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There have been royal visits, there have been back-breaking marathons, and there has been a potential upset of the century. Calling the first week of Wimbledon 2010 ‘eventful’ would fall grossly short of describing the tremendous drama that the All-England Club witnessed in those first 6 days. Here’s a look at the most newsworthy events of Week 1:
Defending champions on the defensive: This might sound strange, but technically, there are two defending champions in the men’s singles draw this year. Rafael Nadal didn’t get the chance last year to defend the crown he won here in 2008 (he was absent due to injury), while Roger Federer, of course, got back to his winning ways last year by defeating Andy Roddick in the final. But considering the play of both of these champions in the early stages of the tournament, it might have been better if there hadn’t been a defending champion at all. Federer was taken to five sets against 65th-ranked Columbian Alejandro Falla in the first round, with Falla even serving for the match at one stage. Phrases like ‘upset of the century’, ‘end of an era’ and ‘Federer’s career is done’ swirled around tennis circles before Federer righted the ship, putting in steadily improving performances in the subsequent two rounds. For Nadal, it has been the exact opposite, going from a comfortable first round victory to two back-to-back five set escapes, even receiving a warning for illegal on-court coaching during his 3rd round match against Philipp Petzschner. There is blood in the water at the top of the ATP, and the guys below are ready to pounce.
Royally yours: The Queen of England visited Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years. She came, she waved, and she reminded everyone that she’s a little out of the loop with tennis events of recent years, asking Martina Navratilova, “Do you play here often?”. Serena Williams made a big fuss about practicing to get the ‘No. 1 curtsy’ for the Queen, and Federer came away from his lunch with Her Majesty with the impression that she’s well aware of the goings-on in tennis (I hope he didn’t tell that to Navratilova). And there the top players were, standing obediently in queue, waiting to greet the all-important member of Royalty – Federer in a snazzy suit, Andy Roddick in khaki pants, and Novak Djokovic in, heaven help us, a tracksuit.
Going beyond belief: Before this tournament began, when you talked about THE match, you could only be referring to the Federer-Nadal final of 2008. But John Isner and Nicolas Mahut decided they wanted to be a part of everyday tennis conversation too, so they combined to produce an 11 hour, 183-game 1st round epic that defied belief and even turned the sporting world’s attention away from the football World Cup for a few hours. A lot has been said and written about the historic match that produced 215 aces and ended with the fabulously ridiculous scoreline of 70-68 in the 5th set, and rightly so – it’s unlikely that the tennis world will ever get to see a phenomenon like this again. Isner was unwavering, Mahut was indomitable, and the aces and winners kept flowing right till the bitter, exhausting end. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player as gassed as Isner was towards the end of play on the second day of the match, and yet he refused to give in, coming out the deserving winner after hours of titanic struggle. Who needs 5th set tiebreakers when a regular ad-set can produce such intensely captivating drama?
Shield us from the ugliness: I don’t know exactly what kind of provocation Victor Hanescu received from the crowds during his 3rd round match against Daniel Brands, but for Hanescu to respond by swearing and spitting in the direction of the hecklers probably wasn’t the best idea. The 38th-ranked Romanian, who double faulted repeatedly before retiring while trailing 0-3 in the fifth set, was also accused by tournament officials of not using his ‘best efforts’ during the match, and was slapped a $15,000 fine by the powers that be. Hanescu may not be the most popular player on tour, but if he continues to behave in such woebegone fashion, even the few fans that he has might shrink into oblivion.
Rain, rain, you’re welcome now: If you needed any persuasion about the fickleness and generally depressing behavior of the English weather, you need to look no further than the All-England Club and its adventurous initiatives to combat the effects of rain. In the two years since the installation of the flashy retractable roof (replete with floodlights) over Center Court, the championships have seen nothing but bright, sunny weather. The only instance when the roof was required to be closed this year was when Novak Djokovic’s first round match went into overtime and natural light got too poor for play to continue. There have been suggestions from some quarters that the Government should install a roof over the whole of England, which will ensure that there will never be another drop of rain in the country.
Sacred Sisterhood: Unlike the defending champion on the men’s side, the female defending champion is doing quite well for herself, with or without a perfect curtsy. In her third round match against Dominika Cibulkova, Serena Williams served as many as 19 aces and lost only 6 points on her serve the whole match, making just 9 unforced errors in the process. She has handed every one of her opponents so far a bagel, even doing Anna Chakvetadze an added favor by dishing out a breadstick too (for the uninformed, a ‘bagel’ is a 6-0 set, while a ‘breadstick’ is a 6-1 set). Venus Williams, meanwhile, continues to demonstrate that she’ll remain a potent force on grass for, well, forever, seemingly. It’s not hard to imagine Venus descending on the lawns of Wimbledon when she’s 40 and blowing past her opponents like the previous 10 years had never happened at all. She sparkled in her third round match against hard-hitting Russian Alisa Kleybanova, and seems on course to meet her sister in the final come Saturday. Almost every other pre-tournament contender has been reduced to an afterthought, and not without reason. Maria Sharapova looked strangely flustered and inconsistent in her 3rd round scrap against Barbara Zahlavova Strycova, Justine Henin’s problems with her serve have continued and Samantha Stosur couldn’t even make it out of the first round.
When no one was looking: Is it even remotely conceivable that the Great British Hope Andy Murray can fly under the radar at Wimbledon, that great sporting event that is home to probably the most prying and expectant media in the world? The football World Cup combined with Murray’s lackluster play heading into Wimbledon have helped the Scot stay relatively low-key this year, and he’s used the lessened pressure to his advantage, brushing past his first 3 opponents without dropping a set or even a drop of sweat. Robin Soderling has enjoyed similarly subdued success, flattening his opponents on his way to 3 crushing victories. At this rate, Murray and Soderling will turn their potential semifinal showdown into a virtual final, considering that Federer, Nadal and Roddick have all been floundering. Over on the women’s side, Kim Clijsters has sleepwalked her way to the 4th round, but her championship chances are not being talked up yet because of her lack of success on grass in the first part of her career. A win over Justine Henin in the 4th round, if that does come to pass, will change all that.
