HE NEVER MISSES!
Gasquet’s lament as relentless Djokovic grinds him down
IT WAS the surgeon versus the artist. The clinical against the romantic. And, on a high summer afternoon at Wimbledon, the former trounced the l atter as Novak Djokovic beat Richard Gasquet to move into his fourth final on the grass of SW19.
The crowd could swoon at the Frenchman’s onehanded backhand — as luscious a stroke as exists in tennis — but in the end Gasquet had to bow to the sheer robotic relentlessness of the No 1 player in the world.
The only significant chink in Djokovic’s 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 win was the brief on- court treatment he received to his left shoulder. Afterwards, the Serb dismissed the problem as no more than a little local difficulty.
‘I woke up with a stiff left shoulder,’ he said. ‘I just received some changeover treatment. It wasn’t really a medical time- out. It’s nothing major that concerns me for the final.’
What turned into a pretty smooth passage into the final started with a first set so nip-and-tuck that it looked as if the match might turn into an epic. There were still some empty seats — perhaps the last sips of lunchtime Pimm’s were still being quaffed — as Djokovic broke Gasquet on his first service game. But the Frenchman broke back immediately with a wonderful backhand winner. He was in his rhythm and winning friends.
This was, for now, a real contest under perfect blue skies. A gentle breeze made it the most pleasant of afternoons.
But then we came to the first-set tiebreak. And this is where the match took on its next and definitive dimension: the Djokovic ascendancy. The Serb started with an ace and went on to crush the life out of Gasquet to win it 7-2. The court’s Renoir had been put through a mincer.
The first set was probably more important to Gasquet, the underdog, than Djokovic, the champion. Instead, the Frenchman was flakiest at the biggest moment, as he has been before. Djokovic simply had the killer touch when it counted most.
‘The first set was really close,’ said Djokovic afterwards. ‘I thought Richard played some very good tennis, especially from the backhand side. It was very close but that was probably the turning point.’
With the momentum gone from Gasquet’s play, Djokovic broke in the first game of the second set. He was returning like a machine. His serve was reliable throughout. Even when Gasquet found himself with two break points in the next game and Djokovic chuntering unhappily to his box, he could not make it count. The Serb fought back to deuce. The game was soon his. So was the set.
Gasquet arrived in the semi-final having played more minutes on court (and dropped more games) than any other of the last quartet: 11hr 13min, including his marathon match against Stan Wawrinka in the quarter-finals.
For all his balletic touch, questions about his fitness have always swirled around Gasquet. He has worked hard on this aspect of his game over the last few years, but however fit it would still now take considerable fortitude for him to take as much as a set off Djokovic for the first time in their Grand Slam meetings, let alone to become the first French finalist since Cedric Pioline 18 years ago.
What was now going through Gasquet’s mind as he pondered the the inevitability of his imminent demise when he sat at the change of ends, putting yet another new grip on his racket? Whatever
Gasquet’s spirit, he was broken i n the early part of the third set. Asked what wasas toughest about facing Djokovic, Gasquet said: ‘His return. That’s the best because he never misses. The ball is always back on your side.’
Soon, he was facing two match points. He saw them off, but it was a fleeting reprieve. Djokovic then served out the match to love.
Djokovic’s thoughts turned to tomorrow and the task ahead, saying: ‘It’s the finals of Wimbledon and the most important match that any player can have. I’m going to get myself prepared. I’m going to use the experience from the past to get myself in the right frame of mind.’
His approach is working so far. He went on a family holiday to Spain to ‘prepare’ for Wimbledon and, on arrival in London, made his customary visit to a Buddhist temple.
But with Roger Federer up tomorrow, he better say his prayers again.