WIMBLEDON RECAP : ANDY MURRAY LOSES TO DIMITROV & A QUICK UPDATE ON CANADIANS & LADIES

Written by: Staff on 2nd July 2014

WIMBLEDON RECAP : ANDY MURRAY LOSES TO DIMITROV & A QUICK UPDATE ON CANADIANS & LADIES

epa04296007 Andy Murray of Britain plays Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 02 July 2014. EPA/TOBY MELVILLE / POOL |

Confidence

By Cheryl Jones

Most of the buzz in the tennis world on this last Wednesday of Wimbledon is about the men who have bowed out in the last few days. Great Britain’s hopes for a repeat of last year have been dashed. The man who was a winner then was the first British champ in 77 years. Wednesday, Andy Murray was sent home by a young gun that looks good to make more of a splash in the tennis world than the fact that he is Maria Sharapova’s boyfriend. Grigor Dimitrov has game and the 6-1, 7-6, 6-2 score of the match couldn’t possibly be any more clear a message than that he has arrived.

Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria returns to Andy Murray of Britain in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 02 July 2014. EPA/VALDRIN XHEMAJ

Another favorite, Rafael Nadal is gone, too. (After watching his lackluster performance in Halle, at the Gerry Weber Open, it seemed then and there that he just didn’t have what it would take to play well on lawns this year. He’d rather be fishing was the clear, but sincere message I took from his performances leading up to his defeat by the unknown 19-year-old Australian, Nick Kyrgios.)

It is clear that women’s tennis has often taken a back seat to the men’s game, but the Ladies quarterfinals had some decisive matches today that yielded winners that should never take a backseat to anyone. As I predicted, Canadian, Eugenie Bouchard took her best game to the court and came out on top of her match with Angelique Kerber who was the one who sent Maria Sharapova away yesterday. The 6-3, 6-4 score was a testament to Bouchard’s mettle. She managed to take 7 of 8 Break Points back to underscore her stick-to-itiveness. She will move into the top-ten, win or lose the semifinal match. But, if she wins, she will be the highest ranked Canadian player, ever. (Carling Bassett-Seguso was number eight. With a loss, Bouchard will be tied for that honor.) A lot more than just the outcome is on the line for the twenty-year-old.

Eugenie Bouchard of Canada celebrates her win over Angelique Kerber of Germany in their quarter final match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 02 July 2014. EPA/TATYANA ZENKOVICH

When she was asked about her confidence in taking on the difficult points, she said, “For sure. I try not to even think about specifically what the score is. I try to go out on each point and play the right way. And, you know when I try to go for it more usually it works in my favor, so I’m going to always try to do that every single point.” The maturity of her line of thought is a necessity to playing the game well. She knows that dwelling on “the before” can lead to big problems “after”. Tennis is a lot like a game of cat and mouse with no cat and no mouse; only skill and determination to provide concrete answers.

Bouchard is a Canadian with a proven track record. She has to be the best hope for Canada since Greg Rusedski, who began life as a Canadian, but defected to Great Britain in 1995. (Male Canadian, Milos Raonic may have more name recognition, but Bouchard is catching up to him with her performances at majors. This is her third trip to the semis in a Grand Slam this year. By the way, Raonic took away Kyrgios’ chance at moving forward at Wimbledon when he defeated the Aussie in four sets in a late afternoon/early evening match.)

Bouchard believes in herself. In my book, that’s the single most important aspect of anyone’s game. Nick Saviano (her coach) is a proponent of patience and confidence as a necessary component of the game. It appears that he has had an apt student in Bouchard. There is always more to tennis than simply striking the ball cleanly. It’s a good thing to remember.

She spoke about her confidence after the match, “Well, since I was young I’ve always been self-confident. I think it’s something I had naturally. And also, maybe how I was raised. I’ve always believed in myself and was determined to do as well as I could in anything I did, no matter what it was, whether it was my homework or my tennis practice.” She added, “You know, as I started playing more and more, I really had concrete dreams of winning a Grand Slam.” Chances are that her next competition with Romanian, Simona Halep will offer up just what she’s hoping for, a place in the final at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, on Saturday. How well she has learned her lessons along the way will have a lot to do with that outcome.

Halep has a few years on Bouchard. Earlier this year, at Indian Wells, Halep was the winner in a previous match-up. She is 24, but her meteoric rise to the top of the heap in women’s tennis has been a testament to hard work and dedication, as well as confidence. She doesn’t have to prove much of anything to anyone except herself now. With a win, she will move to the ever-revolving number two spot in the women’s game. (Serena Williams has a vice grip on the number one spot, even with her poor performance in the majors this past year.)

Romanian tennis players aren’t really an oddity; just a scarcity these days. There have been a few. Most memorable is that rascal of the seventies men’s game, Ilie Nastase. (His antics were never confined to the court. Quite a number of years ago he tried to convince me that the French had invented Lemon Coca Cola. Now when we meet, he still remembers our silly discussion. His former nickname, the Buffoon of Bucharest was well deserved. He is surely proud of the spirit of his young countrywoman.)

Halep defeated German, Sabine Lisicki after being down 4-1 in the first set today. She came from behind and finally triumphed, 6-4, 6-0. Her comments about the turnaround where she won 11 games in a row were revealing, “She was serving very strong. Then I was a little bit lost on court; but in the beginning only. Then I wanted just to keep more rallies, point by point. I did really well. I came back very well. Then I found my way to play and my style. I stayed very aggressive, very close to the baseline, and I did my game. I opened the court very well and the angles, as well.”

The aggressive play of both women should be a huge factor in their match up in the semis. It won’t be a 38-minute PDQ version of the game as it often has been in the past. The skill and confidence that both Bouchard and Halep exude is more than enough to provide a clinic on ball striking abilities. Bouchard will be looking for a chance to upset the more highly ranked player, Halep. Her current number 3 ranking might be a bit intimidating, but if Bouchard keeps her head and follows her own rules of competition, her chances are at the same level as Halep’s. The odds makers must be having a tough time picking a winner. The two women appear to be as evenly matched as any players that ever faced off in the semifinals of a major. Confidence will be the key.

Since semi is a prelude to an actual final round, there will be another contest to watch. A Czech matchup will provide the other contestant for Saturday’s showdown. Lucie Safarova and Petra Kvitova will be seeing each other across for the fifth time. Although Safarova is 3 years older than Kvitova the younger woman has been on the big stage many more times. It will be a double Czech platform tomorrow, and it will be the first time in 22 years where two lefties will face off. The last time that happened in a Grand Slam semifinal was at Wimbledon, too. (It was another Czech player who was on display then. It was Martina Navratilova, who was defeated by Monica Seles in three sets. Seles lost to Steffi Graf in the final, though.)

This match is another tough one to call, but Kvitova has had spurts of greatness and has been here before. (She won it all in 2011.) But, that was three years ago. Safarova has been involved in the professional game a bit longer, but she has had lackluster performances in Slams. She’s never been to this level before in any major. This time out, she hasn’t lost a set during the entire fortnight. It all will come down to which woman is the hungriest.

There are never any ties in tennis. It all will depend on who it is that has the ability to call up their best, not just when it’s a game decider, but with every ball that is struck. The last ball will provide the answer. Until then, four women are hoping for the best; that’s always been a part of each of their game plans. After all, it’s Wimbledon. Tomorrow will reveal whose plan was spot on.

Topics: Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber, Cheryl Jones, Eugenie Bouchard, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Maria Sharapova, milos raonic, Nick Krygios, Petra Kvitova, Rafael Nadal, Simona Halep, Sports, Tennis News, Wimbledon

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10sBalls_com says:

July 2, 2014 at 4:12 pm

@Wimbledon RECAP : @andy_murray LOSES TO @GrigorDimitrov & A QUICK UPDATE ON CANADIANS & LADIES – http://t.co/jGxQD5EB17 #Wimbledon2014

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