With apologies to Richard Pryor, Roger Federer just beat Novak Djokovic in four relatively easy sets. After so much speculation that his era was over, that he was pushing thirty, which meant he couldn't keep up with the younger* legs of Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, Club Fed finds his way back to the finals at Wimbledon. *And also all-time great This is a pretty golden opportunity for Federer. He's dispatched Djokovic, which he hasn't done in some time. Nadal had a pretty huge hiccup in the second round. Most likely awaiting him in the finals is Andy Murray. I've always been a pretty big fan of Murray, but he has a history of not playing his best in the late rounds of grand slams. Put on the added pressure of trying to be a British man to win Wimbledon, and you've got a formula for Murray to be a wreck.* *As noted on ESPN's studio show yesterday before the women got going, Murray is British when he wins, but Scottish when he loses. I'm not sure how true that actual is, but it got a chuckle out of me. And, you know, that is assuming Murray wins. He has dominated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the past, but Tsonga's been much improved as of late. He's climbed is way up the rankings to number five, which is nothing to sneeze at. Tsonga made his way to semis last year, and he outright choked against Djokovic in the last French Open. Murray is 0-for-3 in Wimbledon semis, which I'm sure that pressure I talked about earlier had some affect. Either way, I'm sure Murray and Tsonga both were hoping for a harder match between Federer and Djokovic. If either were going to win a grand slam in the near future, they needed one of the big three to stub their toe early, which Nadal graciously provided. Then they needed the other two to wear each other down and leave them with little in the tank for the final. Federer spent much of that match cruising. Now they just have to hope that Federer overlooks the final, thinking he won the tournament in the semis. I don't know that Fed has that gene. In any case, it would be awfully fun to have a Brit in the Wimbledon final. And, for those curious, I felt better about my interview yesterday than probably any interview I've ever done. I'm sure I'll keep the world posted here. Comments are closed.
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