2013 Wimbledon Championships...London England

[stotty]

Djokovic

Stotty is right about his court coverage in that Djokovic could not get the ball past him and when Murray was out of position he was showing Djokovic some his own talent from playing out of a deficit. Particularly on the forehand side...Murray chased down a lot of balls and neatly played some tactical defense to stay in just about every single point. But the key to the match was in his serve...and the inability of Djokovic to do anything meaningful with the second ball of Murray's. Again though...it appeared to me that Djokovic was subpar in all categories of his game which only made the Murray effort look more superb.

In the final game Djokovic came to life. He took on a backhand off Murray's second serve at 40-15 and dispatched it for a clean winner. Murray's second serve is slow. It sits up at times, too. TV isn't the best at revealing these things. Djokovic has terrific returning capabilities against even the fastest serves...the best ever. What he isn't so good at is hammering weaker serves. Djokovic could improve his game in this department. It would stand him in good stead against Murray from here on in.

More disturbing for Djokovic was his reluctance at times to go head to head with Murray in shot tolerance. Djokovic cannot hit through Murray or out manoeuvre him. All he is left with is going toe-to-toe with Murray in rallies. Djokovic can out rally anyone, yet against Murray (and against Nadal at the French) for some reason he felt the need to be the one to take the more decisive, riskier move. Why? Why the incompetent trips to the net?

My gut feeling is that Djokovic spent a lot of himself in that semi with Del Potro.

The temperature on centre court during the final was above 40 degrees in the early stages of the match...most unusual for England. The first seven games were played at a ferocious tempo with Murray getting off to an uncharacteristic flying start. I think this rocked Djokovic who sensed the tempo would unsustainable after his sapping semi with del Potro. I think the reason for his faulty decision making and subsequent demise started in the hub of that first set.

As a Brit I am delighted Murray won. It was a stroke of luck Djokovic had a sapping semi with Del Potro. It was handy Djokovic was a little sub par. But I cannot help probing the deeper questions...

[bottle]

Agreed. (Ono-- not that word!) But there's something-- perhaps many things-- that need to be added. Kim Sears is pretty nice, but she isn't Fred Perry's girlfriend, Marlene Dietrich.

[don_budge]

Maybe it was meant to be...fate or luck?

On July 7th 77 years since Fred Perry was the last Englishman to win the Wimbledon championships...Andy Murray triumphs in a straight set victory over Novak Djokovic.

Or on 7/7/2013 77 years after...

On 7/7 77 years after...

Hmmm...anyone else out there believe in signs. Is it fate or luck? The age old question. Destiny or coincidence? There are no accidents. It's a sign.

[don_budge]

Murray (and Del Potro) defeats Djokovic...

Didn't recover fully. Played badly. Only time he played well was from 0-40 down on Murray's last service game.

The big news is the British have a Wimbledon champion after a 77 year drought. That is great news not only for the British but for tennis in general. Traditionally it was the axis of Britain, America and Australia that led the way in tennis but things have changed. In fact the world has changed...and not all for the better.

But sticking with the tennis world...Murray straight set victory is rather shocking considering that his opponent usually shows up to play from start to finish. Considering the match overall it doesn't appear that Djokovic was himself at all. He was up a break in two of the sets and didn't consolidate either. The middle set looked almost as if he handed it to Murray after he had a 4-1 lead...very uncharacteristic. Was he also up 4-1 in the third also and still manage to hand that one over as well. Very, very uncharacteristic.

I had made the comment earlier in this thread at how well Djokovic takes care of his service game and in this match he looked very vulnerable, frequently falling behind in the score in several of his games. It just didn't look like the Djokovic we have come to know. I have a question...what were the odds on this match and who was the "smart" money on. I had a couple of questions about gambling earlier in this thread also...something about betting casts a cloud over sporting events. I am not saying...but it was uncharacteristic of Djokovic to not compete splendidly from bell to bell. Going down in straight sets in the Wimbledon final is alarming...to say the least.

As for Andy Murray...he had a super tournament overall. He won routinely through to the quarterfinals where he subdued overachieving Fernando Verdasco. Perhaps this match helped him to steel his nerves for the rest of the tournament. He came down from two sets to none and was going through a patch of play where he appeared to be so overmatched or nervous he was chipping and slicing the ball back. Whichever the case he managed to right his listing ship and came on strong at the end and it actually carried over into his semifinal win against Janowicz. Murray went into the finals with a full head of steam and a boisterous crowd behind him.

Stotty is right about his court coverage in that Djokovic could not get the ball past him and when Murray was out of position he was showing Djokovic some his own talent from playing out of a deficit. Particularly on the forehand side...Murray chased down a lot of balls and neatly played some tactical defense to stay in just about every single point. But the key to the match was in his serve...and the inability of Djokovic to do anything meaningful with the second ball of Murray's. Again though...it appeared to me that Djokovic was subpar in all categories of his game which only made the Murray effort look more superb.

But this is the thing about a tennis match...nobody years from now is going to ask how...they will only be asking what the score was. Tennis matches are often won on any given day because one player is on his game and the other is not...as this was the case here. This wasn't the kind of match where people walked away saying...what a great match because both players were on their games.

So the Brit's have their Wimbledon champion as well. Murray has his Wimbledon trophy. It's good for his mother...she looks just like him. And it is good for his girlfriend...she earned a bauble or two in the deal. She is coming into her own as well as the champions main squeeze. Just saying. Well...I can't help but notice. The whole spectacle of Murray winning is good for the game...hopefully a boost or a shot in the arm. But I am not too sure...the games popularity seems to be waning somewhat...could be the general public views it as boring and mechanical. QuickStart cannot bridge the deficit that the economy and the demise of the family has had on the popularity of the game. Time to get the engineers back to work. Shrink the racquets...speed up the grass. Match the balls with the play. Think creatively Boys!!!

Jerzy Janowicz was a big winner here during the fortnight. His victory over Niclas Almegro was a resounding payback from a clay court session the two had. Jerzy looked like he was out with a vengeance in his heart. The more that he can take to the court with that sort of attitude is going to payoff for him. The emotional gambit is a funny thing...you have to to know how to play the cards. You don't want to come off as a joker...better to be a ruthless assassin when playing the passion card. There was nothing uglier when an Ille Nastase or a John McEnroe came to the court with nothing but their tired acts of comedy and playing as if their hearts were not in it. Jerzy must learn to play with his heart in the match every single time and every single tournament. He's going to lose some...everyone does but he has to learn to fight it out. He left Murray off of the hook too easily as he became distracted by the moment and the huge British throng.

Long live the new King...until the new kid comes around to knock him off of his block. Savor the moment Andy...you sure earned it. So did you Ivan Lendl. As a matter of fact you may have earned that moment for Andy.

[bottle]

What a magnificent result.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/sports-tennis/20130707/Murray.gets.his.day.Wimbledon/

[bottle]

Thought Murray's slice was a big factor.

[GeoffWilliams]

Didn't recover fully. Played badly. Only time he played well was from 0-40 down on Murray's last service game.

[stotty]

3-0...emphatic...the country is erupting.

Can anyone explain Djokovic's inexplicable, suicidal trips to the net? Or his tactics generally...opting at times for shorter rallies... a little impatient at times. As he cannot hit past or through Murray, it has to come down to shot-tolerance...who can sustain the mind-bogglingly high tempo rallies the longest. At times it seemed like Djokovic didn't fancy that. He made trips to the net looking like a fish out of water...dreadful.

I wonder how much the Del Potro match took out of him?

Us Brits couldn't believe our luck seeing Djokovic wandering in to the net as much as he did...and on big points. The wide serve to Djokovic's forehand to the deuce court worked a treat for Murray. Won a lot of cheap points doing that.

I find the "points won from the net stats" to be rather misleading. As it is defined as a trip to the net without necessarily having to play a volley.

Hard to understand why Djokovic didn't take on Murray's second serve more aggressively...like he did in the final game. Murray's second serve averages 80mph. It's there to be had a go at, especially when you consider Djokovic's returning capabilities.

[bottle]

2-0

[stotty]

Great first set. High standard. There was nowhere Djokovic could hit the ball where Murray couldn't track it down. Murray showed slightly more penetration with his shots to me.

It could all come down to shot tolerance if they keep this rate of knots up.

[don_budge]

Electric...tension you can cut with a knife.

Twenty minutes to go to the final. The atmosphere amongst tennis fans in the UK is electric to say the least. There wasn't a sole at my club when I left to come home just ten minutes ago...all tennis clubs across the UK will be deserted for the final.

My heart says Murray...my mind Djokovic.

Well it doesn't really matter what we think at this point. There is the match to be played. A couple of great semifinal matches built this baby up to possible epic proportions. I think that Djokovic's form is slightly better based on his two previous matches whereas I think that Murray is battling his nerves somewhat. With all of the fervent expectations of the Brit's and so on. But I think that Djokovic's preparation seems to be a bit more methodical...he will definitely bring his A-game today. Murray I am not too certain of...but one thing is for certain...Ivan Lendl is doing a great job in trying to put the pieces together for Murray.

I wonder how this thing is going to go and something inside of me says that it is going to very, very interesting. It already is...did you see that poor old guy hauling out the luggage for the two contestants. They pack as much gear for a tennis match as I do for a two week vacation.

tennis_chiro...care to weigh in here?

[bottle]

I actually heard somebody utter these words: "Could it be arranged that both of these guys lose?" Nope-- too late for that.

[stotty]

1:40 pm here in the UK

Twenty minutes to go to the final. The atmosphere amongst tennis fans in the UK is electric to say the least. There wasn't a sole at my club when I left to come home just ten minutes ago...all tennis clubs across the UK will be deserted for the final.

My heart says Murray...my mind Djokovic.

[bottle]

Marion is very smart, as well as good. What a decision to split up with her dad and join up with Amelie and practice some volleys and some serves. How about the point where she smacked one deep and came in and knocked off a two-handed volley? The only other advice I could ever offer would be to re-watch all of the Mr. Hulot movies-- especially the one where he reveals his serve.

[bottle]

Right. I always wanted to be a cop. Can't you tell?

By the way, the first set has ended. Will Sabine ever get untracked? The match will be over before she figures out her nerves?