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.

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.

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