Two kinds of great matches

Yesterday at Wimbledon there were two great matches on the men’s side.  Rafa Nadal lost 13-15 in the 5^th set to Gilles Muller.  This was a great match in which several match points for Muller were nullified by Nadal’s typically intrepid play.  Muller was the better player in the 5^th set but still had to go to 15-13 to win it.  This mastch was great for all of the typical reasons, mainly drama and the thrill of tight competition.  Although both players showed good endurance throughout the 5^th set, Nadal became atypically testy as the set went on, an attribute that may well have been due to mental fatigue.  Anyway, my pick to win it, Nadal, is out.

The other match featured Roger Federer against Grigor Dimitrov, who has had a good year and who has a great game for grass.  Federer totally dominated this match, winning in straight sets.  Why then, was this also a “great” match? 

The answer is the play of Federer, who produces enthralling shots in nearly all of his matches.  The great thing about Roger is that even when the score is lopsided, his shotmaking is so fabulous that the match is still great fun to watch.  Below are listed what I thought were some of his best shots in this one, and you can watch them on line if you like.

Before showing those shots, I wanted to comment on what I believe was

overly  harsh criticism of Dimitrov by John McEnroe.  Dimitrov was in against the greatest grass court player ever, playing at his highest level.  Sometimes the opponent is just too good, a was the case for Federer in this match.  So, here are the shots to see:

First set, 1-1, 40-15, Dimitrov serving.

First set, 2-2, 0-0, Dimirov serving

Second set, 5-2, 30-0, Federer serving

Third set, 2-2, 40-15, Dimitrov serving

Third set, 3-2, 15-15, Federer serving

Enjoy these!

Happenings on the women’s side include the early exit of Karolina Pliskova, my pick to win it all, the continued success of Venus Williams, and the continued success as well of Jelena Ostapenko, who is backing up her French Open win impressively.  Watch out for Johanna Konta, who has the crowd on her side, and Garbine Muguruza, who knocked out Kerber and who has made the finals before.