[Mark]

Mod Notice

Argument between kris and Emma has been moved to this topic.

[Katie]

That was just a couple of points and given that it was a final match, anyone would get nervous when they are serving 2nd and facing a couple of set points. Federer would be nervous too but still, it wasn't the deciding moment and I am sure Andy knew it too at that point. It was a pretty tight set and Andy had 4 break points and Federer had 2. Anyway, in the 3rd set after the rain delay, Andy's serve dropped significantly while Federer's increased significantly. Even Federer admitted that the roof gave him the advantage as he started to serve much better because of the no wind situation. Federer was truly excellent in converting breakpoints something Andy failed to do in each set starting from the 2nd and that happened way before the final game in the 2nd set. Oh well, when all is said and done, really.

I don't think Andy was nervous at the end of the 2nd set - he played well in that game, but Federer surprised him with those drop volleys. I think that was the main momentum shift in the match back towards Federer and enabled him to relax and play his best tennis from then on (aided by the roof). It's unfortunate that Andy wasn't able to take his breakpoint chances from earlier in the 2nd set - his shots were only out by a small margin and he played the points in the right way by going for his shots. He was the better player throughout most of the set too, just a shame that he was serving second.

[Emma Jean]

Any interruption in a final match like this one bound to have an affect on the overall outcome of the match. Because there was a rain delay that followed by closing of the roof, it's hard to say what would have happened if there was no rain delay. I mean Andy lost the 4th set at the AO so poorly and then got behind 2-5 in the final set so quickly that, at that point, it was very hard to imagine he was going to level things to 5 all. And there was no interruptions so I am still inclined to draw any firm conclusion that, the moment had already shifted in Federer's favour by the time rain arrived and they had to close the roof. It's a bit too conclusive for me. Too many unknowns.

[Emma Jean]

Think of Andy’s situation for a moment. This was his first time Wimbledon final and 4th try in total and he had yet to win a Slam at that time, so obviously this was a huge moment for him. He needed to stay in one state of mind but it got interrupted in the middle and it was a very big interruption, because this also meant they were going to close the roof; therefore, complete change of scenario.

This also gave Andy unnecessary time to think about things and reflect on things and typically what you remember is your very last moments and he must have gone over those lost break point opportunities and how he quickly lost the set to Federer in a matter of a few moments. On the other hand, it gave crucial mental advantage to Federer who’s now thinking, “okay, I’ve got the 2nd set and the roof is coming on, so I am definitely in a much better situation than I started off.” And sometimes, it only takes that much to change the whole outcome. That’s on top of how well Federer is familiar with Andy’s mindset because game-wise I don’t think Federer truly believes that he’s any superior to Andy. Because when Andy started of very aggressive, Federer had to take a backseat and needed other help to cool things off.

So given that so much was at stake for both players, they should have definitely had the roof closed from the start. That way, there wouldn’t have been any interpretations of play and also, this would have given Andy a better chance to get the momentum back again. It should be noted that the shift of momentum is not restricted to one change only and with only one outcome. It can happen (especially with Andy as we’ve seen it so many times in the past) multiple times in one match.  This is actually a very good match to discuss given different elements.

[Emma Jean]

The best outcome for that match would have been no bloody rain at all.
He really could have pulled it off this year i think, the composure and determination were fianlly there.I honestly think that with just a little bit of luck or at least fairer more evenly spread draws and scheduling, he will build on this & one of the next two slams shall be his.

Absolutely but he just got unlucky again. I guess against the luckiest player of all time, that's bound to happen at one point. But Andy's time is just kicking in. As I said before, who knows how all things are going to end in the end. Until and unless we know that, we will just have to sit back and watch how it all unfolds before our eyes.

[theycanbillme]

It would be so great if Andy won the US Open. Then the top four would have a slam each - when did that last happen?

It could be in the stars and would be great for tennis too.
Unlike Federer getting yet another Wimbledon crown 
I dont think anyone apart for his fans gave a damn.
At least when Andy starts getting them we will have a much better appreciation of just how hard earned & well deserved it has been.
And that will be a reward that we shall deserve as his fans too.

[Aileen]

The best outcome for that match would have been no bloody rain at all.

I said in an earlier post that the roof should have been closed from the start, but thinking about it again I realise that the best thing, certainly from Andy's point of view, would have been for the organisers to have started the final earlier.  Given the fact that it was known by late Saturday that heavy rain was forecast for around 4 pm, mid-day would have been ideal, and if that didn't suit the strawberry 'n' pimms brigade, tough!  But as with Henman/Ivanisevic in 2001 the powers-that-be chose to ignore the weather warning no doubt because they knew that the roof could be used, as usual suiting themselves and not the players.  I'm sure the BBC and other television companies would have had time to change their schedules.

[Aileen]

They built the roof because of the rain and it could have just rained all day on Sunday. But, in general, I don't like the idea of any of the majors playing under a roof. It just defeats the purpose but how else do you avoid rain anyway.

Well fair enough if it had rained all day, but the fact is that it didn't and neither was it forecast to.  Ironically in Melbourne the roof is more often than not used to keep the sun out when it gets too hot (above 35C I think, which is just under 100F).