Djokovic’s smoking forehands prove bad for Nadal’s health

A splendid victory having come on the heels of him supplanting his Spanish rival as world No 1, it was not surprising that the Serbian national anthem echoed round the august confines of the All England Club.

Pre-match forecasts tended to favour Nadal, one of the great warriors of the game for whom no ball is a lost cause.

Admittedly, Djokovic came into the final having lost only one out of 48 matches this year.

But this was Wimbledon, and the Majorcan was not going to surrender his crown lightly.

There was also a feeling that Djokovic looked jaded after his jaw-dropping run of success since winning the Australian Open in January.

In the end the Serb emerged a convincing winner 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3.

He deserved his joyous nibbles at the Centre Court’s turf after sealing a historic victory and he clearly revelled in hurling four of his rackets into a jubilant crowd.

Marvellous moments, even though an unruly microphone did its best to reduce the post-match on-court interviews to gibberish.

Incendiary forehands smoking their way down the line or across court played a key role in his success along with an acute touch on the volley.

Even when Nadal made a threatening bid to turn the contest around in the fourth set, Djokovic kept his composure and exultant Serbians began warming up their vocal chords.

“I lose because I am playing against the best player of the moment,” said Nadal.

Saturday saw the dawn of a new era in the women’s singles with the success of Petra Kvitova, a 21-year-old Czech who became the first left-handed champion since her illustrious compatriot Martina Navratilova in 1990.

Kvitova stifled the shots if not the shrieks of Maria Sharapova to complete an impressive victory which indicated that she has the talent to become a force in the women’s game. Martina is an effusive supporter.

For tennis anoraks, it is worth recording that only four left-handers have appeared in grand slam women’s finals – Ann Jones, Monica Seles, Navratilova and, now Kvitova.

She is a pleasing arrival in a women’s game experiencing a process of change illustrated by the decline, and early departure, of the Williams sisters although it could be too soon to dismiss Serena and Venus after their struggles with injury and illness.

No reflections on the 125th Wimbledon Championships would be complete without a mention of Andy Murray, whose abject defeat by Nadal in the semi-finals left him a dejected figure.

Much has been made of the forehand error in the third game of the second set which stalled his attempt to go ahead 3-0 after winning the first set 7-5.

Although the error triggered a calamitous decline which saw him lose seven successive games and his grip on the contest, the game in question was still alive when he blundered and it should not have precipitated a runaway collapse.

Clearly, Murray has to toughen up mentally if he is to realise his ambition of capturing a grand slam title

But he doesn’t need me to tell him that…

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