Unexpected appear in the finals
No one really predicted Angelique Kerber would win the Ladies Singles title this year, and very few expected Serena Williams to reach the Finals. Best of the Top 10 of the Ladies Seeds never made it to the Quarters. What more, the reputed lost to little known opponents. Top Seed Simona Halep was taken out by a player Ranked 48. Ladies’ draw was smothered by the first weekend. A very noticeable factor is the difference between Women players which, at present, is very negligible.
Kerber’s come back?
Angelique Kerber, one-time World’s No.1, has not been doing too well since last year. She started to play well just before the French Open but, to win Wimbledon, she was not the favourite. When all the Top seeds went out, it was her turn too. Instead, she made it big with a steady head and mature game. Simple commonsense prevailed in her. Against former French Open winner Jelena Osterpenko in the Semifinal it showed as to what she is now.
Kerber kept the good form and beat Serena Williams in the Final. It surprised many. It is very challenging to engage Serena, to stop her attacks and to be in the rally with a few good shots. Kerber did that very comfortably. Serena was never very good in winning long rallies, in the likes of Sharapova, Wozniacki, Pliskova, Halep and, for that matter, her sister Venus. It is not Serena’s brand of Tennis. Serena’s ability to take the ball early, from inside of the court, along with her lethal power, is an extreme challenge to all her opponents.
Kerber’s successful engagement reduced Serena’s shot selection. She also moved Serena to the flanks repeatedly, which taxed her. Returning after a 16-months layoff, Serena could not sustain it. Serena did try the net game a bit, but was not strong enough to shake Kerber.
In fact, Camila Giorgi of Italy, in the Semifinals against Serena Williams, managed to win the 1st Set comfortably, doing the same thing Kerber did. Unfortunately for Giorgi, she herself lost her own controls. Her 1st Serve dropped to 30% in the 2nd and 3rd Sets, and unforced errors increased.
Africa’s Kevin Anderson
Novak Djokovic ended his dry spell and won the Wimbledon Men’s title again. Kevin Anderson surprised all appearing in the Finals, beating Roger Federer in a marathon Quarterfinals and, in the Semis against John Isner, in another record-breaking Semifinals, time and score-wise. They played 99 games over 5-1/2 hours. He marked more time on Grass than any other in the draw, and went to the Final in a performance of his lifetime, at age 33.
The simplicity of Anderson’s game is such that he could hold it out for many hours. This enduring tactic is not common. His game does not have the ultra-sophistication of Federer and the calculated cunning of Djokovic and Nadal. He carries himself through with self-reliance, confidence, endurance and with minimal of weaponry. Often endures humiliation of opponents’ winners, his shot selection is easy to read and mentally exhibits an attitude that says, “I want to be the last man standing”, and that is what wins in him.
Surprise from Djokovic
Djokovic was not supposed to appear in decent places in this Wimbledon draw, but ended up winning the title, beating Nadal on the way. It was a surprise. After killing the Spanish ‘Toro’ Nadal, the night before the Final, Djokovic must have had the image of Anderson hopping like a fragile African-Springbok on the other side of the Wimbledon Centre court, chasing and reaching every shot he played. For Djokovic’s good fortune, it turned out to be otherwise. Anderson was a physically broken man. His road to the Finals drained him completely. He showed how badly he was worn out by calling for the physio in the 1st Set. His ‘mojo’ came up in the 3rd, but did not find enough to sustain the efforts to beat Djokovic.
Good matches
Wimbledon is about good matches. Even with the Ladies side failing to deliver, Wimbledon 2018 had some sensational Men’s matches. John Isner of USA played the longest match in the history of the game, lasting over 11 hours, against Nicolas Mahut in 2010. There is a plaque placed on the Centre court to commemorate this. On the same court, the Men’s Semifinal between Kevin Anderson and again John Isner was unique. Both of them are close to 7′ tall, both weighing over 200 lbs, played the longest Semifinals in Wimbledon history. Five-and-a-half hours and the final set was 26/24, which lasted 2 hrs 50 min.
Other good matches were Nadal against Martin Del Potro, Djokovic against Nadal and Federer against Anderson. Of these, the match between Nadal and Del Potro thrilled the crowd most. Del Potro once again, a big made man, made his signature forehand work very efficiently. Sometimes, Del Potro’s forehand down the line whizzed past Nadal at the baseline, just a few feet away, even before Nadal could initiate a reaction. This match drained Nadal and it could have been the cause of him losing to Djokovic in the next round. —- From now on, it is American Hard court season.
George Paldano, Former int. player; Accredited Coach of German Federation; National coach Sri Lanka and Brunei,
Davis-Cup, Federation Cup captain/coach–
contact 94 77 544 8880 geodano2015@gmail.com