered something in Andy, causing an amazing round of aggressive play getting the break back and also another break, finally closing out the third set. There was no coming back after that, in spite of the delay for the roof to be closed (much to Andy's frustration) and he closed out a quick final set at 6-3 to seal the deal.
I really don't know who is the favorite between Murray and Djokovic. Personally I would like to see Andy get his win at home after last year's heartbreak.
As for the women, the first semifinal ended up being a blow out match for Bartoli to reach the final, followed by a see-saw match in the next one which Lisicki finally took. Either way we will have a first time grand slam champion. In spite of the fact that Marion Bartoli can about drive you crazy with her quirkiness on the court, when you actually listen to her in interviews she can be rather endearing. And of course who can't love Sabine Lisicki's contagious smile, plus the fact that one of the giant killers finally came good and actually followed up their big win. What a Cinderella story that would be for her to end up holding the trophy in the end.
So even though Wimbledon was full of surprises and disappointments the first week, we still have ended up with some compelling tennis and some good stories. I am looking forward to a weekend with some very good matches that really could go either way. And even the men's doubles final has some excitement to see if the amazing Bryan Brothers can hold all four grand slam titles simultaneously. Should be an exciting next couple days.
Nine days ago if someone would have said that the quarterfinals of Wimbledon would be minus Nadal, Federer, Tsonga, Serena, Sharapova and Azarenka, who in their right mind would have believed it? But that is exactly what we have.
Serena's loss in the Round of 16 was another huge shock, for some more shocking than Federer's was (though I am not one of those). It sure seemed, after a surprising collapse in the second half of the first set to lose it 6-2, that Serena had found her form as well as her fierce determination when she quickly won the second set 6-1 and then went up a quick break in the third. In fact, two times she was up a break, but somehow grass court specialist Sabine Lisicki kept fighting and kept finding a way back in. To find a way, though, not just to get the break back, but to get an additional break against powerful Serena and then be able to serve it out on her own serve was truly an inspiring fight. If only Sabine could find a way to transfer her grass success to other surfaces, she could be at the top of the rankings.
You know, anytime all of the media and all the odds makers put all their bets on one person it almost makes me want them to lose. NO ONE is invincible - no, not even Serena Williams, though that's what at least the commentators that I listen to seemed to believe. It seemed they all thought Serena was unable to be beaten at this stage of her career. So although I live in the U.S and it's always good to see someone from my country win, it seems to me that putting people on such a huge pedestal is never a good idea, no matter how super human they may seem to be for a while (kind of like those who seem to think that Roger Federer is God - no matter how much I love him, he is just a person!).
So in the end, on the men's side, will it be as many odds makers predicted with a Djokovic Murray final, or are there still more surprises to be seen, such as a Jerzy Janowicz , Tomas Berdych or Juan Martin Del Potro holding the trophy at the end? As to the women, the eventual winner could be any number of ladies - maybe last year's finalist Aga Radwanska, or how about the young American Sloane Stevens, if she can hold her nerve? Or maybe Petra Kvitova will find her magic again from a few years ago to claim the grass court title again. In spite of the fact that my favorite, Roger Federer, no longer has a chance this year, I'm not one of those using hash tag WimbleDone - there are still good story lines to be had for the rest of the fortnight.
I got up early excited for another day of Wimbledon tennis, and especially to see another match in what I hoped would be Roger Federer's run to the final. I had no idea what I was in for. It started with messages coming fast and furious about injuries and withdrawals - Isner, who was injured after two games and had to retire, Azarenka who slipped a couple days ago and withdrew, Nadal's slayer Darcis who hurt his shoulder during that match and now couldn't even serve or hit a forehand. Then I watched Hewitt go out to a truly inspired Dustin Brown, who played the match of his life, Caroline Wozniacki losing after slipping hard in the back of the court, then watched Tsonga go down two sets to one and retired (apparently from a knee injury), then a shocker with Maria Sharapova losing to a virtual unknown after falling three different times in the slippery grass. What a day already. I didn't realize that the biggest shock was yet to come.
Federer's match started off well. I was expecting a pretty routine win so I was watching for when he would take his opportunity for the early break. It soon became obvious, however, that his opponent, Sergiy Stakhovsky, was playing quite well and Roger wasn't really figuring out his service games. Stakhovsky was doing a lot of serve and volley, overall coming to the net almost 100 times during the match. Federer eventually won the first set in a tiebreak and I really thought a break would come quickly in the second set, pretty much settling things from then on. For some reason though Roger just never was able to get into Stakhovsky's service games, and when Stakhovsky was able to take the second set in a tiebreak it wasn't long before he just seemed to have the upper hand. Pretty much everything he was doing was working for him and Fed started to make some errors at critical times, and most importantly wasn't able to capitalize on the few break point chances he had After going down an early break in the 4th, he FINALLY managed to break back, which I thought could change the momentum. I mean, I have watched Roger come back so many times now in important matches that I fully expected him to do it again - why not, he's the 7 time champion. In the eventual 4th set tiebreak (after having break points to win the set at 6-5 that he couldn't take) Stakhovsky continued to play amazingly, using the tactics that had worked for him the whole match. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest I actually had my hand over it to try to slow it down. When Federer was able to save a couple match points and get it back to 5-6, on his serve, once again I thought he could maybe turn it around. But an errant backhand ended the match with a very disappointed Roger coming to the net to congratulate his opponent.
Though I'm certainly not going to say it's the end of an era - as Roger said himself, he hopes to play for many more years to come - it still is the end of one of the things he has been so well known for - his consistency in majors. His streak of 36 consecutive quarterfinals is one of the greatest in sports (not just in tennis). We have seen Rafael Nadal lose in the first round this week, plus miss multiple slams, and Andy Murray not be able to compete in last month's French Open, which already disqualifies them from ever even coming close to a streak like that. While it makes us realize how special it was, it also makes us realize that these early losses will likely come with more frequency now, mixed in with some amazing runs with hopefully a lot more titles (and even more slams hopefully). We knew it would eventually happen but we all wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. It's always difficult to see something so beautiful come to an end, especially in his own "house" on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
But although very disappointed, Roger didn't sound devastated in his press conference. He talked about working hard and moving forward, and that's the perspective that fans need to have too. And while Wimbledon won't have the same magic for the rest of the fortnight for many, those who are true tennis fans will continue to watch, wondering if maybe something different than the norm can happen this year. So onward we go, many of us with gut wrenching disappointment, but also appreciating this man Roger Federer who has accomplished so much and brought so much joy and tennis beauty to his fans around the world.
Well well well, we thought last year was a huge shocker when Rafael Nadal was beaten in the 2nd round by Lukas Rosol. Who in their right mind would have ever predicted Nadal going out this year in the 1st round, to an opponent ranked 135, in his first ever 1st round loss? Although obviously Rafa wasn't even close to his best, and most likely his knee was really bothering him, which became apparent by the end of the match, there was no doubt about it that Steve Darcis played a clutch match beginning to end. I have never seen some of the shots he was doing with his slice, and at the end of the match he was hitting some very Nadal-like winners. Earlier this year he was losing in challenger tournaments, but regardless of what happens in the rest of his career, he will now always be remembered as the guy who took out Nadal in the 1st round of Wimbledon. Quite the accomplishment!
Roger Federer had a much better day than Rafa did. He wasn't the slightest bit troubled in his first round match against Victor Hanescu. I think his victory in the tournament on grass in Halle was very helpful for his confidence going into Wimbledon. He played his beautiful grass court tennis that we have gotten so familiar with. The errors that can sometimes creep into his game weren't an issue in the slightest today and he showed his full range of all court tennis. He served great, which always helps so much in setting up his game. Obviously this was an opponent who couldn't do much to trouble him, but I think this bodes well for his upcoming matches. And with Rafa now out of the tournament (which I still find hard to believe!), that really changes things as to his chances to claim his 8th Wimbledon crown.
And now I just have to rant for a moment. There has been much debate for quite some time as to the GOAT (greatest of all time) question - really more than there should be when those being talked about are still playing. For a great majority Roger Federer is undeniably the GOAT for a good many reasons. Before Nadal's surprising exit, however, former tennis great and current commentator John McEnroe was trying to make the case that Nadal is getting close to taking over that spot. For one who used to speak so extremely highly of Federer in that position, McEnroe certainly is fickle and I can't see at all where he is coming from. Not even counting the 17 to 12 total grand slams, Federer is so far ahead in so many areas. What about his 23 consecutive grand slam semis, his still unbroken 36 straight quarterfinals, 302 weeks at #1 (237 of those consecutive), 18 of 19 major finals, winning 6 World Tour Finals (which Nadal has yet to win any). No, he doesn't have a Davis Cup win but that certainly isn't all on him by any means. Really the only thing Nadal has going for him is his record against the top guys, many of those wins, especially against Federer, on clay (on which Nadal is undeniably the GOAT). No one is going to have every record or be best at everything. However, in so many different areas Roger Federer has been the best in history. We will see how things end up when each of them have hung up their racquet, but for now, for me, there just is no room for any other view between these two great players.
Roger Federer broke through a big barrier today to win his 77th title. After not having won any in 10 months, and knowing he would tie John McEnroe's record, I believe it had become a bit of an obstacle trying to cross the finish line. In this final match he looked to be starting off great with four break points in Youzhny's first service game. However, he was unable to capitalize on any of them and eventually went on to lose the set in a tiebreak. You could see his frustration at some of his errors, one time even hitting himself in the head with his racquet (bringing back memories of Youzhny's violent display several years ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi-CgSO9Evw). He was eventually able to cut down on his errors, however, finding a way to break serve in the next two sets to win the championship, bringing his head-to-head record against Youzhny now to 15-0, and most importantly winning his first title of 2013.
Usually I don't feel like these warm-up tournaments necessarily have a huge bearing on who goes on to win the upcoming grand slam, in this case Wimbledon. I this situation, however, I feel it was very important, mainly because I think he really needed this confidence boost as he goes into this tournament as the defending champion with 2,000 points to defend. As he said in an interview, winning is everything, and I think this really increases his chances as a big favorite to win his 18th major.
In other news, Andy Murray, who played Federer in the final of Wmbeldon last year, also won a warm-up tournament, taking out defending champion Marin Cilic in the final. After not playing the French Open due to injury, this will also give Andy confidence that he could come out the winner instead of the finalist this year. He also took part in a rally for cancer fund raiser, playing doubles against his coach Ivan Lendl. Here's a fun video where Andy celebrates hitting Lendl during a rally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mVVWa9GFM3I
And finally I always have to post some pictures whenever the Federer twins make an appearance. Here are adorable Myla and Charlene at the trophy presentation:
