A memorable 125th Championships ended with two new names on the singles honours boards. The men's title went, for the first time, to a player from Serbia as Novak Djokovic halted Rafael Nadal's 20-match winning streak at Wimbledon - a run which included the 2008 and 2010 titles - with a merited 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 victory. It was the Serb's fifth victory over Nadal in a final this year and took his won-lost record for 2011 to an incredible 48-1. Nadal was playing with a pain-killing injection in a sore foot, suffered in the fourth round and was below his best form. Djokovic on the other hand swept all before him, and was justly congratulated by the loser for playing "very, very high level''.
In the ladies' singles Petra Kvitova upset the form book by outhitting the 2004 champion and hot favourite Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4. The 21-year-old lefty added further lustre to the tennis reputation of the Czech Republic as two of her compatriots and former Wimbledon champions, Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna, looked on from the Royal Box, alongside eight other ladies' champions of yesteryear. Navratilova, now an American citizen and winner of nine Wimbledons, had perceptively predicted that her fellow left-hander's serve and groundstrokes would prove too much for Sharapova to handle and she was proved correct. The tall blonde kept her nerve and emotions in check until she met Novotna and Navratilova afterwards, when the tears finally flowed.
For Sharapova, defeat came as a bitter blow as she gradually rediscovers the form which had won her three Grand Slams before undergoing a shoulder operation in 2008. She had reached the final without conceding a set but her service remains her weak point - the final saw her lose five of her eight service games and double-fault six times.
If the ladies' singles provided a sea change at The Championships, with the final contested by the sixth and eighth seeds, the men's always promised to be more predictable since the top four seeds looked a cut above the rest of the field from the start. So it proved, at least until the quarter-finals when Roger Federer, a six-time champion and third seed, was blasted to defeat by charismatic Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who overhauled a two-set deficit to demolish the ambitions of the Swiss who was pursuing his 17th Grand Slam title. It was unfortunate for Federer that he caught Tsonga on one of his irresistible days, as tournament statistics reveal. He finished up leading the men's ace count with 108, but was also top of the double-fault table with 27 and unforced errors (143).
I don't really watch tennis on my own, just go to support my friends who play it.
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Nice post, following to read more from you.
ReplyDeleteI remember the match. I was rooting for Sharapova... :(
ReplyDeletethat was a good review. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't see the match but thank for the review!
ReplyDeleteHaven't watched it on TV, so thank you for informing me about all the matches.
ReplyDeletei was so gutted this year when murray was knocked i really thought he was going to win it
ReplyDeleteCool review, fitting Djokovic won after his frm this year. I was impressed by Bernard Tomic too, followed :)
ReplyDeleteVery memorable! Followed! alphabetalife.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteit was n awesome match, great review!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have seen those matches live!
ReplyDeleteI'm a huge Djokovic fan!
ReplyDeletethanks for the review
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeletedjokovic was amazing this year, completely blew everyone away. murray was a big disappointment though. Nice blog man, followed!
ReplyDeletenice blog, +follow
ReplyDeleteI just heard a bit of in the radio ! thank you for the review
ReplyDeletelike this
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This is why tennis is my favorite sport after curling.
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I didn't see the match either. Thank you for the review
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Been looking for a good tennis blog and it looks like I found it! +followed
ReplyDeletePoor Sharapova though :o
Thanks for the review, missed the match!
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nice, very good review. i didn't catch if myself.
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I went this year, Djokovic is amazing!
ReplyDeletereally creative and interesting blog! + followed
ReplyDeleteGreat review
ReplyDeletegood review, didint know much about it but got a new point
ReplyDeletecompared to other tournaments there's something extra wimbledon seems to have. I went a few years ago, spent my body weight in pounds on strawberries and cream :D
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