OK so now its time for a look at the ladies and men's semi finals at the Wimbledon championships, which saw the last four on both sides fight it out for a place in the final. So let's get started and gie it a look....
Right well keeping with the usual tradition let's look at the ladies matches first, and the first one was between Marion Bartoli, the former 2007 finalist, and the surprise of the ladies tournament, Kirsten Flipkens from Belgium. However the match itself was nothing but a breeze for Bartoli as she sped to the finish line against Flipkens, who apparently looked like she was carrying an injury throughout. But it didn't make much difference anyway as Bartoli was playing lights out tennis which saw her fall to her knees as she wrapped up the victory in just over an hour in 6-1, 6-2, to reach her second Wimbledon final. This was a really impressive effort from Marion Bartoli as she showed incredible form in getting to this stage, admittedly however she was given a polite but rather cool reception from the crowd, as I think they were still annoyed with her for trying to get match play suspended in her previous quarter final match against Sloane Stephens. However regardless of that Bartoli deserves much credit for reaching her second major final at Wimbledon and I wish her the best for the final, which I'm sure will need against the winner of the next match.
And the next match was between the 4th seed, Agnieszka Radwanska, who was last year's finalist, and the grass court specialist, Sabine Lisicki, the 23rd seed. This match promised to be a real cracker and it turned out to be just that as both ladies had their work cut out in trying to reach the final. It was Lisicki however that made the stronger start as she overpowered Radwanska in the first set and went on to break to win it. In the 2nd however Radwanska start her fightback as she broke Lisicki twice to go on and level the match at a set apiece. In the 3rd however both women traded breaks of serve, with Radwanska moving ahead first and then Lisicki who had a chance to serve it out but couldn't take it at 5-4. Play then went by serve until 7-7 when Lisicki made the crucial move and broke Aga again to take the lead, and this time she had no problem in serving it out for a place in her first major final in Wimbledon (or anywhere) after a hard fought 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 victory. There is no doubt this was a terrific match and both women couldn't have put in much more, with both players levels dipping at times but they also produced some incredible tennis as well for the crowd. But its Lisicki that really deserves all the credit for making her first grand slam final and show her resilience against Radwanska's tenacity. Radwanska played her part in this match also, but I was disappointed in her rather frosty handshake to Lisicki at the net, as she clearly wasn't happy that she lost (which is understandable as no player likes to lose I'm sure) but she could have been a bit more amicable toward Lisicki, however that's the sport.
So this sets up a great and somewhat unlikely final between the 15th seed, Marion Bartoli and the 23rd seed, Sabine Liskci, and there really isn't much in it at all as I'm sure it will be a really tough match. So who will win it??? Well I have to go with Lisicki on this one as I think overall she has more variety to her game, and Bartoli despite her powerful hitting and great return of serve, Lisicki is the better athlete and Bartoli can be somewhat hampered by her double handed style on both the forehand and backhand, which will make it difficult for her to reach certain shots. But if their quarter final clash from two years ago at Wimbledon is anything to go by I think we will be in for a cracker, but in the end I think Lisicki has the wheels to outlast Bartoli, who might just run out of steam toward the end, but we'll see. One really good thing that will emerge from this match is that for once we will have a brand new first time grand slam champion, which is really encouraging and refreshing to see rather than just the usual suspects of Serena, Sharapova or Azarenka.
Now onto the men's semi finals starting with what turned out to be the match of the day, if not the tournament so far, as Novak Djokovic took on the big Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro. On paper this match never promised to be an easy one, and for sure it turned out to be anything but as it was an epic battle between two great players and there wasn't much in it for the most part. Novak started off the better by taking a break in the first set to take the opener, however in the 2nd set Delpo started his comeback and broke Djokovic to go ahead and level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set play went by serve and it was pushed to a tiebreak where Nole dominated play and took a two sets to one lead. In the 4th set Nole took the initiative as he moved ahead by taking a break to go 4-3 up, but Delpo was far from done as he broke back and play eventually went to another tiebreak. In the breaker Nole took the advantage of moving ahead and he even had match points, but Delpo made one last push as he levelled the scores 6-6 and he fashioned a set point, which he grabbed to push a thrilling match into a decider. In the 5th set however it was clear that after well over 4 and a half hours play that it started to take its toll on Delpo as he started to buckle with exhaustion and Novak eventually wore him down by breaking him and he went on to close out the match after an epic battle, to reach his second Wimbledon final, with a scoreline of 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-3.
There is no doubt that this was the match of the tournament so far and both men threw everything at each other, with Delpo showing his fighting qualities and Nole showing superior athleticism and his defensive skills which are out of this world. And there were times were Delpo looked like he had a his chances to move ahead in the 5th set, but in the end he just run out of steam as he started to buckle, but he deserves nothing but credit and respect for his efforts which were as giant as he is, and surely one day he will have another chance to win a major title. As for Novak well there is no doubt he remains the strong favourite to win the title for a second time and he showed again his unwavering resilience in the face of adversity, with virtually nothing in his way to stop him.... except maybe the winner of the next match....
Which was between the British No.1 and World No.2, Andy Murray and the 24th seed, the giant serving and giant Pole, Jerzy Janowicz. Janowicz made a bit of history by reaching his first grand slam final as he was the first Polish man to do so, and with his big serve and his deft net skills as well as good movement, he looked to be a dangerous opponent for Andy. And he turned out to be just that as after a slightly jittery start, Janowicz impressively took his game to Andy as he rained down some monster serves which were at times over 140 mph which Andy strugged to cope with. Play went by serve however in the opening set until a tiebreak, where Janowicz dominated Andy and took the break 7-2 to nab the 1st set. In the second however Janowicz's level dropped as did his serve, which let Andy take a crucial break, and despite a few wobbles, he managed to consolidate the break and took the 2nd set to level. In the 3rd set however, Janowicz once again showed just how dangerous he can be as he broke Andy to move ahead in the match, but Andy somehow managed to break back and from here he managed to fashion a break himself and seized the initiative to take a two sets to one lead over the big Pole. However there was to be a delay in play as the organisers decided that they should close the roof as they felt there was probably only 40 minutes or so of enough daylight ahead to play with the roof open. This angered Andy who complained that they had enough light to carry on and play the match with the roof open, and Janowicz had already complained about trying to get the roof closed, so he ended up getting his way at this point, so played was suspended. However the decision to close the roof had no bearing or effect on Andy's as play as he came out and dominated the big Pole, by playing some superb tennis and served impressively as he broke Janowicz twice and he sealed the deal with a return forehand winner to reach his second consecutive Wimbledon final after a drama fuelled 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 win.
While it wasn't as high in quality as Nole and Delpo's match, this match certainly had alot going for it and both men played some wonderful and varied tennis for the crowd. Janowicz for the first half or so of the match definitely looked like he was the better player and his monster serve proved very difficult for Andy to deal with. However in the end Janowicz just wasn't able to sustain his level or his serve as he made 9 double faults in the match, which ended up costing him, one of which brought match point for Andy. Janowicz also didn't help himself by complaning so much about trying to get the roof closed as I think it also messed with his concentration, and to have any chance against a player like Andy you have to put aside any quibbles and just get on with it. Regardless of that Jerzy Janowicz has shown over the last two weeks he really is a player to watch out for and there is no doubt he will continue to do well in the future, as he has the big weapons, the touch and the movement to cause alot of damage in the big events. As for Andy well he deserves nothing less than reaching the Wimbledon final again, and throughout these championships he has shown his fighting and champion qualities, particularly in his previous match against Verdasco when he came from two sets down to win. And his ability to put aside his annoyance over the delay in the roof closing and to just get on with it and to raise his level just shows how much more mature and focused a player he has become, and that alone probably was the most remarkable thing about the match.
Soooooo this sets up another tantalising, mouth watering final between the world's two best players, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, and it begs the question: who will win??????? Well for me I'm going to be bold and say Andy as I just think throughout these two weeks and even at Queens, he has shown tremendous resilience and even from a down position he has been able to turn it around and he has also played the big points really well under pressure. I also think that Andy will have the crowd well behind him which can also make a big difference as he will be able to feed off their energy in order to help him make the push, and if he can draw from his victory last year at the Olympics, that will also help him to win.
But I do think that even though Andy can and might win that there are still no favourites in this match and Nole will be supremely difficult to put away as he is not the world No.1 for nothing, and given he has already won the title once, there is every chance he can do it again this time. You could also say that given the fact that Andy no longer had to deal with Roger or Rafa in his side of the draw, that Novak has made it through the tougher half of the draw really well, especially as he had beat Berdych convincingly and battled his way past Del Potro, which shows his incredible calibre against the world's best players.
So its going to be a tough tough match to call but I do think Andy can still win it, but if he is to win he will have to go the distance just like he did against Nole at the US Open final last year. But he looks poised, confident and above all ready to take on the challenge and I think we are in for an absolute cracker of a final, and my predicition will be that Andy will come through in five tight sets to claim his first ever Wimbledon title, but then again what do I know???! But you can but live in hope! :-)
Right so that's it for now, and I will report back once we know the winner of the men's and ladies finals.
So until the next mouth watering post, that its it for now, and I will wish Andy the very very very best of luck for Sunday, and here's to a great final, and the same to the ladies.
Bye for nooooooowww!
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