I am just typing this blog after watching Roger Federer deliver an absolute masterclass to reach yet another Grand Slam final. His 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was amazing in its ruthlessness.
I mean……this is a Grand Slam semi-final……you are not supposed to thrash players in semi-finals. So that sets up what should be a mouth watering prospect of meeting Andy Murray in the final.
This is Murray’s second Slam final after losing to Federer in the 2008 US Open final. I think that with Nadal struggling with injury then it should be only a matter of time before Murray wins a slam. Federer is getting older and ever nearer 30 so how much longer can he stay at the top?
The good news for Murray is that he actually has a plus score against Federer in their own respective head to heads. But Federer in a grand Slam final is something else and Murray after all is trying to break new ground psychologically.
What cannot be helping him is the pressure of becoming the first British winner of a Slam for 74 years. But if Djokovic, Roddick and Del Potro can win a slam then Murray can.
What should also be another fascinating encounter is the women’s final between Serena Williams and Justine Henin. The little Belgian is only in her second tournament back after retirement and to reach the final of a slam is amazing.
What are my predictions? I really do not know, there are many variables that you cannot predict. How will Federer’s age (it has to come into effect sometime) play a role? How will Murray handle the pressure of a final? How will Federer playing a day later affect him?
Many of the same variables affect the Williams vs Henin match and I think that it is the unknown factors that make both of these matches fascinating.
See you soon
Carl
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