A review of Wimbledon from the sofa!

This year’s Wimbledon was very different to the previous years that I have been watching as the seeded players went out a lot earlier than expected. One of the most surprising aspects of this year’s Wimbledon was the rise of the “underdogs” i.e. Sergiy Stakhovsky and Dustin Brown.

 I had never heard of either player before Wimbledon but they both definitely helped me to look at tennis in different light. As I tend to focus on the seeded players it is easy to forget the men/women out there working really hard for the same recognition.

Men’s draw changed once Roger Federer and Rafal Nadal went out it became little more open but ultimately it was Novk Djokovic and Andy Murray that made it to the final. As I have said in a previous post I am just relieved that Andy was able to win.

Now hopefully Andy can enjoy the experience of being a Wimbledon champion and I suspect now that he has his Wimbledon title he will more relaxed about the challenges ahead.

The women’s draw also had a few shocks with Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams all exiting the tournament before the quarter finals. I was little surprised about Sabine Lisicki and Marion Bartoli getting to the final.

However the biggest shock for me was watching Serena lose a match that she was in total command. I think Serena underestimated Sabine fighting spirit and before she could mount a comeback she was in the locker room!

Laura Robson also did well to reach the fourth round were she lost to Kaia Kanepi. I am sure that if Laura gets right support and development then she will go even further into the tournament next year.

Heather Watson did not have a great Wimbledon and I suspect she is still recovering from the glandular fever but did not want to miss Wimbledon. Therefore it is difficult to assess her game as the lack of match fitness was key to her first round exit.

As I said in the previous post the Sabine and Marion final was very one-sided with Sabine struggling to get manage her emotions. It was an amazing win by Marion who had beat the odds of getting to the final and winning.

I am really hoping that young children watching both the men’s and women’s final will be inspired enough to want to start playing tennis. As I was inspired by some of the players who never gave up on their dreams.

 

Wimbledon day Five and Six

Two very interesting days some good and some not so good and some truly inspirational players.

Day Five

Men

I was really sad to see Dustin Brown go out on day five his story really touched me. Normally in the UK we hear that most people playing tennis come from middle class backgrounds were money is not an issue. So to think that Dustin travelled around for five years in camper van and finally qualified and succeeded at Wimbledon is very inspirational as he never gave up on his dreams.

I was also sad to see Sergiy Stakhovsky go out again he had that similar determination that Dustin Brown has and he came across really well. I think that some of the men are so focused on winning that few have charismatic personalities so it nice to see guys with personalities in this years Wimbledon.

Women

Sloane Stephens had a very lucyk escape her match was completed on day six and she won third set.  I think Sloane has a great chance to at least  to make the semi finals but the way she lost that second set 6 love was scary and also rather fortunate that the match was completed on day six as opposed to day five.

Day Six

Men

 

Andy Murray did what he needed to do win his match and with little fuss. Andy is now very comfortable both on and off court.  The only worry I have for him is that he could get  a little complacent but I’m hoping that will not happen.

Novak Djokovic made very well and has this look of steely determination and he will be very hard to beat. He has really developed his grass court game and if Andy is to beat Novak then Andy will really have to step it up.

Women

Laura Robson played well enough to make the fourth round but to beat Kaia Kanepi she is really going have to play well which means serving incredibly well and moving a lot faster. I think that nerves may now become a real problem for Laura and if she is not careful the match maybe over before it has started.

Serena Williams played enough to beat Kimiko Date Krumm but her fourth round match against Sabine Lisicki will be the first real test. I am confident that if she serves like she did in the French Open then she will be fine.  Sabine is a very good player and she will able to get balls that Kimiko Date Krumm could not get to. So it should be a very high level match which hopefully Serena will win.

 

 

The day of the under dog!

 All the years I have been watching tennis I have never witnessed a day like this, it really is the day of the underdog!

Men

What a shock Tsonga  and Federer out! truly unbelievable it was a bit sad because at the end of the day you want the best players to be there on the last weekend of Wimbledon. I was shocked when Tsonga could no longer continue but watching Federer get beaten like that was a bit of shock but I didn’t think he was going to win this year.

 I watched Tsonga take apart Federer at the French Open and I thought his days of being a champion was over. However I thought that Federer  would have exited the tournament at the quarter final stage.

However it was a very good day for Andy Murray who had a straight set win against Yen Hsun Lu and with the loss of both Tsonga and Federer there is going to be even greater pressure for Andy to win. 

Excellent win for Sergiy Stakhovsky against Federer  he was very impressive and he had no fear  after losing the third set  and he was able to regroup and win the fourth set and the match.

Dustin Brown against Lleyton Hewitt turned out to be a Wimbledon classic. I did not know anything about Dustin but by the end of the match I felt like he was a personal friend! His story to how he got Wimbledon is inspirational and it just goes to show2 that nobody should ever give up on their dream.

Women

Women’s tennis today was equally shocking as Maria Sharapova, the winner in 2004 was also beaten and Victoria  Azarenka pulled out with an injury and Jelena Jankovic  was also beaten in straight sets. However women that did very well today include Sloane Stephens and Michelle Di Barito .

It was a very strange day at Wimbledon so I was relieved that both  Sloane Stephens and Andy Murray  made it to the third round with little fuss.