Time extended: Wimbledon 2012 thoughts

Since I was on holiday in France when Wimbledon was on, and they don't care much for tennis if it's not Roland Garros, I missed about 95% of Wimbledon. I recorded "Today at Wimbledon" on BBC2 and play from some random days, and finally got through all the tennis footage I could watch today. So, here are some thoughts on what I saw, keeping in mind I hardly saw everything.

Berdych - Gulbis on Center Court for whatever reason. And Gulbis actually winning. Almost like the whole thing was, you know, scripted. Gulbis post-match interview was pretty great though.

Nadal going out early was obviously a big shock. Well, the result, but if you saw the match, you couldn't help but admire Rosol. He was playing with no fear, refused to be intimidated by Nadal's tactics (including this little bump), and just looked like a supercharged Söderling or Berdych. I was following the livescores and I was sure Nadal would win in 4 if not 5, so yeah, that was quite a shock.

Federer - Benneteau, a day after Nadal - Rosol. Federer was 2 points away from an early exit in that 4th set tie break. Just to put things in perspective.

Clijsters losing to Kerber. Not that big of an upset, but the scoreline (6-1, 6-1) was pretty harsh. Last Wimbledon for Kim as well.

Federer - Malisse. I actually saw this match (streaming on my laptop), and I was very very worried when Federer asked for a medical time-out. Malisse, a big Federer fan, was upset too, so upset he lost the match :)

Murray - Ferrer. Murray very close to being 2 sets down at one point. Just to put things in perspective.
Related to that: Murray - Tsonga. Both matches were similar in the way Andy reacted afterwards: huge relief, a sense of gratitude, and pointing up, looking up, and even talking to the sky. Would love to know what was going on in his mind at that time.

Federer - Djokovic. Djokovic certainly wasn't 100% that day, but Federer had a focus (and first serve) I didn't see in his recent slam semifinals. Did the closed roof help? I think it helped Federer to focus on his own game, but I don't think it was a disadvantage to Djokovic in any way. Federer was just better that day, and that's all that matters in the end. From what I saw, the match wasn't as good as last year's Roland Garros semifinal, but the third set was great.

Federer - Murray. It was so good to see Murray focused and aggressive. Before the match, I was torn on who would win this, the way Murray played in his previous 2 matches he really could win against Federer. After the first set, I was 100% convinced he could win this. But, the momentum changed. The first time with Federer basically breaking Murray out of nowhere at the end of the second set. Then the rain break/closing of the roof, did that help Federer again? Same answer as with the Djokovic match. I think the most important momentum swing in this match was that 20 minute game, in which Federer eventually broke Murray to get ahead 4-2. Murray needed a few games to recover from that, and by that time he was already a break behind in the fourth set. Still, it was a great match, easily the best final for me in some years, I'd even say the best since Federer-Roddick in 2009 (and no, I'm not just saying that as a Federer fan, but as a fan of fast, aggressive tennis and drama).

Murray's runner-up speech. Yes, like a lot of people in the audience, I got something in my eye. What can I say? I don't feel sorry for him at all, I'm happy he's actually made it a great match, it was the best slam final he played. That he came up short might be heartbreaking now, but just like Federer I'm sure he'll win (at least!) one eventually. He can beat Nadal, he can beat Federer, and if Djokovic plays like he did in the semis now he could beat him too. It will happen, I'm sure of it.
I also can't help but notice most of the people downplaying Murray are Brits who only ever watch tennis when Murray's playing. Murray might have not won a slam, but he's up against three of the best guys who have ever played this sport. I say he's doing pretty damn well. And this final proved that, thanks to Ivan Lendl's help, he really is improving, both mentally and game-wise (more aggressive). He really deserves more respect from his countrymen.