Monday, November 23, 2015

WTF Recap: Unflappable in the End


Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

Well, here we go again. Just one more piece after this and then 2015 is in the books and done apart from the wrapping. Like all good presents the wrap is coming soon, but we must finish the present first. So here we go.

In the doubles, the excitement fizzled out after a fiery finish in the group stage. At the beginning of this week Dodig/Melo had an opportunity to end as the year end doubles number ones. That soon disappeared and it would be another disappointing result for them in the semi-finals. The third seeds lost 6-4, 6-2 to surprise package Bopanna/Mergea. It was a very poor showing from a team that could have been the top ranked pair at year end.

In the other semi-final, the match should have been superb on paper. But tennis is not played on paper and the match did not live up to its billing. The winner would be ranked the top pair in the world for 2015. The Bryans capped off a forgettable year with a forgettable loss. They went down 6-4, 6-4 to Rojer/Tecau. The victorious pair sealed the top ranking and then went on to play the Cinderella pair in the final. Surely, however, it would not be as easy as it looked.

In the final, it really was that easy. It was never close as the upstarts' magic ran out. The pairs had met in Rome and Paris. Both were high quality three set wins for Rojer/Tecau. They met in the Wimbledon final where the same pair won, but this time in five sets, 13-11 in the fifth. With a 6-4, 6-3 win here they improve to 4-0 in the head to head. The new number ones rode seven aces to a 75% service point win ratio. They broke early in the first and held on for a 6-4 victory. The eighth seeds never broke. They only had two opportunities. In the next set once they were broken they slowly faded. It was a clinical performance by the world’s best players and defending Wimbledon champions.



In the first semi-final of the men’s event, Djokovic outclassed Nadal once again. Rafa just looked old and ineffective. He was never in the match and went down 6-3, 6-3. That match should really have been the late night match. Perhaps they were right. It was the marginally more boring match. It’s the end of the year and our last three matches were all dull. Well, if you count the Davis Cup as a separate entity. Djokovic broke Rafa three times while never being break point down himself. Their rivalry sits at 23 wins apiece now.

In the second semi-final, Federer edged out a tight set 7-5 before sweeping to a 7-5, 6-3 victory. There just isn’t much to say. Wawrinka had a fantastic victory over Murray in two sets. He was on form but lost his serve three times while only winning 59% of his serves. Federer continued his dominance of the Swiss number two. He won 64% of his second service points which helped him improve his record to 18-3. We’re in Sharapova/Serena territory here, which means embarrassment.



In the final of the men’s event, Federer was unable to summon much and fell 6-3, 6-4. He saved 6 break points but you can’t give the world number one nine chances. When he has that good a return you especially can’t give him any near that amount of chances. Federer was not particularly poor, Djokovic was just too strong and unflappable when it mattered. Federer is at 22-22 with Djokovic, while Djokovic is at 23-23 with Nadal. On that note I am done.



Please do go and visit WTA BACKSPIN . I will see soon for the Davis Cup. Perhaps that will give us some fireworks. I believe Great Britain scrapes through 3-2, with Murray carrying the team on his shoulders once more.

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posted by Todd.Spiker @ 11:43 PM 

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