Wimbledon Wrap Up

Well after 125 years of play at the Wimbledon championships so many things have changed and so many things have stayed the same. As to what's changed, well the grass has been slowed down considerably and when the roof is closed the humidity makes the conditions become even slower. Yes, this has been the case for the last few years now but it's only now that people are really talking about it. Must have been a slow tournament hey? As to why it has been slowed down, well as is the case in most businesses, it's all about the money. And make no mistake, the ATP and ITF are businesses. So the thinking here is would audiences rather watch shortened rallies with huge serving that predictably results in a tiebreak or closer service games with extended rallies and more unexpected results. It doesn't matter what you or I think, to the casual tennis fan it is obviously the latter that would attract a wider range of audience, that in turn will generate higher revenue for the ATP and ITF. But that isn't the only reason serve and volley tennis has fallen by the wayside. Here's probably not the right place to discuss it but factors include the transformation of the game due to increased technology and the production line of ballbashers doesn't help either. As to what hasn't changed, the ridiculous scheduling is right up there and a small bitter part of me was hoping it rained all day on the Friday and Saturday of the first week so we could see if they would play the middle Sunday or not. Also best of five sets for doubles just shouldn't be happening. It's okay for the final perhaps, but it just creates to many problems in the earlier rounds when there are so many other matches that need to be completed on time. It's not like you can't determine who the best pairing is over 3 sets anyway.

As to the actual play, well this probably wasn't the most entertaining Wimbledon in recent memory, however the event had a worthy winner in the end. Novak Djokovic continued his remarkable run of form this year in dispatching the now former world number one Rafael Nadal in 4 sets in the final. On his way to the final, the Serb failed to produce his best tennis however it seems he was saving his best for last as the great players do, and unfortunately for Nadal it has been a common theme this year for him and especially in finals. It would be fair to say now that Djokovic has the edge both physically and mentally over Nadal at this stage in their careers and Nadal and Uncle Toni have even come out and said they don't have a winning game plan to defeat the Serb at the moment. Djokovic simply has to hit the ball hard and deep with his backhand to Nadal's forehand and wait for the short loopy reply and then he can attack the backhand side. This combined with the uncharacteristic lack of confidence that exists in Nadal's groundstroke swings whenever he encounters Djokovic spells worrying signs for the Spaniard in their future meetings. Of course Nadal's relentless determination will come to fruition now and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will be back on the training paddock soon to set upon devising a plan to trouble the world number one. Apparently he is out of action for the next six weeks because of the fracture to his foot but he wasn't meant to compete during that time anyway. People will see what they want to see there. As for the match, I'll keep it simple. Both players started off solid, with Nole beginning to get the edge in most of the baseline exchanges as the set went on. As it got to the business end of the set at 4-5 with Nadal serving, the Spaniard felt the effects of this and committed some unforced errors to hand Djokovic the set. The serb then lifted his level in the 2nd and Nadal couldn't keep up and was no doubt disappointed with the way he had gifted away the opening set. 6-1 to Djokovic. In the 3rd set Djokovic dropped his level while Nadal began to regain some belief and started hitting through the forehand more solidly. As it got to the latter stages it became clear that Djokovic had pretty much given this set away and was preparing himself for battle at the beginning of the fourth. Nadal takes it 6-1. Then in the 4th Djokovic breaks and serves it out at 5-3. Surprisingly there were no nerves on the Serb's part and he even through in a serve and volley play to set up the match point. The better player won and the celebrations the following night in Serbia was off the chains.

As has been stated before, the tournament wasn't the most memorable but there were a few aspects to savour. The coming of age for young Australian Bernard Tomic is worth noting and his run to the quarter finals was much needed for the game and for tennis in Australia. It was hilarious in the media during the event that when Hewitt crashed out to Soderling that tennis was at it's lowest point in Australia history, and then the next week it's looking great again with Tomic being a "superstar" now and having two junior winners as well. Typical knee jerk reactions from the press but I guess that is their job. Getting back onto Tomic, and quite simply the kid has got the X factor. He has the court craft and awareness that can't be taught and this will be his biggest weapon going forward. It's refreshing to see a player think his way around a tennis court, mixing up the pace and slicing the ball to the corners instead of watching the endless production line of ball bashers hitting the fur off the ball with no clear intention of constructing a tennis point. Of course there are many things he still has to improve. His movement is the most alarming that this stage, but thanks to his great anticipation, this doesn't get exposed as much as it should. The serve has improved a lot but still needs work, especially the second delivery. And he will need to spend more time on the clay where he is at a loss on the surface. Granted he's improved since last year, but that area is very much a work in progress. The youngster has barely any points to defend for the rest of the season and will now make the US Open directly so he has a great chance to progress further up the rankings.

Question marks over the career of Roger Federer will no doubt be raised by the media over the coming days and months after the great Swiss player bowed out in the quarter finals to enigmatic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. What was more surprising about the loss was the way it came about, with Federer giving away a 2-0 sets lead to lose in five. It was the first time in 178 grand slam matches that Federer had lost a match while being two sets to love up. But there's always a first time for everything and Tsonga simply played lights out tennis for the final 3 sets to take the match. It was one of those matches that the Frenchman can play maybe once a year and I doubt Tsonga will be able to kick onto to threaten the top 5 in the rankings and i'm a glass half full kind of guy. He just doesn't have the consistency required to play at that level week in week out on the tour. Some of the shotmaking and drop volleys he was pulling of in this match are just to high risk to make every match and that is what he needs to do to beat the top players. Federer in his interview with the press following the match couldn't care less that he lost, saying that he played well and these things can happen. Well, at least it was classier than last year's interview at the same stage where he said some unnecessary comments. He is far from done and it wouldn't surprise me to see him holding the US Open trophy in a couple of months time.

Andy Murray once again folded to the pressure of grand slam tennis and Wimbledon, crashing out in the semi finals for the 3rd consecutive year. Murray was in good form leading into the event, winning at Queens but unfortunately for him it was the same old story for the Scot at the slams. After an encouraging start against Nadal in the semis, it all went pear shaped at the beginning of the second set where at 15-30 on Nadal's serve he missed an easy forehand and failed to break serve. From there he mentally capitulated and surrendered the next 3 sets 6-2 6-2 6-4. The forehand, which was working well in the opening set, went walk about and he will never be the best player mentally due to all the pressure that is heaped on him by the British press. British if he's winning and Scottish if he's losing was obvious again here during these championships. It's tough for Murray, there isn't really much more he can do to win a slam but hope that the top 3 somehow don't make it to the latter stages of it. He's still got plenty of time though, and I still think he will win one just not at Wimbledon. The AO is probably his best shot followed by the US.


It was also refreshing to see some old school serve and volley at Wimbledon, with Lukasz Kubot and Judy Murray's boy toy Feliciano Lopez bringing back a bit of old school in their 4th round and quarter final runs respectively. Kubot has been on fire at the slams this year and came through qualifying to make it to the 4th round and even had match points on serve in the 3rd set tiebreak but just couldn't pull through. You have to give credit to Lopez there, yes he is a hard player to pull for (if your male) but he showed some good old fashioned fight and determination to get himself out of that one. Kubot has never been the most clutch type of player but he had improved this year, coming through a number of tight matches at the French and during this Wimbledon but it wasn't to be for him. At least we got to see the epic dance quite a bit.


We'll finish on a light note, and Alex Bogomolov gets the prize for the best racquet throw of the championships, but perhaps not as good as his opponent Donald Young's one a couple of years ago where he threw his racquet out of the stadium.

Wimbledon: Quarter Final Preview

We are getting down to the business stages at the All England Club so I thought I'd better look at some of matches that are to be played today. No surprises early with the top 4 guys making it through relatively unscathed, but the unexpected run of Bernard Tomic is certainly creating massive headlines across the world of tennis and the bandwagoning by certain media identities was never in doubt. I won't go into that here but John Newcombe saying that he has the best slice currently in mens tennis is too funny. I guess he forgot what he was saying about the kid a couple of years ago. Then again, we all love a winner. Feliciano Lopez and Mardy Fish are the other somewhat unexpected quarter finalists, however defeating Roddick these days is no claim to fame and he could have easily have gone out to Kubot in the previous round who blew match points on his serve in the tiebreak. Fish has played well the past week and a half and defeated last years finalist Tomas Berdych in the 4th round. A renewed dedication to the game over the last year has really benefitted his game and attitude. Tsonga has gone about his business quietly and is in good form on the grass, having also reached the Queens final in the lead up to Wimbledon. Let's have a look at each of the matches more closely and I may even stick my neck out on the winners:

Federer vs Tsonga

Federer will come into this encounter feeling very confident (when does he not mind you) with a 4-1 record over the Frenchman in past meetings, with the only loss coming in Montreal a couple of years ago where Federer choked a 5-1 lead in the final set. This will be the pairs first meeting on grass however, and Tsonga has the tools to ask the world number 3 some questions on the surface. Whether he implements the right game plan to use those tools effectively remains to be seen but if he has one of his lights out days and Roger is a little bit off this one could get interesting. Federer, well we all know what he's done here in the past so no need to ramble on about it here. The man is the most successful player of his time and most importanly, he still believes he can win more majors. That thought alone makes him dangerous. Tsonga is making his second consecutive appearance at the quarter final stage at the Championships and no doubt loves the surface, and hopefully for his sake, this won't be played indoors. Still, Federer should have too much variety for the Frenchman and the slices and change of pace will do his head in. Roger in 3.

Murray vs Lopez

The hometown hope is here again and will be secretly liking his chances of progressing to the semi finals. The Brit (if he wins) is 4-0 against the Spaniard but like the previous matchup, these two have never met on grass which without a shadow of a doubt is Lalo's best surface. "Deliciano", as he has been dubbed by Murray's cougar mother Judy, has made the quarter final stage here on two previous occasions in 2005 and 2008 and was the last person to beat Tiger Tim Henman here back in 2002. However, Murray will be liking this match up against the big server. The Scot (if he loses) has one of the best return games in the world and will fancy his chances of getting most of the balls back into play. From there he can work himself into the rally and then dictate to the Lalo backhand, which is the weakness for the Spaniard. Sure, he has a nice slice of that wing, but the drive backhand is poor and can be exposed. If Murray can stay aggressive throughout and reframe from becoming passive when he gets comfortable in the match, I can only see one winner here. Murray in 3.

Djokovic vs Tomic

The Aussie media are billing this one to be the most important match played by an Australian since Lleyton Hewitt went down to Marat Safin in the 2005 Australian Open decider. Yes, the bandwagon has well and truly taken off for Bernie Tomic and the future is certainly looking bright for this kid. His more immediate future however is looking ominous with a showdown with world number 2 Novak Djokovic in the quarters here. The Serb has been the form player this year, losing only one match to Roger Federer at the semi final stage at the French Open last month and winning 7 titles already. It would be fair to say that Djokovic hasn't found his best form on the grass so far, but has still been winning his matches comfortably although he was tested in the previous round against Baghdatis. The main thing that Tomic has had going for him this week was the element of surprise. Most of the players he has faced so far have never encountered a player on the tour who mixes up his shots and pace of the balls so much. The slice is class and his serve has been working very well, with the youngster not dropping serve in his last 8 sets of tennis. However the unknown factor will go out the window today as the pair have become quite good mates over the last year, and even practicing together quite frequently these championships. Djokovic will know what to expect and his superior return of serve should get him into a proactive postion in the court to dictate play from the baseline and thus taking away Tomic's time and being able to expose his weak movement. Nole in 3.

Nadal vs Fish

Well all the talk has been about how serious Nadal's foot injury was and if there was a little bit of gamesmanship on his part during his 4th round encounter against Juan Martin del Potro. All I will say on the matter is I fail to see the advantage of taking a MTO at the beginning of a tiebreak and then proceeding to go down 3-0 in that tiebreak. People will see what they want to see here and I'm not here to discuss this matter or attempt to change anyones opinions because that isn't going to happen. Maybe the ATP need to look at the rules regarding when a player can take a MTO. Anyway back to the matchup. Fish has been playing some very good ball these championships and comes into this clash on the back of a very strong performance against reigning finalist Tomas Berdych dismantling the Czech in straight sets. The serve has been on fire and the grass compliments this nicely. He has lost a lot of weight in the past year and his off court life couldn't be better which has in turn translated into his performances on the court. Nadal is a different proposition however, and will make the American number 1 play a lot more balls than what the Berdman did in the 4th round. The world number one and defending champion has done what he has needed to do so far this event and has been his usual relentless self. He has been going for more on his serve in an effort to get more free points and this good signs for him, especially on grass. I can see this one going to a couple of tiebreaks and when it gets to that stage, it is often a lottery. But, I like Nadal's odds of taking this one in straight sets.


Well, I've predicted all of these matches will get done in straights. We can all check back in tomorrow and see how wrong I was!

Paul Capdeville Wins 7th Challenger Title In Guadalajara

In the midst of the top 100 stars competing in Wimbledon during the past week, people can forget that there are other events going on within the professional tennis landscape. These are the guys who are fighting every week just to cover their expenses on the tour such as flights and accommodation. From the outside looking in, one can easily assume that the life of a professional tennis player is a glamourous one,(which it can be for the top players), but for the most part, it is a life of living out of a suitcase and trying to make a living just like any other job. And just like normal jobs in the real world, if you perform you will get rewarded and promoted, and in this case the reward is the promotion to the upper echelons of mens professional tennis.


For the 32 players in the main draw of the Guadalajara event in Mexico, this was the ultimate goal that was driving them to succeed during the past week. Because a couple of good weeks on the challenger tour can mean a huge springboard in the rankings, and in return, a jump into the larger and more prestigious events on the circuit. This event is a new addition to the 2011 calendar and is already looking the goods, with tremendous facilities and notable sponsors. The next step will be getting a live stream up and running and then it will be complete. Anyway, back to the tennis and for one of the finalists this week, the event started in the qualifying tournament played on the weekend before the main event. And for Canadian Pierre-Ludovic Duclos, it ended a week later than he would have anticipated having lost in the final round of qualifying to world number 758 Juan Sebastian Gomez from Columbia. Due to Fernando Romboli pulling out of the main draw at the last minute with a back injury, Duclos was given a lucky loser spot into the main draw and the Canadian took the opportunity with both hands, fighting his way through the draw all the way to the final where he went down to Chilean veteran Paul Capdeville.

Capdeville was tested in his opening match against Moldovan Roman Borvanov, eventually prevailing in a tight 3 setter, 7-6(7) 4-6 6-2. Borvanov had the Chilean on the ropes in the first set and could have easily snatched the tiebreak but it was not to be. He showed good composure to rebound from the initial disappoint of the first set to take the second, however he ran out of steam in the 3rd and Capdeville has a huge engine room and was never going to go away in this one. The Chilean, who is being managed by his brother, had a simpler passage in his next two matches where he made the semi finals without too much trouble. He then survived another tough 3 setter, this time against Jan Mertl from the Czech Republic. Mertl had defeated the 3rd seed and probably the favourite for the title Bobby Reynolds in the 1st round and was no doubt feeling confident coming into the semi final, but again Capdeville weathered the storm and hung tough again for another 3 set victory.

His opponent in the final had some equally as tough battles as well on his road to the decider. I've already touched upon his run through qualifying and his advancement into the main draw courtesy of being a lucky loser and Duclos made the most of the opportunity fighting hard in all his matches. His year to date had consisted of predominantly slugging it out in challenger qualifying and had only made one challenger quarter final before this week. This was simply an opportunity he had to take and take it he did, defeating the number one seed from Brazil Joao Souza in 2 tight sets 7-5 7-6(7) in their semi final encounter.

The two had already met once before on the tour this year, with Capdeville defeating the Canadian in the first round of qualifying at the Acapulco 500 event in February at the beginning of the year. The same result would happen again here with Capdeville taking it in straight sets, 7-5 6-1. Some good fight from Duclos to make it this far and to trouble the Chilean in the 1st set but he had nothing left for the second. Still, Duclos gained some very valuable ranking points, 60 to be precise, and will be confident of playing well and improving the ranking throughout the rest of the season. For Capdeville, it was 100 ranking points and a 7th challenger title. Both players will now head to the Winnetka challenger in America next week.


In the weeks other challenger event in Marburg Germany, local Bjorn Phau defeated Czech Jan Hajek in 3 sets, 6-4 2-6 6-3.

Wimbledon Day 1 Highlights

Rain, court speed and hilariously inaccurate interviews dominated day one proceedings at the 125th Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club in London yesterday. Most matches went according to plan for the top dogs in the mens field, with perhaps the most notable upset of the day being Denis Istomin prevailing in a four set victory over recent Halle champion Philipp Kohlschreiber. This result is both surprising and expected and yes I know that doesn't make sense. The German just can't deliver when it's expected of him, especially in the slams. 

No one will ever forget the way he dismantled Andy "duck" Roddick at the Australian Open in 2008, clocking 107 winners in 5 sets of flawless tennis, only to proceed to lose to Jarkko "shark" Nieminen in 4 sets the next round, after being up in the tiebreaks of that match as well. I know it isn't the same situation here, however he was playing very well in Halle and people were expecting better things. It has been reported in the German media that he was carrying a groin injury so perhaps I'm being a tad harsh here, but you can't help but feel this result was coming anyway. Props must go to Istomin as well, the Uzbek had only won 6 matches all year on tour and he played a strong match. Always nice to see a player doing well on the tour after coming back from serious injury a few years ago with that horrible car crash incident.


Centre court action saw world number one and defending champion Rafael Nadal open proceedings against American journeyman Iron Mike Russell. This was a fun match, played in good spirits and both players played well. Iron Mike was on fire early, storming off to a 4-2 lead in the opening set playing some excellent controlled tennis from the baseline. Of course, you've never broken until you hold serve yourself and unfortunately for Russell, Nadal awakened to the situation and broke straight back. The Spaniard quickly held serve the next game and Russell was suddenly on the back foot before he knew it.  The American played a poor game at 4-4 and was broken after a couple of double faults and unforced errors. The set and the match was over right then and there. Still, Russell fought hard as he always does and was enjoying himself immensely out there which was nice to see as he probably hasn't got too many more seasons left in him and won't have too many more chances to play on the biggest courts in the world. Nadal would win the match in the end in straight sets, 6-4 6-2 6-2.

On the outside courts, results went as expected for most of the mens matches. Czech runner up from last year, Tomas Berdych, was loving his draw against Italian Pippo Volandri, barely raising a sweat in a comprehensive 6-2 6-2 6-1 victory. Volandri can now go back to the Italian clay challengers where he will easily forget about this match. A court 5 showdown pitted two players who had lost to Nadal in the first two slams of the year, Ryan Sweeting and Pablo Andujar, in a match to see who would again face Nadal in the second round. The player from the Bahamas living in America emerged victorious in 5 sets and at least will get to play on centre court in Wimbledon, that will be more than enough for him. Talented Frenchman Richard Gasquet also got through his opening match unscathed, winning in straight sets against Columbian Santiago Giraldo. There was a little hiccup for Gasquet in the final set where he served for it at 5-3 and Giraldo broke him, but other than that, he served very well for the most part which is important for him and the backhand was on as well. The Frenchman is on course for a potential round 4 encounter with Andy Murray which has enormous potential if both play their best tennis.

Onto Murray now, and the rain meant that he would play under the roof for a second time, this time against Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver. The heavy conditions and the humidity inside centre court meant that the surface was slowed down significantly and this benefited DGT considerably. It hasn't taken long for the arguments to arise about the speed of the surface and the key dominator here is that you can't please everybody. If the grass was as fast as it was in the 80's then everyone would be complaining about "boring" tennis that would ultimately end in a tiebreak in each set and a shootout for the match so to speak. Nowadays you get people saying that the clay at RG is faster than Wimbledon which is not true in any case, and that the grass doesn't compliment the slice and serve volleyers as it is "meant" to do. Whatever your opinion, you just have to accept the fact that the contemporary grass makes for longer rallies and closer games, which in turn attracts more audiences and thus greater revenue is generated for the ATP. It's all about the benjamins these days. 

Anyway, back to the match, and DGT played some lights out tennis for a set and half, running around the backhand and cranking the off forehand which was on fire. The Spaniard was also serving out of a tree, regularly clocking them at over 120mph which is Karlovic on drugs stuff for him. Murray was getting frustrated at his inability to make inroads on the DGT serve, and this translated to his own service games where he started retreating back into his comfort zone and played way too passive, enabling DGT to dictate with the forehand. DGT managed to break and close out the first set 6-4 in front of a stunned local crowd. The beginning of the second set produced more of the same for both players, with Murray getting angry with himself after failing to capitalise on a number of break point chances in an early DGT service game and the Spaniard ripping the off forehand winners from the backhand corner. However, midway through the second set DGT's notable backhand weakness started to feature more prominently. He doesn't get into position with the feet and can sometimes hit down on the ball which ultimately leads to a lot of balls being dumped into the net. Murray started to pepper this wing and this paid dividends in the end for the Scot, breaking the DGT serve and running away with the second set 6-3. Murray had regained his confidence now and DGT had run out of steam, and he also picked up a bit of an injury as well. Murray continued to play well from the baseline now and would attack the DGT forehand in an attempt to open up the weaker backhand side. The Scot would go on to win the final two sets comfortably 6-0 6-0 and kudos must be given to DGT for not retiring when he easily could have. Fun match to watch.


We'll end this article on a hilariously bad interview from one of the journalists in the Monfils press room after he had won his opening round match in straight sets. The person was addressing Monfils on who he will play in his next match and the lucky loser situation:

Q. You are playing Slovakian qualifier, Grega Zemlja.

GAËL MONFILS: Who?

Q. Greg Zemlja.

GAËL MONFILS: I didn't check.

Q. Do you know anything? Are you familiar with him?

GAËL MONFILS: You just tell me. I don't know who I'm supposed to play. It wasn't Kendrick or... (In French.)

Q. No. He is lucky loser. Do you know anything about him, the way he plays or something like that?

GAËL MONFILS: No.

Q. Never heard of him?

GAËL MONFILS: Yes, I saw his name, but I don't watch my draw, you know. Just match after match. But I don't know. Just I saw I was playing Kendrick or qualifier, so now you tell me.

Q. Do you think the qualifiers have some advantage because of the bad weather in the past few days and prepare a little bit more matches?

GAËL MONFILS: I don't know if it's advantage, but for sure they have good match because they need to win three matches.

Q. Two.

GAËL MONFILS: Two?

Q. Lucky loser. Yes, now three.

GAËL MONFILS: Yeah. But I played last week as well, so it's the same. It's always tough to play a qualifier and someone you don't really know. Like today, the opponent I played, it was tough because I never saw him playing.

So it's always tough and tricky, but all I can tell you is I will bring my game Wednesday, and then I will try to impose my style. And then for sure I will see how he's playing, and I hope I will have a good match.