When French Open has been concluded, there have been so many interesting stories around tennis world. From Roger Federer failing to reach 24th semifinal appearance for the first time since 2003 to another French Open title clinched by Rafael Nadal, it seems like a new story is born within.
With Wimbledon is kicking off, some of these stories have been carried over. Such interesting questions looking for an answer is that "Will Federer win his record-tying 7th Wimbledon title?", "Will Nadal win his 2nd Wimbledon title?", "Will Federer start another semifinal streak at Wimbledon?", how about "Will Andy Murray finally ended the 74-year title drought of Great Britain?", and much more.
Wimbledon has been as exciting as it is. It started when Federer faced an upset in his first two-round matches against a much-lesser known Alejandro Falla and a Serbian qualifer Ilija Bozoljac. But what's interesting was, while Federer was working hard to finish his second round match, a new history was rewritten in other court. That is, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut playing the longest match of all time, which ended after more than 11 hours with a score of 70-68 in the fifth set. The match was ended after three days when Isner his a passing shot forehand down-the-line.
As Federer advances, another strange story is looming. It was Andy Roddick who bowed out against Yen-Hsun Lu in the fourth round. Then the following day, it was Federer who was stunned before the semifinals by Tomas Berdych, which followed by stunning performance to down Novak Djokovic to reach his first ever Grand Slam final. There he faces Nadal, which drew some controversy in his third round match against Philipp Petzschner, when he called for a medical timeout.
Then, it was another disappointment for British people as Murray failed to reach the final at All-England Club again, meaning their wait for a Grand Slam titlist will be extended until 2010 US Open or maybe for another year.
All of these stories has been interesting and been widely talked about by tennis experts and critics and by fans or spectators. But it all comes down to two players who will vie for the title - Nadal and Berdych. Is this the match everyone expected? Definitely, not. Did I predicted it right? My pick for Men's Champion.
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| Rafael Nadal 2010 Wimbledon Gentlemen's Singles Champion |
Nadal was carrying a high level of confidence after reclaiming his French Open crown and now he found himself vying for the Wimbledon title again. But the difference was he will not be facing his nemesis Federer in the final, as it was Berdych who will be in the other side of the court.
Does Berdych has the chance for the title? Yes, indeed. As anyone who plays in the final has a 50% chance of winning. Nadal with 7-3 edge against Berdych, giving his opponent a slim chance for the trophy.
But Berdych has a clear purpose on how to win it. Will he be using the same tactics to Nadal when he stunned both Federer and Djokovic? Most probably yes. Since Berdych is also aware that he will be going to an all-out war, therefore he must have an additional tactic to his arsenal that will be effective against Nadal. Did he come up with such game plan? Definitely. But its effectiveness came up short.
The final shows some interesting rallies and winners. The serve-and-volley as well as the curling forehand groundstrokes from Nadal was displayed. The service from Berdych that brought him to the final has been witnessed. Both players were far from their best, but only one must stood out.
So how Nadal won the contest? The answer was very simple. Even Nadal can't bring out his A-game, still his B-game worked out. Simply saying he doesn't wasted every opportunities he sees to grab. What's more important in grabbing such opportunities is the timing when to get it. Nadal earned a single break or two in each set at a crucial moments. Having said that, his experience at the championship match paid him off.
This leaves Berdych empty handed and his Grand Slam final appearance as a consolation will be a very important experience to the succeeding Grand Slam event. While Nadal fall in his back, as he raised his hand again for another success he got in his campaign after a doomed year. And with his second French Open-Wimbledon double, he is now have eight Grand Slam title to his name and etching it out for a place in history... again.
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Congratulations Rafael Nadal!
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With Federer eager to end talk of his "demise", the US Open next month promises to be a classic. Wimbledon, as this review notes, was fantastic and full of surprises - let's hope Flushing Meadows offers more of the same.
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