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A whole nation rises up
Variety is the spice of life and tennis aficionados enthused over such welcome variations on the tennis courts. The Jamaican-born Brown’s story came to the fore as he showed abundant charisma and deft touch to oust Lleyton Hewitt. In the aftermath of the remarkable result, the story of how the 28- year-old parted ways with the troublesome Jamaican Tennis Federation and opted to play for Germany and how he travelled to low-tier tennis tournaments in campervans not long ago got revealed.
2013 Wimbledon made heroes out of virtual nobodies, and for once we got to see the selfless and assiduous guys who deserved their moments in the sunshine.
When Kimiko Date-Krumm rewrote the history books to become the oldest woman to enter the Wimbledon third round, we wanted to egg her on to take more games off the imperious Serena Williams. When Juan Martin del Potro injured his knee, we wanted his story to continue. The Argentine hadn’t been able to reach a Grand Slam semifinal after that swashbuckling performance in 2009 US Open owing to injuries, and we chanted his name vociferously and applauded thunderously to let him carry on the battle against the seemingly insuperable Novak Djokovic.
It was a Wimbledon which startled us initially but ultimately showcased tennis as the winner. Or more specifically, it was the triumph of grit, conviction and determination that came to the fore. The two champions that 2013 Wimbledon got were the best that the year’s third Slam could have seen at the end of a wacky fortnight.
Marion Bartoli’s journey to the pinnacle was an extraordinary result of years of tedious training with meticulous precision. She took the most difficult route yet emerged as successful as the others. Her path to her first Grand Slam glory was littered with disparaging remarks regarding her style, her on-court antics or even the fact that she was not the typical tall blonde that we had got acquainted to seeing. Yet Marion proved that it pays to be different. Since six years of age, she had quietly yearned for the Venus Rosewater Dish, and this was the best reward she could give herself.
On the final day, Wimbledon concluded with the best reward the nation could give herself and perhaps the best story that there could be. For 77 years, Great Britain had longed to gift the men’s singles trophy to its homegrown lad and each year their hopes had been extinguished. But not this year. Andy Murray was the messiah who saved the nation from despair and hopelessness and how!
The way he turned around last year’s tears of sorrow into tears of happiness by mastering Novak Djokovic in straight sets left the world stunned. Ceaseless celebrations started everywhere in Great Britain as the country wallowed in his colossal success. It was the most fitting finale that there could have been in a Major where nothing went as planned. It was the most gratifying scene that the tennis fandom could have imagined to watch in a Grand Slam which embraced eternal dreamers.
Yes, this Wimbledon was for the dreamers who had never stopped dreaming; the fearless who had wiped off tears and endured pain to attain salvation. There weren’t just two winners at this Slam as everyday we saw a new winner emerging from obscurity and leaving an indelible mark. And that is what made this Wimbledon so precious.
