Wimbledon 2015: Talking points from Day 9
Gasquet comes through in thriller
Well we expected a feast of single handed backhands from Richard Gasquet and Stanislas Wawrinka but I don’t think anybody expected the dish to be Michelin starred. For five wonderful sets the pair produced some sublime shot-making which was by far and away the best men’s match of the fortnight so far.
Surprisingly it was the famously fragile Frenchman who prevailed 11-9 after Wawrinka sprayed a backhand long. For so long the Frenchman has been mocked for his mental deficiencies and questionable fitness but yesterday evening he answered his critics with aplomb. When he was broken serving for the match, we wondered whether this would signal the collapse so traditional of Gasquet but it never came.
It was only his second win against top 10 opposition in 26 attempts, but he won’t care. He has reached only his third Major semi-final in an 11-year senior career.
Worryingly for the Frenchman, every single one of them has come after five-set battles; Andy Roddick in 2007, David Ferrer in 2013 and now Wawrinka. Here the questions surrounding his fitness come into play. In both semi-finals, Gasquet was crushed first by Roger Federer and then by Rafael Nadal. His luck isn’t getting any easier as he now must face Novak Djokovic.
Right now I’m sure Gasquet would be happy with a last four place. His others came on the up as an expectant teen and arguably at the peak of his form as a top tenner. This year, Gasquet has plateaued around the top 20 in the world and looked to be petering out as a force in the game. This semi-final appearance might give the talented a little boost he so desperately needs.
While I’m at it, Stan never point to your head looking at your box. You could not put a bigger jinx on you if you tried.
Who will be the favourite for Murray vs Federer
We’ve got the semi-final we all wanted to see thank goodness. The much anticipated Andy Murray vs Roger Federer promises to be the highlight of the championships so far in terms of spectacle. The question is, who is the favourite?
Before the tournament, the immediate backing would’ve been with the Brit. His form throughout the year has been some of his most consistently excellent tennis of his career and arrived in London as the joint-favourite. In the tournament itself though things haven’t been as perfect. His second serve in particular, has looked more vulnerable than usual and concerns over his shoulder have arisen after his collapse against Andreas Seppi.
Federer, on the other hand, has completely breezed through his first five rounds. My predicted tough match with Gilles Simon turned into a blitzkrieg for the Swiss superstar. For someone his age, Federer not only needs excellent form but quick matches in order to be at his best come the crunch time of tournaments. Needless to say, he’s had that in abundance these past nine days.
Murray is still the bookies’ favourite for the match but the clash will surely be closer than we might have thought at the start of the tournament. That might not be the only way this match is tighter than expected.
In the 2012 Wimbledon final where Murray was making his first appearance, the atmosphere in the crowd should have been at fever pitch. Instead the mood was pretty revered and noticeably mixed. Such is the immense popularity that Federer commands that even in a Wimbledon final against a Brit, he still managed to have a good proportion of the crowd on his side.
Now that Murray has won Wimbledon and the sense of desperation is gone from the crowd, will the predicted partisan home support which Murray has called for be absent? Will the crowd care more about seeing the greatest player there has ever been win one more Major title on his most beloved of courts than about seeing a Brit lift the trophy? It’s not just the action on the court that’s going to be intriguing on Friday evening.
Has Djokovic already won the Wimbledon title?
We may salivate at the prospect of Murray – Federer and we might still be catching our breath after the single handed backhand deluxe. Yet no one would be as pleased with yesterday’s results as defending champion Novak Djokovic
After completely destroying Marin Cilic on Centre Court whilst barely breaking a sweat, Djokovic’s smile grew wider and wider as news of the marathon taking place on Court No1 sifted through to the locker room. The end result must have sent the Serb into a silent gig.
Say what you will about Wawrinka’s competencies on grass but in the last three years, these two have delivered some of the greatest matches in Grand Slams. How competitive the match would have been is up for debate but knowing that the Swiss won’t be across the net this time around must surely give Djokovic a psychological boost going into the semi-final on Friday.
Since the physical side men’s tennis became such a mitigating factor of quality, the competitiveness of the final and indeed the winner of the match itself has normally been decided by the semi-finals. Would Andy Murray have won Wimbledon two years ago if Djokovic hadn’t been drained after winning an epic five-setter against Juan Martin Del Potro. Even the great Roger Federer has shown that after an intense battle over four or five sets, his powers of recuperation aren’t as strong as what they used to be.
With the idea of Murray – Federer being a straight sets romp for either man being distinctly remote and given Gasquet’s poor record in semi-finals, Djokovic may well have won the title for a third time four days early.