Petra Kvitova vs Barbora Zahlavova Strycova

Wimbledon brings the best out of some players and it is safe to say that Petra Kvitova is one of those players. She has been to the quarter-finals or better in each of her last 4 outings and she played one of the best matches of the tournament in sending the 5 time Wimbledon Champion Venus Williams home in the third round.

Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova are the only former Wimbledon champions left in the draw and both are in opposite halves of the draw.

Barbora Zahlavova Strycova is having the tournament of her life. She sent Australian Open champion and world no.2 Li Na home in the third round, then saw off former world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round to make it to her first grand slam quarter-final. Grass is a surface that rewards Strycovas game and she should be confident and up for the challenge that Kvitova will be presenting.

The pair have played four times, with Kvitova winning thrice and Strycova getting the better of Kvitova once. All their prior matches have been on hard courts. Their last encounter was in Indian Wells in 2012 won by Kvitova in straight sets.

With Serena Williams and Li Na already home, this might be Kvitova's best chance to win another slam, however we have seen this before and we have seen Kvitova falter before just like Radwanska. Kvitova talked about her loss at the hands of Flipkens in last year's quarter-finals and how it hurt her, so expect her to be pumped to make it to the end of the tournament.

Strycova is into her first grand slam quarter-final and nerves are sure to play their part on the big stage. The pair play their match on Centre Court. Kvitova should be able to handle the match and walk off Centre Court smiling with a win unless she is having a terribly off day.

Winner : Petra Kvitova

Lucie Safarova vs Ekaterina Makarova (Wimbledon QF Preview)

Lucie Safarova and Ekaterina Makarova both are having their best Wimbledon results and have equalled their best Grand Slam outings. There will be a lot on the line for both players, a career first Slam semi-final and a chance to surpass their career best singles rankings. Currently they are separated by just one spot in the rankings with Safarova sitting at no.23 and Makarova at 22. Their career best singles rankings have been near each other as well, with Safarova peaking at no.17 and Makraova going up-to no.19.

Makarova's best Wimbledon result had been a 3rd round showing last year, while Safarova progressed to the same stage in 2007.

The pair has played twice before and have split their meetings with Sfarova coming out on top in straight sets in Moscow in 2009 on hard courts while Makarova avenged that defeat in Madrid last year in straight sets.

Grass suits the game of both players and both were ruthless in their fourth round matches. Safarova was the first to advance as she put a master-class performance to end the Wimbledon dreams of Tereza Smitkova. Sfarova won 91% points behind her first serve and 62% behind her second serve to win 6-2 6-0. Safarova went 19-4 for winners - unforced errors.

Makarova had a greater task on hand in former WImbledon finalist Radwanska but she was up for it as she put in 78% of her first serves and won 87% of those points. Makarova hit 24 winners to just 6 unforced errors in her 6-3 6-0 win over Radwanska.

Nerves will be a factor in this match. Makarova is a more experienced player at this stage, she has been to the quarter-finals of grand slams thrice and has also been a winner and a runners up in doubles at Grand Slams (Roland Garros and Australian Open respectively). Safarova on the other hand has never been beyond the quarter-finals either in singles or doubles. This is just her second grand slam quarter-final.

It should be a good match with both players games well suited for grass. The serve and the nerve will be the deciding factor, the player who better manages both will come out on top. Makarova might have an emotional let down after her win over Radwanska, but given her performance (excluding the first round) she should be favoured to make it to her first grand slam semi-final. My gut feeling is Safarova will tough it out but my head says Makarova will handle the Czech and march to her first grand slam semi-final.

Winner : Makarova

Wimbledon and the top 4 seeds - ATP

Looking back into the history of Wimbledon, I tried to look into the years when none of the top 4 seeds made it past the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. In other words, the years when all the semi-finalists at Wimbledon were players either seeded outside the top 4 or unseeded. Here goes the link of the article. It happened twice since the dawn of open era. The first time it happened was back in 1992 (Andre Agassi won the Wimbledon title) and the only other time it happened was in 1996 (Richard Krajicek won the title).

I hope you enjoy the article. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts.

Wimbledon 2013

Dear All

I am back form the exams finally :) I am very happy to announce that I have finally purchased a domain :) A domain to my own name, a small place on the web that I can call my own and that I will use to share my thoughts on tennis with you people :) I had purchased the domain longtime ago, in December 2012, but did not post on it until now. A very good friend of mine has been working on it (it is still work in process), but I thought that the grass season is the best time to start posting on it. Here goes the link to the first Wimbledon series article that I have posted on it. It is bacially a small informative article about Wimbledon setting the tone for the upcoming articles that I am hoping to post daily on the blog.

I hope you will continue reading and commenting on the blog and keep me updated with anything you people want to see on the blog.

Happy beginning of the grass season, let us hope to see great matches.

Best Grass Court Players, never to win Wimbledon

With Wimbledon dust settled down, and Wimbledon mania over, and Roger Federer having won his record equalling 7th Wimbledon crown, let us have a look at the best grass court players who failed to lay their hands on the coveted Wimbledon trophy .

Ken Rosewall (Grass Court record : 108-31)

Rosewall was the first male player during the open era to win a Grand Slam without dropping a set (1971 Australian Open). Wimbledon is the only Slam that eluded him. He went on to win Roland Garros in 1968, U.S Open in 1970 and Australain Open in 1971 and defended his title in 1972.

Rosewall had even decided not to play Roland Garros any more in the seventies in order to be well rested for Wimbledon and the decision paid off immediately as he went on to reach the Wimbledon final in 1970 loosing to Newcombe in 5 sets. The final score being  5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1.

He went on to reach the final of Wimbledon in 1974 as well, defeating the then World No.1, Newcombe in the QF in 4 sets, Stan Smith, the then World no.4 in the semi-finals in 5 sets. He lost the first 2 sets of his semi-final but made a great come-back to win the thrilling encounter 6-8 4-6 9-8 6-1 6-3. However, his gruelling semi-final win seemed to have effect on his final performance against Connors as he fell in straight sets 6-1 6-1 6-4.

Rosewall also reached two Wimbledon finals before the Open Era in 1954 and 1956, but fell at the hands of  Jaroslav Drobný and Lew Hoad respectively.

Ivan Lendl (Grass Court record : 81-25)


Although none of his 144 career singles titles came at Wimbledon, the towering Czech-born American was one of the best players to never win on grass. Hen went on to reach 2 Wimbledon finals but fell short at the final hurdle and thus failed to complete the career grand slam.

Lendl's 2 Wimbledon finals came in 1986 and 1987. Going into 1986 Wimbledon, Lendl was the top seed, he overcame the challenges put forth by Tim Mayotte and  Slobodan Živojinović in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, winning both matches in 5 sets. The finals scores being 6-4 4-6 6-4 3-6 9-7 for his quarter-final win over Mayotte and 6-2 6-7 6-3 6-7  6-4 for his semi-final epic win over Zivojinovic. The back to back 5 set wins seemed to take their tool in the final as he went down to 4th seeded defending champion Becker in straight sets (6-4 6-3 7-5).

Entering the 1987 Wimbledon, Lendl was seeded second behind 2 time defending champion Becker, he made his way to the final defeating 9th seeded Henri Leconte in straight sets and 4th seeded Stefan Edgberg in 4 sets. The final pit him against 11th seeded Pat Cash where Lendl failed to bring forth his game that took him to the final and hence he fell in straight sets to Cash.

Lendl is presently coaching Murray. Murray under lendl's guidance made it to his first Wimbledon final, falling in 4 sets to Roger Federer.

Patrick Rafter (Grass Court Record : 74-25)


Rafter is the shortest-reigning world No. 1 in ATP tour history, when he ascended to the top spot (taking over Agassi) in July 1999 after reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time, but he remained at that spot for just one week, before Samprass claimed back the top spot from Rafter just after one week.

Rafter made it to back to back Wimbledon finals, loosing to Samprass in 2000, 6–7(10–12), 7–6(7–5), 6–4, 6–2 and to wild card entrant Ivanesevic 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6, 9–7 in 2001. Ivanesevic became the first wild card to win a major. The win meant a great deal for Ivanisevic, as he had made the Wimbledon finals three times before (in 1992, 1994 and 1998) but lost each to Agassi, and Sampras twice, respectively.

Andy Roddick (Grass Court Record : 85-21)

Roddick has a game very much suited to grass, and this shows in his results at Wimbledon as well. He has been to the championship match at the Centre Court 3 times, the most recent coming in 2009. Unfortunately, all these 3 times he had the misfortune of running into one of the best grass court players ever, Roger Federer.


Roddick's first Wimbledon final came in 2004 as the 2nd seed. He took the first set off the defending champion and top seed Federer, but lost the next 3 tight sets to loose the match. The final score being 4-6 7-5 7-6 6-4.

2005 marked the repeat of 2004's Wimbledon final with the same outcome and the only difference that Roddick failed to win a set this time, falling in straight sets to Federer.

2009 saw the third time that Federer and Roddick fought a battle for the Wimbledon crown, making it the longest Grand Slam final in terms of the games played. This definitely was a heart breaking loss for Roddick who lost his serve only once during the entire match, but that one break of serve was so expensive that it cost Roddick the championship and it earned Federer his 6th Wimbledon trophy and a return to the top spot. Roddick lost his serve in the final game of the final set. The final score of the match being 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 16-14.

I have not put Murray in this category, since he is still in his prime and will definitely have some chances to get a hold on the Wimbledon trophy.

Who do you think was the bet grass court player never to win Wimbledon?

Majestic Swiss downs British Hopes (Federer d. Murray in Wimbledon Final 2012)

Andy Murray walked behind Roger Federer to enter the Centre Court for the championship match. Entering the court both players knew that history is on line for both of them, as Andy Murray was attempting to become first British player to win Wimbledon in 76 years, while Federer was chasing a record 7th Wimbledon title and with that the top spot in the tennis World.

Andy Murray entered the match with confidence knowing that he is one of only two men who have a leading H2H against Roger Federer, and that confidence showed when he broke Federer to open the championship match. Though Federer broke back to level the set at 2 each, Murray again raced to lead when Federer served at 4-4, breaking Federer and serving out to take one set lead. However, from then on Federer took charge of the match and did not let go of the match until the very end when he had won it.

Murray entered the Court walking behind Federer and that is what he did during the entire match after taking the first set, always trying to catch up with Federer from behind, however Federer was always one step ahead, never taking his feet off that pedal until the very end of the match, when at his second match point Murray's forehand went long. Federer dropped to the court with tears running down his eyes, got up walked to the net for a warm handshake with Murray.

Let us have a look  at the numbers (stats) behind Federer's win over Murray at Wimbledon 2012, Federer's 7th Wimbledon trophy:

Description	Federer	Murray
Aces	12	16
Double faults	3	1
1st serves in	69%	56%
1st serve points won	76%	69%
2nd serve points won	49%	48%
Net points won	78%	62%
Break points won	33%	29%
Receiving points won	40%	33%
Winners	62	46
Unforced errors	38	25

As mentioned in the preview of Final, three things proved to be the deciding factor in the final:

- 1st serve and points won on first serve: Coming into the final Andy Murray had been serving at an average of 63% and winning 77% of those points, however he failed to replicate that performance, his first serve falling to just 56% and he won just 69% of those points. Federer on the other hand served at 69%, 13% more than Andy Murray and won 76% of those points, 7% more than Andy Murray.

- Points won on 2nd serve: This was the only department Andy Murray held advantage over his rival in the final, but he failed here too, winning just 48% of his second serves, 17% less than he had won on his road to final. Federer's winning %age on second serve wasn't good either, but better than his opponent today.

- Receiving points won: Murray won 47% of the receiving points in the first set he took from Federer, but from then on it was a downward trend and he ended up winning just 33% of the receiving points as compared to Federer's 40%.

It was a match of missed opportunities for Murray, the 4 break point chances he had in the second set might haunt him for quite sometime as he failed to capitalise on a single one of them.

Federer showed his true class and legacy in fighting back from one set down to take the match in 4 sets and win Wimbledon trophy. "The trophy feels nice - like it's never left me. I've gone through some struggles and this one obviously comes at the right time," Federer on how it feels like to hold the trophy after 3 years.

Andy Murray won his first set in his 4th Grand Slam final appearance, in his prior 3 appearances he had failed to win a set, loosing the 2 to Federer (US Open 2008 and Australian Open 2010), and one to Djokovic (Australian Open 2011). This definitely is a positive sign for Murray and a sign of good things to come.

As for Federer, he will wake up tomorrow as Wimbledon Champion 2012, and new World no.1, equalling Samprass's record of 286 weeks spent at the top spot.

It is said that history repeats itself, and it did in fact at Wimbledon 2012. It was Roland Garros 2009, Nadal bowed out in the 4th round to Soderling, Federer played the next day, he lost the first 2 sets to Haas, but came back to win the match in 5 sets and went on to win the title. It was Wimbledon 2012, Nadal bowed out of WImbledon in the second round to Rosol, Federer was due to play his 3rd round match the next day against Benneteau, Federer lost the first 2 sets but came back to win the match in 5 sets, and this time again he went on to win the title.

For now on it was a happy ending to Federer's Wimbledon 2012 campaign, winning his 17th major title and returning to world no.1 and  silencing his doubters. However, the story continues and who knows where the tally of grand slam wins and weeks at top spot will end…..

Swiss Maestro or British Hopes (Federer vs Murray Wimbledon 2012 Final Preview)

There is a lot on line in this match for both players, for one it will be a record equalling 7th Wimbledon title and with that coveted World no.1, for other it will be his first major title, and he will become the first British player of the Open Era to win Wimbledon.

This is the first time since the Australian Open 2011, that neither Nadal nor Djokovic is the final of a Grand Slam.

Federer is coming off a great win over World no.1 and reigning Wimbledon chmapion, Novak Djokovic. Murray, on the other hand is coming off a confidence boasting win over French Power hitter, Tsonga.

Let us have a look at the performance of the players so far this year:

Description	Federer	Murray
YTD Match Record	45-6	32-9
H2H	7	8
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	F
Year of best Result	2003-07 & 2009	2012

Murray leads the H2H 8-7, but he will not be happy going into the match knowing that in his previous 2 encounters against Federer in the Grand Slam Finals he went down in straight sets. (2008 U.S Open and 2010 Australian Open). In fact, those 2 were the only times they have faced each other in a Grand Slam. All of their meetings have come on hard courts, and this will be the first time that they will meet on grass. Federer has won the pairs' last two encounters, the most recent coming in the final of Dubai this year.

Let us have a look at the performance of the players so far in the tournament: 

Description	Federer	Murray
Aces	10	12
Double faults	1	2
1st serves in	66%	63%
1st serve points won	79%	77%
2nd serve points won	61%	65%
Net points won	72%	66%
Break points won	44%	37%
Receiving points won	44%	40%
Winners	32	40
Unforced errors	13	17

* I have used the average stats per match for their last 6 matches at Wimbledon.

There are 3 things separating the two if we talk in terms of the numbers:

-1st serve and points won on 1st serve: Federer has been serving well so far, and his serve has been too good in his QF and SF victories, he has been serving on average 3% more than Murray and has been winning 2% more points behind his 1st serve when compared to Murray. This no doubt will be the most important factor in the match. The player who will loose his serve first will be in grave danger. Murray has been broken 11 times so far in the tournament, Federer on the other hand has been broken 7 times. 

-Points won on 2nd serve: Murray has won on average 65% points behind his second serve so far in the tournament, Federer on the other hand has won 61%. Second serve will be the key, and both players will be keen on taking advantage of the other player's second serve.

Murray has won at least 40% points while returning Federer's 2nd serve during his 8 victories over Federer, Federer on the other hand hand has won at least 41.2% points while returning Murray's second serve during his 7 victories over the British player.

-Receiving points won: Federer has won 4% more points as compared to Murray on return of serve. Return of serve will be crucial for both the players, since it will earn them a chance to break others serve and move ahead.

Federer must serve the way he served in his semi-final match if he wants to have a chance against Murray. Murray has great defensive skills but at the same time he can be offensive. Murray will be keen to extract some revenge and given the history of their rivalry, Federer may be in danger. However, it will all depend on which Roger Federer shows up, the one we saw in the semi-finals against Djokovic or the one we saw against Haas in the Halle final? 

Federer will not have to let his concentration lapses haunt him during the final, and he must keep the tally of his unforced errors under-control like he has been doing for during his previous 6 matches here.

With so much on the line for both players, expect it to be an epic. It is only the second time in the Open Era that a 3rd and 4th seed are meeting in the final of Wimbledon. The last time it happened was way back in 1976, when 4th seeded Borg defeated 3rd seeded Nastase. Will Federer, the 3rd seed be able to win?

During the Open Era a 3rd seed has won Wimbledon 4 times, Edgberg being the last 3rd seed to win Wimbledon in 1990, whereas a 4th seed has won Wimbledon thrice during the Open Era. The last 4th seed to win Wimbledon was none other than Andy Murray's opponent in the final, yes, Roger Federer in 2003.

Federer in his last 7 Wimbledon finals has gone 6-1. The only man to beat Federer in Wimbledon final was Nadal in 2008. In fact only two players have beaten Federer in Grand Slam Final, Nadal (6times) and Del Potro (once). Will Andy Murray become only the 3rd player to beat Federer in a Grand Slam and only the second man to beat Federer in Wimbledon Final, remains to be seen.

Who do you think will walk away with the title?

Will Federer's Aura be too much for Murray to handle or Will the hopes of Nation lift Murray up and push Federer down?

I won't be picking one guy out this time, I leave it to you guys to decide who will walk away with his dreams fulfilled and history made.

P.S: My heart was constantly going roger while jotting this down ;)

Murray's win in numbers (Murray d. Tsonga Wimbledon SF 2012)

Both Murray and Tsonga walked onto the court today with the weight their Nation's hopes over their shoulders and it was Murray who started out well winning the first 2 sets, but Tsonga was not to go down so easily, he responded by taking the 3rd set and going the distance in the 4th set but ultimately going down 36 46 63 57. Murray booked a place in the final against Federer, after Federer downed reigning  Wimbledon champion, Djokovic, in the first semi-final.

It was a good performance by Murray, who was playing his 4th consecutive semi-final here at Wimbledon, and with the win today, he has been able to cast the spell of semi-final defeats away and in doing so has become the first British man to reach Wimbledon final since 1938.

Tsonga had his chances in the 4th set, but he blew them away, the home crowd lifted Murray up when he needed it and he won it in style, hitting a return winner over Tsonga's serve.

Let us look at the numbers behind Murray's win and Tsonga's defeat:

Description	Murray	Tsonga
Aces	9	11
Double faults	2	2
1st serves in	60%	63%
1st serve points won	75%	75%
2nd serve points won	64%	32%
Net points won	43%	59%
Break points won	33%	25%
Receiving points won	41%	30%
Winners	40	47
Unforced errors	12	42

There were only 3 things that separated the two, as highlighted in the stats:

- winning percentage on the second serve, Murray won twice as many points as Tsonga on second serve, winning 64% as against Tsonga's 32%. How can you win a match against World no.4 by winning just 32% of your 2nd serves.
- return of serve, Murray won 41% points as against Tsonga's 30%, a differential of 11%. Tsonga's huge serve had saved him until today, but today his serve could not pull him out of the hole he dug for himself with his second serve winning percentage.
- unforced errors, Tsonga's unforced errors hit the last nail in his coffin, Tsonga hit 7 more winners than Murray but he hit 30 more unforced errors than Murray. Coming into the match, Tsonga was hitting on average 16 unforced errors per match, but he just could not keep up that level and Murray's consistency proved too much for him.

Murray moves a step further towards achieving his dream, achieving the dream of a Nation, while Tsonga walks away after embracing his opponent and congratulating him, a fitting end to the clash of Nations, where British Murray survived French Flag bearer Tsonga.

Federer's win in numbers (Federer d. Djokovic Wimbledon Semi-Final 2012)

Roger Federer walked onto the court today knowing that no one has been able to beat him in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in his 7 prior attempts, knowing that he will have a shot at the record equalling 7th Wimbledon trophy should he get past Djokovic today, knowing that he will have shot to regain the top spot again and level Samprass's record of most weeks spent at top.

Djokovic walked onto the court knowing that he had won 6 of the last 7 encounters with Federer, knowing that he will have to win this match to retain the top spot, the position he got after his win at Wimbledon last year, knowing that he was one of the last players to beat Federer (the last being Haas).

Djokovic was trying to become the first man to beat Federer in the semi-final of Wimbledon, but Federer was trying to keep his record intact, and in the end it was the Majestic Swiss who downed the Magical Serb. The Swiss Aura was too much for the Serbian Spell as Federer marched into his 8th Wimbledon final, his first in 3 years.

Let us have a look at the numbers behind Federer's win and Djokovic's loss:

Description	Djokovic	Federer
Aces	9	12
Double faults	2	0
1st serves in	63%	64%
1st serve points won	71%	75%
2nd serve points won	57%	72%
Net points won	64%	52%
Break points won	33%	27%
Receiving points won	26%	34%
Winners	28	31
Unforced errors	21	10

Federer was clearly better than Djokovic in every department, winning 75% of his first serve points, 4% more than Djokovic. Djokovic had been winning 79% first points on average before his match-up against Federer. However, more telling was the winning %age on second serve, Djokovic maintained his winning %age on second serve at 57% as he had done in his previous matches, but Federer raised his to a whooping 72%. How can you win a match from a person who is winning 72% points behind his second serve?


Djokovic is considered as one of the best returners on the tour, but Federer outclassed him in this department today as well, winning 8% more points as compared to Djokovic while returning the serve.


Djokovic had winners-unforced errors differential of +24 on average, but he could not keep that level going compiling a differential of +7 only against Federer's +21.


Time and again Tennis experts have written Federer off, but every-time they do so he proves them wrong and comes back stronger. Remember 2008? 


Almost none of the tennis experts believed in Federer after his straight sets loss to Djokovic in Roland Garros semi-final and a straight sets loss at the hands of Tommy Haas in the Halle final. No one picked him to make the final, but here he is, in the final of Wimbledon again, proving his doubters wrong. What is more surprising is that the ones writing him off start praising him again when he proves them wrong.


For now, Federer walks into the final and has a shot at the 7th Wimbledon trophy, and a chance to regain the top spot, will he able to do it, remains to be seen. Once again, Federer comes back stronger to prove himself. Federer ended it in style with an un-returned serve and a sweet smile and a fist pump towards his box.

The Clash of Nations (Murray vs Tsonga Wimbledon SF 2012 Preview in numbers)

Tsonga and Murray have one similarity, both carry the weight of a nation's hopes on their shoulders. Murray carries the hopes of British Nation, while Tsonga carries French Flag and both will be eager to take one step further in the right direction to fulfil their own dreams and the dreams of their nations.

Murray is coming off the toughest quarter of the draw, any BIG 4 could have asked for, while Tsonga is coming off Nadal's quarter which was left open, courtesy Rosol.

Description	Murray	Tsonga
YTD Match Record	31-9	34-12
H2H	5	1
Wimbledon Best Result	SF	SF
Year of best Result	2009-12	2011-12

The two have met twice on grass and both meetings have gone into Murray's favour. The pair's first meeting on grass came in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2010 and Murray walked off the court smiling despite loosing the first set in tie break. The final result being, 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2. The pair's second and only other meeting on grass came in the finals of Queen's club last year and that also went the distance as Murray took it in 3 sets, winning 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. Tsonga's lone victory over Murray came in the first round of Australian Open in 2008, the year when Tsonga went on to reach the final of Australian Open. Tsonga has a chance to do it again, beat Murray and make his way into his very first Wimbledon final.

Let us have a look at the performance of the players so far in the tournament:

Description	Murray	Tsonga
Aces*	13	15
Double faults*	3	2
1st serves in	63%	64%
1st serve points won	78%	79%
2nd serve points won	66%	59%
Net points won	71%	72%
Break points won	38%	45%
Receiving points won	40%	34%
Winners*	39	45
Unforced errors*	18	16

* I have used the average aces, double faults, winners and Unforced errors per match.


Of all the 4 players still standing, Tsonga has the most aces and his winning percentage on the second serve is bettered only by his opponent in the semi-final, Murray. Tsonga also leads in the group of 4 in the winners-unforced errors differential. Talking about this very semi-final, Tsonga will have to keep up his first serve %age and not give Murray too many looks on his second serve. Tsonga has only been broken 4 times in making it to the semi-finals, twice in his 4th round victory and twice in his QF win. Murray on the other hand has been broken 7 times so far.

Though Tsonga's return game is poor as compared to Murray, Tsonga has been doing well on converting the break points as compared to Murray. Murray will have to step-up his return game and will be keen on not letting go of any break point chance, he might get on Tsonga's serve.

 Tsonga has been playing cleaner matches as against Murray, his winner-unforced errors differential is +29, while that of Murray's is +21.

Murray is into 4th consecutive Wimbledon SF, he has never progressed beyond the semi-finals, loosing to Roddick in 2009 and to Nadal in 2010 and 2011. Tsonga is into Wimbledon semi-final for the second consecutive year. Last year he lost to the eventual champion Djokovic in 4 sets in the semi-finals. Who will be the one to break this semi-final spell?

It is a tough call and although the head to head favours Murray, you have to like Tsonga's chances. Neither Murray, nor Tsonga has ever been to Wimbledon final, so we are guaranteed to have a first time Wimbledon finalist this year.

It will all come down to the player's serves and nerves, the player better able to handle both things will be emerge victorious. Murray has great defensive skills, but Tsonga can blow anyone off court on a given day. If both players are playing at their best we will of-course be in for a treat.

Pick: Tsonga in 5 sets.


Who do you favour in this clash of the Nations?
You can find the preview of Federer vs Djokovic semi-final here

Majestic Swiss or Magical Serb (Djokovic vs Federer SF Preview Wimbledon 2012 in numbers)

Roger Federer walked onto the court today to break the spell that had been casted on him for the last two years at Wimbledon forcing him to bow out of Wimbledon at the QF stage (2010: Berdych, 2011: Tsonga) and break he did, marching into his 8th Wimbledon Semi-Final and keeping his hopes of regaining the top spot alive.

Djokovic, walked onto the court today in a bid to take move one step further ahead in his bid to defend the Wimbledon crown he won last year and the top spot he gained as a result of that win and move he did, making it to 4th Wimbledon Semi-Final and in the process setting a block - buster semi-final against world no.3 Roger Federer.

The Fedjo rivalry dates back to 2006 when the pair first met at Monte Carlo, a meeting won by Federer in 3 sets. They have played each other 25 times since then, making it a total of 26 times the pair has faced each other, with Federer leading 14-12, though Djokovic has won 6 of the pair's last 7 meetings. Interestingly, the pair has met on every surface and at every grand slam, other than Grass and Wimbledon respectively. This will be the pair's first meeting on grass.

Description	Djokovic	Federer
YTD Match Record	41-6	44-6
H2H	12	14
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	Winner
Year of best Result	2011	2003-07 & 2009

Federer coming into this match has lost 3 sets,  2 in his comeback win over Benneteau in the 3rd round and one against Malisse in the 4th round. Djokvic on the other hand has lost only one set, in his 3rd round win over Stepanek. Djokovic has been broken 4 times so far in the tournament, while Federer has been broken 6 times.

Let us have a look at what do the stats (numbers) tell us about their performance so far at Wimbledon 2012.

Description	Djokovic	Federer
Aces*	9	9
Double faults*	2	2
1st serves in	68%	67%
1st serve points won	79%	79%
2nd serve points won	58%	58%
Net points won	65%	75%
Break points won	51%	47%
Receiving points won	45%	46%
Winners*	40	38
Unforced errors*	16	16

* I have used the average aces, double faults, winners and Unforced errors per match

There is literally not much that separates them from each other in terms of stats, though Fed will have to have an excellent serve day, if he wants to have a chance against world no.1. They are equal in the points won on 1st serve and second serve. Djokovic has not been good at net, where Federer has been quite good, though not excellent. Djokvic leads Fed in the break points won, and with Djokovic as one of the best returners on the tour, Federer will have to raise his level. Interestingly, Federer has won more return points as compared to Djokovic.

It will all come down to Federer's serve, his concentration lapses, and of-course big points. Lately Federer has been struggling against Djokovic. Djokovic will need to relax and play his game like he has been doing over the year and a half. The interesting thing to note in their previous matches has been that the player having an aggressive ratio (points won on return/points lost on serve) of more than one has gone onto win the match.

Federer in his previous 7 semi-final showings has never lost here at Wimbledon. Djokovic on the other hand is 2-1 in his previous 3 semi-final showings here at Wimbledon. There is a lot at stake in this match, the coveted top spot and a chance to make a final run for this year's Wimbledon. For Federer, he will have a chance to equal Samprass's record of 7 Wimbledon crowns, should he get through the semi-finals and a chance to equal Samprass's record of most weeks spent at the top spot.

Federer is due for another Grand-Slam title, having failed to win one since Australian Open 2010, and though my heart tells me to pick Federer, I will go with Djokovic.

Pick: Djokovic in 5 sets.

Who do you think will win the match????
Please find the preview of the other semi-final here.

Fourth Round matches to Watch - Wimbledon 2012

The 4th round of Wimbledon Starts on Monday with a lot of mouth watering clashes. 8 of the 16 players taking the court will be looking to make it to their first Wimbledon QF. We are guaranteed to have at least 3 first time Wimbledon Quarter-Finalists, in Kohlschreiber vs Baker,  Youzhny vs Istomin and Ferrer vs Del Potro . The other two players looking for their first Wimbledon QF are Troicki and Cilic, both of whom face an uphill battle against the World no.1 and World no.4 respectively.

The race to the top spot is still open and with Nadal out of the tournament, it is up to Federer and Djokovic to claim the top spot. 

Let us have a look at some of the clashes:

1- Djokovic (1) vs Troicki

Description	Djokovic	Troicki
YTD Match Record	39-6	20-16
H2H	11	1
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	4th round
Year of best Result	2011	2012

This will be an all Serbian clash on the Centre Court, with Djokovic trying to move one step forward towards his title defense, while Troicki trying to make it to his first Grand Slam quarter-final.

Djokic lost the first set in his 3rd round win over Stepanek, while Troicki came through in 5 sets in the first 2 rounds before booking his 4th round spot with a straight sets win in the 3rd round.

Troicki is playing in his 19th Grand Slam and 5th Wimbledon. His best previous result at Wimbledon was 3rd round in 2009. His best Grand Slam result to date has been his 4th round showing at Roland Garros in 2011. In his 18 previous Grand Slam he has made it to the 4th round only once and never out of the 4th round.

Djokvic has not fallen before the QF stage of a grand Slam since the French Open 2009, making it 12 consecutive Grand Slams he has made it to the QF or better of the Grand Slams. Djokovic is bidding to reach his 4th straight Wimbledon Quarter-Final.

Let us have a look at what do the numbers tell us:

Description	Djokovic	Troicki
Aces*	11	13
Double faults*	2	8
1st serves in	68%	61%
1st serve points won	80%	79%
2nd serve points won	60%	42%
Net points won	59%	67%
Break points won	44%	53%
Receiving points won	44%	37%
Winners*	40	50
Unforced errors*	16	29

* I have used the average aces, double faults, winners and Unforced errors per match.


Djokovic is clearly better than his rival in almost every department. Djokovic's serve has been great so far, he has been broken twice only so far, Troicki on the other hand has been broken 13 times so far in the tournament.
Troicki has not been very solid in the service department, making 61% of first serves, 7% lower than his 4th round rival. What is more worrying for Troicki is that Djokovic has won 80% of his first serves, 1% more than Troicki.
Troicki has been very poor on his 2nd serves, this coupled with the fact that he will be playing one of the best returners of the world will only add to the worries of Troicki.
One department where Troicki has been more successful has been in the points played at net and the break points won. Troicki will no doubt look to move Djokovic forward and will try to make the best of his break points. He will also have to keep his unforced errors under control, if he wants to stand a chance against Djokovic.

Pick: Djokovic in 3 sets


2- Ferrer (6) vs Del Potro (9)

Description	Ferrer	Del Potro
YTD Match Record	46-8	40-9
H2H	4	2
Wimbledon Best Result	4th round	4th
Year of best Result	2006,10,11	2011

Both Del Potro and Ferrer have been one of the hottest players on tour this year. Both have made it to the QF or better of the first 2 slams of 2012, both have not performed well on grass previously. The best Wimbledon showing of both players has been the 4th round showing, which means that one of the players will be achieving his personal best result at Wimbledon.

In the pair's 6 prior meetings, only one has been on grass. It was back in 2008 in the semi-finals of s-Hertongenbosch and it was Ferrer who came out smiling in two sets.

Del Potro has played in 4 Wimbledons prior to this year but only once has made it to the 4th round but never out of it. Wimbledon remains the only slam where Del Potro has yet to make it to the Quarter-Finals.

Ferrer on the other hand has played in 9 wimbledons before this year, but he has also never made it of the 4th round. Just like his opponent in the 4th round, Wimbledon is the only grand slam where Ferrer has not made it beyond the 4th round. Ferrer has been to the semi-finals of all the other 3 slams.

Let us have a look at the stats of the players so far in the tournament:

Description	Ferrer	Del Potro
Aces*	6	13
Double faults*	1	4
1st serves in	66%	68%
1st serve points won	79%	75%
2nd serve points won	65%	55%
Net points won	73%	61%
Break points won	43%	52%
Receiving points won	35%	35%
Winners*	35	42
Unforced errors*	12	24

* I have used the average aces, double faults, winners and Unforced errors per match.


As is evident from the stats, both have been pretty much equal in the serving department, DelPotro's higher first serve percentage is being neutralised by the points won on 1st serve by Ferrer. However, it is the second serve winning %age where Ferrer has clearly an edge over Del Potro. Del Potro will have to improve on this department to have a chance against Ferrer who has one of the best defensive games on the tour. Ferrer has been playing cleaner matches as compared to Del Potro as is evident from the winners-unforced error differential. Ferrer is + 23 while Del Potro is +18. Ferrer has been good on the points played at net and would love to test Del Potro at net who clearly is not that comfortable on net. Del Potro has been broken 6 times so far, while Ferrer has been broken only thrice in the first 3 matches. It will all come down to the serve of both players and the pressure points. Both players are used to playing pressure points, so the one playing them better and flowing freely will be the one walking off the court smiling, while the one will will let the nerves get in will fall behind.

Pick: Del Potro in 5 sets


3 - Federer (3) vs Malisse

Description	Federer	Malisse
YTD Match Record	42-6	16-15
H2H	9	1
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	SF
Year of best Result	2003-07 & 2009	2002

Federer and Malisse have in a way trodden the same path on their way to the 4th round, in that they both won their first 2 round matches in straight sets and the 3rd round match in 5 sets. However, there is a huge difference. Malisse has beaten all the 3 players who were ranked higher above him, two of whom were seeds, while Federer has beaten the 3 players who were ranked far below him, one of them being a seed.

It has been a tournament of firsts for Malisse. He got his first win over Simon and Verdasco. It was for the first time in 2012 that Malisse has beaten back to back top 20 players in a tournament.

Federer is bidding to make it to his 33rd straight Grand Slam QF and his 10th straight Wimbledon QF.  Federer is coming off a 5 sets win over Benneteau and he must be feeling confident an relaxed knowing that he came out of the match despite not being at his best. He will definitely have to raise his bar.

In the pair's only grass metting, it was Federer who prevailed in the second round of Wimbledon over Malisse in 2001. Malisse had fought back from two sets to love to take the match into the 5th set, but fell short in the 5th set. It was the same year when Federer famously defeated Samprass in the 4th round of Wimbledon to make it to the QF of Wimbledon for the first time.

In the pair's last encounter, it was Federer who pravialed in straight sets in the 3rd round of Madrid 2011.

Let us have a look at the stats of the players so far in the tournament:

Description	Federer	Malisse
Aces*	12	15
Double faults*	2	2
1st serves in	66%	65%
1st serve points won	80%	77%
2nd serve points won	60%	43%
Net points won	71%	77%
Break points won	49%	45%
Receiving points won	46%	38%
Winners*	40	45
Unforced errors*	16	25

* I have used the average aces, double faults, winners and Unforced errors per match.


Federer's first serve will be his key to the match as will be the count fo his unforced errors. As for Malisse, he too will have to raise his first serve, considering his winning %age on second serve has been poor. Federer has been broken  only thrice so far in the tournament, while Malisse has been broken 7 times. Malisse will have to step up and keep his agression level high while keeping his unforced errors under control. Malisse lags Federer in every department, other than the points won on net and aces.

Pick: Federer in 4 sets


4- Murray (4) vs Cilic (16)

Description	Murray	Cilic
YTD Match Record	29-9	18-9
H2H	5	1
Wimbledon Best Result	SF	4th round
Year of best Result	2009-11	2008

Cilic walks into the match with a huge wave of confidence after his 5 set thrilling win over American Sam Querrey in the 3rd round, in what was the second longest match in Wimbledon with a time of 5.5 hours. Murray had a confidence boaster win of his own over Bhagdatis in the 3rd round. Murray has dropped a set in his previous 2 rounds, whereas Cilic has dropped 3 sets, 1 set in his opener and the other 2 in his win over Querrey.

In the pair's lone meeting on grass before, it was Murray who prevailed in 5 sets over CIlic but it was way back in 2007 when they played each other in the Davis Cup match.

Cilic has equalled his best showing of 4th round at Wimbledon of 2008 and will definitely be looking to go one step further this time.

Murray has never made the finals of Wimbledon, but with Nadal out of Wimbledon (thanks to Rosol), Murray might not get a better chance at his first Wimbledon final and he will be eager not to let this opportunity get out of his hand.

 Let us have a look at the stats of the players during the tournament:

Description	Murray	Cilic
Aces*	10	11
Double faults*	4	3
1st serves in	63%	62%
1st serve points won	78%	74%
2nd serve points won	68%	57%
Net points won	71%	73%
Break points won	37%	49%
Receiving points won	41%	39%
Winners*	34	50
Unforced errors*	12	34

* I have used the average aces, double faults, winners and Unforced errors per match.


Murray is clearly the better of the two in almost every department. He has been strong on both serve and return. The key for Cilic will be not to give Murray too many looks at the second serve and make the most of the break point chances he gets. Murray has only been broken 4 times, while Cilic has been broken 8 times. Murray has won a whooping 11% more points on 2nd serve as compared to Cilic. Cilic will be feeling the after effects of the 3rd round marathon win over Querrey and might be a bit slow in his movement, which will be all Murray will need. Given the current level of both players Murray should be the one making it to the quarter-finals for the 4th consecutive year, but if Cilic can pull off a herculean effort, he will walk off the court smiling making it to his first Wimbledon Quarter-final.

Pick: Murray in 4 sets.

Who are your picks to make it to the Quarter-finals?

Goliath vs David (Federer defeats Benneteau) Wimbledon 2012

Just a day after Nadal went out of Wimbledon, Federer seemed to be on the course to join him. Walking onto the Centre Court today, Federer had not lost before the quarter-finals of Wimbledon during his previous 9 visits here. His last loss before the QF stage at Wimbledon was way back in 2002, when he lost in the first round.

Benneteau had won 8 matches during his 9 (inclusive of this year) visits to Wimbledon when he walked onto the Centre Court today. He was 1-2 head to head against Federer, but he won the pair's last encounter in the second round of Master Series Paris in 2009.

It was Rosol who rocked the crowd yesterday, and it Benneteau who started rocking the crowd today. Benneteau fired the first bullet when he broke Federer at 4-4 to give himself a chance to serve for the first set. Though Federer saved two set points but a big serve from Benneteau did the job. Fed served a poor 44% against Bene's 62%. The most notable stat of the first set was the Winners-Unforced errors differential. Fed was -3, while Bene was +2. Bene did not face a break point in the first set.

Federer held to open the second set and broke Bene's serve to go up 2-0, but Bene broke right away and held his serve to to level the match. Federer had 3 set points when Bene served to stay in the set at 5-6, but Bene saved the first with a forehand into the corner, second with an ACE and the third with a sweet drop-shot that caught Fed off-guard. The tie break was all Bene as he went up 6-2. Fed saved one set point with an ACE but Bene was not to be denied on the second. The most notable stat was the winners-unforced errors differential. Fed was +1, while Bene was a whooping +18.

Federer went down two sets to love, this has happened before as well. Federer went down two sets to love against Haas in the 2009 Roland Garros, just one day after Soderling took out Nadal in the 4th round. However, Federer did recover to win that match in three sets.

Federer broke to open the third set, held and broke again and held again to go up 4-0. Bene held serve, as did Federer and bene held again to force Federer to serve for the set, and serve he did winning the set 6-2.

Bene saved 3 break points while serving at 2-2 in the fourth set. The set went on serve till the tie-break. Bene saved one set point when Federer's backhand pass went into the net, but Federer was quick to earn a second set point on which Bene netted the forehand to let the Swiss Master stay alive in the match.

There was no David this time as the fifth set started. The Goliath had other plans for David. Fed held to open the final set and Bene responded likewise but that was all David could do against Goliath today, as Fed held and broke, held and broke and held to remind David that this was not his day. With this Fed not only kept his 32 consecutive QF streaks of Grand Slams alive but also kept his quest for the record equalling 7th Wimbledon trophy and the race to the top spot alive.

Let us have a look at what the numbers tell us about the match:

Description	Federer	Benneteau
Aces	14	15
Double faults	4	10
1st serves in	65%	68%
1st serve points won	79%	69%
2nd serve points won	56%	51%
Net points won	56%	62%
Break points won	38%	33%
Receiving points won	37%	29%
Winners	53	59
Unforced errors	29	32
Total points won	173	151

Federer's first serve came back in the last three sets to save him and destroy Benneteau. Federer was clearly efficient in winning points on the first and second serve as against Benneteau. Federer is normally good at winning points at net, but today his proficiency at net was far below, winning only 56% of the net trips.

"It was a tough match. Oh my God, it was brutal. Bit of luck maybe on my side, who knows? I tried in the third, fourth and fifth to stay alive. I'm very fortunate and very happy the crowd was so into the match, and I appreciate that enormously. Julien was playing amazing. I knew it was going to be difficult. He played so well, he was making me doubt for most of the match. The thing is to stay calm, you just try to play tough and focus point for point." Federer in on-court interview.


Federer moves on to face Malisse for a spot in the quarter-finals. Yesterday was David's day but today Goliath reminded David that he is not done yet. How far will Federer go? The last time it happened at French Open in 2009 (Federer went down 2 sets to love to Tommy Haas, the day after Nadal went down to Soderling), Federer went on to win the title. Will we see a repeat? Only time will tell us.

David vs Goliath (Rosol def. Nadal) at Wimbledon 2012

Walking onto the Court today, Rafael Nadal had his sights set on a routine win, while Rosol had an unsurmountable mountain in front of him. Rosol was bidding to reach to reach the 3rd round here and equal his best Grand Slam performance (3rd round appearance at RG 2011).

Rosol currently sitting at a ranking of 100, in his past 5 visits at Wimbledon had never made it out of the 1st round of QUALIFIERS, but defeated 64 36 76 75 Dodig in the 1st round on his Wimbledon debut. Having beaten Dodig must have given him the confidence to beat the reigning Roland Garros champion, since Dodig was one of the last few guys to have beaten Nadal, when he beat him last year in the second round of Montreal Canada.

Nadal had never lost in the second round of Wimbledon during his past 7 visits to Wimbledon but once, back in 2005 and during his past 5 visits he had made it to the finals here, winning on two ocassions in 2008 and 2010. Rosol on the other hand had won a total of 3 matches in the 5 Grand Slams he had played before Wimbledon this year, all the 3 wins coming on clay. Rosol was 0-3 against top 10 this year and 1-4 against the elite in his small career, where he has won just 18 (11 of these wins have come this year) matches and lost 32 matches.

But it all changed for Rosol today. Having played flawlessly in the first set and still lost it, I thought he is done for good, but he rebounded to take the next two sets and played flawless in the 5th set to clinch the BIGGEST VICTORY of his career and cause one of the BIGGEST UPSETS of the WIMBLEDON HISTORY.


Rosol's lone victory over a top 10 had come over Melzer, then world no.8 at the second round of the Roland Garros, when he came back from two sets to one down to clinch the match.


Rosol had won back to back matches on grass for the first time this year in his 3rd round showing at Queen’s (l. Marin Cilic) – his first-ever Tour-level grass court event. He attempted to qualify for 2012 Eastbourne, but fell in the 3rd round of qualifying. So there was little if any in Rosol's favour today but he had a few things in his favour today, having won 3 of his last 4 matches against the left-handers (if that counts :) )


There was a lot of talk about which of the BIG 4 will loose earliest, and most of the people ended up with Murray's name, since he was in the toughest quarter, who could have predicted Nadal going down to Rosol in the 2nd round??? Nadal with this defeat has become the first of BIG 4 to fall, and with the 2nd seed out ,the possibility of the top 2 seeds making it to the final has ended.

Let us have a look at how Nadal lost in numbers:

Description	Nadal	Rosol
Aces	19	22
Double faults	2	3
1st serves in	67 %	67 %
1st serve points won	78 %	83 %
2nd serve points won	63 %	58 %
Net points won	67 %	79 %
Break points won	75 %	50 %
Receiving points won	26 %	27 %
Winners	41	65
Unforced errors	16	29
Total points won	137	139

The match was close, no doubt, Rosol had 3 more aces than Nadal, the most important being the one on the match point of-course, but he aslo hit one more double fault than Nadal.

Nadal and Rosol both served at 67% but Rosol won a whooping 83%, 5% more than Nadal, of his first serves. Nadal, however bettered Rosol on 2nd serves, winning 63%, 5% more than Rosol, but that was not enough, not at least today to get Nadal past Rosol.

There was a moment in the 3rd set when Nadal argued with the chair umpire during a changeover when he went down a break in the 3rd set, apparently irritated by something of Rosol, and just after two games Nadal actually deliberately brushed past his opponent, and did not acknowledge the contact.

I had written Rosol off when Nadal won the first set, but he had other plans. He went on to win the next two sets. Most of us had written him off again, as Nadal stormed back to win the 4th set and level the match at 2 sets a piece but Rosol played like a David against Goliath. He went for his own from the very start of the 5th set. Nadal served to open the set and Rosol raced out into a 30-0 lead thanks to the bravest of drive-volley passes. Nadal's serve got him back in the game at 30-30. But Rosol sent a raking forehand into the corner for break point, a passing shot on the break point and BANG!!!!!!!! The final strike was made.

Serving for the match, he never let nerves get to him, an ace to open, then a forehand pinged into the corner for a clean winner, again an Ace and he had three match points. ACE on match point and HE HAD DONE IT! and with that Rosol fell to the floor to celebrate, to make him believe he had done it. Nadal walked to the net and kicked the net in frustration, before the pair shared a fairly cold handshake probably (reading too much into the hand-shake may be).

"It's like a miracle for me. I never expected this. It's just so many emotions I don't know what to say. I'm very sorry for him I played unbelievable today. I hope I can play one more match like this" Rosol in on-court interview!

Nadal moves on with his grass season over (O YES! Olympics remain, where Nadal is the defending gold medalist) on just the 4th day of the Wimbledon, for the first time since 2005 and Rosol moves on to celebrate the BIGGEST WIN of his career on the BIGGEST COURT and the BIGGEST STAGE.

Wimbledon Matches to Watch - Day 3

Let us have a look at few matches of the day 3.

1 - Djokovic (1) vs Harrison

Description	Djokovic	Harrison
YTD Match Record	36-6	17-15
H2H	1	0
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	2nd round
Year of best Result	2011	2011

Djokovic is the defending champion and is coming off a straight sets win over a tricky first round opponent, Ferrero. Harrison is coming off a 4 set win over the 2010 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Lu. The pair has met only once, with Djokovic easily handling the American in Cincinnati last year. Harrison is playing in just his 2nd Wimbledon. Harrison is playing at a carrerhigh ranking of 48, but so is Djokovic, at a career high ranking of 1. Djokovic had a slow start in his opener. Harrison has lost his all 4 meetings against the top 10 this year, and is win-less  against the top 10 in his 13 career meetings against them. This is Djokovic's 8th appearance here, and he has lost in the 2nd round only once. It was back in 2008, but he has transformed a lot since then. Will it be 14th time lucky for Harrison or will Djokovic march on to defend his title?

Pick: Djokovic in 4 sets

2- Federer (3) vs Fognini

Description	Federer	Fognini
YTD Match Record	39-6	11-12
H2H	1	0
Wimbledon Best Result	Winner	3rd round
Year of best Result	2003-07 & 2009	2010

The pair's only meeting came back in 2007 in the 3rd round of Montreal Canada. Federer straight setted Fognini then, but since then they have not faced each other. Federer in his previous 9 visits here has  not lost before the QF stage. Fognini has just one win over a top 10 player in his career in the 16 encounters against the elite. Will he be able to record his second win? Federer looked great in his first round win over Ramos. It will be an uphill battle for Fognini.

Pick: Federer in 3 sets

3- Simon (13) vs Malisse

Description	Simon	Malisse
YTD Match Record	29-15	13-15
H2H	2	0
Wimbledon Best Result	4th round	SF
Year of best Result	2006	2002

Grass brings the best out of Malisse, whose best grand slam performance to date came on this very surface when he made it to the semi-finals. Simon too has been steady on this surface, though he has never made it out of the 4th round in his previous 6 visits here. The pair's last meeting came in 2010 in the QF of Metz, won by Simon in 3 sets. Malisse is coming off a straight sets win over Australian Matosevic, Simon however got a win when Mathieu retired while trailing 36 45. Malisse is one of the talented under-achievers, who could not realise his potential to the fullest. Simon, being the higher ranked will be no doubt the favourite, but Malisse will have a chance for an upset. I have to give an edge to Malisee given his love for grass, but given his up and down form during the matches, it will be tough for him to pull it off.

Pick: Simon in 5 sets

4- Mahut vs Falla

Description	Mahut	Falla
YTD Match Record	11-10	7-14
H2H	2	0
Wimbledon Best Result	3rd round	2nd round
Year of best Result	2006	2004, 2006, 2007

Both Mahut and Falla had lost the opener at Wimbledon in their previous 4 visits here. While Mahut is best known for his match against Isner in the first round of Wimbledon 2010, Falla is best known for stretching Federer, 6 time Wimbledon champion, to 5 sets in the opener Mahut had the chance of meeting the marathon man Isner for the 3rd straight year (the last 2 years the played the opener here). However, Falla had other plans, he outplayed Isner in the first round to book a spot in the second round to match his best performance at Wimbledon. THe pair has met twice in the main draw matches and twice at the qualifiers and challenger level. It is Mahut who has won the pair's both meetings in the main draw matches, but it is Falla who has got the better of Mahut in the qualifiers and challenger level matches. Falla must be high on confidence after his comeback win over highest ranked American in the first round. He saved a match point en-route his upset over Isner. Mahut, however, must be as confident while he walks on court. It will all come down to who can manage his nerves. Falla has a chance to make it to the 3rd round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career, while Mahut will try his best to match his best showing here of 2006. Let us hope for a great battle.

Pick: Mahut in 5 sets

Who do you think will be the one leaving the court with a smiling note?

Wimbledon 2012 and BIG 4 - Breaking down the draw

The draw for Wimbledon has finally been released. Djokovic once again finds himself in the same half of the draw as Federer. This has happened for the 16th time during the past 21 majors. Murray and Nadal are seeded to meet each other in the semi-final. There are a lot of mouth watering first round clashes. Let us have a look into the draw.

FIRST QUARTER
Djokovic has a tricky opener in the form of former world no.1 and 2002 Roland Garros champion and 2007 and 2009 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, Ferreo. They have split their prior 2 meetings but they have not met since Madrid 2007. Djokovic should be able to negotiate his way easily into the quarter-finals. 

The second highest seed in Djokovic's half is Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon finalist.  Berdych may face some test in the fourth round with either Gasquet, the 2007 Wimbledon semi-finalist or the in form Almagro. Berdych leads Almgaro 6-3 but trails Gasquet 2-3 in the pair's head to head meetings. However, he should be able to make his way past them to set a block buster quarter-final clash against Djokovic.

Djokovic is 9-1 life time against Berdych, BUT, yes, BUT in caps, Berdych's lone victory over Djokovic came here at the lawns of Wimbledon in 2010 in the semi-finals. Berdych has been playing well lately. He made it to the QF of Australain Open before bowing out to Nadal in 4 sets and lost in the 4th round of Roland Garros at the hands of Delpotro. However, he crashed out of Halle in the 3rd round at the hands of eventual champion Haas. Djokovic recently beat Murray in the Boodle's Challenge 64 64.

First Round Matches to watch:
Djokovic vs Ferrero;
Berdych vs Gulbis; and
Harrison vs Lu.



Pick: Djokovic def Berdych


SECOND QUARTER
Federer heads the 2nd quarter, with Tiparevic at the bottom of the quarter. Federer's first test could come in the potential 4th round meeting against Simon. Federer has had trouble against Simon in the past. Federer is  2-2 against Simon, winning the pair's last 2 meetings, though the last win came via retirement.

However, Simon must overcome a potential 2nd round match against the 2002 semi-finalist Malisse. Malisse made it to the 4th round here last year and is coming off a semi-final showing at Unicef Open. Simon has won both matches played against Malisse.If Simon makes it to the 3rd round , he will have to overcome the challenge of Verdasco, who has has made it to the 4th round of Wimbledon on 3 ocassions ( 2006, 2008 and 2009), Simon however has made a trip to the 4th round only once, in 2009. Simon and Verdasco have split the previous 4 matches they played. 


Potential quarter-final opponents of Federer can be Tipsarevic who faces a tricky opener against Nalbandian (2002 Wimbledon runner-up), Nalbandian or Isner. Nalbandian has won 2 of the 3 matches played against Tipsarevic. Federer leads the H2H against all 3, Nalbandian, Tipsarevic and Isner. Federer is 11-8 against Nalbandian, 3-1 against Isner, and 5-0 against Tipsarevic.


First round matches to watch:
-Isner vs Falla; Isner has had wins over Federer and Djokovic this year but has failed to capitalise over them. Falla is the man who stretched Federer to 5 sets in the first round of Wimbledon in 2010.
-Nalbandian vs Tipsarevic, Nalbandian was the 2002 Wimbledon runner-up and recent Queens's finalist. Tipsarevic however, has never been beyond the 4th round of Wimbledon.

Pick: Federer def. Nalbandian


Semi-final: Djokovic def. Federer


Although I would love to see Federer extract some revenge and beat Djokovic to make it the final, but the current form of both players suggests otherwise. Federer should be extra motivated, since he has a shot at the top spot if he wins the title. (P.S: I will be keeping my fingers crossed for Federer to claim the record equalling 7th Wimbledon crown and the top spot.)


THIRD QUARTER

Murray has by far the toughest quarter of the BIG 4. He faces a tricky opener against former world no. 3 Davydenko. Murray, however should not have a problem against Davydenko, given the current form of both the players. Murray leads the H2H 5-4, however the pair has not played since Masters 1000 Canada, when Murray defeated Davydenko in the QF.

Murray then faces another tricky opponent in the second round, should he get past Davydenko in the form of 2009 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Ivo karlovic. Murray leads Karlovic 3-0, however the pair has not met since their meeting in the semi-finals of Cincinnati 2008.

Potential 4th round encounter for Murray can be Raonic or reigning Queen's champion Cilic.

Del Potro, Ferrer or Roddick can be potential QF opponents of Murray. Roddick will have to overcome Ferrer in the potential 3rd round clash. Roddick is beginning to find his form. He is into the final of Eastbourne.Given Ferrer's record at Wimbledon (he has never been beyond 4th round) and Roddick's recent form, Roddick should book a place into the 4th round and a potential meeting with Delpotro. I will be picking Raonic over Murray and Delpotro over Ferrer or Roddick. Most of you must be thinking that I am crazy, but hey, these are just picks, though my mind would tell me to go with Murray but I want to go with Raonic.

First round matches to watch:
Murray vs Davydenko; and
Dimitrov vs Anderson

Pick: Del Potro def. Raonic


FOURTH QUARTER
Nadal and Tsonga headline the last quarter of the draw. Nadal's first test can come in the 3rd round. A potential meeting with the reigning Halle champion and 2009 Wimbledon semi-finalist Hass. Nadal has won the pair's all 5 encounters, with Haas failing to win a set against Nadal. Haas will have to overcome Kohlschreiber in the first round though. The two met recently in Halle semi-finals, with Haas edging Kohlschreiber in straight sets. Rest of Nadal's draw is manageable. His real test will come in the quarter-finals, where he may meet either Tsonga, Hewitt or Tomic. 


Tsonga and Hewitt play each other in the first round, though Tsonga has won the pair's 2 meetings, he comes in Wimbledon with a question mark on his broken finger. Tomic made it to the quarter-finals here last year, so he might have his say. His draw seems manageable as well. My mind says me to go with Tsonga, but my heart tells me to go with Tomic, so I will go with Tomic to make it to the quarters.


Nadal leads the H2H against Tsonga 7-3, though one of Tsonga's 3 victories came on grass in the Quarter-finals of Queen's last year. 


Nadal leads the H2H against Hewitt as well 6-4. Hewitt's last victory over Nadal came back in 2006 in the quarter-finals of Queen's. Nadal has been to the final of Wimbledon in his previous 5 visits to Wimbledon, winning the Wimbledon crown on two occasions (2008 and 2010).


First round matches to watch:
Tsonga vs Hewitt; 
Haas vs Kohlschreiber; and 
Tommic vs Goffin


Pick: Nadal def. Tomic


Semi-finals: Nadal def. Del Potro


Final: Nadal def. Djokovic


What do you guys see? and who do you guys think should win the title?


* The image is not my property and can be found on google images.