Wimbledon Giving That World Cup Vibe With Two Unexpected Finalists

So after a near 12-hour stretch over two days, it may not be the Germany vs Brazil equivalent (Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal) of tennis, but we can say that Wimbledon may certainly have its France vs Croatia moment here. One of the finalists here, the tall “Serv-inator,” Kevin Anderson, is as unexpected as Croatia is at the soccer World Cup final. The other, Novak Djokovic, brings the style and guile, and past pedigree ala France (the second half of that final matchup) even though both Djokovic and France may not have been overwhelming pre-tournament favorites in their respective tournaments.

Anderson vs Isner had the Michael Bay effect

With bludgeoning serve after bludgeoning serve, there was only one way this match was going to go. And it lived up to the pre-match predictions by giving us the longest single-day match in Wimbledon and Grand Slam history. At six hours and 36 minutes, it also served (pun absolutely intended) to show the importance of modernizing the game given the athleticism required these days. As John Isner suggested after the match, a tie-breaker at 12-12 in the fifth set seems logical given that the players would already have played the equivalent of two sets.

From a tennis purist’s perspective, Anderson vs Isner was one of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. While the action and robot vs robot fighting are good for a while, without some plot twists the clunky bludgeoning loses traction with the audience. And when it entered the twilight zone in the fifth set, it certainly seemed that several of the tennis fans were hoping for the match to end as soon as possible so that they could witness the main event they had really paid for.

A total of 102 aces were served (53-49 in favor of Isner). Anderson was only broken twice in his 48 service games, while Isner was broken four times in his 48 service games. The power of the serve booming down from heights near 10 feet (point of contact between racket and ball during serve) was a steady diet for the spectators to digest. In a match where close to 600 points were played, only 22 of those resulted in rallies longer than nine shots. That says volumes about the quality of serves on display, but is also an indictment of the low quality of the return game.

When all was said and done, a 26-24 scoreline in the fifth set underlined the need for a tiebreak system similar to the one in place at the US Open. Not only is it more exciting, but it also helps in avoiding scheduling mishaps like the one Wimbledon organizers had to face on Friday and Saturday.

Nadal vs Djokovic, Episode 52 was Worth the Wait

Like the perfect Star Wars sequel after a long, long wait, the second semifinal between two of the game’s greatest ever gave a sense of tennis nirvana. Even though the match was played over five hours and 14 minutes, spread over two days, the sheer variety and skill on display made it a match to remember as one of the greatest played at any Grand Slam.

As they say, it takes two to tango; in tennis terms, it definitely means that the serve and return have to have an even chance against each other in order for the “tango” itself to be visually pleasing. The Nadal vs Djokovic rivalry is the fiercest on the ATP Tour with the pair having now played (after the semifinal) 52 times against each other.

In a match that ebbed and flowed throughout, neither player could be said to have dominated. Both players had an identical number of winners and unforced errors, 73 each and 42 each, respectively. The final points tally weighed 195-191 in favor of Djokovic, but in such a long match the small gap here is an even greater pronouncement of their equality on-court.

After both players suffered through a whirlwind of emotions during the first four sets, the final set gave us some of the highest quality of tennis seen at this year’s Wimbledon. Both players fought hard to hold serve, with Djokovic actually saving five break points in the fifth set. Both players won four break points each during the duration of the match, but Djokovic created more break opportunities overall, 19-11. Nadal even had the audacity to save a Djokovic match point with a drop shot that landed right on the sideline, apart from being very close to the net. But in the 18th game of the final set, Djokovic cranked up his return game to force the errors from Nadal’s racket and broke him to love to gain his biggest win of the last two years.

It seems Djokovic really is back to his best, having taken out the world’s number-one ranked player at a Grand Slam after suffering through a series of mediocre results over the last two years. Now not only does he lead the head-to-head against Nadal, 27-25, but he also goes into the final looking to close in on another legend, Pete Sampras, in terms of total Grand Slam titles. Djokovic will be playing for a 13th major trophy in his 22nd Grand Slam final, to move to within one of Sampras’ 14 majors.

Djokovic the Favorite on Paper, but Tennis isn’t Played on Paper

While tennis pundits would be quick to make Djokovic a lock-in to win his fourth Wimbledon, there is more to this match than meets the eye. Djokovic needs to recover from his tiring run-around and a day’s less rest as compared to Anderson who didn’t actually have to run around the court as much as Djokovic did in his semifinal.

Kevin Anderson is also ranked and seeded higher than Djokovic, while he has an air of invincibility about his serve which also led to Federer’s demise in the quarterfinals.

In order to win this, the best returner in the game needs to bring his full bag of tricks to the court. Djokovic has been here before though, in similar circumstances (lesser rest than his opponent), and it does seem hard to bet against him if he carries his form through into the final. A tight four-set encounter is likely, with Djokovic predicted to be the last man standing when the grass court season ends on July 15.

And if Croatia also wins the soccer World Cup final on the same day, imagine the celebrations in the Balkan sibling nations (Serbia and Croatia were both part of Yugoslavia as a country till the late 1990s).

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