After nearly two weeks of action and amidst lot of speculations and prediction, the semi-finals for the Wimbledon 2012 are finally set. It would be the Jo Wilfred Tsonga going against local favorite Andy Murray whereas the other one would see giants of open era tennis Novak Djokovic clashing against Roger Federer.

The tournament is indeed poised for a great finish as all the players in the last four stands a great chance as each of them has the ability to win the championship.

Let’s look at as to how these players are expected to fare in the penultimate stage of the tournament:

Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer (1st semifinal): It is going to be a cracker of a match when the defending champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia take on the six times Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. Federer lost to Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals four weeks back and would be aiming for revenge whereas Djokovic would want to capture the coveted tournament for the second consecutive times. Federer ranked number three has a better overall record against Djokovic. Djokovic came agonizingly close to career grand slam in the French Open before losing to Rafael Nadal, but then he would be hoping to ride on his recent domination and take Federer down.

Well in the match no one starts as a real favorite and it is very difficult to predict a winner. Federer a former World number one and six times champion has last won a grand slam in 2010 Australian Open, but his so many titles here at the All England always makes him a strong contender. And on top, he has played some good tennis this year at the Wimbledon and also the fact that he would be hoping to end his Grand slam draught does make him a fierce competitor in the match. And as for Djokovic, he is going through a time of his life. Except for the French Open, he has won all the three grand slams last year and would start as a strong contender. He beat the former World number one in the French Open semis, which would give him a lot of confidence and he would definitely look forward to win his sixth grand slam. But when players like them clash, past records does not help much and on a day whoever can hold on to their nerves would emerge winners.

Andy Murray vs Jo Wilfred Tsonga: They have in the past been in semi-finals of the Wimbledon but never could go past this stage. Two of the best players, but then sadly never could win any major grand slam titles. More than Tsonga, it would be Murray who would want to qualify and break the jinx as he has been in the semis of the championships for three consecutive times prior to this and but could qualify for the finals.

And whoever advances to the final, this would be the first time that they would be playing at the finals and would have a real good chance at winning the trophy. Murray would hold a little edge over Tsonga in the match as he won five of their six previous meetings. And this is the only thing that gives him an edge or apart from that both these players have their unique style and whoever gets hot can run away with the match, irrespective of past records. 

By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News Network