Wimbledon 2014: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic uphold the old order in men's final, as Federer seeks record eighth title
In a Wimbledon where observers have sensed the era of the Fab Four dominating may be coming to a close, we are still left with two of the big names to fight it out for the title in Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
While Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic, and Australia's own Nick Kyrgios flew the flag for the younger generation of players, and defending champion Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal both made early exits from the tournament, in the end it has come down to two of the usual dominant suspects.
There is plenty on the line for both players, with Djokovic a win away from regaining the world number one ranking from Nadal, while Federer (a month before his 33rd birthday) would become the oldest man to win Wimbledon in the Open Era, and the first man to win eight Wimbledon crowns, surpassing America's Pete Sampras.
Despite the pair's shared history, this will be only the second meeting between them at SW19.
The only previous meeting was in the semi-finals in 2012, where they played under a closed roof and Federer prevailed in four sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Overall, they have played 11 times in grand slams, and Federer has the edge 6-5, although Djokovic holds a 5-4 lead in finals.
There is also the opportunity for Federer to make a statement to the tennis world by taking a 18th grand slam title, two years after his last win at Wimbledon.
With the recent dominance of Nadal, many had considered that the Swiss master's time to add to his list of triumphs had come and gone.
But Federer has been in strong form this Wimbledon fortnight, dropping only one set in six matches, when he lost the opening set against fellow countryman Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.
On the other side of the draw, the number one seed Djokovic has struggled a little, dropping a set to Radek Stepanek in round two, then being taken to five sets by big-serving Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals, followed by a four-setter against Dimitrov in the last four.
If Federer can clinch another Wimbledon win, it will strengthen his claims as the best player of all time, moving him four titles clear of Sampras (14), not to mention stamping his dominance on grass one more time.
For Djokovic, the final shapes as particularly important to reverse his recent trend in grand slam finals - five losses in his last six deciders, and defeats in his last three attempts.
Either way, Wimbledon is set for a dramatic finale.
original post found her http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-06/federer-seeks-record-eighth-title-against-djokovic-at-wimbledon/5575306
No comments :
Post a Comment