Djokovic Done with Drought, Wins #7

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

This is my last slam post for a while. Well, it feels like a while, but it will go by oh so quickly. In fact, the US Open is already talking about the women’s dark horses. Too soon, US Open, too soon -- 49 days as I write this.

The top seeds played the twelfth seeds in the Wimbledon doubles semifinals, but when those twelfth seeds are Mahut/Llodra the seedings don’t matter. The Bryans, however, decided that it didn’t matter what their pedigree was. They needed 53 minutes to win the opening set in the breaker [7-4] and there were signs it might be a close match. They took the next two 6-3/6-2 in a combined 53 minutes. With fifteen winners and just one error they were supreme throughout. They had nine aces in there, too. The Bryans ended up running away with what could be Llodra’s final hurrah. Mahut has now reached the semifinals or better at all four whilst Llodra has won three and been to the final of them all at least once except for the US Open. Wouldn’t it be fitting for him to make the final of the US Open?

Meanwhile the fifth seeds [Stepanek/Paes] had a fairly straightforward task. Beat the boys who came from nowhere. They merely had to beat ‘Popsocks’ to make the final. It sounded easy, but it would not prove to be so. As it turned out, the fifth seeds would get swept. In a very tight three setter, the North Americans came through in two hours and twenty 7-6/6-3/6-4. They broke four times on their way to an historic victory. Popsocks serve big and hit huge winners. They go for a lot because they have nothing to lose.

Surely the free swinging underdogs would lose to the Bryans. Surely they would falter here. They split two tiebreakers, neither of which were close. After about an hour and a half or so, it was best of three. The "nobody’s" had even taken the first set against the "somebody’s" and that in itself was a big surprise. Then the underdogs took the second 6-4. In the match, they broke thrice whilst their opponents could only do so twice. The Bryans struck back as everyone knew they would. They took the fourth by six games to three. They won more points in the match [165-162] but it would do them no good in the end as they lost in the final set, succumbing 7-5. It took three hours and six minutes but we have our champions, who blasted 27 aces [and 39 total winners] on their way to victory over the favored partnership.

MARQUEE MATCH: DJOKOVIC [1] d. [4] FEDERER
...The problem with being a fan of a player in an individual sport is that they come and go. Supporting a team is easy [certain teams are exempt -- Cubs, Bills, Maple Leafs etc.] but supporting a particular players is not. Even in team sports supporting a player is difficult. It’s difficult to watch them become old; it’s difficult to watch them get beaten after giving everything. Do I dislike Djokovic? No. Do I respect him? Yes. His movement, his backhand... they are incredible shots and I am constantly in awe of him. The way he moves, the way he can reach balls he has no right to. His defense and retrieval skills are second to none. And yet I can’t fall in love with his game. I think he has developed a game which has so few gaps and is easily good enough to obliterate just about anyone in his path, but it’s too machine-like. That is a good thing -- winning must be achieved no matter the cost. However I almost think Djokovic would be even better if he made his game a little bit more varied. He smothered Raonic in the semifinals and Federer in the finals. Nobody strangles and suffocates quite like Djokovic on a tennis court. Federer stole the first set a little against the run of play. Djokovic broke early and hung on. Djokovic then [with the help of some suspect line decisions and bad calls from the umpire] took the third in a breaker. He soon led 5-2 and was so close. But no. Federer came up with more magic and took five games in a row. We were going five, but could Federer’s body hold up? No, as it turned out. Djokovic wore him into the grass and broke at the right moment to take the fifth set by 6 games to four with more great play. Three minutes shy of four hours was how long it took the Djoker to come through 6-7/6-4/7-6/5-7/6-4. There were seven breaks in this match that twisted and turned. Federer hit 29 aces and 29 errors but he hit 75 winners overall. Federer’s 29 aces means he has hit the fifth most aces in the tournament with 98. It is an impressive tally. Alas and alack, for ‘twas not enough. Djokovic is the master of grass and sure the Wimbledon/US double is now on his radar.
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Players I was impressed with:

Djokovic [A+]... He has won Wimbledon twice now. That is such an impressive record on his worst surface. Nadal is making sure the French continues to elude him. Djokovic did not look convincing. In fact, he may not even have been the best player but he was the winner and that stat is the most important. Wherever he is now, he is smiling. World number one and Wimbledon champion? Oh yes, he’ll be smiling.

Pospisil/Sock [A] for flying the flag. Canada was the most successful country at Wimbledon. This team went mostly unnoticed until it was too late. That doubles final was an instant classic.

Kyrgios [A] He dismissed Nadal and then did very well against Raonic, nearly taking him to five. And all that after saving nine match points against a great grass courter in Gasquet. Here is something from Kyrgios’ Facebook that clearly illustrates his rise. It is his first time in the top 100.



Ivanesevic went up 109 spots after winning Wimbledon. The largest ever jump? Well, according to the ATP:
“He reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals (via wild card) only three weeks after surgery. He went from 413 to 99 following Wimbledon on the ATP computer, the biggest one-tournament jump of any player since the rankings began in 1973.” I am not sure about the Aussie changing coaches, though. Hmmmm.

Gulbis [A] for being himself and somehow still winning.

Raonic [A] for that serve. Nothing has looked so beautiful or so deadly since, well, Sigourney Weaver in space.

Wawrinka [B] Solid performance from the Swiss, meeting his seeding and having a career best performance were both very impressive achievements.

Bryans [B-] they look to be back, but after winning three slams last year they haven’t won any since then. In fact, this was their first slam final since last year’s Wimbledon.

Federer [B] In a way, I am more impressed with Federer than Djokovic. Federer was the best player of the Championships, but Djokovic deserved to win the final. Federer is still here despite it all. That is an amazing achievement.

Players who have work to do:

Nadal [C+] Nadal made the fourth round on his worst surface. He had a horrible draw, a truly appalling, horrible draw. He navigated it successfully, pulling several Houdini acts only to be outclassed in the end.

Ferrer [D] Losing to Kuznetsov in the first round in five? That is unacceptable at the best of times. Losing to him at the biggest event of the year, an event, moreover, that Ferrer has made back to back quarterfinals at is almost criminal. Ferrer has a little time to enjoy the clay before he is forced onto the punishing hard courts of North America.

Murray [D] 0 sums up his year -- it is the number of top ten players he has beaten this year. It is also how many titles he has won. It is also the amount of finals he has been to since winning here last year. Before he lost his match there was apparently an incident. He was seen shouting at his box in the third set "five minutes before the fu--ing match" and his girlfriend later left alone. I’m not one for gossip and whatnot, but the British press has opinions.

Fabio Fognini [F-] He already has two 'F's and he has earned a third with that performance. Yes, that was my diagnosis for the French and it remains the same except this time he gets a fabulous F-.

Richard Gasquet [F-] 9 match points 9. Has he heard of this thing called a ‘return’?


*NEWPORT, USA*
=SF=
Isner [1] d. [4] Wawrinka
Mahut [4] d. [2] Karlovic
=FINAL=
Isner [1] d. [4] Mahut

...This is grass. And it is grass on American soil. Isner will therefore defeat Mahut.

*STUTTGART, GERMANY*
=SF=
Fognini [1] d. [3] Bautista-Agut
Kohlschreiber [5] d. Monaco
=FINAL=
Fognini [1] d. [5] Kohlschreiber

*BASTAD, SWEDEN*
=SF=
Ferrer [1] d. [5] Sousa
Robredo [2] d. [3] Verdasco
=FINAL=
Ferrer [1] d. [2] Robredo


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