It's been an incredibly entertaining fortnight at SW19 and it all comes to close today as the men's singles final takes place with history on the line for both players. For Andy Murray he can finally win a Grand Slam and get rid of that demon that's been haunting him for years. It would fulfil all his dreams and to do it here at Wimbledon would be a magnificent moment for the Scot. For Federer he's competing in his eighth Wimbledon final and a win here would be his seventh title which would tie legendary Pete Sampras' record of seven titles here. The only final Federer has ever lost here was when he was beaten in the greatest match in Wimbledon, and possibly tennis, history to Rafa Nadal in 2008. So no matter what the outcome we will see a piece of history made when the final point is played.
Murray began his journey against Russian Nikolay Davydenko in the first round and was a comfortable winner but faced a stiff test from giant Ivo Karlovic in round two. He could have found himself in serious trouble when he went into a third set tiebreak but he came through it and took the match in four sets. Murray was again pushed to four sets in the third round against Marcos Baghdatis but under the Centre Court roof he came through 6-1 in the fourth to book his place in the second week. That week began with a potentially tricky tie against Marin Cilic but Cilic wasn't at his best after playing the second longest match in Wimbledon history the previous round while Murray played near his best to take it in straight sets. David Ferrer had a great chance to end the Scot's run but after winning the first set he couldn't capitalise on numerous chances and made so many uncharacteristic errors which are criminal when you face Murray. Murray took the match in four very tight sets in a highly entertaining match. Yet another semi final appearance for Murray came on Friday but this time there was a major difference. This time Murray wasn't facing Rafa Nadal who has beaten Murray time and time again in Grand Slams in recent years. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was his opponent and the Frenchman simply didn't turn up at all. He wasn't near his aggressive best and played very passive tennis which against Andy Murray is sinful. Murray is a master of long rallies like that and if your not going to go for your shots then Murray will take you apart. Murray took that game in four sets and so reached his first Wimbledon final.
Roger Federer began his tournament with a straight forward win over Albert Ramos and he then disposed over Italian Fabio Fognini in similar fashion and going into the third round had only lost nine games. Playing the day after Nadal's shocking exit Federer found himself in all sorts of trouble against Julian Benneteau. Benneteau won the first two sets and seemed to have the belief that if Rosol can beat Nadal he can beat Federer but the Swiss star showed why he's the greatest player of all time and came back to win in five. Roger again faced trouble in round four against Xavier Malisse when he was suffering from a back injury and was a set all but a break down in the third. Roger again proved his class and came through in four sets. In the quarter final Federer was simply astonishing. He showed no signs of the back injury that threatened to ruin his quest to return to number one. Mikhail Youzhny was his victim this time and the Russian managed just five games as Federer brushed him aside. After the US Open last year Federer claimed he would get back the number one ranking and in the semi final against Djokovic it all came down to one match. Beating Djokovic would give him the opportunity to win the Grand Slam they said he wouldn't and return to the top of the rankings like they said he wouldn't. Roger was brilliant in the semis and beat Novak in four sets to reach yet another final.
It looks like rain is going to be a major factor in the final and it could possibly be played entirely under a roof. That, for me, would suit Federer. Roger is one of the greatest indoor players I've ever seen and he's probably the greatest grass court player ever along with Sampras. So combine the two and it's a daunting task to beat him under the roof at Wimbledon. Murray would be expected to have the crowd on his side but I don't think it will be that simple. Federer is loved throughout the world and especially here so I would expect the crowd to get behind both players. Murray will have to handle the pressure better than he has in his three Grand Slam finals so far. He has been simply destroyed in all three by Djokovic at the Australian Open and more importantly twice against Federer in New York and Melbourne. The key for Murray is to start well and hold serve comfortably early on and find his rhythm as soon as he can or else Federer will sense the nerves and feats upon them.
I've made no secret of what I think of Murray's second serve and I was very disappointed by Tsonga and Cilic and how they approached the game against Murray. Murray has a strong tendency to kick his second serve into the middle of the box with no real pace and for me that is not good enough. I think it's very attackable and if you keep being aggressive and attacking it then you will get the rewards. Not only do you win points off the second serve but it puts him under pressure to get the first serve in and under that pressure he starts to take the pace off the serve and then his first serve becomes a target to attack. Cilic has got the weapons to destroy Murray but he was too passive. He got involved in long rallies and Murray picked him apart with ease. Tsonga then done the same thing, he didn't show the aggression we seen against Fish or for that matter anytime we've seen Tsonga. He was slicing every second shot and Murray was all too comfortable. Murray has had a very high percentage of first serves in but I think that's a direct result of no pressure on second serve. Against Federer he won't have that freedom. Roger will not sit back and defend it's simply not his style. The Swiss maestro will be aggressive and that's why he's the greatest. Now I know I expected Tsonga to play that way and be aggressive and he failed but I have no doubt Federer will play that way. I seen part of his warm up this morning and he was hitting with the legend that is Fabrice Santoro and that's very interesting. Santoro has got a wide variety of slices and Federer will have experienced all sorts of shots with Santoro. Federer spent a considerable amount of time returning serves and I noticed that he was stepping up into the court and hitting through the ball which leads me to believe he will be attacking the serve.
We could all see how Murray felt after winning on Friday and he was very emotional which was in contrast to Federer's reaction to beating Djokovic. Federer spoke of how little a reaction he made yesterday. "I'm aware that the tournament's not over yet. I didn't break down crying and fall to my knees and thought the tournament is over and I achieved everything I ever wanted. Honestly, it happens faster than you think it does. Then all of a sudden you come out the next match and you're not the same anymore because you're emotionally too drained already and you think it's been a great tournament. That could be interpreted as a reaction to the tears we saw from Murray and dramatic reactions we saw. Since that devastating loss to Djokovic at last year's US Open Federer has been astonishing. He could have been forgiven for losing interest at his age and seeing Nadal and Djokovic dominating the sport but instead he said he will make number one again and he will win another Grand Slam. Since then he's won seven ATP titles and today he can add both that number one ranking and the Grand Slam and complete a remarkable year for the Swiss star.
In my opinion this match will be very similar to their Australian Open final. I think that Federer is going to win this one and unfortunately for Murray fans I think it might just be comfortable. Federer will expose Murray's weaknesses and I would bet my life that we see Murray lose his temper at stage of the match. I don't buy into the media belief that Murray is no longer mentally poor and is now an aggressive player since Lendl took over as his coach. I think that's rubbish and we only see the aggression in early round matches and as Rod Laver said today "He might be up a break and serving 40-30 and he just puts the ball in play". That's not aggression that's weak play and the disappointing part of it is that Murray has got seriously good shots when he does hit through the ball. Murray isn't stronger mentally either. We've seen him shouting and slapping his racquet throughout this year under Ivan Lendl. I just think that Federer is so much stronger mentally and will handle the occasion better and at the end of the day Roger Federer has got tons more talent than Andy Murray and that's going to show today. I think it's going to be Federer in three straight sets.
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