Djokovic/Murray- Two outstanding players who have been playing sublime tennis in the past one week. Both of them had a tough third round against opponents who managed to take away second set from them. But they kept their cool and sailed to victory by playing great tennis at the right moments. I talked about Fedal in my last post; here is a look at the stats of the remaining two of the top 4 cited by some as arguably the best top 4 in the history of tennis.
Statistics* | Djokovic | Murray |
1st Serve % | 189/271=70% | 177/288=61% |
Aces | 26 | 3 |
Unforced Errors | 53 | 47 |
Winning on 1st Serve | 146/189=77% | 148/177=84% |
Winning on 2nd Serve | 48/81=59% | 57/111=51% |
Winners | 94 | 11 |
Receiving Points Won | 118/279=42% | 131/309=42% |
Break Point Conversions | 14/30=47% | 16/35=46 |
Average 1st Serve Speed | 114 | 11 |
Average 2nd Serve Speed | 94 | 94 |
*includes all the three rounds of Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic:
My Opinion: His Stats amongst the top 4 don’t look that good but does that matter? Grass Court in the past used to be his least favorite surface. But that has been a thing of past now. Who would have thought in Jan’2011 that Novak Djokovic will be a bigger threat to Nadal (& not Federer) for Number 1 spot in the world? Do I need to even write more about the extraordinary rise of this player from Davis Cup last year till now? He has a streak unthinkable in the presence of Federer/Nadal who are arguably the greatest players of the history (44-1). His only weakness till now in Wimbledon seems to be his lapse of concentration in the second set against Baghdatis where he let the set slip away due to his unforced errors. He is looking extremely good and on his day he can beat anyone (Federer/Nadal). My biggest concern would be- Will he be able to handle the pressure of becoming World No.1 and Champion this time or will it be a repetition of French Open semifinal 2011?
Tip: To beat him, one will have to play exemplary tennis. Right now, I can see only two players capable of that (Federer/Nadal) primarily because of their vast experience of playing in Wimbledon and also in pressure moments.
Quote: “I stayed emotionally stable, believing that I can win, and that's what matters the most."
Andy Murray:
My Opinion: Surprisingly, his stats (Aces, Winner) in the first week of this tournament are better than Nadal/Djokovic. As per me, he is a player who has the potential into becoming the next Djokovic who can threaten the top 3 as never before. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a big gap between top 4 and the rest of the players. But Andy has to take that next step where he can go on and win his first Grand Slam. Once he does that, I think the mental barrier will break and we will be destined to see great things from him. He in all chances should reach to the semi-finals but his past performances show that he needs to be strong mentally to move two steps beyond:
Match 1- Rome Masters where he came two points close to ending Djokovic's streak on four occasions but failed to do so.
Match 2- French Open Semi Final- He had a really good match against Nadal but failed to capitalize in pressure moments.
These are just good examples which show that he has a very solid game; only if he can step in at the right moments, he can very well go to the next level .
Tip: To beat him, you need to take him to crunch situations and test his mettle.
Quote: “ I thought I (played to a) very high standard, I hit the ball from the back of the court way better than the last match”
Next Round Matches:
Novak Djokovic vs. Michael Llodra: Against the world no.19, Djokovic will emerge out winner in three sets if only there is no lapse in concentration from his side.
Andy Murray vs. Richard Gasquet: Although there seems to be a lot of talk about this match, I think Murray, if he plays how he has been playing so far, will emerge out to be winner easily. People would remind me of the epic 5 setter they played 3 years ago and how Murray made a terrific first time 2 sets down comeback in his life. It was three years ago, Murray has grown as a player mentally and physically both since then. So I don’t see this is as a 5 setter.
All in All, I see the top 4 reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon if they carry on their current form. Unless there is some extraordinary display of tennis from their opponents and lapse of concentration from the big 4, they will go past their opponents and face each other in what will be the most awaited 2 matches of the season so far.
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(Federer or Nadal? What do first week Wimbledon stats indicate?)
Follow ApekshaHA on Twitter for Latest Updates: http://twitter.com/#!/ApekshaHA
(Federer or Nadal? What do first week Wimbledon stats indicate?)