Ruthless Rosol Ousts Nervy Nadal

by Dugald Skene

You could argue that Nadal was under par in his first round match at Wimbledon this year, but it was simply put down to an early grass season blip. A set lost, sure, but nobody realistically saw this as a genuine sign of things to come.

And then came Lukas Rosol.

The Czech and world ranked 100th player, Rosol produced the perfect game last night as he didn't just capitalise on a below par Nadal, but blew the second seed out of centre court with a phenomenal display of power, pace and precision.

Standing taller: Rosol after beating No.2 seed Nadal

Tied at 2 sets each, the match was suspended due to poor light as the players retreated to the locker room as the new roof was closed over. Having won the 4th set 6-2, the momentum at that point was well in favour of the Spaniard, who will no doubt have been frustrated with the break.

Instead, it provided an opportune few moments for Rosol to compose and reset. What happened after the resumption of play, nobody would have predicted.

With Nadal serving first, an undoubted advantage, Rosol used his brilliant forehand return to break, immediately turning the advantage in his favour. From then on, there was no stopping him, and the final set stats tell the story: 20 winners, 1 point conceded in final three service games, 3 aces and a winner to see out the match winning game.

He just didn't slow down, averaging 19 seconds between points compared to Nadal's 26, upsetting Nadal's tempo and refusing to let the Spaniard settle into any kind of rhythm. His shot selection and execution was of a man who had been winning on grass all his career. In actual fact, this was only his second win on grass and only his 18th tour victory ever. In his previous 5 attempts, Rosol had never even made it past the first qualifying round for Wimbledon.

But perhaps the most impressive factor was the complete lack of any apparent nerves from the Czech. His almost robotic, emotionless style was unrelenting, leaving Nadal little chance in most rallies.

Perhaps the biggest shock at Wimbledon in a decade, Rosol has certainly restored faith in the underdog.

Speaking of which, Andy Murray will be smiling quietly somewhere as he has seen his biggest rival in his side of the draw fall by the wayside. The Scotsman has never managed to beat two of the 'big 3' in consecutive matches in a Grand Slam, and with Nadal now eliminated, he won't have to. There are still plenty of potential banana skins before we start talking finals though, not least Frenchman Joe Wilfred Tsonga and who knows, a showdown with Rosol himself.

A great night for Wimbledon, a great night for tennis. Congratulations Lukas Rosol.

As for Nadal, he has now gone almost 2 years since last winning a tour event on anything but clay. Visibly distraught by the loss, he still took time to sign autographs as he trudged off court for another year. He's still a fans favourite and he will be back, of that there is no doubt.

Murray Victory Over Djokovic Scant Consolation For Open Loss

by Dugald Skene

Andy Murray suggested in the run up to his Dubai Masters semi-final with Novak Djokovic that victory would go some way to getting over any hangover pain following the epic semi-final loss in the Australian Open a few weeks ago.

As it turned out, Murray beat Djokovic as he so often does when he plays the other three quarters of the top 4 in the second tier of tennis tournaments.  As much consolation as Murray may have got from this, he would have wanted it to actually mean something and that would have been to follow it up by beating Roger Federer in the final.

Murray has been here so many times before and we are starting to see it more often in the grand slam tournaments through each year.  It’s all very well beating one of the big boys, but he will realistically have to do it twice in quick order if he has aspirations of winning a major tournament.

Sunday’s match with Federer was the classic example.  Having reasonably comfortably dispatched Djokovic in straight sets, it was thought that Murray would have adequate reserves to give Federer a run for his money and for many, myself included, he entered the final as favourite.

As much as he played very well however, it was Federer than came out on top winning 7-5  6-4.

Andy Murray came up second best in Dubai against Federer

Ok, it wasn’t a major final, but it was symptomatic of how Murray has been performing in those larger tournaments. Murray has now made it to 4 grand slam finals and each time has come unstuck to other members of the all-powerful quartet.

Physically, he seems stronger and fitter than he has ever been and looks to be right up there in that respect.  Technically, he is extremely gifted and has all of the shots in his locker.  That only leaves the psychological element and it’s here that we all seem to question his ability.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Murray is playing tennis in an unprecedented era.  At no other time in the game has there been three other players at a level higher than a player of his calibre for such a long period of time.  I firmly believe that in any other era, say up until 2005 or 2006, a player of his current quality would have won a major by now.  It must be incredibly frustrating to play against these guys and lose consistently on the biggest of stages.  Just as Federer’s star appears to be fading slightly and Rafael Nadal’s form isn’t quite what it was, Novak Djokovic steps up a level to start sweeping the board.  It must affect him mentally.

He will win a major, of that I am sure.  How he does that is yet to be seen, but many predict that if he does, it will be a tarnished victory because it will come down to an injury to an opponent or rival, or he didn’t have to beat one of the other 3 top players.

Although he didn’t win on Sunday, he has proved over the last few years that he can beat these guys.  If he does it again to win a major, all the better, but he would deserve that victory regardless.