Sunday’s Wimbledon final pits top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray against each other in what will be their fourth meeting in a Grand Slam title match. A three-time panel chooses sides and previews the action.
Chris Skelton (@ChrisSkelton87): The rivalry between Djokovic and Murray has unfolded mostly on hard courts–the best surface for both men. A key exception came last year at the Olympics, when Murray swept a semifinal from the Serb in straight sets to set up his gold medal. Standing tall against two previous nemeses that week, Djokovic and Roger Federer, Murray proved that he could overcome the pressure of playing on home soil for national pride. All the same, one sensed that the Scot would need to win a major other than Wimbledon before taking home what his compatriots view as the ultimate prize. Having lost his first four major finals, Murray finally snapped Great Britain’s title drought at majors with a five-set victory over Djokovic at the US Open last fall. Although Djokovic has recaptured the upper hand in their rivalry by winning their last three meetings, their head-to-head has seen plenty of abrupt momentum shifts and sudden spurts.
Murray will gain confidence from those two marquee victories over Djokovic last year, one on the same court where he will face the Serb on Sunday. Moreover, his appearance in the 2012 Wimbledon final will have inoculated him to some of the tension that weighed on him then. Competing gallantly in a four-set loss to Federer, Murray has learned what it feels like to contest the final at his home major and will not approach this match with the same wide-eyed uncertainty. While Djokovic holds a clear edge over Murray on clay, the balance of power shifts the opposite direction on grass. The home hope has reached four consecutive finals on grass, arguably Djokovic’s worst surface, and their Olympics meeting revealed two key areas in which he surpasses his rival. Those areas, his first serve and his forecourt play, reap more rewards on grass than they do on the increasingly slow hard courts. Meanwhile, Djokovic’s key strengths of fluid defense and a smooth transition game shine less on grass than they do elsewhere.
Through the last few rounds, Djokovic has burst out of the gate impressively before coming back to earth. By contrast, Murray has started slowly in his last two matches before gradually settling into his groove. I expect him to bounce back from early adversity and finally lay Fred Perry’s ghost to rest. Murray 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Steen (Tennis East Coast): I predicted this final at the start of the tournament, and again at the start of week two, and I’m sticking with my original prediction: Murray to break the British drought and topple Djokovic for the second time in a slam. In all of his matches this week, he has shown mental fortitude and generally the positive attitude needed to get past the Djokovic challenge, and he has avoided many of his common issues–including mentally disappearing for long periods in matches.
Ricky: Strictly looking at the numbers, the edge goes to Djokovic. He owns an 11-7 record in the overall head-to-head series and he is 3-1 against Murray at Grand Slams, 2-1 in slam finals, and 5-3 against the Scot since the beginning of 2012. Whereas Murray is a mere 1-5 in major title matches despite triumphing at the 2012 US Open, Djokovic boasts an impressive 6-4 mark in such matches.
Taking current form at this installment of Wimbledon into account, Djokovic still appears to have the advantage. The world No. 1 is coming off a five-setter against Del Potro, but he has generally been more impressive than Murray this fortnight. Djokovic did not drop a set prior to the semifinals and Del Potro arguably would have defeated any other player in the world given his performance on Friday in what was nothing short of an epic encounter. Murray dropped two sets to Verdasco and also lost his opener to Janowicz before needing to come back from a 4-1 third-set deficit in order to avoid what would have been at best a five-set victory. Murray played well in those two matches, but neither match came close to rivaling Djokovic-Delpo. Verdasco’s level dipped considerably and Janowicz basically disappeared after giving the break back midway through set three.
Djokovic is the best returner and baseline player in the sport, and as if that isn’t enough his serve is also on fire right now. He blasted 22 aces (compared to Del Potro’s four) in the semis and for the tournament he has 76 aces compared to just seven double-faults. His serve percentage has been at least 61 percent in each of his last four matches, including 74 against Jeremy Chardy and 69 vs. Del Potro. Still, for reasons mentioned by Steen and Chris (especially the surface, the home-court advantage, and a slam title in his pocket), Murray is going to make it difficult. Djokovic 6-3, 6-7, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
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Murray’s uncle confirmed on ITV that he has donated all his prize money to the Royal Marsden Hospital.
Just testing if this will work…hello TEXT lol
Hello raindrops!
This is a lot of fun, no?
Congrats Andy!
welcome, everyone.
Hi Ricky, good to see everyone here, a new place and would be a much serene place to talk tennis.
^ You bet, pet 🙂
In all the excitement yesterday I failed to notice the significance of the date.
Andy’s historic win fell on the 8th anniversary of the London bombings.
Spare a thought for all the people mourning their loved ones and those who were caught up in the horror of that terrible day.
Congratulations to Andy Murray. Most well deserved
this is cool and feels like TT already. Hello folks
nadline – apparently it may have been his QUEEN’S CLUB prize money…..
That is more likely TBH, I’m seem to remember it was mentioned during the Fundraiser which followed the final that he was going to donate his winner’s fee to the Royal Marsden.
I think you’re right. They have never actually directly asked Andy if he’s donated any money to the hospital.
Hi everyone who has migrated from TT!!!
oh its ricky 😀 lol…glad !
Yes atul, this is slowly starting to feel like TT
slowly?? You’ve only been here for 1 day! :p
hahaha…I mean the more I post here, The more I feel like TT with all the so many familiar posters 😀
Hope luckystar joins
hope so too !
holdserve, what country do you live in ? Just asking 🙂 I usually know about the locations of all the old rafans from TT
Too quiet! Ricky, maybe you should hire Lindt-all for some more content! Need someone to stir the pot!.
There was some rumours that Rafa would play Hamburg but I guess that won’t happen with the tournament starting next week?
#VamosRafa
and also you hawkeye (conspirator), where do you reside? 🙂
The TT coffin has been lowered into the ground.
Let us observe two minutes silence 🙁
RIP seventeen. Haha!
#ThisIsATest
ed, you mean figuratively because I just logged onto TT and posted fine. Maybe you’ve been banned!!!
#Avatars!!!
C’est possible. Could be S/T taking revenge for my farewell comment to her.
nice avatar, conspirator
Thank-you My fan.
#HUM5LE
Canada! How about you, vamosrafa?
#VamosMilos
Sorry folks. My last comment was a bit premature. The funeral has not yet taken place. Must have been my computer throwing a hissy.
First comment on tenngrand
first of many hopefully!