A Fond Farewell
Lleyton Hewitt, the former Australian No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion, played in his last Wimbledon match, losing in the first round. Hewitt, who is planning to retire after the 2016 Aussie Open, lost deep in the final set to Jarkko Niemenan, another man playing his final Wimbledon. Although bittersweet, it’s a time to celebrate the man who became the youngest world No. 1, and won the 2001 U.S. Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships. Hewitt himself summed up his final performance at the All England Club: "That pretty much sums up my career... Having a never-say-die attitude."
A Happy Hello?
Young Gun Nick Kyrgios burst onto the tennis scene just last year and has already become a household tennis name. He often attracts attention for his outstanding athletic ability, but also more recently for his questionable behavior. From audibly mumbling expletives under his breath, threatening to stop playing, taunting umpires, and tweeting aggressively among other things, Nick seems to have controversy following him. Although his style and personality are definitely enjoyable in today’s game, the immaturity and disrespect that sometimes tag along can be irritating. I’m a big Kyrgios fan, don’t get me wrong, but in my opinion, the highest level of respect should at least be implemented in a prestigious place like Wimbledon. He could take a lesson from a certain tennis legend who just released this open letter. Nonetheless, he is extremely fun to watch, and it will be interesting to see where he goes in this tournament.
Wimbledon Woes
Eugenie Bouchard and Simona Halep both lost to players ranked outside the top 100 in their first-round matches. The 12th ranked Canadian Bouchard and the third ranked Romanian Halep, both Grand Slam finalists in 2014, are experiencing slumps. Just last year at this tournament, these two young players squared off in the semifinals, and it seemed like they were ushering in a new era of tennis. That definitely isn't the popular thought after this week though.
Halep had a pretty good start to the 2015 season with a title at Indian Wells and in Miami where she seemed to become Serena Williams’s new rival. But after a disappointing clay court season, highlighted by a second-round upset at the French Open, it looks like her lackluster results have followed her to England as she let a set lead slip to 106th ranked Cepelova. Halep said she has been dealing with emotional issues at the moment and that she didn’t have high expectations at Wimbledon. She was also dealing with emotional trauma earlier in the year when she won Indian Wells, so I see her making a comeback soon.
Bouchard on the other hand has less to be optimistic about. She has been slumping almost the entire season, losing 12 of her last 14 matches. As a defending finalist here at Wimbledon, expectations were high for her to reverse that recent trend, but she faltered against #147 Duan, and she will now fall outside the top 20 in the world rankings. She said after her loss that she played with abdominal tears but didn’t want to “miss out” on playing at the prestigious tournament. This tweet of her post-match press conference probably sums up how she’s feeling now. Hopefully it won't be much more time before she starts playing well again.
Biggest Upset
Rafael Nadal losing in the second round to Dustin Brown was the biggest upset of week 1. The Rastafarian German qualifier ranked 102 took down the two-time Wimbledon champion in a stellar serve and volley performance mixed with his own style. Although Brown had taken out Nadal on grass in 2014 at Halle, this upset on Centre Court at Wimbledon was much bigger. This upset also wasn’t completely out of the blue because Nadal has been vulnerable this year, and on grass the past couple years. Nadal has dropped down to #10 in the world rankings, and his 2015 record is only 33-11, which is an under-performance for the 14-time major champ. His last four Wimbledon campaigns have seen him exit before the Quarterfinals, and each time to players ranked 100 and over. Despite these facts, this match was still the upset of the tournament thus far, because this is also Nadal's first Grand Slam loss to a qualifier. He had no answers against Brown’s huge serve, and Nadal’s forehand was almost nonexistent. Two questions coming out of this match are: When will Nadal’s slump end? And can Dustin Brown put up this type of performance on a consistent basis?
Match of the week
Serena Williams d. Heather Watson 6-2, 4-6, 7-5
The World Number 1 will complete her second career “Serena Slam” (owning all 4 Grand Slams simultaneously but not necessarily in the same calendar year) if she wins the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, and that hope certainly looked alive in the first set as she cruised to a 6-2 lead. But in the second set, Serena became tense as the British #1 upped her game and the crowds support for their hometown underdog intensified. Watson won five straight games and looked poised to complete the upset, up a double break in the final set. Pressure struck, though, as her shots became more erratic, and Serena won the next four games to take back the lead. But with the crowd still loudly in her favor, Watson held and broke Serena to go up 5-4 and serve for the match. Two points from the match separated Watson from the upset, but Serena showed why she’s one of the greatest players ever and won a close final three games. Serena said afterward, "[Heather] was playing so good, there was nothing I could do. She should've won the match. She gave her all.”
Next up for the American is none other than fellow five-time Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams. The sisters haven’t played in a Grand Slam match since the 2009 Wimbledon final, which Serena won. Both are in good form, and it should be a close match. At least Venus will finally play on Centre Court
Most Cringe-worthy Moment
John Isner double faulted on match point to lose a two-day long marathon match 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 10-12 to U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic. For one of the best servers on tour, losing a match like that is pretty ironic. At least he didn’t have another one of these...
Defending Champion Goes Down
Throughout the week, defending Wimbledon champion and the No. 2 seed, Petra Kvitova, has seemed on a mission to repeat her 2014 success. Her first round match took only 35 minutes, and her scary-good performance solidified the idea that she was Serena Williams's biggest threat in this tournament; after all, she is the only player to beat Serena in 2015. Her run ended, though, in an upset to former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic in the third round. Jankovic, who has never thrived on grass, played well, but it was really Kvitova who lost her groove. Her earlier performances made her seem unstoppable and made the tennis world wonder how she is ever beaten. Her lackluster showing against Jankovic, though, reminded us once again of how she can sporadically be both flat and erratic. Although she couldn’t keep her champion level of play consistent enough this Wimbledon, it’s very likely she’ll manage to put it together in the future and win this title again.
Week Two
The second week of The Championships, Wimbledon 2015 is now underway, and we can expect even more great tennis. The Serena-Venus match, as I already stated, is the next headline match. For the men, Kyrgios vs. Gasquet should be interesting because of what occurred last year when these two men met. The overriding stories of the second week will revolve around if anyone can stop the two No. 1's Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams. Past champions Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Maria Sharapova are all in contention for the title, too. Upsets will occur, but can the top men and women continue their dominance over tennis's renowned tournament?
