Wimbledon Begins in the Second Week
Many people say that Wimbledon or any other Grand Slam really doesn’t begin until the second week. By that, most mean that the tournament is really all about the last few rounds where the tops seeds ace off in the quarters, semis and finals. Clearly, no one
remembers who loses in the first round, or even the quarters or semis for that matter. The one player who wins the title is the only one whose name goes into the history-books and memories of tennis fans.
However, the tournament winner wouldn’t reach that milestone without successfully passing through the first week… not as simple as it sounds many times! Rafael Nadal struggled mightily against John Isner in the first of the 2011 French Open before eventually prevailing in five tight, long sets. Sometimes wins like that in early rounds help a top player develop some confidence from having been tested and coming through he/she wasn’t playing well. This year at Wimbledon, both Serena Williams and Venus Williams, who have had no match play for a year and more than four months respectively, struggled in tight three set matches. Neither Serena or Venus wanted to play such long, tiring matches, but given their lack of match play, these tough matches probably actually helped them as they enter the second week. As some say… now the real matches begin in the best Monday in tennis when all men’s and women’s round of 16 matches are played at Wimbledon.
However, the tournament winner wouldn’t reach that milestone without successfully passing through the first week… not as simple as it sounds many times! Rafael Nadal struggled mightily against John Isner in the first of the 2011 French Open before eventually prevailing in five tight, long sets. Sometimes wins like that in early rounds help a top player develop some confidence from having been tested and coming through he/she wasn’t playing well. This year at Wimbledon, both Serena Williams and Venus Williams, who have had no match play for a year and more than four months respectively, struggled in tight three set matches. Neither Serena or Venus wanted to play such long, tiring matches, but given their lack of match play, these tough matches probably actually helped them as they enter the second week. As some say… now the real matches begin in the best Monday in tennis when all men’s and women’s round of 16 matches are played at Wimbledon.
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