What would it mean to the final 4?

Another great tournament at the All-England Club is nearing its conclusion, only two matches seperate the four remaining players from lifting the most coveted trophy in the game. But what would it mean to the players involved?

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: Winning a maiden Grand Slam would elevate Tsonga from the talented entertainer to the genuine contender. We all know that his physical attributes match the top 4, but if he can win a title here after coming through Murray and either Federer or Djokovic in the final he will have proved that he can really mix it with the top players. It would also give French fans something to cheer about- despite consistently producing top-100 players France hasn't had a mens slam winner since Yannick Noah in 1983. Speaking of nations that haven't had a Grand Slam champion in a while.....

Andy Murray: Well I'm sure you've heard it all before, Britain hasn't had a male winner at Wimbledon- or any other Slam- since 1936. Andy Murray would love to change all that this year, and not just for Blighty by any stretch of the imagination. Usually touted as the best player never to win a Slam, winning at Wimbledon would make this career-changing victory even sweeter. Failure, as always, will be jumped upon by the vultures that are the British sporting press. One feels if he doesn't at least make the final that he may want to avoid picking up The Sun for a while. There's no doubt in most sensible tennis critics minds that in a slightly weaker era, Murray would have won numerous Grand Slam titles. However this is indubitably not a weak era in mens tennis- and Murray will need to play to the best of his (exceptional) ability, in order to not go down in history as merely a nearly-man. If we could somehow quantify how much each of these four players wants this title I'd be very surprised if it wasn't Murray.

Federer can make history again this year, but it won't be easy.

Roger Federer: At the grand old (in tennis terms) age of 30, and with 16 Grand Slams- including 6 Wimbledon titles under his belt, what more can this man have to prove to the tennis world? Plenty it seems, winning here and he would equal Sampras' (and William Renshaw, but the game was slightly different back in the 1880's) as the most prolific Wimbledon champion ever. It would also dispel naysayers who say that he has fallen behind, or never was at, the level set by Nadal and especially Djokovic in recent years. Coming through Djokovic to win this title would strengthen his claim to being the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) once again, and could be the confidence-builder needed to push him back to the top of the game.

Novak Djokovic: The Serbian phenom has produced some literally absurd tennis at times to capture his 5 career majors. The sheer physicality on display in some of his matches against Nadal, Murray and Federer have become a hallmark of the modern game (see the semi-final at Melbourne this year with Murray- followed by the longest Slam final ever against Nadal to win the title). However at the age of 25, he knows that to be considered as the greatest ever (and when he plays to the best of his ability sometimes its hard to doubt that he is), he is going to need to add considerably to his title haul. Winning a second Wimbledon title would move him in the right direction- and help him regain the Slam momentum he had going into the French Open final holding 3 of the 4 majors.

The stakes are high for all these players, they all have something to prove when they walk out onto Centre on Friday afternoon. One thing is for sure, on Sunday someone who has never made a Wimbledon final will face off against a previous champion, and it should make for some incredible viewing!

Image from Wikimedia commons- by Justin Smith