British/Scottish “hometown” favorite, Andy Murray receives most of the cheers, but this Olympic tennis crowd has been a bit different from the typical Wimbledon tennis fans.  Their head-to-head rivalry is tied 8-8, but Federer has won their last three matches, as well as their three Grand Slam matches in the finals at the U.S Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon.  The final will be three out of five sets unlike the earlier rounds which were two out of three sets.  Nonetheless, Roger Federer played four hours to defeat Juan Martin del Potro in the semis on Friday and Andy Murray will play one or two mixed doubles matches on Saturday, which might be a positive distraction even though he won’t be able to have this typical “day-off” routine and practice.  Federer will need to serve well and avoid shanking his forehand while Murray will also need a strong serving day while also attempting to be aggressive and control the rallies from the first ball.  As in all major finals, the first set will be pivotal, but perhaps even more so in this encounter given the potential fitness issues, as well as the head-to-head history between the two players.

We present our analysis of the players below:

                              Roger Federer                           Andy Murray

Form                      Had some weak moments            Played well overall

Fitness                   Had a long semifinal                    Played singles, dubs and mixed

Experience             Like a Wimbledon final                Wimbledon final, all over again…

Pressure                 May not get another chance         Playing for himself and Great Britain

Intangible               Knows he can win                        A “second chance” on Centre Court


Prediction:  Murray in four sets

Posted by TC at 02:40 AM |