Right, now we get onto the men's event at the 2018 Wimbledon championships at SW19 in London, England, Great Britain (OK I'll shut it and move on!).
Anyway, sorry about that!
Yes, so here I will look at the men's semi final matches and look to the final and give my thoughts on that too.
MEN'S SEMI FINALS
Kevin Anderson vs John Isner
The first match up was a battle of the giants, as two of the tallest players on the men's tour faced off each other, the South African, 6ft 8" Kevin Anderson and the American, 6ft 10" John Isner and both these guys are pretty big servers, so this match if nothing else promised alot of BIG serving! And there were some that even said beforehand that this match sounded pretty dull on paper.
However...the actual match itself was anything but as both men brought their A games and played some spectacular tennis for the crowd on Centre Court in an epic match that lasted over six and a half hours! This was the longest Wimbledon semi final in history!
And the match started off on serve in the first set as you would expect as both men played a tiebreaker, which ended up going Anderson's way to take the opener. In the 2nd set however, Isner was not to be outdone as he fought back and pushed play to a tiebreak once again and this time, he took the initiative and grab the 2nd set to level the match. In the 3rd set it went to a tiebreak again, which was very tense and high on quality but it ended up going Isner's way again 11-9 as he was just one set away from his first Wimbledon final. However, Anderson refused to go away as he broke Isner's serve (which was unbroken going into this match!) again and he took the fourth set to force a decider.
And in the final set, the crowd were treated to a thrilling and lengthy battle as both men hammered it out and laid it all on the line as neither player gave an inch on their serve and we saw plenty of big serves come down but also some really entertaining rallies. And after so many break points chance came and gone, it finally came down to Anderson who after six and half hours, got the crucial break at 24-24. And with this, Anderson went on to hold his nerve and serve out an absolutely unforgettable epic match that saw the big South African reach his second grand slam final with a mammoth victory and scoreline of 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 6-4, 26-24 in 6 hours and 35 minutes!
Well, this was undoubtedly the match of the tournament so far, as both men provided a stunning display for the crowd on centre court that had so many twists and turns over its epic run time and it was a great pity that one of them had to lose. And I'm sure it will be a heartbreaking loss for John Isner, who gave his absolute all in this contest and never let up as he is no stranger of course to playing five set epic matches and it really shows that, despite the loss, he is way more than just a big server and he is one of the best competitors in the game right now and a deserved American No.1. So hopefully on this basis, John can go on to enjoy a deep run at the US Open where he has already reached the quarter finals.
As for Kevin Anderson, this was a superb performance of tremendous grit and resilience as he had already put in a stunning effort to upset Roger Federer in the quarter finals, as he played another epic five setter, which Anderson won 13-11 in the decider and that the fact that he managed to do the same here was incredible. This is also a testament to the quality of Kevin Anderson as a player, as he had already reached one slam final at the US Open last year, but to reach two, shows that it was no accident that Anderson made it to another this year.
However it does call into question just how fit will Kevin be for the final on Sunday having played 11 hours of tennis in his previous two matches combined? Well, I guess we'll find out.
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
So, in the second men's semi final, there was a bit of a hold up given the big run time of the first match, so the second set of players had to wait quite some time to get on court and those two just happened to be Novak and Rafa. And boy was it worth the wait!
Yep, this match promised much and it delivered so much more as Rafa and Novak decided they didn't want to be outdone by Anderson and Isner, so they put on their own spectacular display of tennis for a thrilled centre court, who truly gotten their value for money on that day.
As for how the actual match went, it started off pretty even with very high quality from both men but it was Novak that got the decisive break and he sealed the opener. In the 2nd set however, there was a momentum shift and Rafa broke Novak to level the match at a set all. In the 3rd set, Rafa took a break against Novak and he looked to try and serve it out but couldn't take his chances, so Novak broke back and play went into a thrilling tiebreak that Novak edged 11-9 to claim a two sets to one lead. However, at this point, the 11pm curfew was set in place and play was suspended for the evening, which meant the match would need to continue the following day.
So, on the Saturday as play resumed, the level of quality from both men rose once again as they brought out the best in each other and this time Rafa managed to take the initiative and break Novak in the 4th set to level the match again at two sets all and force a decider. And in the 5th set, both men played an amazing decider that had the audience on the edges of their seats that saw shifts in momentum and both players having break point opportunities but they couldn't take them. However that was until play went deep into the 5th set, with no tiebreak in the decider, play went to 9-8 as Rafa served to make it 9-9. However it was this point, Rafa finally relented as he made a few costly errors that saw his old rival, Novak finally claim a very important win over him and it saw Novak reach his 5th Wimbledon final with an incredible 6-4, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 10-8 victory.
There is little doubt that this was one of the best matches of the year and very possibly the match of the tournament as both Novak and Rafa played some magnificent tennis for the centre court crowd in an epic semi final that lasted five hours and 16 minutes over the space of two days. And again like the match before it, both players barely gave the other an inch in a match that couldn't have been closer.
And if this match has taught us anything, its that Novak Djokovic is well and truly back after a two year hiatus and struggling with his form, he really has bounced back in spectacular form at Wimbledon this year. And I think it would be safe to say that Novak is an overwhelming favourite for the title match on Sunday and he will become a teenager again (i.e. this will be his 13th major title if he wins!).
As for Rafa, well this will be a big loss for him but I'm sure its one he will take on the chin and he has had a great grass court run at Wimbledon this year and it was the first time in seven years that he was able to do so! And it makes you wonder what was behind Rafa's previous poor run of form on grass? However, this year it certainly has clicked more into place for him and I'm sure that Rafa will be more than happy with the progress he has made this year at SW19.
THE MEN'S FINAL PREVIEW
So, this sets up a very intriguing match between Novak Djokovic and Kevin Anderson, who have faced each other six times so far on tour with Novak, not surprisingly leading their record 5-1. So, on this basis and on paper, it looks very much like it will be in Novak's favour to win the final on Sunday.
However, will the final result be so clear cut??? Well, maybe not, let's take a look at the facts so far...
Kevin Anderson has just come off two gruelling epic five set matches that in total were almost 11 hours and even though he has had a day off, he will no doubt be feeling the effects of these matches. Novak on the other hand has had a somewhat easier draw going into the semi final, as he had only dropped two sets in the tournament before his equally gruelling five set match against Rafa that last over five hours.
Now even though Novak is the heavy favourite for the final, Kevin Anderson can at least take solace from having had a day off in between the final, whereas Novak has had to play both Friday and Saturday and no doubt will be feeling some effects of fatigue going into the final. However, Anderson will be battling his own fatigue from his efforts over the last few days and its just how well both players manager their own physical and mental issues on the day.
PREDICTION
As for who will win???? Well, I really have to go with Novak on this one but it might be more competitive than we might think given that Novak has played a gruelling five hour match over the last two days, Kevin having had a day off in between, this might level the plane field a little. But if it comes down to who has more left in the tank, at this stage, it definitely has to be Novak as he has spent way less time on court that Kevin has so far and he has been known to have a reservoir of energy reserves to delve into just when he needs them whereas Kevin may not be so lucky in this respect.
So, if I had to pick a result, I would have to go with Novak winning this won in three or maybe at a pinch, four sets, because physical and mental fatigue will be an overriding factor here for one or both guys here and its more likely to be for Kevin than Novak at this stage. They did once play each other at Wimbledon three years ago, which was another epic five set match in which Novak had to battle back from two sets down to win against Kev but the circumstances are definitely different this time round, so I can't quite see the same result.
So, yeah I'll go with Novak winning in 3 or 4 sets. I don't want to write off Anderson's chances completely but its hard to bet against the 12 time major champion, but you never know.
SIGN OFF
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back with another post covering the men's final.
Till then its bye for now!
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