Wimbledon Thoughts

This year's Wimbledon has lacked a little bit of luster with defending champion and #1 ranked player Rafael Nadal withdrawing prior to the start of the tournament with a knee injury. But as we come upon the championship match, there is buzz growing as we are left with quite an intriguing finale. Roger Federer will be vying for his 15th grand slam title which would break the all-time record he shares with Pete Sampras. Federer will oppose Andy Roddick who will be trying to win his first grand slam title since 2003. Roddick reached the final by playing a masterful semifinal match against Britain's hometown player Andy Murray. Roddick played a great all-around game against Murray, combining his trademark powerful serve with a nice array of serve and volleying and baseline play. Roddick improved on his stellar tiebreaker record for 2009, winning both the 3rd and 4th sets in a tiebreaker. Roddick is now 26-4 in tiebreakers this year, which has to be a big psychological advantage for him whenever he finds himself in a tiebreaker.

Speaking of psychological advantages, Roger Federer has to be feeling very confident for the championship match against Roddick as he has an 18-2 career record against Roddick. In grand slam meetings Federer has a 7-0 record against Roddick. Those 7 grand slam victories include 3 wins in finals and another 3 victories in semifinals. Without Federer around, Andy Roddick would have won several more grand slam titles and may very well be recognized as the best player of his generation. Nonetheless Roddick has a chance on Sunday to spoil Federer's chance at history and claim a monumental victory of his own. Roddick has worked tirelessly on his fitness level and his all around game this past year, and a 2nd grand slam title would be so gratifying and emotional for him. For Roddick to pull of the big upset, he has to continue to get his 1st serves in at a high percentage and serve upwards of 35 aces for the match. I don't care how many grand slam titles Federer has, 140 mph serves are difficult to handle. I also think Roddick's mental toughness has improved so much this year and that will help him stay in the match if he gets behind. Roddick's grand slam results this year have been the best in his career, reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open for the 2nd time, the 4th round at Roland Garros for the 1st time, and reaching the finals of Wimbledon for the 3rd time. These results give Roddick the confidence and mental fortitude necessary to beat Federer.

However, Roger Federer is playing at a place that he has dominated for the past 7 years, going 47-1 at Wimbledon since 2003. Federer is by far the greatest player of my generation and he will not let this opportunity at history slip away. I predict that Federer will beat Roddick in 4 sets and will win his record breaking 15th grand slam title.