A Wimbledon for Federer and Venus to lose
By MTF Contributor Nistha Tripathi
‘Can a 6ft 10in mighty serving Croat finally stop Federer from his 21st straight semi final’ – was the question. After all, Ivo Karlovic was boasting of 80 unbeaten service games in his run to the Quarter Finals at Wimbledon. In answer, Roger Federer humbled him with the finesse of an artist, in straights, while never facing a break point himself. At the end, all Ivo could say was – “Oh, it is only because he is better than everybody else. That’s it”. In the other QF match, Djokovic failed to avenge his Halle title loss to the oldest player left in the draws, Tommy Haas, and caved-in in 4 sets. Nearly a month ago, the Serb was on a majestic run on the clay and was supposed to be the biggest threat in Rafa’s way to 5th French Open title. Around the same time, Federer was giving one desultory performance after another in the ATP Masters tournaments and any hope of equaling Sampras’s 14 Slams was getting bleaker and bleaker; not to forget a rare display of racket abuse in Miami against Nole. Then, Madrid Open happened. In one brilliant semi final, Nadal overcame Djokovic in 3 tight sets leaving the Serb high and dry. Federer having disposed off Del Potro in the other easy semi final, defeated Nadal in straight sets in the final to claim his first ATP title since 2007. Suddenly, the whole dynamics of Men’s tennis had changed.
Since Madrid, Djokovic has constantly struggled to display form and talent that took him to World No. 3 rank. The mentally exhausted Serb lost his improving touch on clay and fell inexplicably to Philip Kohlschreiber in the third round at French Open and later to Tommy Haas at the Halle Open finals on grass. Since Madrid, Nadal also has succumbed to physical and personal malaise.
In contrast, Roger Federer seemed to have found the lost key to his original form and happiness as he claimed the elusive ‘Coupe des Mousquetaires‘ for the first time, completing his career slam and leveling Sampras’s record of most Grand Slam titles. It will not be an understatement to say that the guy is on top of the world and knows that he is there. In his recent media interviews, a casual eye might easily mistake his confidence and aplomb for arrogance. He is prepared for anything that might come in his way for a record 15th Slam victory. And, one should not under estimate his armory and ability to evolve. The guy who once detested the drop shots as a last resort in panic, overhauled his tactics and used them breath takingly during his course at French Open to thwart the likes of Mathieu, Haas, Del Potro and Soderling. We are talking about a guy who has kept himself injury free and fit for more than 5 years, and has consistently delivered near flawless performances at the Slams. The only man to strip him of his invulnerability is the Majorcan and the Swiss is making the best of defending champion’s absence at Wimbledon.
©Julian Finney/Getty ©EPA/S. Suki ©Getty/P Gilham ©Getty/H Blair
Looking ahead at the draws, Haas may prove to be the toughest contender yet for Federer and if he has learnt anything from his French Open loss, he should know that even a 2 sets lead means nothing against the Swiss. In the ‘clash of Andys’, Roddick will hope to up his game against the rising Scot er Briton, Murray.
©EPA / G. Penny ©EPA / S. Suki ©Getty Images / H. Blair
On the ladies side, WTA has had so many shuffles in the rankings lately that I almost missed the fact that the top 4 seeds have all made it to the semi finals! In both USA vs Russia semis, it seems very unlikely that anyone will be able to stop Williams sisters, who exhibited transcendental performances in their respective quarter final matches. Do you know that only one of the last nine women’s finals at Wimbledon did not feature any Williams sister? It was in 2006 when Mauresmo defeated Justine Henin. I do not see any reason why we should not make it one in last ten now.
The stage is set for Roger Federer and Venus Williams to clench their 6th Wimbledon Trophy. Who can stop them?
Tags: Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Nistha Tripathi, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tommy Haas, Venus Williams, Wimbledon 2009
[...] quarter finals at Wimbledon led to another article at MTF, full read here. In contrast, Roger Federer seemed to have found the lost key to his original form and happiness as [...]