5 Intense Questions that Wimbledon 2015 will Answer
By Shyam
Jul 6, 2014; London, United Kingdom; Roger Federer (SUI) receives the runner-up trophy after his match against Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day 13 of the 2014 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
2. Will Roger Federer turn 8 and 18 this year?
1085 days and counting!! 8-July-2012 saw Roger Federer lift his 7thWimbledon trophy after getting the better of native son Andy Murray. He tied William Renshaw and Pete Sampras for the most titles at the All England Club extending his overall grand slam tally to 17. He fell to the ground in victory, roared and embraced the British Crowd with respect for his opponent and wept in front of his twin daughters. Since that momentous day the wait for 8 and 18 continues…
An old saying – the one undisputed force in our universe is “AGE”. The harder you try to stave it off; it more or less gets hold of everyone with its aggregated effects. Roger Federer whose Tennis is immortal is not immune to this ultimate inevitability.
Federer, who will turn 34 this August, is firmly approaching the twilight of his legendary career. He is not as dominant as he used to be and his on-court success in recent seasons is slowly declining. You can possibly feel that the reason for his success’ becoming sporadic is “Roger is no more in his prime”. The Swiss man still produces many flashes of wizardry from his famed RF Wilson Wand (be it the 90 square inch or the recently changed Wilson Pro Staff RF97). But over the last few seasons, those brilliant moments are diluted which can be attributed to his inconsistency.
This year’s Wimbledon perhaps shapes up as the last legitimate opportunity to add to his record grand slam tally. He’s coming into good form after winning Halle last week for a record 8th time (defeated an inspired Seppi in the finals in straight sets).
The hiring of Swede legend Stefan Edberg seems too have done wonders when it comes to the best-of-3 format. The Swiss is a staggering 76-11 in this format since hiring Edberg but when it comes to the best-of-5 format, Federer is just 31-7.
The main objective behind Edberg’s hiring was to aid Federer to further enhance the grand slam tally but the combination is still in search of a major title. He did manage to reach the Wimbledon final last year losing to Novak in another classic 5 setter (coming back from match point down in the 4th set to push it to a decided). The focus for both Federer and his million fans will now be winning Wimbledon for a record 8th time. Is this Roger’s last chance for glory? Only time will tell.
(Federer and Superstition – Born on August 8; the Swiss is believed to be obsessed with the No. 8. He wants to serve eight aces before beginning a match, wants eight towel rubs at the end of a set, sets up eight bottles of water courtside and carries eight rackets)
DRAWMETER – (15) Feliciano Lopez (4R), (6) Tomas Berdych (QF), (3) Andy Murray / (10) Rafael Nadal (SF), (1) Novak Djokovic / (4) Stan Wawrinka (Finals)
PREDICTION – SEMIFINALS (Scot Andy Murray will stop the Swiss Maestro in the SF; expect that match to be a classic 5 setter).
STATSMETER – Roger Federer (SUI)
- Roger is 34-6 this season (winning in Brisbane, Dubai, Istanbul & Halle). His victory in Halle saw him become the 3rd man to win titles at the same event (Rafael Nadal has nine Roland Garros titles and eight from Monte Carlo and Barcelona, while Guillermo Vilas has eight from Buenos Aires).
- Federer is 136-19 (88%) on grass overall; the best win-loss % on grass in the Open-Era. He is 73-9 (89%) at Wimbledon; only Sampras (63-7; 90%) has a better win-loss % than Roger; champion in 2003-2007, 2009, 2012.
- Federer is 7-2 in Wimbledon finals (lost to Nadal in 2008 & Djokovic in 2014). He enjoyed a 40 match win streak at Wimbledon between 2003-2008 (Borg won 41 matches between 1976-1981). Also he won 65 matches on grass between 2003-2008 (until his loss to Nadal in the 2008 epic final).
- Federer is 9-0 in Wimbledon SF and has won 27 out of the 28 sets he played in this round (Djokovic pushed him to 4 sets in 2012 SF).
- The Paul Annacone – Federer combo had to wait 2 years to win a major. Federer hired Annacone in July 2010 and won Wimbledon 2 years later.
Next: Andy Murray