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I was wrong to bet against Roger Federer!

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by

Dax Nair
in

In a blog that I wrote the day before the start of Wimbledon, I suggested that Federer appeared to have lost his mojo while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were clearly emerging as the two dominant players. After all, they had split nine of the last ten grand slam titles between them. After Nadal made an uncharacteristic exit in round two and Federer breezed past Djokovic to reach the final for a potential record-tying seventh title, I am doing a reset. I guess I should not have prematurely written off a man with sixteen grand slam titles and a nickname Fed-Ex!

Federer vs. Murray

As the first Brit – or Scott, depending on whether he wins or loses – to play in a Wimbledon final since 1938, Andy Murray represents the hopes of a nation trying to regain the glory days of British tennis when Fred Perry won a career grand slam and also held the title of World Champion in Table Tennis.

While winning against Federer may appear to be a stretch for Murray, he does have a realistic shot at winning Wimbledon this year. It is probably not common knowledge that Murray has beaten Federer eight out of the fifteen times they have played against each other. What Murray does not have is a win in a grand slam tournament, which brings into question his ability to close the deal when it matters.

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Well, if his current passing shots are any indication, Murray is clearly not pulling any punches. Federer may want to re-think rushing the net!

Dax Nair
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Comments

10 responses to “I was wrong to bet against Roger Federer!”

  1. A fomer squash player went to smarter game tennis Avatar
    A fomer squash player went to smarter game tennis

    Guess there are not enough big publicized squash tournaments for bookies to be interested in giving odds on.

    Reply
  2. Deji Avatar
    Deji

    Federer was impressive. His ruthless domination of the Scotsman left me convinced that his racquet work and footwork be good enough to make him a competitive house league-level squash player.
    Almost!
    🙂

    Reply
  3. Savi Avatar
    Savi

    I do not think you were wrong. This is just Federer’s last moment of lucidity, his final hurrah before its all over. Becker, Sampras and Aggasi all won (or got to the finals of) that last unexpected major before they faded away…

    Reply
    1. Dax Avatar
      Dax

      Good point! Though Federer will regain top ranking if he wins today; technically a long way from “fading away.”

      Reply
  4. Deji Avatar
    Deji

    The pressure’s on Murray. I don’t think he has the mental toughness to simultaneously handle the on- and off-court pressure. I think he will crumble under the exorbitant expectations of an entire nation. To make things worse for him, Federer has to be riding a confidence high after getting by the world’s number 1 player.
    My prediction; Fed in four.

    Reply
    1. A fomer squash player went to smarter game tennis Avatar
      A fomer squash player went to smarter game tennis

      You got lucky, just had to read the odds on the big time English bookies

      Reply
      1. Deji Avatar
        Deji

        Bookies? Tennis players *need* bookies to explain their game to them; I’m a squash player, we just *know* this stuff. 🙂

        Reply
  5. A used to be tennis partner Avatar
    A used to be tennis partner

    I have a been told, by a tennis enthusiast member, that Murray, will probably retire mid match, due to injury.

    Reply
  6. Dax Avatar
    Dax

    Once bitten, twice shy!

    Reply
  7. A used to be beer buddy. Avatar
    A used to be beer buddy.

    So, you are basically sitting on the fence with this one. You did not say who you thought would take this one. Friendly wager?

    Reply

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