Wimbledon 2010: The Year of the Underdogs
For the past decade, Wimbledon championships have been dominated by the likes of Serena and Venus Williams, Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijster, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. This year has however seen many new and unassuming faces emerge on the circuit.
These players come from humble beginnings and have now etched their names in history books. They have not pulled off one game wonders, but continued to show top seeds the door on their way to their career bests. Each player has displayed talent beyond belief to attain the position they have today. The women’s semifinals will see two such players take to the courts; the first ever Bulgarian woman Tsvetana Pironkova and Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic.
Additionally, booking a place for himself in the men’s quarterfinal for the first time is Yen Hsun Lu from Chinese Taipei. These players have become the shining stars of Wimbledon this year in a very short span of time.
Petra Kvitova feels her run in Wimbledon this year is just like a dream. She has beaten a number of top seeds enroute to her semifinal berth such as the third seed Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka, and Zheng Jie. She rallied from behind in her quarterfinal match against Kaia Kanepi and saved five match points to reach the semifinals. Kvitova is under no pre match tension which is a display of immense confidence considering she may be facing the mighty Serena William soon, but she has confidence in her abilities and will go out there and play her best tennis.
This twenty year old youngster from the Czech Republic turned professional just four years ago in 2006. Currently ranked sixty two in the world, Kvitova played her first grand slam in the 2008 French Open where she ironically lost to Kaia Kanepi in the fourth round. But it was commendable for a person playing their first grand slam to go that far. This was evidence of the skills Kvitova possessed. She pulled the biggest upset of her career in the 2009 US Open when she defeated World number one Dinara Safina. She will be looking to repeat such a performance in her semifinal match.
Kvitova is very dependent on her big serves and has a knack for moving her opponents all across the court from the baseline. She is brimming with confidence and her run in Wimbledon this year will just help this star from the Czech Republic to bloom even faster. Who knows, there may just be another Martina Navratilova in the making.
She is the first female Bulgarian player to reach the semifinal of Wimbledon, but Tsvetana Pirokova did not imagine coming this far in the championships. Coming from a place where grass courts are nonexistent, Pironkova has defied all odds in obtaining the semifinal berth. Growing up in Bulgaria, Pironkova watched Wimbledon year after year dreaming of a time when she would be playing at the All England Club. It seems as if her dreams are finally bearing fruit.
The Bulgarian, who considers Wimbledon a religion, dumped tournament favorite Venus Williams out of the tournament. Born into a family of sporting champions, with her father a canoeing champion and mother a swimming champion, Pironkova was never one to be left far behind. She is continuing her family legacy with such brilliant display of tennis. Her father introduced her to the sport at a tender age of four and ever since then she has not looked back.
Ranked ninety fourth in the world, Pironkova pulled of the biggest upset of her career by defeating Venus Williams in three sets at the Australian Open 2006. This young Bulgarian is proving to the world that she is capable of making a permanent mark in the women’s circuit and giving out a warning signal to the rest of the players that she is here to stay.
The men’s draw also saw some bright shining stars this year at Wimbledon. One of them who has sustained himself in the draw so far and found himself among the top four seeds is Yen Hsun Lu from Chinese Taipei. His stunning win over Andy Roddick propelled him into the spotlight but he remained his humble self. Lu lost his father when he turned professional in 2000 and thus dedicated his win to his late father. He comes from humble beginnings, where his father was a chicken farmer and Lu probably picked up the art of speed running after chasing chickens on the farm.
He is the first Taiwanese man to enter the Wimbledon quarterfinals and also the first Asian man to book a place for himself in the quarterfinals of a grand slam in fifteen years. Lu did well for himself in the Junior circuit, beating the likes of Robin Soderling, Phillip Kohlschreiber and Mario Ancic, but somehow could not rekindle that magic in the professional circuit. At twenty six it has taken him many years of perseverance to get where he is currently at. Lu would be looking up in the sky to get inspiration from his father to excel in his career.
Wimbledon 2010 has brought to the fore many bright stars, but one would hope that these players have the consistency to cement their place in the tennis circuit for a long time to come.
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