Tennis milestones at Wimbledon 2010
After a long eventful and exciting grass court season at Wimbledon this year, some things have become quite prominent in the world of tennis. The hard court season may be in full swing, but a few points made at Wimbledon will continue to prevail for quite some time now.
Firstly, the Spanish player Rafael Nadal has proved his worth as a professional and has showed the world that he is best of the best. Some have even started to consider him better than the former world number one, Roger Federer. Nadal, who was the men’s singles champion at Wimbledon this year, still has to win eight more Grand Slam titles to match up to Federer’s wins. However, Nadal’s current form is better than that of Federer, which opens the doors to a bright future for this young champion.
The miserable elimination of Roger Federer from the quarterfinals at Wimbledon showed that even heroes can fall. This Swiss tennis hero has ruled the grass courts six times in his magnificent career and five of his wins have been in consecutive years. But Federer’s rival Rafael Nadal has overcome his glorious rule, leaving him helpless and at the third position in world rankings which is the lowest he has been in seven years. Will Federer regain his amazing form, no one can say for sure after his recent performances.
Serena Williams, who was the Wimbledon female champion this year, has stolen the show with her marvellous performances at this tournament. This world number one player may have lost at Grand Slams during her career, but once she reaches a final she makes sure that she rules the court. She has a 13-3 record of winning at major finals and has no plan to slow down, not even her recent foot injury.
Furthermore, this American tennis diva has one of the best serves among all other female players. She confirmed this by serving 89 aces in this tournament alone, which is a record unmatched by any other female player.
Aces have been overdone in this competition and do not sound like a big deal anymore. Especially after the American player, John Isner, served 113 aces and the French player, Nicolas Mahut, served 103, all in the first round of the tournament.
Moreover, the longest match in the history of the Open era was played during this grand event between Isner and Mahut. They certainly convinced the world that tennis players are tough to the core, as they played each other in a battle over three days that lasted eleven hours and five minutes.
Sometimes being old can be better than being young. This was justified in the semi-finals in the category of female doubles when Tracy Austin, 47, and Kathy Rinaldi Stunkel, 43, beat the master partnership between Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova, who are both 29. Seems like Hingis and Kournikova should now spend more time in front of the camera while they are still young because on-court they are not performing too well.
To add to all the excitement, the dazzling Russian player, Maria Sharapova, came back into the game after a long break due to an injury to her right shoulder. She may have lost to the world number one, Serena Williams, but she did give the eventual champion a challenge. Her performance shows that her shoulder is now in perfect health and much more can be expected from her at the upcoming US Open.
More importantly this was the first Wimbledon visited by Queen Elizabeth in thirty years. Who knows when she will visit next now - as her love for the game is not so evident from her infrequent visits to this grand tournament.
Wimbledon 2010 has indeed been a memorable event for all the tennis fans out there. It has testified to the fact that records are still being set and something surprising is always bound to happen in the world of tennis.
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