Set and Match - The Wimbledon Final

Federer vs Murray

A Victorious Roger.

          So with the final of the Wimbledon competition having come and gone, you must admit that there was a certain amount of expectation in the media sitting upon Andy Murray. Recent form, however might have suggested that the Wimbledon title was returning to a British player for the first time in seventy-six years. This tie between the worlds number three and number four had much riding on it, but yesterday we saw the hopes of a nation outweighed by the personal ambition of the world's greatest tennis player. 

          The match between the massively  accomplished Roger Federer and the upcoming but talented Murray, had the potential to deliver the Scotsman, his first grand slam title on his fourth appearance in the final of one but despite playing with home advantage and having the crowd behind him, the young man battled hard but alas, in vain. Federer, only ever having lost one of the eight finals he had been in at SW19, knew that in order to win, he had to battle hard knowing that his opponent held an 8-7 lead over him in  head to head before this match.

          The path by which Federer came to the final appeared easy for him, however, he still lost four sets on the way. Roger won his first two games in straight sets but was almost eliminated in the third round when French 29th seed, Julien Benneteau almost beat him  but after five sets in total and two tie-breaks, the number three came through winning three sets to two. 

          A match against unseeded Belgian, Xavier Malisse, in the fourth round, provided his toughest set until a meeting with the then World number one, Novak Djokovic, in his semi final. The match which finished as three sets from four to Federer was an entertaining encounter which along with his other matches, showed the determination of the finalist to succeed, although the years 2003 to 2007, never left us in any doubt. Nevertheless, he had made the final.




          But what was to happen in the other semi-final was to make history. 

          Murray's route to the final came with wins over three unseeded opponents as well as Marin Cilic and David Ferrer but his plans were almost scuppered in his semi-final as he progressed beating a resurgent Jo Wilfried-Tsonga in a four set thriller on Friday evening.  Winning all sets bar four before the match Murray's resolve was most tested against the Frenchman who took the third set six games to three but Murray held on to take the fourth in close fought finish, beating him 7-5, narrowly avoiding a tie-break. 


          He was to join Federer on centre court on Sunday but something was different about all  of this, not since Bunny Austin's finishing runner-up in 1938, had there been a Briton in the final and two years before that since Englishman Fred Perry had won it. 




         The final section of the route Murray was taking, hadn't been tread in so long that it was practically a new road to him and the expectant media but his opponent knew the way like the back of his hand.
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          The match began with Federer serving and Murray taking the first two games with  the twenty five year old playing good tennis making his cross-court counterpart commit a number of errors, eventually taking the set six games to four, after an hour of play. Murray winning his first ever Grand Slam final set. It is also worthy of note that even at this early stage, the Scots' drop shot was attracting a kind of play that Federer used to pull him all about the court later in the match. 

        For now, Murray had energy to play with.

        The second set really cost the younger man the match as Federer's game really came into it's own but Murray still brought out more mistakes from him to make it look as though the Scot had every chance of winning. Nevertheless though, as the set played out, the strength, speed and skill of the soon to be seven time champion showed themselves and began forcing mistakes from Murray and midway through it, his frustrations began to show as the excellent backhand of Federer began to make a habit of twisting and pulling his rival from one place to another over the court. 


        Even on Murray's own serve, the Swiss was stretching out his area of play, tiring him out and he started on a series of misjudged challenges which over the course of the match, won him very little points. Too often, from this set onwards, did Murray on his serve take a strong position by leading a game forty to l'oeuf or fifteen points and then make mistakes that let his adversary back in. Despite battling hard to contain his opponent, Murray's tiredness got the better of him and he lost the set with five games to Federer's seven. 


        The machinelike brilliance of Federer was only beginning to come through but in the third set, dark clouds were hanging over Wimbledon and some were thinking that maybe a rain delay would give Murray a rest and rescue any hope he had of winning. The set started like the previous one had finished, with Murray looking jaded and maybe slightly nervous, being where he was but after a game each and with Federer interrupted from claiming the third, play was stopped when the hopeful crowd got their wish, as rain started to fall on the court. 

         Play resumed some thirty minutes later under the roof but Murray's form was only slightly improved. The talk he had with coach Ivan Lendl must not have done him much good as he continued to produce the same errors as had before the break. The set stood at three games all and in one of the aforementioned passages of play where Murray fell back from a strong position, Federer fought to take a break point in a twenty minute plus game which moved from deuce ten times to eventually see him lead four games to three. 

         Murray, who fell onto the court twice during the set, never really recovered his form and Federer took the set six to three. But although the challenger to the title took the early games of the fourth set, it was all beginning to look like something of a formality as the oldest player in a Wimbledon final since Jimmy Connors in 1984, played and moved Murray around  at he pleased. The best that the tired Scot could hope for was a tie-break but it didn't even look like he had the strength to win one of those or indeed the set he was playing.

        As the match moved on, despite some fans who shouted his name to encourage him, Murray's playing never really took the crowd at large but as the final set moved to five games to four in Federer's favour, the whole court began to chant his name. A good start, winning the opening point of the last game succumbed to Federer who, in spite of Murray's last challenge, took the game to championship point and at an error from Murray, dropped to the grass in celebration. 

The win was too much for him!

        The British hopeful, played well early on in the game and forced more mistakes from his competitor than the Swiss would have a normally made in an entire tournament. Murray was perhaps somewhat unlucky, missing good opportunities to challenge but unfortunately for him, as the tiredness came into his game, the genius was coming out in Federer's. The emotional Murray could hardly contain his tears while being interviewed but commended the victor who rose up to number one in the world rankings, breaking the record for holding that spot also.


        Holding the championship trophy, Federer looked happy with all that passed, as he equalled Pete Sampras' record of seven Wimbledon titles while also extending his international record to having won seventeen Grand Slam tournaments. At thirty years of age, a few questioned about whether he could go all the way, but after a wait of two and a half years without a trophy as well as a four set nailbiter, the silver gilt prize was back with the man from Switzerland.
        
       A good match to watch, left you with the feeling that the great were getting greater and that maybe, there might soon be a British winner to this competition after so long a wait but to use the umpires final match ruling, I say that it was Game, Set or rather a Set to Andy Murray and the Match to the excellent Roger Federer.