Quality Tennis Discussion / 2014 Wimbledon Contest: Fred Perry, who?

**Posted by funches** 7/02/2014 9:50 am

I was pretty sure Raonic would take out Nadal if they played. Rafa does not move as well as did when he was younger, particularly on grass, and he received the draw from hell with a series of big servers matching up against his lousy first-serve return.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 7/05/2014 8:53 am

For a player who has a history of questionable mental strength, Kvitova seemingly disconnects any head issues when she's in the Wimbledon final. You would think that the moment would overwhelm her, but it doesn't.

**Posted by funches** 7/06/2014 12:04 am

It is interesting.

She had a sweet draw, though. I was amazed that Chris Evert and both McEnroes picked Bouchard to win today. Based on what? Oh yeah, she's pretty and it fit a storyline of a young emerging star, but that was never going to be a close match. Bouchard benefitted big time from Halep's ankle injury in the semis, and how was she supposed to handle Kvitova's nasty serve standing inside the baseline?

In general, too many people make their picks based on storylines rather than tennis. I've never been a Kvitova believer, but her pedigree on grass was considerably better than Bouchard's.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 7/06/2014 6:56 am

I think there was probably a 50% chance that Kvitova would be the questionable headcase that misses a lot.

Bouchard's tactics were pretty poor. She should have adjusted and stood back to return Kvitova's serves; being stubborn and standing closer was bad. It probably wouldn't have helped that much, but it couldn't do any worse.

What do you think of Sock/Pospisil beating the Bryans in the doubles final?

**Posted by funches** 7/06/2014 10:16 am

I actually watched an abbreviated version of the doubles final on The Tennis Channel last night. Sock played out of his mind on the forehand side, and Pospisil was excellent everywhere. In recent years Wimbledon has yielded the strangest doubles winners, including the Brit Jonathan Marray in 2012. Melzer and Petzshner in 2010 and the two-time losing finalists Lindstedt and Tecau.

Sock and Pospisil looked like the better team in the fifth set, and the Bryans were playing well. I have no real answer for the strange results in doubles, but I guess on grass it's all about the serve and the return, so when you get two good singles players with power like Sock and Pospisil, they are more dangerous as a first-time pairing than they would be on a surface with longer points and more teamwork required.

**Posted by funches** 7/08/2014 12:23 pm

An interesting note:

You could argue that Karlovic and Townsend finished last. Karlovic lost to Dancevic who lost to Kukushin who lost to Nadal who lost to Kyrgios who lost to Raonic who lost to Federer who lost to Djokovic. Townsend lost to Koukalova who lost to Keys who lost to Shvedova who lost to Lisicki who lost to Halep who lost to Bouchard who lost to Kvitova.

Townsend says her best surface was grass and appeared to be a threat to win a few matches after her run at Roland Garros. I watched some of her match with Koukalova online and she looked slow, with that extra weight she carries around impeding her. As for Karlovic, it would be funny if he won Newport this week after finishing last at Wimbledon.

**Posted by Forehand_lob** 7/11/2014 1:30 pm

The contest results were about as close as the women's final (and no surprise, so I didn't rush to get them up).

funches: 109.5
Forehand_lob: 76.5

You predicted all the men's semifinals onwards (thanks to the sub of Raonic over Nishikori). I had better women's quarterfinals picks (Bouchard and Kvitova) but made all the wrong ones after that. Alas.

Congrats, funches!

**Posted by funches** 7/14/2014 3:41 pm

Thanks.

If Federer had taken the fifth set against Djokovic, you would have won. So it was not nearly as lopsided as the final score indicates.