Wimbledon: Men’s semi-finals

(Just a quick side note: This quickly written piece about the men’s semis will be my last entry for a few days - I’m off on a weekend away to celebrate my best friend’s birthday. Check back on Sunday evening for a Wimbledon Top 10 entry or a review of the tournament. In the meanwhile – enjoy the awesome weekend of tennis!)

The second Friday of the Wimbledon fortnight is the day on which the men’s semi-finals are contested. After 128 men started the tournament 12 days ago, only four remain. The semi-finals to be contested are Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray.

Semi-final 1: Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The biggest upset of the tournament came in the men’s quarter-finals on Wednesday with the loss of title favourite Roger Federer. The six-time former champion looked set to win when he went two-sets to love up. His opponent Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not however accept defeat and went on to win the match in five sets. He became the first man to come back from a two set deficit against Federer in a grand slam match.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia will be Tsonga’s semi-final opponent. Djokovic had a far tougher quarter-final match against Bernard Tomic than most expected. Tomic, an 18-year old Australian, won the second set to make it a best of three set match. He then went up a break in the third set and it seemed like more than one upset could be on the cards. Tomic was however reeled in by Djokovic who took the third and fourth sets to win the match despite his inability to consistently play at a high level.

 Tsonga – who was on fire against Federer particularly in the final two sets – will be hoping his serve remains in good shape. If he does serve at a level consistent with his performance in the previous match it is it is likely that he will give the world number 2 a serious challenge. Djokovic will be fancying his chances against the Frenchman to whom he has lost more often than not in the past. Tsonga might lead their head-to-head record 5-2, but Djokovic is the grand slam winner of the two and possesses a 41-1 record for the year to date. While Djokovic has undoubtedly been the best player in the world for much of the year, his form during Wimbledon has been sub par, and certainly not at a standard with which he will be satisfied. If his form fails to improve it is likely the match result will be on Tsonga’s racket. It is however doubtful that the flamboyant Frenchman will be able to maintain the level of play required to beat Djokovic for more than a couple of sets. As such, Djokovic ought to win. If his form improves to anything like it was prior to and during the French Open, he ought to win with relative ease.

My pick: Djokovic in five.

Semi-final 2: Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray

Much of the focus on Rafael Nadal has revolved around his injury problems – or if you prefer, the lack thereof. Regardless of the validity of his injury claims, he doesn’t seem to be suffering much and moved about as well as ever in his previous match against Mardy Fish. His injury problems are thus unlikely to have an effect on his performance during the final weekend of Wimbledon. Despite Fish managing to take a set off the defending champion, Nadal was very much the dominant player throughout the match. In addition to his brilliant form at the Championships, he is still enjoying the momentum provided by his win at the French Open.

His semi-final opponent is British hope Andy Murray. This is Murray’s third consecutive appearance in the final four at Wimbledon. He is due an appearance in the finals. The Brit’s form has been at a high level for the duration of the grass court season with a title win at the Queen’s Club tournament to his credit.

While Murray’s record against Nadal leaves much to be desired with Nadal leading 11 to 4, the British man has been playing some inspired tennis in the last few rounds of the tournament and is certainly capable of beating the Spaniard for a fifth time. This will still however be a tough assignment for Murray. Left-handed Nadal has developed a taste for grass since his first appearance at Wimbledon and will be the favourite to win the match. Nadal will be playing great tennis; whether or not he wins will be determined by the attitude and play Murray brings to the court. His best could send the defending champion packing.

My pick: Incredibly difficult to call, I’m hoping for a dramatic five-setter with the home favourite leaving the victor. As such I’m going with Murray in five, but I also know that Nadal could win in straights should Murray fail to show up with his absolute best.

Tags: djokovic, murray, nadal, semi final predictions, semi final preview, semi-finals, tennis, tsonga, wimbledon

Wimbledon: The tennis grunt

 The grunt – specifically by women’s tennis players when striking the ball – seems to pop up with great regularity in the press each year during the Wimbledon fortnight. With the success of two of the more renowned (or is it reviled?) grunters in tennis reaching the semi-finals, this year has followed the trend. Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka are arguably two of the loudest ladies on tour. Their on-court shrieking is the source of extensive criticism and complaints.

 The first grunter is said to have been Jimmy Connors as early as the 1970’s. The dissatisfaction associated with grunting seems to have been a later development caused primarily by the female offenders. The first major drama caused by the grunt was in a 1992 Wimbledon semi-final when Martina Navratilova complained to the umpire about the volume of her opponent’s grunts. Her opponent was of course Monica Seles – the first of many Nick Bollettieri charges to generate the sound. Since then it has been a fixture in both the women’s and men’s games. (Rafael Nadal’s “Uhnn” alternating with Paul Henri Mathieu’s “Wa-quee” in their third round match at the French Open a few years ago resulted in an acquaintance referring to Mathieu as “Uhnn-wa-quee” ever since.)  

The grunt or in some cases shriek apparently emanates due to the practice of exhaling at the point of contact with the ball. In layman’s terms – breathing out when hitting the ball. It is an action taught to young players. “When I was a kid, I was very weak. I needed that little extra power, extra push, to hit the ball over the net. I think that became a part of my breathing, a part of my movement,” Azarenka said upon being questioned about her noise. She went on to state that she does it not “to piss somebody off”, but because “it’s just natural (to her)”.

While few complain about the throaty grunts of many of the male players, the sharp shrieks of Azarenka and Sharapova are an entirely different story, with grunt-o-meters being employed to measure the decibel levels of competing screams.

Christopher Clarey, a prominent tennis journalist, indicated on his twitter account that the distinction between grunting and shrieking is a defining factor: “Grunting I can handle, shrieking is the problem.” Tennis legend Navratilova stated her opinion that grunting is “cheating, pure and simple” and at an “unacceptable level” two years ago. At the same time she requested tennis governing bodies should take action against the noise.

Her comments were stealthily ignored by anyone capable of influencing the volume of tennis players out on the court. Wimbledon chief executive Ian Ritchie has spoken out against the grunt during the past fortnight saying that the organisers “would prefer to see less grunting”. He went on to say that the AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Club) has discussed it with the tours and that they are hopeful that something will be done to address the issue since plenty of fans find off putting.

In the interim it has become a discussion point in just about every coffee table discussion of tennis. This somewhat silly topic quite frequently overshadows not only the excellent play of the players accused of being too loud out on the court, but also the excellent rivalries and competitive matches a grand slam usually consists of. Perhaps it has become the discussion point of choice due to the lack of actual tennis knowledge it requires to comment on it. To be able to muse over who has the finest forehand in tennis, it is necessary to know what the difference is between a forehand and a backhand. Complaining about grunting requires no more than: “Oh, why must they make such a noise when just hitting a tennis ball!?” Clearly not the most advanced conversation about tennis – in which I suspect the appeal lies.

This conversation is to the great detriment of the sport of tennis. Instead of commenting on the great inside-out forehand Sharapova hit, the volume of her shriek as she struck the ball is the focus. As such it is imperative the issue be addressed by specifically the WTA. A decision about whether volume controls should be put into place has to be made. The WTA will take some heavy flack should they enforce a limit on grunting or shrieking. (Hint: Impose the rule after the US or Australian Open after which there are several tournaments each, but none of the size, scale or ability to draw as much press attention as a major.) Alternatively the WTA ought to release a press statement indicating that it is not an issue which they will roundly address but will rather leave to umpires to handle should an opponent complain about the noise at the other end of the court.

Either way it is something which needs to be faced head on; if only to supress the constant musings about whether something ought to or will be done. I for one couldn’t care less if they grunt or shriek – I don’t even notice it until someone points it out to me – but I am really becoming frustrated and annoyed by the fact that the number of people involved in discussions about the grunting is higher than the number who know who won the most recent tournament. Tennis fans – take back your sport. Discuss who has the best forehand the game has ever seen. Stop entertaining the idea of grunt-o-meters.

Tags: Azarenka, grunt, grunting, sharapova, shrieking, tennis, wimbledon

Wimbledon: Strawberries and cream cupcakes

 A food blogger friend of mine is currently competing in a cupcake competition hosted by Food24. With the Wimbledon fortnight upon us, she decided to make Wimbledon inspired Strawberries and Cream cupcakes. Since tennis - and by extension Wimbledon – is my forte, she agreed to give me a few pictures of the tennis cupcakes for use on the Schroeds blog.

 

The tradition of consuming strawberries and cream at Wimbledon is often attributed to King George V. He was an avid tennis fan and started the tradition of royal patronage at Wimbledon as early as the 1910′s. His son who became King George VI participated in the doubles event in the 1926 and was as frequent a visitor as his father. Queen Elizabeth II, the current head of the monarchy paid her most recent visit to the Championships in 2010, while Prince William and his wife Kate’s Monday visit to the tournament garnered intense interest.

 

Nevertheless according to a 2006 New York Times article, the royals can take no credit for the use of strawberries and cream as a snack between matches, with strawberries being a Wimbledon staple since the inception of the tournament in 1977. Wimbledon takes place at the height of the UK summer, which is typically the period during which strawberries are briefly available. Summer, strawberries and tennis have been a match made in heaven for more than a century now.

 

It is estimated that that in excess of 28 000 kilograms of strawberries and 7000 litres of cream will be consumed during the Wimbledon fortnight at £2.50 for a punnet consisting of a minimum of ten strawberries and a dollop cream.

 

If you aren’t lucky enough to be at Wimbledon, perhaps you can attempt to bake your own strawberry cupcakes. The ones pictured below are topped by cream infused with fresh strawberries. For the recipe or if you need some help with cooking dinner, check out the Pink Polka Dot Food Blog, online home to the creator of these stunning cupcakes. She is a recent Twitter convert, follow her here.

 

Strawberries and cream cupcakes - note the tennis rackets on the cupcake sleeves.Strawberries and cream cupcakesStrawberries and cream cupcakes

A look at women’s tennis and the Wimbledon ladies’ semi-finals

Tennis is perhaps the sole sport in which the women are as highly rated as the men. On-court, equal pay has been a feature for several years. Off-court, Maria Sharapova, speculated to be the highest earning sportswoman in the world, out earns most professional men’s tennis players, with only a select few such as the Federer’s and Nadal’s of the world, ranking ahead of her in the money stakes.

In recent years and amid a lack of dominant players, the women’s game has come under great scrutiny for its revolving door of world number ones and grand slam champions. Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams, Dinara Safina, Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters have all held the top ranking over the past few years. Of the six, only three have won major titles with Clijsters and Williams being multiple grand slam winners. Ivanovic, who won the French Open title in 2009 in addition to attaining the ranking, has since suffered a major downturn in her career and is now ranked outside of the top 10. Safina and Jankovic have also slumped since being number one, with the only player ranked number one and not holding a grand slam title yet to drop out of the top 10 being the current number one, Caroline Wozniacki.

Tough questions

Wozniacki has been ranked number one for a total of 39 weeks which for interests’ sake is more weeks than Clijsters, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova have managed to hold the ranking. All this while she is yet to win a grand slam title while the other three have won several. The young Dane is continually asked about the credibility of her reign at the top of the rankings; her early losses at the French Open and Wimbledon have undoubtedly not helped the cause. It is however an unavoidable situation.

The WTA (The governing body of women’s tennis.) compiles the rankings. While the rankings rate the grand slam tournaments as those of greatest importance, and rightly so, it also includes the performances of players at several other tournaments of various levels. Obviously in order to motivate players to participate in tournaments on tour all year – and to not just turn up for grand slams, as the Williams’ sisters and even Clijsters have been guilty of in recent years – it is imperative the WTA hands out ranking points for tournaments below the grand slam level. The continued success of the sport depends on television rights and fans coming out to watch the top women in the world battle it out for titles in every city in the world, not just those lucky enough to play host to one of the majors. As a result the ranking system really can’t be altered to afford the grand slam winners the top ranking too. It must go to the player who most consistently plays the best tennis on tour. Right now, the distinction is Caroline Wozniacki’s; she is therefore the rightful number one player in the world.

Legacy and/or ambassador

Unless she really starts winning the Polish-born Dane is hardly likely to be remembered in the same light as a Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis or countless other dual number ones and grand slam titlists. It seems a tad unfair to expect her to play as few tournaments as the Williams’ and Clijsters, just to grant them an equal opportunity to be number one. While the reasons for their absence from the tour have been valid, it has definitely been detrimental to the sport.

In the interim it has been players like Wozniacki, Ivanovic, Jankovic, Vera Zvonareva, Li Na and Victoria Azarenka that have carried the sport. They have served as ambassadors for the game when their sometimes more illustrious competitors have only showed up for the majors. It is these players that ought to be given credit for the continued success of women’s tennis as a full time career. Sure, winning a grand slam makes for great headlines, but hosting and broadcasting tournaments is where the money comes from – and we all know money makes the world go round. The women’s draw at Wimbledon has consisted of some stellar tennis.

Women’s tennis has become increasingly less appealing with low level of play and numerous upsets becoming the norm. Despite not lacking in upsets, the play of the eventual quarter-and semi-finalists at Wimbledon this year has often overshadowed the men’s tournament with its brilliance. The competitive nature of the encounters between the women has begun to capture the audience’s attention, and could make women’s tennis impressive again.

Semi-Final 1: Maria Sharapova vs. Sabine Lisicki

The draw has been rewarding to players performing at an incredibly high level, as opposed to those who don’t completely suck. Six of the eight quarter-finalists played great tennis in the round of eight, with Dominika Cibulkova’s level dropping off against Sharapova after she beat Julia Goerges and Wozniacki in her two previous matches in stunning display. Sharapova was in devastating form, leading to her attaining favourite status to win the tournament. She plays Sabine Lisicki in the semis after she was the victor over Marion Bartoli, who defeated the defending champion in the fourth round, in the quarter-finals. Lisicki is the first German to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon since Graf.

Both players have excellent grass court pedigree with titles on the surface to the credit of both ladies. Sharapova’s 2004 Wimbledon titles is of course the most prolific of these, but Lisicki’s current 10-match winning streak on the surface is an indicator of how dangerous she could be to Sharapova’s favourite status. Both ladies thoroughly deserve their spots in the semi-finals. The match is likely to be decided by Sharapova’s service. Her ability to land a high percentage of first serves ought to guarantee her progress to the finals at Wimbledon for the first time since her winning run in 2004. If her first serve is less than excellent, Lisicki will look to step in on the second serve and put Sharapova under pressure on her service games. This tactic combined with the German’s ability to go toe-to-toe with Sharapova in the pace of hitting, could see the younger woman walking away with the win.

The winner: Sharapova in three.

Semi-Final 2: Victoria Azarenka vs. Petra Kvitova

Kvitova is back in the semis after her breakthrough performance at Wimbledon last year. Her movement through the draw has gone largely unnoticed with the mainstream press paying her little attention. Tennis insiders and dedicated fans have been tracking her closely with her being tagged a dark horse to win the title prior to the tournament starting. As such, her success at Wimbledon is unlikely to come as too big a surprise. She has been solid in her performances thus far, dropping a set for the first time against the woman who expelled Venus Williams from the draw, Tsvetana Pironkova. Kvitova nevertheless held her nerve to dump hard-hitting Pironkova from the draw, despite her excellent play in periods of their quarter-final match.

Her semi-final opponent is a fellow Eastern-European, Victoria Azarenka. Azarenka finally broke her quarter-final hoodoo by reaching the semi-finals at a grand slam for the first time in five quarter-final appearances. She achieved this by completely overpowering her opponent, Tamira Paszek. It was unfortunate to note that the questions around Azarenka’s mental strength are still valid – she struggled quite a bit to serve out the first set. She is unlikely to get as many opportunities against her Czech opponent in the semis. If she fails to take them she will be unable to reach her first major final at Wimbledon in 2011. Since both ladies have been hitting the ball in incredible fashion, the mental resolve of Azarenka could very well prove to be the deciding factor in the match. If the match goes to a third set, Kvitova ought to be superior.

The winner: Azarenka in straights.

The women’s tennis at this tournament has been of an incredible standard – all four semi-finalists have been hitting the ball in fantastic fashion and clearly deserve to be contesting a Wimbledon semi-final. Hopefully the final three matches of the tournament will be competitive encounters of high quality and entertainment value. Share your picks by commenting below.

Finally I include a clip of an amazing around the post winner hit by Victoria Azarenka in her match against Tamira Paszek.

Tags: Azarenka, kvitova, lisicki, semi final predictions, sharapova, tennis, wimbledon, wimbledon semi-finals, women's tennis, world number one, Wozniacki

Wimbledon: Men’s Quarter-Finals Day

The men’s draw has progressed mostly as expected with the biggest upsets being attained over three-time former finalist, Andy Roddick, and another former finalist, Robin Soderling. Roddick went out to a spirited performance by the Spaniard who favours grass, Feliciano Lopez, while Soderling was dispatched by the young Aussie gun, Bernard Tomic.

 Other than these two matches, affairs have been fairly simple and straightforward with few truly exciting matches or upsets yet to occur. The only other upset victory perhaps worthy of a mention is the Mardy Fish win over defending finalist, Tomas Berdych. As reported in Part 1 of The Top 10: Wimbledon, only four of the 56 matches played in the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th round of the men’s draw went to five sets. This has resulted in the tennis being quite bland other than a few brilliant sets here and there in matches involving the top players in the world. Hopefully the players contesting the quarter-finals against the big four of tennis will play at a high enough level to make the matches absorbing affairs. It would be a great coup for tennis fans if the quarter-final matches were of a competitive nature throughout.

 Quarter-Final 1: Rafael Nadal vs. Mardy Fish

 It seems unlikely that Fish will be able to provide the world number one with a challenge too great to overcome. These two men last played each other three years ago with Fish losing all five matches contested between them. While he is now ranked 20 or so spots higher than he was back then, he is an inferior player to Nadal, and will have to play the match of his life to have an effect on the outcome of this match. Nadal’s form has been steadily improving with him playing some eye-catching tennis in his fourth round match against Juan Martin Del Potro despite injury fears which have since been allayed. It seems the result is to a large extent on Fish’s racket. A great performance from him and Nadal could lose not only the match, but also his number one ranking. This is however the first time in nine attempts that Fish has progressed beyond the 3^rd round at Wimbledon. With his grass court pedigree in question, the defending champion has to be heavily favoured to win. 

The winner: Rafael Nadal in four.

Quarter-Final 2: Andy Murray vs. Feliciano Lopez

 The UK tabloids will undoubtedly lead with speculation about who Judy Murray will support in this match, what with her appreciation of Lopez’s appearance. It is unlikely that the players will be concentrating on anything other than their opponent’s on-court play. Andy Murray will be heavily favoured to win against the 29-year old who is making his third appearance in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon this year; Lopez could at the very least make it difficult for Murray.

Lopez’s excellent serving is likely to continue, this in addition to his serve-and-volley play and the fact that he is a lefty could cause Murray some problems should the Spaniard execute his game plan well. Murray has however made the semi-finals at Wimbledon for two years running, and has been playing some of his best grass court tennis. As such he is likely to win and the match could very likely turn into a rout should he take the first set.

The winner: Andy Murray in three.

Quarter-Final 3: Roger Federer vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

History and rankings heavily favour Federer to win their quarter-final encounter. Federer leads their head-to-head record by 4-to-1, and is ranked 16 spots higher than his opponent. The Frenchman who is famous for wearing his heart on his sleeve is however a great competitor who will certainly walk out on to Centre Court at Wimbledon thinking that he can leave as the winner. His form of late has been of a high level with a final run at Queen’s Club on his record this year. If the Frenchman serves at his best he could no doubt make the match a closely contested one. Despite the Frenchman’s best efforts he could still lose to Federer quite easily if the Swiss man’s form improves slightly on his not bad displays in the earlier rounds.

The winner: Roger Federer in four.

Quarter-Final 4: Novak Djokovic vs. Bernard Tomic

Despite being the player to drop the least amount of games in the Championships thus far (41) Djokovic has been the member of the big four who has looked most frail in his early matches. He struggled to hit the ball cleanly against Marcos Baghdatis and was clearly frustrated at his play, going so far as to slam his racket to the ground in a display of anger reminiscent of his earlier years on the tour. Despite this low level of form, Djokovic has been fairly lucky with regards to the draw, playing Michael Llodra in the fourth round – no disrespect meant to the Frenchman whose serve-volley style I love to watch; he has simply never displayed the class or results of a Gasquet, Del Potro or even Youzhny. Djokovic now faces the world number 158 in Bernard Tomic. While these matches aren’t too much of a challenge for the Serb, they do provide him with an opportunity to find some form; the Serb’s expectations should be as high as those of the other top 4 players come the weekend. Tomic has had a phenomenal run at Wimbledon in which he took out Igor Andreev in five sets and former finalist Robin Soderling. The Australian’s success has been the fairy tale story of the tournament. He has however yet to come up against a player of Djokovic’s class in what is only his second entry into the main draw at Wimbledon. He is a man for the future, while Djokovic’s time is very much now.

 The winner: Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Should these predictions be realized it will be the first time in the open era of tennis that the top four seeds have all reached the semi-finals at two consecutive majors. While this might make the men’s quarter-final day slightly boring, it will certainly provide some excellent drama in the semi-finals and finals respectively. Something I think we have to look forward to.

Vote for your FOUR semi-finalists below. And feel free to share your picks in the comments below.

Tags: djokovic, draw review, federer, murray, nadal, quarter-finals, tennis, wimbledon