This has been a crazy Wimbledon thus far. The following is a list of players (men and women) who didn’t make it to the quarterfinals:
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Serena Williams
Victoria Azarenka
Maria Sharapova
Sara Errani
In this list, you’ve got arguably the greatest men’s player (Roger Federer), the greatest clay court player (Rafael Nadal), the greatest women’s player (Serena Williams), a couple of established stars (Azarenka, Sharapova), and a number of up and coming stars (Tsonga, Errani). Now, in Azarenka’s defense, she had to pull out of the tournament because of an injury. But everyone else lost fair and square. Of those seven players, only Serena Williams made it to even the 3rd round, two rounds before the quarterfinals! I can’t recall a Wimbledon in the past that has seen this many shocking upsets.
In Serena’s match yesterday, Sabine Lisicki (ranked 23) looked like the #1 seed. She dominated the pace of play throughout the match and Serena looked uncomfortable and was on the run all day. Lisicki is a great grass-court player and she is definitely a threat to win the whole thing. However, there is one lone American left in the tournament- Sloane Stephens. I have a good feeling that this could be her breakout tournament. She has been on the cusp, even upsetting Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of this year’s Australian Open. She has a difficult match today against higher-ranked Marion Bartoli, but if she gets past that, she has a good chance to advance to the final as Lisicki, Agnieszka Radwanska (#4), and Li Na (#6) are all on the other side of the bracket. Stephens is currently ranked #17 by the Women’s Tennis Association. Great opportunities to win major tournaments don’t come very often, and she would be wise to not let this one slip away from her.*****
On the men’s side, the UK is starting to ramp up excitement for Andy Murray, the #2 ranked player in the world. The last Brit to win this tournament was Fred Perry in 1936. Since that time, an insane and insurmountable amount of pressure has always been placed on the highest-ranked British player entering the tournament (see Henman, Tim). Last year, Murray became the first Brit to make the final since Bunny Austin in 1938. It was Murray’s first major final, and he dropped it to Roger Federer 6–4, 5–7, 3–6, 4–6. Since that time, he has won a tournament at Wimbledon (the 2012 Summer Olympics) and won a major tournament (the 2012 US Open), also the first major win for a Brit since Perry in 1936. Looking at his past season, Murray is ready. He has the experience of winning at Wimbledon. He has the experience of winning a major. Additionally, that major victory was against Novak Djokovic, his likely competitor this year if he is to advance to the final. This is Murray’s year. If he is ever to win Wimbledon, it is this tournament. If not now, then possibly never- and the UK shall be forever Wimbledone.
Your daily Chicago sports schedule (one game to watch):
Sky v. Storm – 7:00 pm ESPN2
White Sox v. Orioles – 7:10 pm
Cubs @ Athletics – 9:05 pm
***** Since the time of publication, Stephens has dropped her quarterfinal match to Marion Bartoli 4-6, 5-7