Wimbledon 2011: Men's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer 

Here are my predictions for the men's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2011.

Last year I predicted 1 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly and 0 of 2 men's semifinals correctly. This year I correctly predicted 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals, 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals and 2 of 2 women's semifinals. 

Rafael Nadal ESP (1) vs. Andy Murray GBR (4). For the second year in a row, Andy Murray's goal to win his country's Grand Slam must go through World #1 Rafael Nadal.

 Head-to-head Nadal leads 11-4 with a 2-0 record on grass (2010 Wimbledon semifinal and 2008 Wimbledon quarterfinal). With Nadal allegedly not at 100 percent fit to play (a claim I am somewhat skeptical of) I think this gives Murray the best chance he has ever had to date to end the long drought of having a male British citizen appear in the Wimbledon final, let alone actually win the bloody thing. The four times Murray has beaten Nadal he has done it on hard courts with very strong serving, combined with first strike tennis using the forehand cross-court and the backhand down-the-line to Nadal's backhand. Murray is an excellent defender and loves to play long grueling points to demonstrate his fitness and mentally exhaust his opponents. This is exactly the wrong game plan against the (almost psychotically) mentally tough Spaniard.

Nadal has lost four consecutive times to Novak Djokovic this year because Djokovic has been getting multiple free points on his improved serve and is ridiculously flexible and strong enough to convert balls hit from defensive positions instantaneously  into offense. Murray can get free points on his serve if he serves well (i.e. in the 130 mph) but he shouldn't even THINK about playing defense. The way to beat Nadal is relatively clear: you have to bash him off of a very fast court (c.f. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's 2008 Australian Open semifinal win, Juan Martin del Potro's 2009 U.S. Open semifinal win, Murray's own 2010 Australian Open quarterfinal win).

Basically you have to be prepared to hit 4 or 5 winners to win a single point and not get frustrated about doing it for two or three hours. Murray has been in 3 career Grand Slam finals so far and has failed to win a set in any of them. For all intents and purposes, this semifinal (just like last year's Wimbledon semifinal) is even more important than a final to Murray's career. So, if past performance is a predictor of future performance, Murray will under-perform his ability and lose in 3 sets to Nadal again. However, I strongly believe that Murray is getting closer and closer to a breakthrough and one indication was his strong showing in the 2011 French Open semifinal against Nadal (which Murray lost in straight sets but he had a LOT of chances, which he was unable to convert). I believe he will take that experience of having opportunities in Paris and the strong crowd support in London to give him a very decent chance to win this match and warm the hearts of a nation. PREDICTION: Nadal in 3 OR Murray in 4 or 5 sets.

Roger Federer SUI (3) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga FRA (12) vs. Novak Djokovic SRB (2). 

This is also a match which is "bigger" than a Grand Slam final, to one of the competitors (Djokovic), at least. If the Serb wins, he will be ranked World #1 for the first time in his career. If the Frenchman wins he would be the first of his countrymen to be in the Wimbledon final in the Open era. There are far fewer men (24) who have been ranked World #1 at some point since the rankings began in 1973 than have won a major final in that time period (almost 60).  It just so happens that this match-up is a reprise of the 2008 Australian Open final, won by Djokovic, but since that first encounter Tsonga has won 5 of 6 matches the two have played, including a stunning 5-set win in the 2010 Australian Open quarterfinals. The 2008 Australian Open final is an instructive match to analyze in understanding the dynamics between the two players because then, like now, Tsonga is coming off the biggest win of his career (in 2008 a surprisingly vicious beat down of Nadal in the Australian Open semifinal, in 2011 a stunning dismissal of Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon).

Then, Tsonga didn't start the match playing his best tennis until the second set and Djokovic exploited the lead to run away with the match and the title. However, it must be noted that what Tsonga achieved Roger Federer had not happened in 178 of the Swiss Great's 5-set Grand Slam matches--he lost the first two sets and then won the match (rather comfortably) with an early service break in each subsequent set and denying his opponent even a sniff at breaking his own.

Djokvic is a much better service returner than Federer so it's doubtful that strategy will work again but Tsonga has so much talent there are others that could work (serve and volley as much as possible, deny pace to Djokovic and then suddenly blast the ball for a winner) and most of all, Tsonga believes he can win. Djokovic has played 47 matches so far in 2011 and won 46 of them. This is an astonishing feat. Lately, his opponents have gotten closer and the new unbeatable Djokovic has shown some of the familiar tics of the old, retiring Djokovic, but I still believe that somehow, Nole will find a way to fulfill his destiny and win the match and reach the pinnacle of men's tennis.  PREDICTION: Djokovic.  

Djokovic/Tsonga: Career Statistics & Wimbledon Men's Semifinal Preview: Part 2

Shocking as it was to see Fed tumbling out in QF, we cannot take away the glory from Tsonga who has been knocking on the doors of tennis since long but could not sustain because of his injuries.

Novak Djokovic vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga:

Both of these players have one thing in common: they have managed to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam in five setters. 

Djokovic who has been the player of the year so far had a topsy turvy QF ride against the young talented Tomic. One match here and there does not take away the fact that he has been playing the best tennis of his career this year. With Federer gone (who proved to be a thorn in French Open), he will be a bit relieved and more confident of reaching the finals and claiming No.1 spot in the world. 

He has Tsonga in his path who is singing his own song after playing the match of his life. Tsonga will be brimming with confidence. He is the same person who defeated Nadal at Queens this year and with Federer also in his list, he knows he has the game to defeat Djokovic too. Plus he is the crowd favorite whose victory dance has become quite famous with the fans.

But Djokovic who is the best returner in the game right now will not allow him to go away with easy points on his serve. And he will be well prepared for power hitting by Tsonga after seeing Federer lose his way in the third set of QF. It will all depend on how prepared Djokovic is to handle the pressure of World no.1. Will he crumble or rise? Time will tell us.

  Let’s Look at their Career Statistics:

Name	Novak Djokovic	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Current Ranking	World no.2	World no. 19
Head to Head Record	2	5
Grand Slam Record	1	1
Wimbledon Record	First Meeting
2011 Win Loss Record	46-1	27-13
Career W/L Record	371-106	161-76
Titles (2011)	7	0

Tsonga is leading Djokovic with a 5-2 record but that was before Djokovic started his dream run this year. Last match was played in Australian Open 2010, where Tsonga defeated Nole in 5 sets. That was before Djokovic’s uprisal in Davis Cup in 2010. It will be an interesting match to see two gutsy players playing it out with serves and winners.

Novak Djokovic: "I can play a lot better than I did. I've been up and down but now it's going to go up”

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: "I'm the type of player who likes these big moments...so I hope I can have some more”

My Opinion: Novak Djokovic will come out to be the winner if only he is ready to take on the responsibilities of being World no.1

Reason: 

1)  He has been playing best tennis of his career (46-1) (Also he is currently the best returner in the game with no weakness in his game).

2) He will be better prepared for Tsonga’s serve and power hitting. Also he will have the psychological edge of not playing Federer in the Semi Final which will in turn make him feel relieved and play his natural game.


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Also Click Here For:Nadal/Murray: Career Statistics & Wimbledon Men's Semifinal Preview: Part 1

Novak Djokovic - Ambitions & Dreams

Courtesy & video here

Should he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and get to the men's singles final, Novak Djokovic will become number one in the world rankings. That, he says, is his ambition. But to actually win the Wimbledon title, he adds, is something different - it's his dream.

Whether ambition will be fulfilled and the dream will come true depends on whether the 24-year-old Serb can improve his career record against the burly Frenchman, who is one of the few men who could go into a match with Djokovic right now with reason to feel confident.

The man from Le Mans leads the Belgrade native 5-2 in the career head-to-head. What's even more resounding is that Tsonga has won the last five of those contests.

Of course, none of those matches were in this calendar year, as Djokovic has proved - with only one exception - unbeatable in 2011, with 46 wins out of 47 matches played.

Even so, Djokovic is cautious about his prospects, particularly given that the Frenchman is coming off the back of a huge win against the only man to have beaten the Serb this year: Djokovic says: "He is very dangerous. He had an amazing comeback against Federer, he served well and played well, and he's been playing great in the grass court season so far.

"We are both baseliners so a lot will depend on our serves. I need to serve well because that's something that he's going to do. His game depends on that serve. If he starts missing first serves then I will have more chance in the rallies. But I expect a very, very even match."

The statistics underline what Djokovic means. So far Tsonga has landed 96 aces in five matches compared to Djokovic's 49 and has come to the net far more frequently. Also, as the second seed points out, Tsonga takes to the grass surface more readily than he does. "But I still know I can play on it," says the man who has reached two other Wimbledon semi-finals in the last four years.

None of this would have happened if Novak's parents had not scraped together the money to send their son to a tennis academy in Germany when he was 13. "If I had stayed in Serbia I don't think you would have heard of me," he says.

No matter what else he achieves in the sport, he is assured of hero status in Serbia. When he helped his country to win the Davis Cup for the first time against France in Belgrade last December, half the country's population tuned it to watch on TV.

That sensational victory proved the launchpad for Djokovic's sprint towards the world number one ranking.

By then he had already decided to "start being myself again", putting behind him unexplained rough times in his private life. Taking Rafael Nadal's behaviour on and off court as an example, he says he decided "it was more important for me to be a good person than a good tennis player."

The tennis part was by no means overlooked, however, and towards that end he built around him a team which is regarded as the best in the business.

The former Slovakian player Marjan Vajda had been his coach since 2005 and, after Djokovic briefly employed the American Todd Martin to help improve his serving, he went back to Vajda. Also in Team Djokovic are his physical trainer Milan Amanovic, and Igor Cetojevic, a nutritionist who has been travelling with the team since March. "I have unreserved faith in their instructions and trust them completely," he says.

Improving the serve has been the main Djokovic target, adding speed and spite and ironing out the motion until it has become one of the most consistent in tennis. He has also copied Nadal's aggressive style so well that he has beaten Rafa in all four of their meetings this year.

 

Perhaps he will make it five if they meet in the final, but first Djokovic has to surmount that massive hurdle of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Nadal/Murray: Career Statistics & Wimbledon Men's Semifinal Preview: Part 1

With Federer out, the Big-Four-Semifinal-Dream has been shattered. But still we cannot take away the interesting matches lined up tomorrow in Men’s Semifinal. With 3 of the Semifinalist from 2010, Tsonga is a new addition this year in place of Berdych after playing the match of his life.

Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Murray:

Both these players are playing imperious tennis and it seems nothing can go wrong for them. It would be pretty interesting to see how they come out and play tomorrow. The only concern for both the players would not be tennis but the injuries that they picked during their previous matches in Wimbledon.

Nadal after having a MRI was unsure of his chances to play but seemed pretty good in his QF, running freely after taking medications for his foot. That is good news for fans of Nadal who has become the hot favorite to win back to back grand slams (French Open + Wimbledon) 3 times with Federer out of the door. 

Whereas Andy Murray who is carrying the burden of 75 years of history of the nation seems to be the silent underdog amongst the top 4. The result will depend on Andy Murray’s pressure handling abilities. In the past we have seen him tumble down at grand stages but who knows if he can hold himself and not allow Nadal to control the long rallies by imposing his own kind of play, we might have a upset at hand. Not to forget, he was the only player (except Federer) who had come close to defeating Djokovic (who has defeated Nadal 4 times this year). So he has the game. It’s all about nerves now for him.

  Let’s Look at their Career Statistics:

Name	Rafael Nadal	Andy Murray
Current Ranking	World No. 1	World no. 4
Head to Head Record	11	4
Grand Slam Record	4	2
Wimbledon Record	2	0
2011 Win Loss Record	50-7	27-8
Career W/L Record	522-108	294-102
Titles (2011)	3	1

With Nadal having won 11 out of 15 times and also their last 2 Wimbledon encounters in 2008/2010, he is certainly the favorite to win the Semi Final.

Rafael Nadal: "Last year I beat Andy here in the semi-finals, but it was a very close match, even if it was in straight sets. For sure I always enjoy playing these kind of matches." - Nadal

Andy Murray: “I just have to have a better game plan -- go out there and play well and serve well and believe, and I'll have a chance."

My Opinion: Andy Murray can cause the upset of the day if he can play his natural game.

Reason:

1)  He has become mentally and physically stronger than last year.

2)  He will be playing in front of his home crowd. If only he can use this to his advantage, we might have a champion from England after 75 years.


Follow ApekshaHA on Twitter for Latest Updates: http://twitter.com/#!/ApekshaHA
(Click Here for: Djokovic/Tsonga: Career Statistics & Wimbledon Men's Semifinal Preview: Part 2)

Novak Djokovic - Not All About The Top 4

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga proves it's not all about the awesome foursome, says Novak Djokovic

James Olley
30 Jun 2011 

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The men's semi-final draw almost feels misshapen in the absence of Roger Federer but Novak Djokovic is acutely aware that the top four players walk a more precarious path than most believe.

Djokovic benefits most immediately from Federer's absence, given that he faces the Swiss's conqueror, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, tomorrow in a match he will be expected to win and progress to his firstWimbledon final. A position of favouritism is something to which Djokovic, the No2 seed, has become accustomed to while cementing his place among the elite quartet in the game.

Something is supposedly amiss should Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray not all feature in the latter stages of a Grand Slam, as the level of tennis they produce continues to prompt debate as to whether this current crop is the greatest generation of them all.

The awesome foursome comprised the semi-final line up at the French Open last month but that was the only occasion in the last five years when the top four seeds have lived up to their ranking.

Federer's exit sent shockwaves across SW19 but Djokovic reflected on the remarkable consistency required to dominate a sport perhaps at its strongest. "That result shows how fine the margins are at the top of the game," he said. "It's not only about the top four players.

"There are other players who are able to play great tennis and Tsonga proved it yesterday. It is all very close at this level, especially in the second week of a Grand Slam."

Djokovic could have been forgiven for losing sight of such sentiment, given his astonishing record this year. The 24-year-old Serbian has won 46 matches and lost just once - to Federer in the semi-finals at Roland Garros - and is one victory away from being confirmed as No1 in the world for the first time in his career.

But despite his remarkable statistics, Djokovic has not been entirely comfortable during these championships, even in securing a four-set victory over Australian Bernard Tomic yesterday. "I need to work on my game," he said. "That's what matters the most, regardless of who is across the net. Tsonga came back from two sets down against Roger and it was amazing. He played well at Queen's and is beating top players. So he is very dangerous.

"Grass is not my favourite surface but I can play well on it and do better."

Djokovic will need to given Tsonga's mood, which will be boosted by a head-to-head record that comes down 5-2 in the Frenchman's favour.Tsonga, who lost the Queen's final against Murray, believes yesterday's result is proof his mental strength has improved in big matches.

"It is difficult to play Federer because you don't know exactly what he's thinking," said Tsonga. "You don't know if he's scared or not.

"I felt really strong because I never panicked. I have improved a lot mentally. I try to stay focused, just breathe and stay quiet. I feel good with this. I like these big moments, so I hope I will have some more."

Wimbledon 2011: Women's Semifinals Preview

by Mad Professah, contributing writer 

Here are my predictions for the women's semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships for 2011. I predicted 4 of 4 women's quarterfinals correctly and 3 of 4 men's quarterfinals correctly. Last year I predicted 2 of 2 women's semifinals correctly.  

Maria Sharapova RUS (5) vs Sabine Lisicki GER . Sharapova appears to be returning to the form that has led her to win 3 major tournaments (2008 Australian Open, 2006 US Open and 2004 Wimbledon) so far after surgery in 2009 really deteriorated her game. Lisicki is a wild card has put on two amazing performances on Wimbledon Centre Court this year, dismissing 2011 French Open champion Li Na in the 3rd round and eliminating 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli in the quarterfinals. With both Williams sisters gone from the tournament (this was Serena's half) this is the most wide open Wimbledon in over a decade. If  you start to match up the two player's games Lisicki has the better serve, while Sharapova has the better return. 

Sharapova has the better second serve, or at least she goes for more, but this also makes it less reliable. Sharapova has 19 aces but also 19 double faults over 5 matches so far. Lisicki has 44 aces and only 13 double faults. Sharapova has a total of 126 winners while Liscki has 157, including an incredible 52 winners in the round before in her 3-set win over Bartoli. Lisicki is probably the better mover but Sharapova is faster than she appears and can do more with the ball when she gets there. Analyzing their groundstrokes you have to give a big advantage to Sharapova, especially on the backhand side, with the forehand side being a bit closer. On grass you have to give the edge to the better server (Lisicki) but all the intangibles (been in this position before, mental toughness) go to Sharapova.I would be delighted if Lisicki wins, but I think it's more likely she will falter than Sharapova will. I was very surprised that Lisicki had to play a 3rd set against Bartoli, after having 3 match points in the second set, but she shook that off to win 6-1. If she gives that opportunity to Sharapova to come back, the Russian will reach her 2nd Wimbledon final. PREDICTION: Who I think will win: Sharapova, Who I want to win: Lisicki.

Victoria Azarenka BLR (4) vs. Petra Kvitova CZE (8). This should be the more interesting match of the two because the higher ranked player is the one with the less experience being in the semifinals of Wimbledon. However, I'm sure in her own mind Azarenka feels like she should have won a major already. Azarenka is like a young Novak Djokovic in that early in his career the Serbian retired in a number of important matches and Azarenka is (in)famous for her withdrawals from multiple matches, especially this year.

They are both incredibly talented players and you totally expect them to win multiple majors. Djokovic has met (and possibly even exceeded) expectations but Azarenka is still waiting for her big breakthrough. If you look at each of the semifinalists' records to this point Azarenka has only had 10 aces to 9 double faults in 5 rounds. Kvitova has had 26 aces to 11 double faults. Interestingly, when you match up their games you see that Kvitova has the better serve and the better ground strokes. Azarenka is by far the better mover and I think the intangibles are pretty even. Kvitova disappointed me when she lost a 2nd set tie-break to Tsevetana "Venus-killer" Pironkova with some bad misses on attempted winners. Then again, like Lisicki, she won the deciding set pretty easily. This second match should be closer than the first semifinal with Kvitova, another left-handed female player born in Czechoslovakia like the great Martina Navratiilova, reaching her first (but probably not her last) Wimbledon final. PREDICTION: Who I think will win: Kvitova, Who I want to win: Kvitova.