This year was such a bittersweet tournament at Wimbledon. Serena Williams won on the women’s side and Roger Federer won on the men’s side. Significant for Serena because she was near death just a few years ago and thought she’d never be able to play again. And as we all know, unless one of the Williams’ sisters wins, there’s not much fanfare. But, to the joy of the sponsors, advertisers and the tennis world, a Williams’ sister did win and so, the spectacle ensued. They even won the women’s doubles title. Congratulations to the Williams’ sisters….

But, the men’s tournament was the real story. Roger Federer now has the record with 17 grand slam titles; Tied at seven Wimbledon wins with Pete Sampras. And while Federer is one of my favorite players of all time (second only to Bjorn Borg), I – like many people – thought his career was winding down, not speeding up.

Andy Murray on the other hand, stole the spotlight. The potential for a Brit to claim the title on their turf after 76 years was front page news. And with good reason – Andy Murray is truly making a name for himself on the court, so, for me, this final match was a win no matter which player walked away with the title. And the way these tournaments have been going lately, it could have been either…

Tennis is all over the place now. I remember as a kid, champions dominated the tour. They reigned for a long period of time and then retired. Now, we’ve got players taking breaks and slowing down only to come back and win titles intermittently. Case in point – this back and forth between Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

I’ve been watching them closely over the last year and there’s no consistency between them. Individual style aside, Djokovic had been playing so much better than both Federer and Nadal and Nadal’s game had been suffering – visibly. So, the battle had been between Nadal and Djokovic… so where did Federer’s comeback come from? Did Nadal’s absence really make that huge a difference? Is Djokovic slowing down? And now we have to factor in Andy Murray…

I’ve been taking note of his game over the last couple of years as well and the kid is good. He’s fearless, like Djokovic. It’s a real treat to watch them play each other because I have trouble deciding who’s style I find dominant. They’re both just fun to watch – keep an eye on Andy Murray – he’s on his way up.

Nadal’s play on the other hand; he’s a bit of a sloppy player to me… gets worn out and makes mistakes. Contrast that with Federer who is such a controlled player. He’s a strong, consistent payer; Never over the top but, always on the money.

That’s what surprised me about him beating Djokovic in the semi-final. Djokovic’s bag of tricks usually overwhelms his opponents… I guess this time, collected control put the chaos in check. A surprise, but, let’s see if it continues at the U.S. Open…