OK so we are nearing that time where the most prestigious grand slam in the game of tennis is just around the corner, yep its nearly Wimbledon time!
So its going to be another 2 weeks of enthralling, exciting tennis, lovely sunshine interspersed with cloudy spells and rain showers, with the staff quickly covering the courts in lightning speed, not to mention the spectators enjoying glasses of Pimms (which I personally don't like).
And all this of course begs the question? Who is going to win Wimbledon this year? Well the home crowd will of course be expecting a great deal from the British No.1 Andy Murray (heard of him???) as he tries once again break his duck and grab that maiden and highly elusive grand slam. Unfortunately for Andy he is up against three other guys who are just that bit better than he is, two of which are two of the greatest players that have ever played the game. Can Andy beat them and finally claim that crown on his own soil??? To be honest no, I've actually given up my expectations of Andy winning at Wimbledon, as Roger and Rafa have been so dominant there over the last 7 or 8 years, and I'm sure Roger will endeavour to play his best tennis here once again, especially given his form at the French Open. So I'm willing to wager that Federer might win it this year, its his main title, the one that means the most to him, for Rafa its the French Open, but Roger's is definitely the grass. However lets not discount Novak Djokovic, who up until the French Open semi final was unbeaten this year, but again Roger's best surface overall is grass, and I think Djoko will really struggle against him to win again, I could be wrong but we will see.
But let's not entirely discount Andy from winning at Wimbledon, one day he might still do it, but I'm quite convinced it won't be this year. Hopefully he might reach the semi finals again this year, but if he does he will doubtless meet Rafa again, who in their previous two meetings at Wimbledon saw Rafa beat Andy in straight sets. I'm hoping Andy can at least go one better this year and push Rafa that bit further and take him to 4 sets at least, but Rafa has usually found away to break the Muzza down. But if Andy is to win, he's going to have to take his chances more often, play aggressive and get those pesky 1st serves in. However I am resigned to the fact its not going to happen for Andy just yet. Can he win a grand slam??? Actually yes. Will he??? I think so one day. His next best chance is the US Open, but again Djokovic has been pretty dominant so far this year on the hard court, and unless he plays the tennis of his life, he will be denied once more.
Anyway that's all yet to come, in the meantime the AEGON Championships from Queens club in London is still on just now, with the top seeds Andy, Rafa and Andy Roddick still in play. Today they play Cilic, Tsonga and Verdacsco respectively, its going to be tough for them, so we'll see how it goes. In fact it would be great to see Andy win this title again like he did in 2009, he deserves to win one, as the other two have won titles already this year, so I think its high time Andy got one under his belt! But I would wager money on either Roddick or Rafa winning this one, but again its all to play. Its been a great tournament so far, with Andy playing pretty solidly over his last two matches, as has Roddick, although Rafa did survive a scare yesterday against Radek Stepanek who put in a spirited fightback and took the 2nd set from Rafa in 7-5. But Rafa recovered well and rattled through the 3rd set and sealed the victory with 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
So on the British tennis front, there's been good news as James Ward, the British No.2 has beaten the defending champion Sam Querrey in 3 sets to reach the quarter finals at Queens for the first time. Also Muzza's opponent Marin Cilic has withdrawn due to injury, which gives Andy a walkover into the semi finals where he will play Andy Roddick. So the two Andies will be together again, I think their last encounter was at the Wimbledon 2009 semi final, which Roddick won in a tight 4 set match, so we should expect a belter this time round. Roddick also appears to be in top form once again so could it be Roddick that prevails once again? Not so sure, but it could be, whatever way it goes, I'm sure it will promise to be another great re-match between these two.
On a shock note Rafa has been beaten by Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in 3 sets, Tsonga winning in 6-7, 6-4, 6-1. I think though Rafa has been pretty fatigued after having played so many matches this year, so that doesn't help, however playing at Queens will have helped him get used to the grass, so its a good thing for Rafa as he can rest up and get back into shape for Wimbledon a week on Monday.
Also more news on the Murray vs Roddick match as Andy Murray won the match by crushing Roddick in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, it was quite an incredible display from the Muzza as he just effortlessly breezed through the match in just under an hour. I was really quite surprised as I expected a much tougher test from Roddick, but Andy secured an early break and he never looked back after that. Now if only he could play like that every time in the grand slams then he would be lifting that trophy by now! So its now confirmed that Andy will play Jo-Wilfred Tsonga who defeated the British No.2 James Ward in straight sets in 6-3, 7-6(6). It was a tight match by Tsonga, who was down a break in the 2nd set but he managed to break back and take it to a tiebreak, and unfortunately for Ward he couldn't close it out. But James Ward should be proud of his week's achievements, as he was only the second British player to reach the AEGON Championship's semi finals in many years, and even if the Muzza doesn't play the Davis Cup this year, I'll still pay money to see James play as I'm sure he can tackle the Luxembourg No.1 himself! So big well done to James, its a highly impressive run which will see him break into the top 200 for the first time.
So Andy faces Tsonga tomorrow in the final and no doubt this will be a tough match for him this time, but I think Andy can still win especially after his imperious performance today, but let's not discount Tsonga either, who has defeated the World No.1 this week already. And if Andy wins, not only will it be his 2nd Queens title, could it signal a potential win at Wimbledon??? Hmmmmm to be honest I'm still sceptical, but its still all to play for. However due to the heavy wind and rain down in London, it turns out the Queens final has had to be delayed until Monday 13 June, so hopefully by then the rain will have cleared away and play will resume.
Right well that'll do it the now.
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