If not for Serena Williams defeating Li Na, and Rafa Nadal beating Robin Soderling, both matches being quarterfinals, Wimbledon would be facing two finals where none of the combatants had ever been present. Not an ordinary Wimbledon it has to be said.

Some of the so called script has been restored with Serena sweeping to another Grand Slam final, and one would expect the world number one to defeat former no.5, Vera Zvonerova, to win her 13th Grand Slam.  There are some who are suggesting Serena could still threaten Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert (18 Slams each) or even Steffi Graf's (22 majors) preeminent place in the Open (post 1968) era, as Roger Federer has eclipsed Pete Sampras' record. It only serves to reinforce what a great win it was by Sam Stosur over Serena at the French Open.

However, one would not bet against Serena winning here.

The men's event has seen some stunning surprises, no less so than Federer's loss to Thomas Berdych. Berdych had beaten Roger previously, once at the Athens Olympics, and again this year at Miami. But the shock defeat at Wimbledon has left pundits wondering if Roger Federer is now in the downward spiral all athletes ultimately face.

My perspective is this: I think Roger has achieved everything he could realistically imagine in his career - the record number of majors, a career Grand Slam and an Olympic gold medal. So there must be some impairment to the burning ambition and allocation of priorities, especially as a husband and father of twins.

However, I fully accept Roger's post match explanation of back troubles since losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the final of Halle. Roger's serving stats were down, a genuine indicator of back pain. You can cover it against most players but not someone with the acclaimed abilities of Thomas Berdych. He's about as clean a ball striker as you can find on the men's tour, and his semi-final with Novak Djokovic will see some breathtaking rallies. Let's remember that Roger proved the critics wrong when his bout of glandular fever was indeed instrumental in his indifferent 2008, and he stormed back to no.1 in 2009.

So I don't subscribe to Federer's Grand Slam victory count being finished, and I'd still install him as favourite in New York, never a happy hunting ground for Rafa Nadal. But there is I believe one position that Roger has vacated that he will never reinstate - that is the world number 1 ranking which he lost recently after the French Open.

In fact, I think a year end no.2 ranking is under some threat. Not that this will unduly bother Roger - he's in it for more Grand Slams, and a stated ambition to make his mark on the London Olympics in 2012, to be played at no less a venue than the All England Club itself.  So let's not write the postmortems just yet, especially with the US Open around the corner.

Since England lost on Sunday in the World Cup, all attention here has switched to Andy Murray. Nadal will be a very difficult assignment in the semis, perhaps more so than his opponent in the final if he were to get there. The whole of Britain will be watching his quest to do what no other Brit has done in 74 years.  Contending with Rafa though is a more daunting task than having to deal with history. He will need to be brave and audacious, and if Andy Murray wins Wimbledon, the out of the ordinary will truly become extraordinary.