Roger Federer, Wimbledon Champion Once Again

Congratulations to Roger Federer! He just won his 7th Wimbledon title,  17th major overall. He defeated Britain’s Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Federer equals Pete Sampras’ record. He turns 31 in August, and is the oldest man to win a major since 2003, when Andre Agassi won the Australian Open at age 32.  This is Federer’s first major in over two years.

It was a historic final for both players. As I mentioned earlier, Federer was looking to equal Sampras’ record. Murray was the first British man in the men’s singles final in over 70 years. He had been to 3 major finals before- 2 Australian Opens-where he lost to Novak Djokovic and Federer- and an US Open final-where he lost to Federer. There were many familiar faces in the crowd, most of them supporting Murray. Kate Middleton; the Duke of Cambridge; David Cameron, England’s Prime Minister, and the most famous Brit of them all, David Beckham, former Manchester United and Real Madrid player.

Murray won the first set 6-4 and Federer fans started to get worried. However, Federer started playing better in the second set and was able to win 7-5. They had just started the third set and were at 1-1, when there was a short rain delay and play was suspended while they closed the roof. They had to wait around 40 minutes before continuing the match. This was the first Wimbledon singles final that was played with the roof closed. The match resumed after the roof was closed, and Federer continued playing really good tennis. The turning point, the one where it looked as though Federer was definitely going to win, came when they played a 20-minute game that lasted 26 points. This is when Federer broke Murray’s serve and from there, it just got easier for Federer.

Although I was rooting for Federer, it was hard not to feel bad for Murray. In his runner-up speech, he (and his friends and family) choked up. It was very heartbreaking to see, but it also showed everyone how passionate Murray was and how much this meant to him. Murray deserves a lot of credit. He was really good, had it not been for his great returns, Federer would’ve gotten easy points on his serve. This was the first time in four finals that he had won a set, and he’s just going to keep getting better. I believe that one day Murray will win a major, if not at least 2 or 3. He has the talent and he has beaten the top players, now he just needs the confidence to know that he can do it. After this final, it looks like he’s starting to believe in himself.

Over the past few years, a lot of people have been saying that Federer was getting too old and his best tennis was behind him. He proved them wrong on Sunday. Last year, before the French Open, Federer said that he believed he could win another grand slam and be number one again. http://adjustingthenet.com/2011/05/10/federer-believes-he-can-be-no-1-again-but-do-you/ Most people doubted him. Well, by winning Wimbledon today, he returns to number 1 in the world again and cements his place in history as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Federer v Murray and Williams v Radwanska
(courtesy of Wimbledon twitter)

Day 10

Agnieszka Radwanska made it to her first Wimbledon final, after defeating Angelique Kerber 6-3, 6-4 in the SF. She is seeded number 3 and if she wins the title, she will become the world number one. Radwanska is the first Polish player, woman or man, to make it to the Wimbledon final since 1937. One thing that helped her, was the long rallies between her and Kerber. She will face Serena Williams in the final.

Williams will be playing for her 5th Wimbledon title, after defeating Victoria Radwanska 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) in the SF. This will be Williams’ 7th Wimbledon final. After a disappointing French Open, she lost in the first round, Williams started playing better tennis. In this match, she served 24 aces against Azarenka, a Wimbledon record. Another  impressive statistics? She had zero double faults. Williams has 13 majors, including 4 Wimbledon titles. She will face Radwanska in the final.

Two American doubles teams made it to the SFs, for both men and women’s doubles. Serena and Venus Williams played their QF match against another doubles team of Americans- Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears. They won 6-1, 6-1. This game was played a few hours after Serena Williams’ singles match.

Next up for them is the American doubles team-who’s also seeded number 1-Lisa Raymond and Liezel Huber. The other Americans doubles team to make it to the SFs was Bob and Mike Bryan. They are one of the most accomplished doubles team in history. Their Qf match wasn’t easy though. They played against Scott Lipsky and Rajeev Ram, two Americans, and won 5-7, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.  They won the Wimbledon men’s doubles titles last year and are after their 3rd title. They will face the wildcard doubles team-Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielsen.

Day 11

What an incredible win for Roger Federer. He defeated the world number one, Novak Djokovic, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.  Federer was incredible in his SF, some even said this was vintage Federer. Everyone this to be a very close match. After all, you had the world number one and the the best player of all time, espn on grass, playing against each other. This match was worthy of being a final. The last time these two met in a major was last month in the French Open, where Djokovic won in the SFs.  Federer has a chance of becoming world number 1, again, if he wins the title on Sunday. This is Federer’s first final since last year’s French Open final, when he lost to Nadal. He will play Andy Murray.

Murray has been to three finals before, 2 Australian Open finals and a US Open final. This is his first ever Wimbledon final. He made it through after defeating Tsonga in four sets-6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Murray is the first British man in the singles final in 74 years. He started off really well, wining the first two sets without a problem. Then he lost the third set. He struggled a little during the fourth set and it looked like he was going to lose that one too, but he pulled through and won 7-5. He will face Federer in the final.

Mixed results for the Americans in the doubles SFs. The men, Bob and Mike Bryan, lost their SF match to the wildcard team, Marray and Nielsen. They lost the first two sets, but won the third set. The Bryan brothers were down 5-0 in the fourth but came back to even it at 5-5. That wasn’t enough though, as they lost the fourth set in a tiebreak 7-6(7-5) and the match.

The women did much better. Serena and Venus Williams defeated the top seeded Americans- Huber and Raymond. They won 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. They had a little trouble with their serves in the first set, but stepped it up in the second and third sets. They will face Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic in the final.

The SFs for the men’s singles has been set. There weren’t any upsets in the QFs. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga all won their respective matches.

Federer defeated Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets- 6-1, 6-2, 6-2- and is in his 32nd Grand Slam SF. Although his back had been hurting during his fourth round match, Federer showed no signs of discomfort during this match. He will play against the current world number 1, Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic also had an easy QF. He defeated Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. So far, Djokovic has had a very good tournament.He won his first Wimbledon title last year, when he defeated Rafael Nadal and became world number 1 for the first time. He will face Federer for a chance to win his second Wimbledon title.

Andy Murray played David Ferrer in the QF and won in 4 very close sets.  He lost the first set in a tiebreak, but won the next three sets, two of which also went to a tiebreak. Murray will be playing for a chance to become the first British man to be in the Wimbledon finals in over 70 years. He will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The last player to join these three is Tsonga. He played Philipp Kohlschreiber and won 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6(7-3), 6-2.  This will be Tsonga’s second SF. Last year, he made it to the SF by defeating Federer, coming back from 2 sets to win in 5 sets. He will play the hometown favorite, Andy Murray.

It was a busy for Serena and Venus Williams. First they played a second round match against the 4th seeded doubles team- Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova. Then they played a third round match against 13th seeded doubles team- Bethanie Mattek -Sands and Sania Mirza. The Williams sisters first match was a difficult one for them. They lost the first set 3-6, won the second 6-3, and had tough time with the third set. They eventually won the third set 9-7 and moved on to the third round. Since the second round match had been postponed a day, the Williams sisters had to go back a few hours later and play their third round match that same day. Although this was their second match of the day, the Williams sisters had an easier time with their third round match. They won in straight sets- 6-4, 6-3- and moved on to the QFs.

Serena Williams

At the end of Day 9, only one American remains in the singles draw at Wimbledon. That one American? You guessed it, Serena Williams. The other Americans all lost their matches today. Mardy Fish and Brian Baker played their fourth round matches today because of yesterday’s rain delay.

Serena Williams knocked out last year’s Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in straight sets. Up to this point, Kvitova had been playing really well. But she was no match For Williams’ big serve. She served 13 aces and her fastest serve came at 120 mph. She won the match 6-3, 7-5. Williams will face Victoria Azarenka in the SFs.

Baker played Philip Kohlschreiber of Germany and lost in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6(7-4), 6-3.  This was the furthest Baker had gone in any major. He should be very proud of himself, he played some really good tennis these last two weeks and can only get better. His ranking will be somewhere around 70-80 and if he stays in the top 100, he will receive direct entry to next month’s US Open.

Fish played Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and lost in 4 sets. He had 11 break points, but was only able to convert 2 of them. Despite this, Fish had a very good run, esp considering this was his first tournament since April. Fish was the last American male left in the singles draw.  Originally, he’d been chosen to represent the US, but turned down the chance to let the younger players have a chance.

In an All German QF, Angelique Kerber beat Sabine Lisicki in 3 very close sets. This was one of the most entertaining matches of the day. Kerber, who had beat Kim Clijsters in her previous match, won the first set without a problem. She started off well in the second set, quickly winning the first 3 games.  However, Lisicki came back to win that set in a tie break- 7-6(9-7). The third set  was very close and very nervewrecking for both players. Lisicki came very close to winning the third set, and match. She served for the match at 5-3, but was broken. After that, Kerber win all to win the next 3 games and the match. She will be playing Agnieska Kerber in her first Wimbledon SF.

Andy Murray played against Marin Cilic, who had defeated Sam Querrey earlier in the second longest Wimbledon match. It took Murray a while to win the first set, but he won the next two sets without a problem. He will face David Ferrer in the QF.

Soon to be number 1 (yet again) Victoria Azarenka defeated Tamira Paszek in straight sets. Paszek has surprised a lot of people these past few days. Not only by defeating the former world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, but also by winning her next few matches, proving it wasn’t just a fluke. Even though Azarenka won in straight sets, the match was much closer. This was one of Azarenka’s toughest Wimbledon matches. It won’t get any easier for her she faces Serena Williams next.

David Ferrer is through to his first QF at Wimbledon. He defeated Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets. Ferrer has been to the QFs in all of the other majors, but never in Wimbledon. He will be playing Britain’s Andy Murray for a spot in the SF.

Sam Querrey and Marin Cilic after playing the 2nd longest match in Wimbledon

5 hours and 31 minutes. That’s how long it took Marin Cilic to defeat Sam Querrey during the third round in the second longest match in Wimbledon history. The longest match was played by Querrey’s occasional doubles partner, John Isner and French player Nicolas Mahut, back in 2010. In the Cilic-Querrey match, the fifth set alone took 2 hours and 7 minutes to finish. The final score was  7-6 (8-6) 6-4 6-7 (7-2) 6-7 (7-3) 17-15. This match had 81 games in total. Both players played some incredible tennis, unfortunately for American fans, Querrey did not emerge as the winner. He should be proud of his perfomance, though. Next up for Cilic is Andy Murray.

Americans Mardy Fish, Brian Baker, and Serena Williams all won their matches today. Andy Roddick won the first set, but ended up losing the next three sets, and the match to David Ferrer. Fish was playing against  David Goffin and won in straight sets. The last two sets went to tie break. This was a much easier match for Fish than his second round match, when he went to five sets with British wildcard James Ward.  Baker played against Benoit Paire and won in four sets. He will be in Wimbledon fourth round for the first time.

Williams didn’t have such an easy match on Saturday. She lost the first set in a tie break and then cruised through the second set winning 6-2. However, she struggled a little during the third set. She finally won the set at 9-7. Roddick lost in what many people think is his final match in Wimbledon. He started off great, and as I said won the first set. He lost the second set in a very close tie break – 7-6 (10-8). After losing the tie break, it seemed like Roddick just wasn’t able to compete with Ferrer and lost the next two sets 6-4, 6-3.

The player who upset Caroline Wozniacki earlier this week, Tamira Paszek, is through to the QFs after defeating Yanina Wickmayer in the third round 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.  Another player who also upset a former number one wasn’t so lucky. Lukas Rosol defeated Rafael Nadal in the second round, but lost to Philip Kohlschreiber in the third round, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Something else happened during Wimbledon that rarely happens in tennis. Yaroslova Shvedova won a “golden”set against the 10th seeded player Sara Errani. A “golden set” is when a player wins a set without dropping a single point, in other words winning 24 points in a row.  She won this match 6-0, 6-4.

The favorites all won their matches. Victoria Azarenka didn’t struggle at all during her 6-3, 6-3 win over Jana Cepelova.  Neither did the defending champion, Petra Kvitova, who won 6-1, 6-0 over American Varvara Lepchenko in less than 45 minutes.  Andy Murray won in four sets over Marco Baghdatis.  One of my favorites, Juan Martin Del Potro also won in straight sets against Kei Nishikori.

World Number 100 Lukas Rosol upsets World Number 2, Rafael Nadal

Day 4 had the biggest upset of the day. Actually, the biggest upset of the week. Rafael Nadal, ranked number 2, lost to Lukas Rosol, ranked number 100. This was Rosol’s first time playing in Wimbledon. When he was up 2 sets to 1, everyone believed Nadal would be able to come back and win the next two sets and the match. He won the 4th set and it looked like he was starting his comeback. But Rosol was too good and Nadal lost the 5th set 6-4. This was considered one of the biggest upsets in recent majors. Nadal had just won the French Open and it seemed like he was going to win back to back majors. One of the things that helped Rosol today was his serve. His average serve was 124 mph, his second serve came at 101 mph. During the whole match, Nadal was visibly upset. In fact, during the changeover, Nadal bumped into him. Rosol believes (and so do many people) that it was intentional. He also kept complaining to the chair umpire. Apparently, Nadal was annoyed that Rosol kept moving when he was getting ready to serve. Rosol is the lowest ranked player to ever beat Nadal in a major.

The other favorites did much better. Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Petra Kvitova, and Victoria Azarenka all won their matches. Andy Murray had a tough match with Ivo Karlovic. He won in 4 sets, but struggled a little with Karlovic’s serve. After this match, Karlovic accused the line judges of favoring Murray because they kept calling foot faults on him, including during some very critical points in the match. Williams’ match wasn’t as controversial. She had a much easier match, winning 6-1, 6-4 against Melinda Czenk. Azarenka and Kvitova cruised through their matches, winning 6-2, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-4. The one favorite who did struggle a little was Sharapova. She won the first set 7-6, but lost the second set 6-7. However, she was able to improve her game in the third set and won 6-0.

David Goffin, who was given a wildcard to Wimbledon, is through to the hird round after defeating American Jesse Levine in four sets. Goffin lost the first set, but stepped up his game and won the next 3. He has been very impressive in his Wimbledon. Some people have even started calling him the next Roger Federer. Next up for Goffin is American Mardy Fish.

Most of the Americans did well today. Brian Baker had another great match in Wimbledon. He defeated veteran Jarkko Nieminen in the second round, 6-0, 6-2, 6-4. Baker had a strong performance in today’s match. This is Baker’s first time at Wimbledon and he’s made it to the third round without a problem. Next up for Baker is Paire, which should be a winnable match, although there’s never a sure thing in tennis or any sport, for that matter.

The other two Americans who won today were Fish and Christina McHale. It took Fish five sets and a little over 4 hours to defeat British wildcard, James Ward. At times, it looked like Fish was struggling on the court. Most of it could be due to the humidity both players had to endure. McHale was able to win in straight sets and will be moving on to the third round.

Some other winners today were Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Tamira Paszek. Roddick won his first round match yesterday, after it had been delayed. This match was easy for him, he won in straight sets. Del Potro won his match in 4 sets and will face Kei Nishikori. After upsetting Caroline Wozniacki yesterday, she was able to win her second round match without a problem. She won 6-2, 6-1 against France’s Ailze Cornet. She will face Yanina Wickmayer in the the round.

Wimbledon will be shown on ESPN tomorrow, not ESPN 2. Same time as today- 7 am EST to 5 pm EST.

Mardy Fish (picture courtesy of yahoo sports)

Serena Williams (picture courtesy of ESPN website)

Day 2 of Wimbledon was a much better day for the Americans. While Day 1 had split results, most of the Americans who played on Day 2 made it to the second round, like Mardy Fish and Serena Williams. Some of the other winners of Day 2 were Andy Murray, the hometown favorite, Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro, Petra Kvitova, Victoria Azarenka, David Goffin, and Brian Baker.  While the first few names might sound familiar to most people, Goffin and Baker are players that are new.

As I mentioned, Day 2 was very good for the Americans. After disappointing first round losses for  Venus Williams and John Isner on Day 1, many people probably didn’t have their hopes up for the Americans on Day 2. However, S. Williams and Fish won their matches in straight sets. Serena Williams is a 4 time Wimbledon titlist and was looking to bounce back after her first round loss at the Frecnh Open. She got off to a good start at Wimbledon where she won 6-2, 6-4. Mardy Fish recently announced that a few months ago, he had some problems with his heart and had to undergo surgery. He was able to get through his match with no major problems. Some other Americans who won their matches today were Sam Querrey, Christina McHale,  Jesse Levine, and Brian Baker.

The name Brian Baker isn’t familiar to most casual tennis fans. He’s an American player who recently came back to the ATP tour after being away for 6 years. Why was he away for so long? He had 5 serious surgeries over the years and wasn’t able to do the one thing he loved, which was play tennis. After winning the Savannah Challenger and making it to the final of the ATP Nice Open, he was given a wildcard to the French Open where he made it to the second round before losing to Gilles Simon in 5 sets. He had to qualify for Wimbledon, which he did, and beat Portuguese Rui Machado in straight sets. Next up for Baker is Jarkko Nieminen.

Another interesting match today was between the two up and comers- Goffin and Bernard Tomic. Last year, as a qualifier, Tomic was the youngest tennis player (since 1986) to reach the QFs. He upset Robin Soderling, who was the 5th seeded player. Goffin was playing in his first ATP tour-level match on grass and had been given a wildcard into Wimbledon. Although Goffin is older, he had less experience in a major tournament. This was only his second major, his first was this year’s French Open, where he lost in the 4th round to Roger Federer.  None of that mattered today. Although, Tomic won the first set, Goffin was able to step up his game and play the rest of the match as if he had done this plenty of times before. Goffin is a player that you should watch out for. He could just be the next Roger Federer.

The favorites also won their matches today. Nadal started off pretty slow, but was able to win his match against Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in straight sets. Murray, who is under a lot pf pressure from the English press to do well at Wimbledon, won in a convincing manner, deafeating Russian Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets. It has been a long time since any British tennis player, male or female, has won a major. Murray has been to 3 finals, but  lost all 3. There’s even more pressure on him during Wimbledon. Other players who might have some pressure on them, as recent winners of majors, are Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova. Azarenka is ranked 2nd in the world and won the Australian Open this year. Kvitova is ranked 4th in the world and won last year’s Wimbledon title. Both of them were able to win their first round matches without any problems.

Here are some other players who won today- Del Potro, who defeated Dutchman Robin Haase and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who defeated Roger Federer in last year QF. There were only two upsets today, thought neither of them as big as yesterday’s upsets.  Nieminen beat 14th ranked Feliciano Lopez and Grigor Dimitrov upset 32nd ranked Kevin Anderson. Wimbledon will be on ESPN 2 tomorrow, at 7 am EST. Both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will be playing their second round matches.

We are one week away from Wimbledon and I, for one, am very excited about it.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with Wimbledon, it’s one of the four majors in tennis. It takes place in London and it’s the only major that’s played on grass court. It’s also the oldest tennis tournament in the world, the first Wimbledon tournament was played in 1877. This year, it will take place from June 25th-July 8th.

What do I love about Wimbledon? Well, as I mentioned before, Wimbledon has been around for a very long time. So naturally, they have a few traditions. There’s a dress code for players, they must wear all white, no exceptions.

Roger Federer, the 6-time Wimbledon champion

Another tradition they have at Wimbledon is the spectators are given strawberries and cream when they attend a match.

Strawberries and Cream+ Wimbledon=the perfect match

                When you’re at a Wimbledon match, there’s a chance you might get a glimpse of the Queen of England. The royal family is usually in attendance, esp when the British number 1, Andy Murray is playing a match.

Last year’s singles winners were Novak Djokovic, from Serbia, and Petra Kvitova, from Czech Republic. Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal, from Spain, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3; while Kvitova defeated Maria Sharapova, from Russia, 6-3, 6-4.  As always, the “big three” Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal are the favorites to win this year. For the females, it’s a little bit more difficult to predict who will win. Maybe the women’s number one player Sharapova will win, could be one of the veterans (Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, etc), or even one of the wild cards ( Laura Robson or Heather Watson, both British players). Who knows, anything can happen. Personally, I will be rooting for Roger Federer and either Williams sister to win the title.

Here’s the trophy two singles players(male and female) will win at the end of the tournament.

On Friday, the last four men standing will return to the court at the French Open, with the winners proceeding to Sunday’s finals.

With the match-ups, you couldn’t ask for better tennis: No. 1 seed and reigning champ Rafael Nadal will face No. 4 seed Andy Murray and on the other court, it will be a No. 3 seed Roger Federer against No. 2 Novak Djokovich.

How often do you have the top four seeds meeting in the semi-finals (only 12 times since 1968)? And for all of these players, they have their different reasons to want a tournament victory.

Nadal

The reigning champ is looking for victory number six at Roland Garros to tie Bjorn Borg’s record of six wins. Nadal got off to a rough start in his first two matches of the tournament but finally in the third round, he gained confidence and is now playing well.

In addition to Borg’s records, Nadal his lost his last two clay tournaments against Djokovich and will want to regain his stature as the clay king.

Experience at Roland Garros this far in the game is also clearly on Nadal’s side.

Murray

The scrappy Scot is hoping third time is the charm after losing earlier this year to Nadal at Monte Carlo and Djokovich in Rome. After learning he will be playing Nadal on Friday, Murray was quoted as saying, “I can beat Rafael Nadal.”

Murray has never reached the finals of the French Open and his record against Nadal is 4-10. In his three matches on clay against Nadal, who he considers a friend, Murray has never beaten the Spaniard. During their match in Monte Carlo, Murray did not win a set against him.

He has been struggling with an ankle injury and the monkey on his back: he is only the second British male tennis player since Tim Henman, to reach the semis here (1936).

WINNER? I am going with Nadal. I think he’s mentally and physically stronger than Murray on clay. And if he continues to play well, he will again own Roland Garros.

Djokovich

Looking to continue his perfect run, Djokovich is the most well rested of the four as he entered the semis via a default by Fabio Fognini. He hasn’t played since Sunday and there’s definitely the most pressure on him for the win.

Should the stars align, a win will give Djokovic the No. 1 world ranking for the first time and it will tie him with John McEnroe’s record for the best start to a year with 42 consecutive wins from the 1984 season–you know McEnroe can’t be happy about this.

And while the record is impressive, I have to imagine Djokovic probably just wants to win it all as he nears a Grand Slam.

Federer

The 2009 French Open champion, Federer has lost his dominance. He is 0-3 against the surging Serb in their last three meetings this season but holds a 12-9 record against him, going 2-1 on clay.

Federer brings a strong serve to the game (an 89 percent success rate) and he enters the match as an underdog. He is yet to lose a set at this year’s French Open and he is primed to win a tournament considering his drought (his last tournament win was the Australian Open in 2010).

He also has experience on his side.

WINNER? I’d love to see another Rafa – Federer final but I think Djoky is unstoppable right now. As Nadal said of the match,

“It’s the best player of today against the best player in history. … It’s going to be a beautiful match,” Nadal said. “I would watch it — if I was a spectator.”

Interested in watching the matches? Beginning at 8 a.m. ET, the Tennis Channel will broadcast the Nadal and Andy Murray match and NBC will air the second one between Federer and Djokovic on  NBCSports.com. NBC television coverage will begin at 11 a.m. in all time zones.