The top two seeds and top two players in the World booked their place in the Wimbledon final today as Novak Dkojovic and Rafael Nadal defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray respectively.
Of the two, Nadal's performance was by far the more polished. After losing the first set, he demolished his British opponent. Nadal has looked strong from start to finish this tournament. He cruised through the first three rounds without dropping a set and, when severely tested by Juan Martin Del Potro in the 4th round, he showed he could step up a level. Nadal did drop sets to Mardy Fish and Murray in the quarters and semis, but, by the end, each match had looked very comfortable for the defending champion.
Djokovic has not looked quite so accomplished on the other side of the draw. Whilst Nadal has had to defeat two of the world's best in Del Potro and Murray, Djokovic's toughest match was against an out of sorts Tsonga. Following his 5 set comeback against Federer, Tsonga could not be blamed for lacking his usual enthusiasm and energy levels, but he certainly did not pose Djokovic the threat that many expected he would. Djokovic's route to the final has in fact seemed remarkably straight-forward, but he looked little more than adequate as he laboured to wins over young qualifier Bernard Tomic and 32nd seed Marcos Baghdatis. Djokovic has never taken to grass as he has to the other surfaces, where his movement seems far superior, and he was not fancied to make his first Wimbledon final this year. However, it is a sign of the man that he has made it this far without reaching the level of tennis he showed he was capable of earlier this year.
The final promises to be a great match as the top two go head to head for the fourth final of the year. And whilst Nadal is a clear favourite, Djokovic will be confident after having won all four of their previous 2011 finals. Djokovic also enters the match knowing that, whatever the result, he will be World number 1 on Monday for the first time in his career. With his superb 41 match winning streak at the start of the season, there can be no doubt that Djokovic has earned the number 1 ranking.
NB: The World Rankings are based on performances of the last year; if Nadal wins Wimbledon, he has not improved on his 2010 performance and thus gains no additional ranking points. Djokovic has already improved on reaching the semis last year. This improvement will gain Djokovic sufficient ranking points to take the number 1 spot.
However, despite his upcoming status as the World’s best player, his winning streak and being a multiple grand slam winner, Djokovic has yet to make the transition from tennis star to a global star. He has been unfortunate enough to be caught in an era where two of the world’s greatest sportsmen have fought out one of sport’s greatest rivalries. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance of men’s tennis has left Djokovic very much by the wayside.
The personalities of those two have also seen Djokovic marginalised. Federer is seen as the quintessential tennis player; everything is done in style and with class. On the court, Federer’s appearance is as immaculate as his game – he is seen by the media as the pinnacle of tennis. Then there is Nadal, the ultimate competitor, a man who plays with unrivalled energy and determination and who doesn’t seem to know the meaning of defeat – the ultimate athlete and competitor.
Meanwhile, Djokovic is perhaps best known outside the tennis world as the player who performed imitations of other players on the tour. On court, he is prone to displays of anger and petulance and his general demeanour does not earn him many fans. In his semi-final with Tsonga, the Frenchman enjoyed a large majority of the crowd’s support and this is almost certainly to be the case in the final. Off court, Djokovic comes across as intelligent and charming, but it is on court that he will be able to make the biggest impact. And winning Wimbledon, the most prestigious tennis event, is the biggest statement he can make.
But before the men’s final on Sunday, Maria Sharapova faces Petra Kvitova in the women’s final on Saturday. Kvitova reached the semi-finals last year and went one better by defeating 4th seed Victoria Azarenka in 3 sets at the semi-final stage. Maria Sharapova defeated the big serving wild card, Sabine Lisicki and will be looking to reclaim the Wimbledon crown that she won as a 17year old back in 2004. Against a first time major finalist, Sharapova, already a winner of multiple Slams, enters the final as a firm favourite. She also enters the final as one of the few stars of women’s tennis. The current state of the women’s game, especially in comparison to the men’s, looks very bleak at present.
Kim Clijsters won one Grand Slam before retiring from tennis in 2007. She returned almost 2 years later and has since won 3 Grand Slams. This is not because she improved during her spell away from the game, but rather the game she returned to is so much weaker than when she left. The current crop of top players is littered with players, including world number 1s, who have constantly failed to deliver at major tournaments. Serena Williams must be cursing her ill fortune with recent injuries or illnesses; had she been healthy for the last year she would have been a runaway favourite in every tournament she entered.
Of the 8 quarter finalists, it is doubtful that a non-tennis fan would have known of any more than 2. Even the most ardent of tennis fans would have been scratching their heads at some of the names. But this should not take the gloss away from the two finalists who have performed incredibly to reach the final. Sharapova has a chance to confirm once again that she is one of the best around after a lengthy spell out injured, whilst Kvitova will be desperate to show that she belongs in the top bracket and has the bottle to match when it comes to the biggest stage.
