OK so this is my final post on the Wimbledon championships which will cover the men's and ladies singles finals, which saw the last two standing fight it out for the most prestigous title in tennis. And without any further messing about let's going started...
So to start with the ladies final which was between Marion Bartoli, the 15th seed and the 23rd seed, Sabine Lisicki, it made for a rather unlikely one, however it also promised to be a really good one. The match itself however far from an even contest as Bartoli came out all cylinders firing and thrashed Liskci in the opening set as the German only managed one single game in the opening set. In the 2nd set, the nerves of the occassion clearly had gotten to Liskci big time as she failed to hold onto her serve, as she served up more double faults, and at one point she was even on the verge of tears, as she went a double break down. However afer one last ditch effort to hold, Lisicki made Bartoli serve for the title, and the French woman naturally got a bit tight and ended up throwing Liskci a lifeline as the German broke back, and went on to hold her own serve to make it 5-4 for Bartoli, who was forced to serve it out for the second time. However on the second go Bartoli had no such trouble in serving for the championship, as with three championship points, she served up an ace to claim her first ever grand slam singles title with an unexpected victory in 6-1, 6-4.
This match overall was a bit of a letdown to be honest, and although it was a terrific victory for Bartoli, Lisicki's capitulation and nerves also played their part in it aswell, as she tearfully admitted in her post match interview that she was overwhelmed by the pressure of the occassion. And it would be difficult not to feel sorry for Liskci as its understandable that any opponent would have a bout of nerves in as a big a final as this one. But it was a pity that Liskci just wasn't able to level the scores to 5-5 in the 2nd set after breaking back and being that one break down, it looked like there was more hope for her, but in the end Bartoli to her credit served out the match in style. However Lisicki can still take many positives from this tournament, especially as she played so well to reach the final and dumped out Serena Williams enroute as well, and just maybe if she reaches the final at SW19 again she might just be able to win it one day.
And as for Bartoli well she thoroughly deserves this title as she played great throughout the match and she never showed signs of nerves and went and played the match of her life to win the title she herself said that she dreamt of winning since she was six years old. Bartoli may not be the best all around athlete but she remains one of the best fighters and competitors in the ladies game, and by winning her first Wimbledon title, it shows that she has the mental strength and belief to carry on and win another one if she can, and let's hope one day she will. Its also funny and ironic that Martion Bartoli two years ago who reached the second biggest final of her career at Indian Wells, where she lost to Caroline Wozniacki, who was at the time the World No.1 and at the top of her game, that she said to Caroline that she knew she wanted to win a grand slam and that she will do very soon, but its Bartoli that has actually gone on and done it! Yet since then Caroline has seriously struggled to get even past the first or second round in a major tournament never mind win one of them!
But for now Marion Bartoli deserves nothing less than to enjoy her victory and let's hope it will inspire her one day to win another major. Bartoli can also serve (no pun intended!) as a great role model for other tennis players and she has shown that she is one of the great fighters in the ladies game. And on a side point regarding Marion I thought it was a ridiculously chauvanistic thing that the BBC commentator, John Inverdale said about Bartoli that she was "no looker" and that she would never be a Sharapova, so he thought her dad might have said that she had to learn to become a scrappy fighter instead. And its comments like this that give British sports journalism a bad name, and the BBC also had to an issue an apology for Inverdale's ignorant comment. And Marion to her credit said the comment didn't really bother her and that she never wanted to be a model as a kid, but she did want to win a major. And Marion in her interviews come across as a very likeable and quirky character and its a breath of fresh air to the ladies game that it has players like her on the tour, and in my opinion she is quite a nice looking lass, and its not about the looks of a tennis player, its their talent and skill at the end of the day that counts.
Nowwwwww we get on to the men's final, which was a hugely anticipated match up between the world's two best players, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the World No.1 and No.2 respectively. Given their growing rivalry in the last year alone this match promised to be a real cracker and it marked the third consecutive major final that they have played in since the US Open last year. Being the No.1 player in the world, Nole looked to be the favourite to win this match, however it was Andy who was being backed up by a whole nation and an army of his supporters on centre court. And the match itself didn't disappoint as both men from the first point traded some great rallies and exchanges in the baking hot sun on centre court, and it was Andy that seized the initative and took the early break. However Andy surrendered it as Nole broke back, and I won't say too much more about the 1st set apart from that Andy went on to break Nole and he served it out to take the 1st set. In the 2nd set Nole started to turn the match in his favour as he got an early break from Andy, but it wasn't before long that Andy utilised his superb return game and broke once again to go level at 4-4. And at 5-5 Andy once again broke Djokovic and went on to serve it out for a two sets to love lead, with only one set away from ending Great Britain's long wait for a British champion. And in the 3rd set Andy started brilliantly with an early where he went 2-0 up, but it was far from over as he dropped his own serve and let Nole back in who went on to reel off the next four games. However Andy was not to be outdone as he broke back yet again and went on to level at 4-4 and by this time the cracks really were starting to show for Novak as Andy moved within a game of victory as he broke the Serb to reach 5-4 and a chance to serve for the title. However in the last game after reaching 40-0 with three championship points, Andy got embroiled in what became a torturous yet thrilling service game, as Andy had to stave off a last stand from Nole, who tried to convert a couple of break points. But in the end, Andy bravely held on and soon he brought up a fourth championship point after which it saw Nole send his return into the net, which saw Andy drop his racquet, pumping his fists into the air in delight and proceeding to do his Pat Cash moment with his family. And with that Andy had pulled off an unbelievable victory and claimed his first historic Wimbledon title to join Fred Perry after a 77 year long wait for Great Britain with an exhaustive and hard fought 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 triumph.
It has to be said there are quite a few remarkable things about this match and probably the most remarkable one of them all is the fact Andy Murray managed not only to defeat the World No.1 Novak Djokovic, but he also did it in straight sets, which no one (himself included I'm sure) would have expected. And despite the straight sets scoreline, the match was a very entertaining and competitive one and both players produced some terrific rallies and points for the crowd, and the last game of the match in particular was the main highlight as the nation held their breath and then shouted in jubilation once Andy got over the finish line, and it must rank as one of the best and most thrilling games of the year from any tennis match.
Nole admittedly did show signs of fatigue from his lengthy semi final with Del Potro, which probably might in part have attributed to him not being able to get into the match that bit more, but on the other hand Andy's return game was top notch and he was able to just break Nole down in the end when he needed to. Plus Andy managed to beat Nole convincingly in their Olympics semi final last year, so perhaps it was no coincidence that Andy was able to do it again this year. Although one slightly worrying aspect of the match was Andy's serve, as under moments of real pressue he was unable to get his first serves in, and the 2nd serve has always been his main weakness as it way too slow and can sink as far as 70mph! However what Andy did manage to do was play the big points at the key moments exceptionally well and it was ultimately what saved him in the match, and despite his problematic serve, the rest of his game was superb, and he pulled off four or five running forehand winners down the left hand sideline, which were just incredible. And it is to Andy's full credit that he was also able to mentally hang tough in those difficult moments, not to mention defeat the world's best player on the biggest stage in tennis.
As for Novak while he didn't play his best in the final, he still played his part in an entertaining match and given the circumstances of his semi final match with Del Potro, he fought as well and as hard as he could, and no doubt he will be back on form soon enough. And if you remember Nole hasn't had the best of luck at SW19 in the last year or so, as he lost to Federer in the semis at Wimbledon, and to Andy and Del Potro at the Olympics, so in a way another defeat was always a possibility. But I'm sure this will all turn around for him as the hard court season will begin again in another month or so, and he will have a chance to fight it out for the US Open title most likely against Andy, for which the two of them will remain the favourites to win.
So this now sees Andy Murray claim his second grand slam title, and if there were ever any concerns that he was just a one-trick pony when he won the US Open, they will have been totally banished now as Andy is the real deal and its looks like he is here to stay at the top, and in time he could even eclipse Nole and take the No.1 spot. And I'm certain there will be more grand slam titles ahead of Andy in the future, and with his US Open title defence coming up, it would be the perfect place to carry on with his success. But for now Andy can enjoy his victory and take a bit of time to relax as there will be another four of five weeks before the hard court season resumes in North America in the lead up to the US Open. And once again Andy has proven he really is the one man that can rewrite history, as he has single handedly ended three waits in the last year, in ending the 74 year wait for a British Wimbledon finalist, 76 years for a British grand slam champion, and now 77 years for a British Wimbledon champion. Also I think its safe to say Andy and Nole's rivalry is now very much at the forefront of men's tennis, which has become more fascinating than ever before, as we will watch these two great players fight it out over the next few years for the biggest titles with much interest.
Sooooo that's it for now as that's the end of my posts for Wimbledon 2013, which has been a truly remarkable tournament this year, with a tremendous result for Great Britain with Andy Murray's victory and for France with Marion Bartoli taking home her maiden slam, as well as so many upsets along the way. It was also great to actually be a part of it all this year by actually getting to go down to Wimbledon and seeing matches on Court No.1, which was great and hopefully I will be able to do it again sometime in the future.
And that's it for a while for the tennis posts, which will resume in a few weeks time.
So until then bye for now, and a big well done to Andy Murray!
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