Andy Murray was hugely impressive in his straight sets demolition of Richard Gasquet of France. Murray seems to have found the right formula for winning against the better players. He did not wait for his opponent to make a mistake. He took the ball early on the return of serve and in the rallies, rushing Gasquet into numerous errors.
It is this type of play that will give Murray a chance to take the title. Murray is scheduled to meet Nadal in the semis, but Nadal has a mountain to climb in Juan Martin Del Potro the huge serving Argentinian. They are currently locked at one set all. Nadal took a medical time out to treat a troublesome foot
In other matches, Bernard Tomic, the German born Australian, swept past Xavier Malisse into the his first quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic, who has trained with Tomic, has predicted a bright future for the 18-year old. And this marks the end of Lleyton Hewitt’s long reign as the Aussie number one.
Aisam Qureshi and partner Kveta Peschke crashed out of the mixed doubles, losing to Ehrlich and Peer from Israel. This was a disappointing performance as neither player could hold their serve with any consistency. This concludes a rather flat Wimbledon campaign for Aisam, losing in the first round of the men’s as well as mixed doubles
The second weekend of Wimbledon is what separates the men from the boys. And indeed, of the 16 players in the fourth round, only one, Tomic from Australia, is 18-years old. The rest are well into their twenties, with Federer fast approaching thirty, being one of the seniors. This is a far cry from the years when Boris Becker won the championships at 17 and then just to show that it was no fluke, won it the next year as well.
Another notable aspect of the way the championships have played out so far has been the absence of American players in the very top echelons. Only Mardy Fish has survived till the second week. Andy Roddick is past his best and the two Ryans, Harrison and Sweeting, still have a ways to go. Harrison has shown signs that should he calm his temperament, he could be a force in the not too distant future.
The problem is, as many experts have stated so often, is that the Americans train mostly on hard courts. This aggressive game stood them in good stead as long as Wimbledon had the fast courts with the light balls. Players from the American universities would come and make their mark, even win.
Things have changed drastically since then. Wimbledon has raised the height of their grass by a millimeter or two, slowing it down appreciably. The balls are a lot fluffier and are opened well before the fortnight, making them even slower. And then there are the European and South American players, who have trained on the slow, red clay. Their game is based on rock solid ground strokes which they can hit all day. They are fitter because of this and can outlast the hard court players with their court craft and steadiness. Add to that a big serve and volleys and you have a player that is incredibly tough to beat.
Of the sixteen players in the fourth round, only Fish is a fast court player. Innately talented, with good ground strokes, he could be expected to go further but has come up against last year’s finalist Thomas Berdych, another clay court product with a huge serve.
The USA is making frantic efforts now to construct red clay courts, having realized that no amount of coaching can atone for the lack of a proper playing environment.
In Pakistan, we are hamstrung by a lack of quality courts. Either there is the fast grass of Lahore or Peshawar with uneven bounce or the fast hard courts of Karachi. Neither is conducive to a proper environment for players’ development. The clay in Rawalpindi is very high maintenance and does not provide an even bounce so necessary for player development.
An attempt has been made to build a red clay court in Islamabad but the court leaves much to be desired. The PTF would be well advised to convert some of the clay courts built by Dilawar Abbas’ disastrous regime into red clay.
