Novak Turns Up The Heat On Wimbledon Challenge

“Anything you can do I can do better” stated a dominant display from Novak Djokovic to his good friend and rival Andy Murray, after the ominous Serb increased the heat of his Wimbledon challenge to draw the first week of the Championships to a poised close.

Djokovic fires himself into the second week

Just Twenty-four hours after Murray’s tantalising victory over Tommy Robredo, Djokovic responded with a master class of his own on the sixth day of what has already been an unpredictable and eventful tournament. However that hasn’t been the case for the top two seeds.

Like Murray, Djokovic was scheduled last on centre court for his third round encounter with French man Jeremy Chardy, a man who in his six previous meetings had failed to take a set off the current world number one.

Unfortunately for Chardy after less than an hour and half on centre court it was made a painful seven matches without a set against Djokovic, whose overwhelming performance sent out a worrying message to the rest of the draw.

Djokovic made sure he didn’t follow in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer who along with many others fell victim to a first week of major upsets. Djokovic however showed no signs of making the same mistake.

The Serb dropped just six points on serve in the whole match, while his ruthless returns were at times unplayable, as he cleanly dispatched the 28^th seed Chardy 6-3 6-2 6-2 with minimum fuss.

 "I felt very confident stepping onto the court but it's never easy against Chardy, he's a quality player," Djokovic said after the match.

"Everything went my way. I haven't lost many points on my service game, I enjoyed it very much and it's very enjoyable when everything works well” Djokovic will next face 35 year old German Tommy Haas in Monday’s fourth round after Haas defeated Feliciano Lopez 4-6 6-2 7-5 6-4.

Djokovic’s consistency in majors is becoming more and more impressive, with the Serb reaching the semi final in the last 12 Grand Slams, A stat which looked unthreatened by the challenge from Chardy.

 As Djokovic later expressed, Chardy is a “quality player “who has recently reached a career high ranking of 25 in the world, nevertheless against Djokovic the talented Frenchman was made to look average at best by the merciless top seed.

Chardy’s early resistance made a brief match of the third round contest, as both men held serve to make it 3-3; however it was taking twice the amount of time for the Frenchman to hold serve compared to Djokovic, whose first serve percentage boasted at a dazzling 81% by the end of the first set.

Consequently a single break for Djokovic was enough to claim to first set, and subsequent to a double break for the Serb at the start of the second set Djokovic’s path to the second week looked as good as complete.

The third set also whizzed by in a flash and like Murray Djokovic’s impeccable show was over by 8pm. Djokovic’s early finish allowed the organisers to move Serena Williams’ match from Court One to Centre where she wasted little time in securing a 6-2 6-0 victory over Kimiko Date-Krumm.

However the big story of the day was the gusty fight back of 19 year old Brit Laura Robson who recovered from 6-1 5-3 down to beat New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic 1-6 7-5 6-3 to become the first British woman to reach the fourth round since 1998.

As for Djokovic his steps towards his second Wimbledon crown are turning into strides, while the probable outcome of a final with home favourite Andy Murray is becoming increasingly likely. But as has been proved by a strange first week at SW19 anything is possible.      

  

Murray Moves On Where Others Have Fallen

Back in 2009 Andy Murray became the first man to play under the new roof of centre court; a five set marathon with Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka persisted long into the night before the home favourite was finally crowned victorious in a fourth round epic.

Four years later Murray’s game has rocketed to new heights, now an Olympic gold medallist and US Open champion, propelling him up to world number 2.  So when faced with the same task of closing the day’s play under the enclosed roof there was no such drama for the newly formed Brit.

No problems for Murray as he reaches the second week 

After the unprecedented events of Wednesday, where many of Murray’s main challengers were eliminated from the draw, the expectations for the British number one to make his second successive appearance in the Wimbledon final are higher than ever.

Murray’s third round opponent lay in the shape of Tommy Robredo, a man who was ranked number five in the world when Murray first appeared on the tennis tour as an inexperienced eighteen year old. How times have changed.

Although, now 31, Robredo appears to have kick started his career reaching the quarter final of the French Open three weeks ago where he made history becoming the first man to come back from two sets down on three successive occasions.       

However his game on grass did little to trouble physical specimen of Murray who would have been wary but unconvinced of a Robredo revival. Murray’s thunderous  groundstrokes and dominant serve combined to create a master class under the beaming lights of centre court which lasted barely 2 hours with a score of 6-2 6-4 7-5. And it was all over before 8pm.

Murray will know more than anyone that he can’t take anyone lightly, especially after the astonishing wipe-outs of Federer, Nadal and Tsonga earlier this week. However due to their misfortune the highest ranked player in Murray’s half of the draw is now Mikhail Youzhny seeded 20, who has never reached the semi final of a Grand Slam and could face the Brit in the next round.

On paper there is little to stand in Murray’s way of claiming his maiden Wimbledon title until the prospect of Novak Djokovic in a potential mouth watering final. But in these craziest of Championships who knows what could happen?

What we do know is that Murray’s route to the second week of his home Slam couldn’t have been more straight forward, in three matches’ he is still yet to drop a set and has spent less than six hours on court.

Like Murray, Robredo hadn’t lost a set on his way to their third round encounter. The Spaniard made the perfect start by holding his opening service game, however he soon fell a victim to Murray’s command as the 2^nd seed controlled the match from the back of the court breaking twice to lead 4-1.

Under the roof the acoustics off the player’s rackets sent a booming echo around the crowd, but it was Murray’s tune they were listening to. Robredo’s only other game came from a sudden lapse in concentration from Murray which led to the Spaniard only break in the entire match. Apart from that the set was almost faultless from the Brit and it was over in 34 minutes.

Murray’s pressure was relentless; everything Robredo tried was clinically cannoned back by the determined Murray who clinched another break at the start of the second set.

However Robredo’s phenomenal comebacks at the French Open earned him the nickname of the ironman, a name he began to respond too. The Spaniard was forced to fight hard, just to hold his own serve which Murray continuously threatened.

Robredo’s efforts kept the set to a single break but Murray’s immaculate serving made sure he secured a two set lead. The third set continued to go with serve due to Robredo’s aggressive play but at 5-5 Murray possessed the power raise his game even more.

After sealing the decisive break Murray was left serving for the match. Robredo never stopped as he fended off the first match point, but with just over two hours played Murray soundly ended the Robredo challenge and booked himself a comfortable place in week two.

Murray said after the match “I thought I struck the ball really well from the start of the match, I had a lot of winners and that was probably the most pleasing”

Murray continued the British success on centre court following Laura Robson’s second round victory over Mariana Duque-Marino with the score 6-4 6-1. In the men’s draw 24^th seed Jerzy Janowitz followed Robson on centre where he produced a remarkable serving performance hitting 30 aces to see off 15^th seed Nicolas Almagro 7-6(6) 6-3 6-4. At 6 foot 8 Janowitz could prove Murray’s biggest challenger in the bottom half of the draw however the pair could only meet in the semi final.

So just like four year ago after he saw off Wawrinka, Murray has his eyes on that illustrious first Wimbledon trophy. The difference being with an Olympic gold, a US open title and a draw which has opened up better than anyone could have expected Murray’s chances compared to the past appear greater than ever.     

Roger Races On, And There's No Rafa To Stop Him

When this year’s Wimbledon draw was confirmed last Friday Roger Federer may have felt a little hard done by, the prospect of having to beat all three of his biggest rivals back to back must have been a daunting thought, even for a seven time Champion.

However after yesterday’s astonishing events there may have been a fixed smile on the face of the seventeen times Grand Slam Champion. Not only was his own performance as immaculate and faultless as we are likely to see in the entire Championships, but perhaps more importantly for his chances of defending his title was the unforeseen exit of a certain Rafael Nadal.

Federer sets off on his title defence

If Federer wants to defend his beloved Wimbledon crown he is likely to have to overcome his younger rivals who threaten to break his record seventeen Slams. However after 6pm yesterday afternoon the Swiss knew his greatest nemesis Nadal would no longer be a factor, the Spaniard’s astonishing defeat to world number 135 Steve Darcis abruptly ended the talk of his 5^th seeding and a potential quarter final with Federer. 

  

Twelve months ago Federer released a huge statement to prove he still had a big say at the top of the game. He vividly rolled back the years conquering the new leaders at the head of men’s tennis in Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray to claim his first major in over a year, and he may have to do the same again this year.

Following a straight sets quarter final exit to Jo Wilfred Tsonga at the French Open two weeks ago Federer began his grass court session with an impressive title in Halle a week later. His preparation for Wimbledon couldn’t have gone better.   

 After his triumph last year Federer traditionally opened centre court proceedings, but not even he could have imaged how quick it would end. The secure elimination of 6 foot 6 Romanian Victor Hanescu lasted just 1hour 8 minutes. The 6-3 6-2 6-0 score line was as every bit as one sided as it suggests. The centre court crowd were treated to a dazzling Federer master class.

Seeded 3 in this year’s Championships (behind Djokovic and Murray) Federer made the perfect start, twice holding his serve to love while claiming a decisive break to cruise into a 3-0 lead.

Although Hanescu managed to keep the first set to a single break, its conclusion never looked in doubt. Federer’s game was in full flow, his elegance and class made the anticipated first round look like a practice session; all the same the crowd were experiencing a treat.

Federer dropped just one point on serve in the whole first set, his variety and accuracy made sure the Romanian never saw a chance to break back.

The signs were ominous for Hanescu, as Federer’s instinctive play forced more break points at the start of the second set; once again the third seed needed just one invitation to race into an early lead in emphatic fashion.

If Federer is to win an illustrious eighteenth Grand Slam, the grass of SW19 surely remains his best hope. The Swiss’ aggressive play led by his dominant forehand is still looks more than good enough to seize a record eight Wimbledon title.    

Despite his height Hanesu’s game did little to trouble Federer who was quickly neutralising the Romanian’s serve. A second break followed, as Federer ruthlessly made it 4-0, and when Hansecu finally worked his way to deuce on a Federer service game his hopes were quickly dashed by the Swiss.

There was no let up from Federer, as the unfortunate Hanescu was acting as a mere puppet to his opponent’s relentless show on centre court. Federer showed signs of experimenting with his game by approaching the net more in the third set, something which could come in use later in the tournament.

Federer said after the match that it was a “great first round and a chance the release some pressure” he also mentioned his victory in Halle a week ago which he believed came at the right time for him, as it was his first title of the year.

Elsewhere it was a dismal day for the British players as six were sent packing after first round defeats, only Andy Murray was victorious with a straight sets win over German Benjamin Becker. There were also wins for Jo Wilfred Tsonga and former champion Lleyton Hewitt, while in the Women’s draw Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka both progressed.     

But Federer’s performance was yet another statement that he is a match for anyone on the grass of Wimbledon, and with Nadal bowing out the Swiss’ odds of defending his title had almost halved by yesterday evening. Djokovic and Murray remain the favourites, but one thing’s for sure you can never right off a seventeen time Slam Champion.