With Federer Ousted Who Will Reign Supreme at Wimbledon
MATCHES IN PROGRESS AT TIME OF WRITING.
One thing is certain, Federer will not reign supreme over the Wimbledon Championships this year as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with an epic, five-set victory denied the maestro a stab at a seventh Wimby. Instead, Tsonga put himself in the running for the title, alongside World No. Rafael Nadal, No. Novak Djokovic and No.4 Andy Murray.
Centre Court was treated to two standout quarterfinal billings today: Tsonga vs. Federer followed by Andy Murray vs. Feliciano Lopez.
Federer got the proceedings under way on his beloved Centre Court and he seemed to have things in control when he took the first two sets. Tsonga however came alive in the third set, playing some of his best tennis to level the match before edging a bewildered Federer in the fifth and deciding set, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Tsonga moves into the semi-final frame at Wimbledon for the first time.
Britain’s No. Andy Murray took to court following the Tsonga/Federer affair and if there was any concern that the upset bug would be contagious, he quickly put paid on that notion by dismissing Feliciano Lopez in straight sets. Though, Lopez, who was clearly exhausted after a marathon R6 battle with Lukas Kubot and had nothing left to bring to Centre Court today, let’s face it, never loomed threatening on paper.
Also through to the semis are this season’s best players – World No. Rafael Nadal and World No . Novak Djokovic.
Both Nadal and Djokovic advanced into the semis with some effort on Court No.. Mardy Fish tested Nadal, pushing him to four sets while young gun Bernard Tomic gave Djokovic plenty to think about in their four-set affair.
The semi-final now taken shape: Rafael Nadal is set to take on Andy Murray while Novak Djokovic takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a thrilling Friday showdown at the All England Club. As things currently stand on the men’s front, it’s clear that both Nadal and Djokovic have an edge over the field seeing that they have experience winning big titles; taking it one step further though, Nadal’s ten Grand Slam titles that overshadow Djokovic’s two give the Spaniard the edge over the entire field.
It is worthwhile to note that Nadal is the defending Wimbledon Champion and there is nothing he’d like better than to cap a successful title defence campaign on Sunday. He is two-match wins away from the title but going through Murray and then, Djokovic or Tsonga in the final, isn’t going to be easy.
The women’s front on the other hand is wide open, the title up for grabs, although Maria Sharapova is the outright favourite to win it all given her grand slam credentials. Of the four women through to the semis, Sharapova is the only grand slam champion in the mix and that gives her a decided edge over the rest – Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova and Sabine Lisciki, none of whom have ever won a major let alone been to the final of a major.
Indeed, the title is Maria’s to lose. That said, her opponents are young and hungry, none more so than Petra Kvitova, who has been playing some inspired tennis this fortnight and Victoria Azarenka, who has been long earmarked for major success.
The women’s semi-finals get underway on Thursday with Sharapova taking on Sabine Lisciki and Victoria Azarenka taking on Petra Kvitova.
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