Wimbledon 2011: Predicting the Winners of the Men’s Final Four

Only four remain in the Men’s bracket at Wimbledon with Roger Federer as the lone top-seed to stumble along the way.  Upsets are bound to occur in almost all the Grand Slam Tournaments, but this year’s Wimbledon was pretty tame on the men’s side (the women’s draw, on the other hand was a completely different story). 

While Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s comeback against Federer was truly impressive, a 12-seed beating a 2-seed isn’t exactly ground rattling in the world of upsets.  Tsonga snapped Federer’s previously perfect record after winning the first set in a Wimbledon match, marking a small yet significant change in the tide at the All England Club. 

The three other top-seeds reached the semifinals relatively unscathed with their toughest opponents in this tournament still lurking ahead.

The excitement levels for these matches are incredibly high even with the absence of Federer.  In fact, while most people I know salivate over Federer’s career, I am one of the few that is more-than-ready for him to call it a day.  However, after reading Brian Phillip’s article on Grantland, I can’t stop picturing fangs protruding from Federer’s mouth, which raises a fear that because of Federer’s lust for blood, he could be playing forever!

If that’s the case, then let’s just enjoy this year’s final four without him.

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (4) Andy Murray

In Phillip’s article, he goes on to compare Nadal to a werewolf.  The image of Nadal contorting his body in to back breaking positions is not an uncommon site for the tennis fan.  It would not surprise me to see Nadal running full speed and transfigure mid-air into a wolf.   The fact that he gnaws on the trophy when he wins just brings more incriminating facts to the table. 

Werewolf or not, Nadal is certainly a beast.  I’m not quite sure why I picked against him in my 365 Day Betting Project, but I guess I was blinded by the red, white, and blue. 

Nadal is the obvious pick in this match, largely because of Murray’s uncanny ability to disappoint the home crowd this late into the tournament.  His attempt to seem tougher with that mangy beard is not exactly working either.  He looks worst than me when I tried to grow a “Hockey Playoff Beard”.

And if his “beard” itches as much as it looks, I’m pretty sure Nadal has the scratch. 

(12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. (2) Novak Djokovic

If Federer is the vampire and Nadal is the werewolf, then Novak will need to be the stake carrying, silver-bullet packing townsman that brings order back to the village.

Djokovic’s superhero-type performance to start of this season has been spectacular (41-1 in 2011).  He is playing out of his mind right now and could beat just about anyone on this surface or any other.  I truly believe it has something to do with his poodle.  There has to be a tennis superpower linked to that dog in order for him to be seen holding that thing. 

The upset of Federer seemingly makes Djokovic’s road to the Championship Match easier.  However, there is definitely a ton to like about Tsonga in this semi-final match. 

In fact, if you look at the head-to-heads, Djokovic might have actually preferred Federer to make it though. Against Federer, Djokovic has a 39-percent winning percentage.  But against Tsonga, his winning percentage drops to 28. 

My heart says to go with Tsonga.  He is probably the only remaining player that I would most like to see take home the trophy.  Maybe its his reckless style of play or the abnormal victory dance that he does following a win.  I’m not quite sure.  Either way, he is the piece of French toast hiding in between a stack of flap jacks.  

Djokovic is completely capable of making Tsonga pay if he plays like he did in the first two sets against Federer.  However, I gotta stick with my heart on this one and go with the Frenchman.