Roger Federer Makes History at Wimbledon
In four thrilling sets, which started in sunshine and ended as the first Wimbledon final played under the Centre Court roof, Roger Federer defeated British/Scottish hope, Andy Murray, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. It was Federer’s seventh Wimbledon title, which ties him with
Pete Sampras and William Renshaw. With the victory, Federer now holds seventeen Grand Slam singles titles and also ascended to Number One again, which ties him with Pete Sampras for the most weeks ranked Number One. With the title, Federer is 7-1 in Wimbledon finals and 17-7 in Grand Slam finals. Federer also joins Rod Laver (1969), who watched from the Royal Box, and Arthur Ashe (1975) as the only men over age thirty to win Wimbledon. In regaining the Number One ranking, Federer is the first man over thirty since Andre Agassi, who was thirty-three in 2003, to hold the Number One ranking.
After losing the first set, Federer really played extremely well off the ground, at net and with his serve for the rest of the match. However, the real turning point seemed to be when there was a short rain delay at the beginning of the third set and then play resumed with the roof closed. Federer gained approximately 5 MPH on his first serve and also made some subtle tactical changes, e.g. throwing in some soft, short slices to Murray’s forehand and being much more aggressive on Murray’s second serve, which landed in the backhand corner most of the time. After the rain break, Federer ran around Murray’s second serve and slammed some forehands, he chipped and charged and he also took some backhands early off his topspin backhand. The extra variety and aggression seemed to pay dividends in helping him break serve.
It’s been quite the year in men’s tennis between Novak Djokovic’s epic win over Rafael Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open to Rafa’s record-breaking win at Roland Garros and now Roger Federer had his turn at Wimbledon today. In fact, since Roland Garros in 2005, Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have won twenty-nine of thirty Grand Slam singles titles (Juan Martin del Potro won the 2009 U.S. Open). In the previous thirty Grand Slams, there were sixteen different winners! With Federer’s Wimbledon title, Roger has silenced his doubters and showcased not only his myriad tennis skills, but also his fitness and mental strength to survive some early round challenges and come through when it really mattered from a set down in the final. Bravo Roger!
After losing the first set, Federer really played extremely well off the ground, at net and with his serve for the rest of the match. However, the real turning point seemed to be when there was a short rain delay at the beginning of the third set and then play resumed with the roof closed. Federer gained approximately 5 MPH on his first serve and also made some subtle tactical changes, e.g. throwing in some soft, short slices to Murray’s forehand and being much more aggressive on Murray’s second serve, which landed in the backhand corner most of the time. After the rain break, Federer ran around Murray’s second serve and slammed some forehands, he chipped and charged and he also took some backhands early off his topspin backhand. The extra variety and aggression seemed to pay dividends in helping him break serve.
It’s been quite the year in men’s tennis between Novak Djokovic’s epic win over Rafael Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open to Rafa’s record-breaking win at Roland Garros and now Roger Federer had his turn at Wimbledon today. In fact, since Roland Garros in 2005, Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have won twenty-nine of thirty Grand Slam singles titles (Juan Martin del Potro won the 2009 U.S. Open). In the previous thirty Grand Slams, there were sixteen different winners! With Federer’s Wimbledon title, Roger has silenced his doubters and showcased not only his myriad tennis skills, but also his fitness and mental strength to survive some early round challenges and come through when it really mattered from a set down in the final. Bravo Roger!
|
