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Wimble-Done: A Wimbledon Final Four Without The Crowd Favorite

Well, THAT was the most unexpected and extraordinary turn of events one has probably ever seen at Wimbledon. Roger Federer was seemingly on a routine stroll out on the SW19 grass, up two sets to love, a match-point in hand. But then it seems some sense of unfamiliar reality dawned on him. The superstitions of his fanatic fanbase, who had already derided the Wimbledon organizers for moving his match to Court 1 instead of his usual Centre Court home ground, seeped into his game at the worst possible moment.

Kevin Anderson pulled off the most amazing of upsets ever seen on a tennis court, and to do it at Wimbledon, against its greatest ever champion, will make this victory live on forever in memories and nightmares alike. Anderson asserted not only his serve but his hammer of a forehand as well, which suddenly developed Thor-like powers. He came back from two sets down to win the next two. And in the fifth set, he slowly sucked out the soul from Federer’s game, finally making his age tell. When all was said and done, a 13-11 scoreline in the final set was a very well-deserved result for the veteran South African.

Roger Federer, who hadn’t lost in his last seven five-set matches, and who has not seen a two-set lead evaporate into defeat at these hallowed grounds, saw his dream of a ninth Wimbledon trophy disappear a la the snap of Thanos’ fingers.

The reward for Anderson now is a battle of serves with John Isner, who had just enough firepower to outlast Milos Raonic over four sets. Isner has had an extraordinary year so far and can very well make it a memorable one by reaching his first Wimbledon final. The long wait for the Federer-Anderson match to end didn’t frazzle his nerves, which is a great credit to his confidence in his game.

Now, the other half of the draw has played out to pre-tournament predictions, with Rafael Nadal due to play Novak Djokovic in the second semifinal. Djokovic completely dominated Kei Nishikori following the second set in his quarterfinal on Centre Court. His relatively comfortable four-set win puts him into his first Grand Slam semifinal since 2016, and there is absolutely no way one could bet against him lifting a fourth Wimbledon crown.

In order to achieve that, however, he has to first get past the formidable presence of two-time Wimbledon champion Nadal who was taken to the limit by Juan Martin del Potro. A five-set affair, as expected, saw enough twists and turns to fill out a James Patterson mystery novel. del Potro was looking in control after taking a two-set to one lead, but Nadal roused the matador in him and grabbed the proverbial bull by the horns, winning the last two sets 6-4, 6-4.

If ever there were two TV rating disasters on the same day, this was it. Federer and England are out of their respective tournaments, and neutral tennis and soccer fans can go about their business of enjoying their sport of choice without any talk of change in timings or viewership being hurt.

Khalid Siddiqui

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