WIMBLEDON 2014 MEN'S FINAL

How long have we waited for tennis champion Roger Federer to return to the Wimbledon arena as a finalist? We are all so proud of Roger, number 4 in the world, of Switzerland, and at the age of 32 is a force to contend with. The contender is Novak Djokovic of Serbia, age 26 and number 1 in the world.

I love both these players, it will be difficult to pull for one and not the other!  But Roger is my favorite for today, he proves that with drive and discipline, age is just a number.

I saw the entire 5 set match, with its twists and turns, its drama and other times of standard play, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic with their distinctive styles. Greatness on Centre Court.

In this article I will again review the "big picture" and highlight the match stats to demonstrate how the winner of this esteemed tournament emerged.

Certainly by now we know that Novak Djokovic won. 

Roger Federer opens the match serving, and in a tiebreaker 9-7 wins SET 1.  The crowd is enthralled! Could perhaps the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) win Wimbledon for an 8th time???????

Next set, Novak Djokovic opens and takes SET 2 at 6-4.

The groundwork is even, anything is possible!

At this point, we see Roger's game breaking down somewhat, but at these championship levels it is hard to tell exactly.  

Novak Djokovic takes SET 3 in another tiebreaker 7-4.

For those pulling for Roger, we are sitting at the edge of our seats, we do not want this match to end, Roger must have all the chances in the world to catch up!

And so he does, he valiantly takes SET 4 at 7-5, after coming back from 2-5 and saving a championship point to Novak. Whew!  Fabulous tennis here.

For our purposes, to see how Novak Djokovic won and what  happened between SET 4 and SET 5, I compare the general stats, here they are per the Wimbledon website~

SET 4 STATISTICS

• SUMMARY STATS

Novak Djokovic		Roger Federer
0	Aces	5
1	Double faults	2
19 of 32 = 59 %	1st serves in	27 of 39 = 69 %
8 of 19 = 42 %	1st serve points won	20 of 27 = 74 %
9 of 13 = 69 %	2nd serve points won	3 of 12 = 25 %
5 of 5 = 100 %	Net points won	13 of 16 = 81 %
2 of 6 = 33 %	Break points won	3 of 5 = 60 %
16 of 39 = 39 %	Receiving points won	15 of 32 = 45 %
8	Winners	16
5	Unforced errors	7
33	Total points won	38

Okay, so what do we see here? What stands out? Roger converted a slow start in SET 4 to a win. This is how he did it~

Roger won because he broke 3 out of 5 points at 60% versus Novak's 2 of 6 at 33%, thus indicating a strong offense. However, we do see here also that Roger created more opportunity for Novak to break his game at 6 chances, but Roger defended well and only allowed 2 converted opportunities.

Roger also clearly won receiving points 45% to Novak's 39%. This is a huge help.  

The GOAT clearly woke up! If he had progressed at the same slow pace as in the beginning of the set, these numbers would be quite different.

Roger has 16 winners to Novak's 8 winners, and total points won 38 to 33.  Close, but Roger's offensive tactics on breaking Novak's serve plus combined with double the number of winners, and 74% of 1st serve points won ALL add up to a win for Roger Federer in SET 4.

As spectators, the collective thought is that 'we have a match here.' 

Okay, SET 5. We know by now it goes to Novak Djokovic, 6-4. How did he do it?

SET 5 STATISTICS

• SUMMARY STATS

Novak Djokovic		Roger Federer
6	Aces	3
1	Double faults	0
17 of 31 = 55 %	1st serves in	17 of 29 = 59 %
13 of 17 = 76 %	1st serve points won	13 of 17 = 76 %
9 of 14 = 64 %	2nd serve points won	7 of 12 = 58 %
5 of 6 = 83 %	Net points won	8 of 14 = 57 %
1 of 4 = 25 %	Break points won	0 of 1 = 0 %
9 of 29 = 31 %	Receiving points won	9 of 31 = 28 %
11	Winners	13
6	Unforced errors	7
31	Total points won	29

Look at how close the total points won are.  Novak 31 to Roger 29.  Only two points!

So, taking a closer look, we see that Novak pumped up his serve and volley game, plus broke Roger by 25% of his opportunity to break at 1 out of 4 times. Roger had 1 opportunity, but it failed. 

To convert a point is huge in championship tennis.

Most of the other stats are similar, but look carefully at aces, 6 to 3, 2nd serve points won at 64% to 58%, all to the advantage of Novak Djokovic.

Net points won (this is crucial, folks!) 83% to 57%- Roger went up to net more winning 8 out of 14, but Novak will beat him on the passing shot here by 6 times. Novak cleanly won his net points at 5 out of 6. Only one passing shot won by Roger, alas.

Roger is certainly playing aggressively here too, he has created a tough 5th set with 13 winners as compared to 11 winners by Novak, but still offsets that with 7 unforced errors versus Novak's 6.  

SUMMARY

What can we glean by all this? Matches are won and lost by a few points here and there. If you have the opportunity to convert a point in your favor, do it! 

No sense in waiting for the next point, when up against a worthy opponent they will take the opportunity themselves, so do it, now!

Also, Roger versus Novak. Roger played defense and offense, and overall Novak played more offensively when given the opportunity, hence the win.

Congratulations, Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon 2014 men's champion!

photo courtesy of Tennis World

Here is a 3 minute YouTube~

What a match!