The 2012 London Olympics tennis tournament took place at Wimbledon, just a couple of weeks after the third Major of the season on the same courts. The All England Club received the best players in the world (Rafael Nadal was not due to injury), with Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic as the main favorites.
Federer and Murray played in the Wimbledon final, and also reached the semi-finals at the Olympics, along with Novak Djokovic and Juan Martín Del Potro. Murray and Djokovic organized the semi-final match, 14th on the Tour.
Carried away by the local crowd, Andy beat Novak 7-5, 7-5 in two hours, beating the Serb for the sixth time and advancing to the gold medal clash. The Brit won ten more points and delivered more effective tennis in the decisive moments to seal the deal in straight sets and reach the second Wimbledon final in a month.
Murray fended off all four break opportunities and took advantage of two return games to overpower Novak’s stamina and emerge on top. They had a similar number of winners and unforced errors, with Murray forging the essential lead in the forced errors department, where he outscored Djokovic on points.
Andy had the upper hand in the shorter and more advanced rallies and kept his focus when it mattered most to keep dreaming of the gold medal. Djokovic faced two breakthrough opportunities in the second game and repelled both with winners to avoid an early setback.
The Brit had to work hard at 3-3, surviving four deuce and taking the game home when the Serb sprayed a backhand error. Murray held up with a great serve at 5-5 and threw a forehand cross the next to take the set before the tiebreaker and give the crowd something to cheer on.
Djokovic blew a break opportunity early in the second set and missed a backhand to hand the game over to Murray. Serving 1-1, the Briton saved a break opportunity with a winning shot and closed the game with an unreturned serve to stay ahead.
Both players served well in the next five games to stay tied at 4-4. Novak earned three consecutive points on the return in the ninth game to earn a break opportunity, denied by the winner of Andy’s serve.
The Serbian was a better player at the time, and he made one last push before the tie break after winning the fourth and final break break opportunity 5-5. Murray saved him with a powerful forehand and forced Djokovic’s error to open a 6-5 gap and secure strong momentum.
Novak broke under pressure while serving to stay in the game and lost his serve to propel Andy to the finish line.
Strap talks about Novak Djokovic
In an interview recently, two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja spoke about Novak Djokovic’s chances of winning the US Open after two emotionally draining weeks at the Olympics.
Former world No. 2 Corretja feels that Djokovic needs to make a full recovery before the start of the US Open and believes his mental toughness would help him get stronger. “Now he needs to rest and recover because it has been a blow.
New York is a month away and we will see if it plays a tournament, but it has shown that mentally it is a rock, “said Corretja. “The motivation to reach the 21st position of his record in September will be so great that it will wipe the slate clean. Djokovic is going to continue winning Grand Slams because he is out of series, ”said Corretja.
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