A Grand Slam comes but four times in the year. They require a different kind of preparation and demand a higher level of endurance, spread out as they are, over two weeks. Very often a player who has been impeccable for the better part of the tournament simply runs out of juice and falters against a more seasoned player who has more Grand Slams under his belt.
This is possibly what happened with Richard Gasquet against Novak Djokovic. The Frenchman, who had wooed the All-England crowds with his sublime one-handed backhands, looked like he might fade away towards the end of the second set. Novak, therefore, just upped the pressure on his opponent at the right time and it resulted in a fairly straightforward semi-final win for the defending champion.
I hope Gasquet’s fine run plus the recent form of Stanislas Wawrinka makes coaches everywhere realise that the single-handed backhand can be part of a modern players’ repertoire. It was wonderful to see the quarters when they both were unleashing their backhands to spectacular effect. It’s a shot I hope to see more of.
On Sunday, we have a spectacle to look forward to with the seven-time champion Roger Federer taking on the man who beat him in the final last year, Novak. The match could also be billed as the most consistent serve versus the most devastating return. Federer has been serving with incredible accuracy and variety, well enough to be broken only once in the tournament. It has given him several free points and allowed him to keep the points short.
The Swiss legend has the most natural grasscourt game of all time as far as I am concerned – his movement around a grass court is second to none, and this fact is highlighted in an era where there are few grass court players. It is significant that the only player he dropped a set to was Sam Gross who also serves big and volleys. Among his other rivals, few were able to force him to change his game plan.
The biggest surprise was Andy Murray who has an excellent return of serve. He was completely at sea against Federer on Friday, allowing the latter to plan his way to the net. The local hero was unable to get his passing shots going and showed very little by way of a plan. I am not privy to the workings of Andy’s coaching team, but their plans were not evident or did not work very well. Federer was faultless, but that’s also because Murray allowed him to play the way he did.
As another final beckons for Novak, I am pretty calm and confident. He enjoys playing against Federer and their matches tend to bring out the best in both players. I was a little tighter in Paris but here I am quietly confident.
— Gameplan
