2012 Wimbledon Running Thread

It would be great to see Murray win only so we don't hear any more about poor Britain's drought (although Murray is, oh my, Scottish!).

 

Love the matchup, but can't pick against Federer, especially on grass.

 

And he's played lights out in this tournament. And doesn't have the weight of a nation on his back (though I don't really think that will make a difference). I'll take Roger, too.

 

He's only Scottish when he loses. When he wins, he's British.

 

A Scotsman at Wimbledon? I'll take the blancmange and the points.

 

I can only imagine how great the pressure will be on Murray. But, hey, some people thrive on that environment. Will be interesting to see how he handles it.

No, I'm not making excuses in advance. I do think Federer is the better, especially on grass. And Federer has been in this position soooo many times before. I think Federer will be sufficiently motivated to win a major at age 30, when lots of people were writing him off in favor of Nadal and Djokovic.

 

Kate Middleton to the royal box in the final. No Prince Charles or William citing longstanding personal engagements on that date...

 

Federer looked very pedestrian against the Frenchman Bettaneau. Think Murray just needs to serve well and keep giving Federer the opportunity to make mistakes on his backhand without just hitting weak shots back in play. I remember Virginia Wade in '77; maybe its Murray's time now.

 

Minor correction: Federer's back issues arose during his four-set win over Xavier Malisse, in the fourth round. But yes, he's looked very good since then.

That said, I have a nagging feeling that he's about to step on a banana peel. Everyone seems to think he's a big favorite, but Murray actually leads their head-to-head series 8-7. All of those were on hard courts, and I think the grass gives Federer a bit of an advantage. But it's not an easy match for him anywhere. Moreover, I expect the crowd to be overwhelmingly on Murray's side, and I wonder how Federer will handle that. He's used to being the crowd favorite just about everywhere he plays, and now he's facing something of a perfect storm -- given the opponent and the tournament -- of crowd support for the other guy. That might bother Federer a bit and mess with his head. I also have doubts that he can take the last step and close the deal, given the opportunities he's let slip recently (losing to Del Potro in the '09 U.S. Open final, blowing match points against Djokovic in the U.S. Open semis the last two years, losing a two-set lead against Tsonga at Wimby last year).

Of course, it's also quite possible that Murray will feel the pressure of playing for all of Britain and Scotland and crumble. But it just seems to me as if a storybook ending is set up for Murray. I hope I'm wrong, though. (Nothing against Murray; I'm just a Federer fan.)

As for the women's final, I'll be surprised if Serena's not holding the trophy by 10:15 a.m. EST.