by: Tom Cochrane
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will meet in Sunday’s men’s final, a rematch of last year’s final, after the top seed dismissed Richard Gasquet and Federer turned in a vintage performance to down Andy Murray in straight sets.
Today sees Serena Williams attempt to claim her sixth Wimbledon crown against first-time Grand Slam finalist Garbine Muguruza. My views on that match are set out below.
Day 11 Recap
World number one Djokovic was first on Centre Court, the Serb entering the match as a red-hot favourite against Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman came out firing, hitting a number of scintillating backhand winners, much to the delight of the capacity crowd. But Djokovic remained firm, and at 2-2 in the first tiebreaker pounced on a couple of loose shots from Gasquet to claim it 7 points to 2.
Winning the first set seemed to settle the Serb, Djokovic securing an early break in the second set and maintaining his advantage to take a commanding 2 sets to love lead, despite being bothered by a stiff left shoulder that required attention from the trainer on two occasions.
Gasquet battled valiantly in the third set but was unable to make any inroads on the Djokovic serve, the two-time champion eventually wrapping up a 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4 win in 142 minutes.
The second semi-final was eagerly anticipated, with Federer and Murray resuming a storied rivalry. But the match turned out to be largely one-way traffic, with Federer producing a sensational serving performance to win a tenth semi-final at Wimbledon. The Swiss star landed 76 percent of his first serves and won 84 percent of his first service points, drilling 56 winners to boot.
After a late break gave Federer the first set, 7-5, the real turning point in the match came in the tenth and twelfth games of the second set. Down 4-5, 0-40, Murray eventually held after a marathon game that spanned close to 15 minutes, only for Federer to hold to love and then break in the twelfth game to take a 2 sets to love lead.
Whilst the British fans tried to rouse Murray in the third set, Federer’s sublime serving meant Murray got very few chances to put the second seed under any real pressure. Eventually, Murray could give no more, succumbing in the tenth game of the third set as Federer recorded a 7-5 7-5 6-4 win to give himself a chance at a record eighth Wimbledon crown.
*****
Match of the Day – Day 12
Serena Williams vs. Garbine Muguruza
There is no doubt that Serena Williams enters this match as the overwhelming favourite. The world number one is unbeaten in Grand Slam play in 2015 and faces an opponent entering her maiden major final. But Garbine Muguruza has beaten Serena before, and importantly it was at a Grand Slam: last year’s French Open, where she defeated the American in convincing fashion.
Williams has won the pair’s other two meetings, but the win in Paris will give the Spaniard the belief that she can pull off the upset today. The pair played in Melbourne earlier this year and whilst Williams ultimately prevailed, it was not without a fight. Muguruza has the power to match Williams from the back of the court and playing at the end of the tournament, when the courts are harder and more dried out, is of benefit to the Spaniard.
Overall, I think Serena’s killer serve and superior grass-court and big match experience will get her across the line. If Muguruza is tight then the match could be over quickly. But if she can settle down quickly an upset is not outside the realms of possibility. I’m backing Serena to win in a tight two-setter (and keep alive hopes of a Serena Slam) but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her stretched to 3 sets. Williams in 2.
That’s it for today. Enjoy the tennis and I’ll be back with another serve tomorrow. In the meantime, you can follow all of the action on Twitter: @satelliteserve.
