Our finalists are here!

The Stages Are Set

After 11 long, tiring tennis filled days, we have arrived at the final stages for the gentlemen and ladies singles tournament. Only four players remain, two women and two men. From draws that began with 128 players all fighting for a chance to hoist the cup or the rose water dish, four persevered above the rest. Sabine Lisicki of Germany, Marion Bartoli of France, Andy Murray of Great Britain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia have played some exceptional tennis and have one more match to lay it all on the line. On the women's side, we are guaranteed a new grand slam champion, while on the men's side, these are two familiar faces. Below I am going to go a little more in depth on both championship matches and give my prediction on who I think will win and why.

Ladies Singles Championship Match - Saturday July 6 2 pm GMT

[23] Sabine Lisicki (GER) - [15] Marion Bartoli (FRA)

Head-to-Head: Sabine Lisicki leads 3-1 (Tied 1-1 at Wimbledon. Lisicki winning the most recent match in 2011)

Two familiar faces are set to clash in the final of Wimbledon on the ladies side and one of them will become a grand slam champion for the first time in their career. Both have been outstanding at Wimbledon in their careers with Lisicki making the quarterfinals or better here for the last 3 years and Marion Bartoli in making her 2nd Wimbledon final in the last 6 years. It wouldn't be a shame if one won the match over the other and all we can hope for is a hard fought match. Marion Bartoli has been the more impressive one of the two in that she has not dropped one set on her journey to the finals. She has been so dominant, that she hasn't even been taken to a tiebreak as well. She is playing fantastic tennis with her energetic, bunny rabbitesque return style and aggressive baseline hugging shot making. The ultimate test is to take on the large serving Sabine Lisicki. Sabine has had a few 3 set matches on her path to the finals. However, she has had to go through 2012's champion, Serena Williams, and 2012's finalist, Agnieszka Radwanska. Bartoli is a good returner while Sabine's bread and butter come in her service games. It's an interesting matchup and I am sure that is a match worth watching.

I believe that Bartoli is the fresher of the two and can give Lisicki some fits with her returns. She also already has the experience in playing in a grand slam final (Wimbledon as well) and this will make Marion less nervous out of the gate compared to Sabine, who is playing in her first major slam final.

Prediction: [15]Bartoli def. [23] Lisicki: 7-5 6-4

Gentlemen's Singles Championship Match - Sunday July 7 2 pm GMT

[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) - [2] Andy Murray (GBR)

Head-to-Head: Djokovic leads 11-7 (3-1 at Slams; First meeting atWimbledon)

Let's be honest, could we have asked for a better match? The top two seeds going head to head in the final of the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world? Two of the best returners, best defenders and fittest competitors in the game today going toe-to-toe?  I don't know about you, but I am very excited for this match. Jerzy is an up and coming star and I will miss him and Juan Martin is already a grand slam champion and has many years to challenge the guard, but I want to see the top two men go at it. Novak Djokovic is already a Wimbledon champion when he defeated Rafael Nadal in 4 sets during the 2011 tournament and took the number one ranking away from him the day after. He has a slam count at 6 now and is still only 26 years of age. He is well on his way to becoming one of the best men's players there is if he continues his level of play for another 5-6 years. Andy Murray has the weight of a whole commonwealth on his shoulders and is playing to become the first British men's champion since Fred Perry in 1936. He has only 1 slam title to date, but with the decline of Roger Federer and the breakdown of Rafael Nadal's knees, he has plenty of opportunity to win many more and this tournament is one of them. Two VERY similar play styles match-up to one another in this final and I can see it going the distance.

I would classify Novak Djokovic as a better version of Andy Murray. Ever since Novak figured out his serve issues and got his fitness to top condition, he has been a one man wrecking crew. Andy has the fans on his side and he didn't have to play a near 5 hour semifinal before this match. I think Andy falls short in this one, but he will make it interesting. I think he will win Wimbledon before his career ends and dispel the curse, but it won't happen today.

Prediction: [1] Djokovic def. [2] Murray: 7-5 4-6 7-6 6-3