Well this is the last of my posts on the 2012 Olympics tennis from Wimbledon, whch sees the conclusion of the mens and ladies singles and doubles finals so let's get to it!
So the ladies matches starting with the gold medal final between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, promised to be quite an encounter, but in the end it was nothing but a cakewalk for Serena who crushed Maria without mercy, putting on a ruthless display for the audience, and only conceding one game on her way to victory, as Serena went on to secure her golden career, by winning the one title that aluded her, the gold medal, with a brutal 6-0, 6-1 victory. This wasn't so much a match as a warm up for Serena, as Maria just couldn't get anything going as she struggled badly in the blustery conditions on court, and Serena was at her ruthless best throughout the tournament and didn't stop her either, as she dismantled the former No.1 in just over an hour. So the match itself didn't really make for that entertaining a view, as it was really just one-way traffic from Serena, and there is nothing worse than watching something like that. But overall it was a great victory for Serena so she deserved it, as she was totally dominant throughout the event.
Next up we had the bronze medal match, which was between Victoria Azarenka, the current No.1, and the Russian No.2, Maria Kirilenko. Thankfully their match was far more competitive and entertaining as the two players shared breaks in both sets, but it was ultimately Vika who came up with big points when she really needed them and she managed to serve it out for a her first ever Olympic medal, securing the bronze with a 6-3, 6-4 win. I didn't catch all of the match but from what I had seen it was pretty entertaining and Kirilenko who looked down and out at times, fought well to get herself back into the match, but in the end Vika was the better player and deserved to win, and she looked delighted after she won, she rallied the court with her nation's flag.
So onto the men's matches, starting with the bronze medal match first, which was between the two losing semi finalists, Djokovic and Del Potro. Naturally you would expect Djokovic to win here, but it was Del Potro who took the initiative and stunned the former world no.1 in a straight set victory, winning in 7-5, 6-4. This was another shock result for Djokovic, who lately seems to have been dipping off, and its like that defeat he suffered at the French Open has continued to haunt him, as he suffered the 9th loss of his season. However with the hard court season looming ahead, I'm sure Djokovic will bounce back (no pun intended!). But I was pleased for big Delpo, as he thoroughly deserved the bronze medal, especially after battling so hard against Federer in the semis, it was great he had something to show for it.
Which brings me onto the men's gold final match, which was between Roger Federer and Andy Murray, which was a rematch of their Wimbledon final. This promised to be quite a match, and this time there was no real favourite because they were both going for something they have never won before. And those odds certainly helped out Andy who after a slightly shaky start on his first service game, tore right through Federer, with a ruthless display of aggression and accuracy, as he broke twice in the opening set. Andy continued this form in the 2nd set, as he broke Fed again early on, although he did face a shaky game at 2-0, but he went on to hold, and never looked back to close out the set. In the 3rd set, Andy broke again in the 5th game, but this time Roger managed to keep it to just the single break, but this didn't stop Andy at all, and despite the fear of any last minute nerves of him serving it out for the the biggest win of his career, they didn't show as he served an ace down the T to seal his first ever Olympic gold medal, and win over Roger Federer on the centre court at Wimbledon with a quite emphatic 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 victory.
If you read this before you had even seen the match you simply wouldn't have believed it, and frankly nor would I, as the match itself had to be seen to be believe at all. And while it was going on I could scarcely believe me eyes, as Andy Murray dismantled the greatest player to have played the game, on his own favourite court no less. And while Roger was pretty subpar in the match, Andy was absolutely on fire, and it really reminded me of Djokovic's form from last year. And it wasn't a bad match at all, although it was a bit disappointing that Federer didn't get more into it, but it was morely just that Andy simply didn't let him, and any break point chances Federer had, Andy denied him them all. This match also really showed a different Andy Murray to what we have seen since, a player who was in full control of his game, going for all his shots, and just about getting them all in! His first serve percentage was still a bit low just over the 50% mark as it usually is, but the rest of his game was so sharp it didn't matter. Andy played the match of his career out there, and he obviously felt inspired by the success that his fellow GB athletes were having in the Olympics, and that must have spurred him on. He also showed no sign of nerves in serving out for the match and that alone also shows the sign of a real champ and someone who believes in himself.
It was also the perfect time to have the Olympics as well as the location of it being in London, where Andy would get the most support, and it really did help him out there too, and it was just what he needed after his tough loss to the same man 4 weeks ago. Roger Federer afterwards was gracious in defeat and said that he was happy for Andy that he was able to win the medal for Great Britain, and that he was impressed with the way he came back after his loss at Wimbledon, to win the gold medal, and that was the reaction of a champion. And that is a word I think you can safely associate with Andy now, a champion, and by winning the Olympic gold, not only has he achieved the most important win of his career, he has also won something that Djokovic and Federer may never have, which is in itself special, as only he and Rafa have won the Olympic gold. And as for Roger Federer well I didn't feel too sorry for him anyway, and he said himself that he was quite happy winning the silver medal, and he is a man who has pretty much won it all anyway, so surely its something he can deal with. In fact I think Roger once made a comment that after he lost big matches in slams, it took him about 15 or 30 minutes to get over it! (pretty quick eh???!).
Anyway this was a terrific result for Andy and over the summer I think its safe to say he's had the best two months of his career, reaching the two finals at Wimbledon, being the first British man to reach the final of the grass court major in 74 years, and winning the Olympic gold medal. I think its also safe to say that this win could very well inspire Andy to play at this level for the rest of the season, and I really am beginning to think he could win the US Open, and it would be terrific if he did, and for once it would see the four slams being shared out among the top four, which would make for a change wouldn't it? And if Rafa still isn't back in action in time for the US Open then Andy's odds just might increase in getting to the final, and he already has shown he has the mettle to beat Federer and Djokovic so its not beyond the realms of imagination that he could win. And once I got into tennis, I always thought that the US Open would be the slam that Andy would make his breakthrough at, and it might just happen this year, but we will find out.
In the meantime I think Andy deserves tremendous credit for his efforts this week and he thoroughly deserves his gold medal, and its wonderful at last to see him win a big major title, and while its not a grand slam, its definitely the next best thing. Next up for him will be the Rogers cup Masters event in Toronto, which he will start play on Wednesday 8 August, with his first opponent being the Italian player, Flavio Cipolla. And if he were to play Djokovic (who is also the defending champion), and win in the final, then this would see his ranking go up to the world no.3, so I can imagine it would give him great motivation this week, and it would be a good test to see just where his game is at on hard court, and if he can pick up where he left off from the grass courts.
However Andy's transition from the grass to hard court might be quite tricky for him in such a short space of time. And I coule be wrong and his grass season could have been just a one off for him and he may revert to struggling in the American hard court season, but something tells me different, as this could be the start of something special and it has to start somewhere. It started for Djokovic when Serbia won the Davis cup in 2010, and this just might be the springboard that Andy's career needs to get into winning the grand slams. And even if he doesn't win the US Open, if he can put in a really good performance there then it shows he is ready to compete and win in the big ones, and I really think its just now a matter of time before he does. And when he does win one, it will hopefully finally silence all of his critics and naysayers once and for all, he already will have silenced some of them with his Olympic win, but once he wins that major, then they might all get off his back. OK that's quite enough of that, I've droned on enough, but can't help it! ;-)
So quickly onto the doubles, with the men's doubles, Richard Gasquet and Julienne Benneteau won the bronze medal against David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez of Spain, and both frenchmen were estatic about their win (in fact when they embraced on the court they looked like they were making out!!). The Bryan Brothers won the gold medal against the french team of Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. And the Williams sisters won their ladies doubles gold medal against the Czeck team. And finally Andy Murray and Laura Robson, who had a chance at taking home another gold medal, just came up short in a very tight match against the Belarusian team of Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka, who beat them by a couple of points in the champions tiebreak, and so they both ended up with the silver medal. It was a pity because there were so close and I think unfortuantely due to Laura's inexperience, they missed out on a few key points when they could have won, but regardless they did great getting that far. And even in the doubles you could see just how potent and aggressive a player Andy had become as he was crunching Azarenka's returns back at her with powerful winners that rocked her off her feet! Andy also helped Laura along with her play in the mixed doubles and no doubt they fed off each others energy, just a pity they came up short though.
Right well that's that, some terrific news for Great Britain, and more importantly for Andy Murray, who after capturing the biggest title of his career so far with the Olympic gold, this should fuel him with more belief in his game and will hopefully lead to even bigger and better things.
So for the Olympics tennis posts, its been fun, but that's the lot! Bye now!
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