Wimbledon 2015: Talking points from Day 8

Serena Williams is consistently delivering excitement

Williams returning to Victoria Azarenka at their quarter-final match at Wimbledon

You cannot deny that Serena Williams is proving to be tremendous value for money in the women’s game. Her match against Victoria Azarenka was a joy to watch from start to finish, with both players bringing their A game from the very first serve. Whilst it didn’t quite match the drama of the Heather Watson match on Friday, in terms of quality this was the match of the tournament so far.

Azarenka threw everything she could at Serena and it proved highly successful in the first set but just like at the French Open, Williams found a way to raise her level and overcome. That crucial six-game spell where Williams shut out the Belarussian proved to be the difference as the only thing Williams needed to do was hold serve.

Despite Azarenka’s best efforts – I’ve never seen someone constantly fist pump in-between every point – outplaying Williams on the baseline, Williams’ serve was impeccable. She took the game away from the feisty Belarussian with first serve after first serve hitting its target. It was a fantastic win that on paper should secure Williams her ‘Serena Slam’.

Next up for Williams will be Maria Sharapova after the Russian had a tougher time than many expected against Coco Vandeweghe. Secretly, Williams will be delighted with that result. Even though Sharapova is the biggest name left in the draw, she hasn’t beaten Williams in 11 years with 17 straight losses.

Given how Sharapova has looked ill at ease this past fortnight and the mental block that must come knowing she has to face a player who is close to unbeatable as one could get, Williams might have an easier time out on Centre Court than many would predict.

Is this Radwanska’s chance?

Radwanska playing Madison Keys of the United States

It’s been a rough year for Agnieszka Radwanska. After reaching the semi-finals of Australia in 2014, the Pole didn’t reach a Grand Slam quarter final in five attempts culminating in a first round loss in Paris last month. Even the appointment of a tennis super coach in Martina Navratilova didn’t help as Radwanska plummeted down the rankings to as low as 14 after being a perennial member of the top five for three years.

Wimbledon 2015 has seen a mini-revival for the likeable 26-year-old. Beating Jelena Jankovic in the fourth round meant a matchup with young gun Madison Keys. It was a traditional matchup of power vs guile. Keys fired down 48 winners with her massive wingspan of a forehand but at the same time hit 40 unforced errors – including an awful smash into the net to set up a crucial break for the Pole.

Radwanska by contrast hit her usual steady 13 winners compared to just seven unforced errors. The ability to just get the ball back in play against the high-risk game of Keys was almost guaranteed to get her free points. Her superior variety and touch outwitted the crackerjack power game of the youngster who just didn’t have enough match intelligence to overcome the experience of the Pole.

At her best, Radwanska is a nightmare for opponents to play against due to her suppleness and adaptability. This is especially difficult for youngsters who are naturally used to the tour’s common power game. Which makes her semi-final that much more intriguing.

Garbine Muguruza is just a year older than Keys but has demonstrated her big match aptitude with a three-match run of great wins against proven WTA stars. Can she go one step further in a matchup against one of the most awkward players on the tour? Or will the ‘veteran’ outsmart another young upstart?

How is Andy Murray on Centre Court?

Andy Murray of Scotland at Wimbledon 2015

As a Briton, I can certainly understand the idea of putting an Andy Murray match on Centre Court each and every time. He is a British sporting icon and Britain’s greatest ever tennis player in the Open era. Surely we should relish his limited years at the top and give the paying public every opportunity to see him.

But these are the Wimbledon quarter-finals and sentimentality shouldn’t play a part in the scheduler’s decision of who plays on the grandest stage of them all and who gets ‘shunted’ down to Court No1.

For all intents and purposes, Murray’s match against Vasek Pospisil is a procession. This match could easily be a second or third-round tie and Murray would be disappointed if he dropped a set. Pospisil may have a dangerous serve but has played 31 hours of tennis in singles and doubles in the last week and has been pushed to five sets in three out of four singles matches. He should be shattered and certainly not the state you want to find yourself in when playing someone of the class of Murray.

In terms of quality compared to the three other quarter-finals this is significantly below the mean average. Wawrinka vs Gasquet will be a delightful buffet of single handed backhand beauties but the demotion of Roger Federer vs Gilles Simon to No. 2 is slightly insulting to the King of Wimbledon.

Not only is Federer almost on par with Murray in terms of fan support but in Simon, he faces an opponent that he has traditionally struggled with. A 5-2 head to head record in favour of the Swiss includes two five-set wins, a retirement and a double tiebreak win. In short, Federer vs Simon should be a lot more competitive than Murray vs Pospisil. And for that matter why should the crowd on Court No1 automatically be barred from the chance of watching Murray?

Maybe it’s time for the schedulers to put more of an equal footing between fan popularity and competitiveness when deciding who plays the main show court. I know which match I’ll be watching first up today.