Becker Defeats Edberg - Wimbledon 2014

I am sure that headline would shock you --- everyone knew that it was not Boris  Becker nor Stefan Edberg who were slugging it out on the grass courts of Wimbledon for the  2014 Gentlemen’s title.. But the fact of the matter was that Boris is the Coach of Novak Djokoviv and Stefan is the Coach of Roger Federer who were fighting for the title. It looked like the game had turned on its head and the former champs were out on the court.  Djokovic won the title  and so my reference to Becker  winning the title rather than his ward.

The path to the final for both Federer and Djokovic was made easy due to the exits of Nadal and Murray in the earlier rounds. Nadal lost to little known Nick Kryigos and Murray lost to Grigor Dimitrov. Kryigos is someone that will do well in the future. He played brilliant tennis against Nadal, serving hard and running out first serve winners and was played his shots without inhibitions. Nadal looked very troubled and was not quite the Nadal that we know – chasing down all that is thrown on his side of the court and sending them back. There were signs of shades of recovery but Kryigos was calm and went about his business unruffled  and the fact  he was playing the number one player in the world. Another testimony to his temperament . This guy will climb places in the ranking . just needs to keep his head on his shoulders.

Murray losing was no surprise – It was a question of who would nail him—He had been in indifferent form coming in to the tournament with a new Coach ( may be the first top player to hire a Woman Coach and that too a Grand Slam Winner just like Becker or Edberg . In fact , he terminated his contract with Lendl  and then hired Amelie Mauresmo )

Federer  had a very smooth passage and the first challenge was against countryman Stan Wawrinka whom he beat in four sets. Rest of all matches , he went through in straight sets and I do not think he came against any difficult grass court player. That said , Federer  looked to be in very good form , moving around the court well , his shot making was excellent.

Djokovic on the other hand  had to encounter some tough players-Stephanek , Tsonga , Cilic and finally Dimitrov in the semifinal. Some went up to four sets but Djokovic handled them and got in to the finals.

So the stage was set for the final With legendary coaches – and former rivals – Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg in their respective corners, dramatic theatre unfolded on the Centre Court stage. The first set went to tie break and Federer clinched it by a whisker. I missed watching sets Two and Three ( a society meeting ( how could this be important ? ) and a wedding reception. I watched in dismay when I tuned back ,Djokovic go up 5 -2 in the fourth set after having won set two and set three. Federer turned the fourth set around winning four games on the trot and suddenly Djokovic looked vulnerable. He took his medical time out and somehow  managed to turn around the match. Game seven of Set Five, Federer should have broken Djokovic’s serve but he let Djokovic  escaped and that probably was the turning point in the fifth set. Serving first helped Djokovic stay ahead and pressure was on Federer to stay alongside. Federer was broken and with that victory was Djokovic’s.  Roger served out 29 aces and did better in terms of the number of winners he hit but ended up on the losing side.

 Both men played some unbelievable tennis with great rallies and it was no secret as to whose side the crowd or I was on . The unforced errors were low and the rallies longer for each point. Both the competitors did not do what their coaches were good at – Serve and Volley at the Grass Courts— Both men preferred to stay back and at times Federer was the one who ventured to the net but did not win many on his approaches to the net for Djokovic  passed him . Djokovic's ability to produce high-class returns at crucial stages in the match was key to his victory. A clear tactic he used was to return to the Federer backhand. The second-serve return was where Djokovic was most dominant, With both players dominant on first serve, taking advantage of the second was vital and that something Djokovic did so well

Federer lost another opportunity to grab the Wimbledon title . He is getting no younger and at 32 , he could not get a better shot at the title than this one. He did say he will be back next year but I am not sure whether he could go as far he did this year.