Wimbledon brought many unexpected surprises this year. For the first time in its history. God knows how many years a Brit had reached the final. You would have thought that the local boys would often win the grand tournament, but that is not the case. It took 73 years for a Briton to reach the final once again, let alone win it. But in this tournament it was Britain’s time to shine. Here are some of the highlights of this year’s tournament.
Jordan Marray and Fredrick Nielsen’s win in the doubles final.
Both these players created history as they cruised past the number 5 seed pair of Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecua, who were competing in their third consecutive final. Nielsen became only the second Dane to win a Grand Slam final after his grand dad, Kurt Nielsen, won the US mixed doubles in 1957. Marray, however, became the first Brit to win the men’s doubles since 1932. The pair also became the first wild card to win the event.
Rafael Nadal’s loss in the second round.
A strange, unexpected outcome came from the match between Rafael Nadal and Lucas Rosol, where the 3 times Wimbledon finalist was knocked out of the tournament by an unknown Czech tennis player. He lost in 5 sets, having won the first set. This was a big blow for Nadal, but great news to his rivals. The King of Clay was out.
Serena Williams’ win in the women’s singles.
Serena William the thirteen-time grand slam champion had her first major win since 2010 beating Akniezedka Radwanska in three sets. She had a great tournament beating the likes of Victoria Azerenska and co. She started in a tense final to win her fifth Wimbledon title.
The Williams Sisters winning the women doubles final.
The Williams Sisters were on top of their game in this tournament. Having previously been out of form (and with Venus going out in the first round) many thought that their success wouldn’t come again. But they were proved wrong. The sisters’ duo cruised through the entire tournament without any problem beating all the topsides from different nations. They beat the Indian star Mirza and her partner Bethany Mattek-Sands in the second round. Playing like queens, the duo raced passed all opponents winning the final in great style. They recorded a 13th doubles title together and continued with their unbeaten streak in the finals.
Andy Murray became the first Scotsman to reach the Wimbledon final.
Andy Murray reached the Wimbledon final for the first time in his career. He also became the first Brit to do so in 73 years and was the only Scotsman to achieve that feat. He bravely played Roger Federer, to whom he lost the title and gave Federer his 18th grand Slam title. Nevertheless, Murray’s effort will not be forgotten and hopefully it will be a great contribute to his career.
The Indian’s Performance
After the controversy regarding the Olympic team selection, Indian fans had lost their hope of seeing their player’s flourish in the tournament. But that was not the case. It got the mind of some players; however, Leander Paes wasn’t conquered by the thoughts that taunted him of not able to choose his men doubles partner. The Indo-Russia duo of Paes & Elena Vesnina eased their way to the mixed doubles final where they narrowly lost to the American duo Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond. Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Boppana were not as successful losing in the men’s double during the early stages of the tournament. Now we have to wait for what seem to be an interesting Olympics for team India.
Many other rules and records were broken but these were by far the most astonishing in this topsy-turvy tournament. Now three of the four Grand Slams have been played, each resulting with a different victor; and with only US Open remaining, can another new star rise?