THE 2011 Wimbledon championships were another great spectacle of tennis. Fans were treated to many epic matches, some stunning surprises and a real changing of the guard over the past fortnight. We now have two brand new Wimbledon champions.
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| NEW: A dominant year for Novak Djokovic continued at SW19 |
Novak Djokovic is now the men’s world no.1 and rightly so. He has only lost one match in this entire year, which was a belting semi-final against Roger Federer at Roland Garros. On Sunday, the Serbian achieved his ultimate dream by beating the former no.1 and defending champion Rafael Nadal in four sets. On an overcast day on Centre Court, Djokovic smashed his way to a 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory, continuing an incredible run of form, which he has had since leading his country to Davis Cup glory last year. Having been a fierce critic of his in the last couple of years, I’m delighted to see Djokovic’s hard work and dedication of the game finally pay off. His form in the second set was incredible, one of the best sets I’ve ever seen played at SW19. He dismantled Nadal and made the grass court expert look very average. Nadal wasn’t at his best, there’s no doubt about that in a final that won’t go down as a classic, but it was a fascinating scrap all the way through. He will be back next year; the Spaniard wondering how he can bring Djokovic down, as Novak has now won their last five head-to-head battles.
Once again, Nadal crushed the Grand Slam dreams of Andy Murray, as he beat the fiery Scot in four sets in the semi-finals. Murray played some brilliant tennis in the first set, winning 7-5. Unfortunately, he missed an easy forehand chance at 2-1 (15-30) on Nadal’s serve in the second set. He then proceeded to lose the next seven service games; something you just can’t do in any Grand Slam semi-final. Murray will be disappointed; he was in great form going into these championships, with victory at Queen’s Club and a best-ever run to the semis at the French Open. At Wimbledon, he played some stunning shots to beat Ivan Ljubicic, destroyed Richard Gasquet in round four and turned the quarter-final against Feliciano Lopez into no more than a training exercise. There isn’t much else Murray can do, apart from get a bit more luck on his side. I still believe he will win a Grand Slam in the future, but the dream of a British champion at Wimbledon is fading fast.
For the second year running, Roger Federer exited the tournament at the quarter-final stage. Federer was eliminated in the match of the tournament; as he threw away a two-set lead to lose in five to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga. Tsonga, who pushed Murray all the way in the Queen’s club final and has reached the Australian Open final in the past, played some sensational tennis and although Federer didn’t’ play badly, he didn’t get another break point after the first set, which shows how well the Frenchman played. Roger is now 29 and like Murray, certainly has the ability to win Grand Slams, but Pete Sampras record of seven men’s singles titles at Wimbledon looks safe for now. The Nadal threat and the emergence of Djokovic has made things very tough now for Federer on the ATP tour. On his day, he still can dismantle anyone, but I do think that the Swiss genius has had his best years.
Two other former Grand Slam winners who exited early from SW19 and need to seriously consider their futures are Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick. Hewitt, the 2002 champion here, has slipped outside the top 100 and lost in round two, from two sets up against no.5 seed Robin Soderling. No-one can criticise Lleyton Hewitt’s determination. It is still there in abundance, but he isn’t getting any younger and might want to consider his next move, especially as Australian tennis is now in safe hands. The emergence of 17-year old qualifier Bernard Tomic was one of the stories of the championships. Tomic knocked out former semi-finalist Xavier Malisse and Soderling on his way to a battling four set quarter-final loss by training partner Djokovic. I would mark Bernard Tomic down as a star of the future. As for Roddick, he made another whimpering exit on the first week, going down in straight sets to Lopez on Centre Court. He missed Roland Garros recently with a shoulder problem and has no chance of making the top five anymore. In fact, Mardy Fish is now American no.1 and his quarter-final run at Wimbledon is just going to push him infront of Roddick further. Maybe it’s time for Andy to hang up the racquet, because he will never win a Grand Slam again and I’m so sure of that, someone can hit me round the back of the head with a shoe if he does!
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| NERVE: Petra Kvitova held hers to become a surprising champion |
It might have been the return of the Williams sisters that caught the attention in the women’s game, but we have a new champion instead, from the Czech Republic. Does that sound familiar? 20-year year Petra Kvitova, the eighth seed at Wimbledon became the first left-hander to win the women’s dish since her compatriot Martina Navratilova won her ninth and final singles title in 1990. With Navratilova and fellow former Czech champion Jana Novotna in the Royal Box watching on, Kvitova produced a performance of power and class to beat the 2004 champion Maria Sharapova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. Sharapova made too many errors in a final where breaks of serve were the order of the day. However, it was Kvitova who held her nerve longest to become the youngest winner here since Sharapova herself seven years ago. As for the Williams sisters, both exited at the fourth round this year. Venus Williams lost in straight sets to her conqueror from last year, Tsvetana Pironkova and Serena suffered a similar fate at the hands of 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli. For the game, it was a real bonus to see the Williams sisters come back and actually not waltz into the final. Both have suffered injury problems in the last twelve months and for Serena, it was even more critical than injury and they will be back, because the hunger of the game doesn’t seem to have diminished from either of them. Like Federer though, I do think their best days have gone.
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| AMAZING: Run of form which shows Lisicki's true potential |
Finally, for me, the fairytale of the championships was the form of German wildcard Sabine Lisicki. Lisicki missed the whole of 2010 with a career threatening ankle injury, after breaking into the world’s top 20 a year earlier. She produced one of the individual performances of the championships to send the French Open champion and many people’s favourite for glory, Li Na in the second round. Lisicki’s emotion on Centre Court afterwards had to be felt, after what she has been through. She also knocked out Bartoli in the last eight, before coming up fractionally short against Sharapova in the last four. If she avoids injury problems again, I think Lisicki has all the class and ability to become world no.1.
The balance of power has shifted in both the men’s and women’s game. Novak Djokovic has many Grand Slam victories to come and messers Nadal, Federer and Murray have a lot of work to do to stop the force of Djokovic. In the women’s, the talents of Lisicki, Kvitova and Pironkova, combined with Sharapova’s return to formidable form means the days of underachieving from Jelena Jankovic and the Williams sisters domination is well and truly over. Both genders have prosperous futures and overall, it was a great 125th championship.
Many congratulations to Petra Kvitova and Novak Djokovic on their glory at Wimbledon in 2011.
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