Rafa FTW!

Posted by BESS: It's probably best that Dave is off to a cook-out now. He can quickly skim over this post later tonight and move on, because he doesn't care. But... Nadal beat Murray! Hurrah!

© AELTC/T.Hindley

I missed the first set, which looked to be tight--Murray won it 7-5. But by the time I tuned in, Nadal was in command of the second, and he would go on to win the next three sets. Murray had been injured in the first set, and it was clearly affecting him when I first tuned in. That sucks. To make it to the semi-finals only to be hurt in the early stages of the match just seems unfair.

I actually think Murray started playing better in the third set, but by then he was down another break, and I think mentally and emotionally he felt less solid. There were flashes of great serves/shots, but he couldn't maintain any consistency. And Nadal just looked great. VERY few unforced errors (zero in the second set, in fact.)

There were two fun moments that just made me laugh.

1. Nadal hits a HUGE winner with an amazing angle. The shot was so huge it made a totally different sound coming off his racket. Really impressive. After it lands, Nadal held up his hand in apology to Murray. I *think* he apologized because the ball may have just skimmed the top of the net. But it really looked like he was apologizing for hitting such an unbelievable shot. Funny!
2. Nadal is running way off court to get to a ball. He slips and falls in a sitting position. His racket flies out of his left hand, up into the air, and he catches it in his right hand. Just entertaining.

© AELTC/N.Tingle

I feel sorry for Murray. I feel sorry for any tennis player from the U.K. who plays Wimbledon with 400 times the pressure anyone else does, because the U.K. is so desperate for one of their own to win the men's title again. It's been 75 years! It doesn't seem fair to make Murray (or Henman before him or who-knows-who after him) carry all that additional burden. It certainly doesn't seem to be motivating!

Looking ahead to Sunday, though. If Nadal and Djokovic continue playing at the levels we saw today, we are in for a great battle. I can't wait!

Still trying to decide what my breakfast should be for Breakfast(s) at Wimbledon this weekend. If you have any ideas, aside from strawberries and cream of course, feel free to let me know!

FINALS ALERT: Dave will be out-of-pocket this weekend, but I may try to live blog the finals--or at least post a few updates throughout the matches. If you plan to watch, I invite you to also check the blog and chime in via the Comments.