Wimbledon 2012 was a tournament to remember for a variety of reasons. One would think that hometown hope Andy Murray becoming the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final in over 70 years should be the story of the tournament. Murray’s success, however was eclipsed in the minds of many tennis fans by two history making performances.
Serena Williams earned her 13th Grand Slam victory, encompassing each of the four majors, placing her amongst the all-time greats in tennis and all of women’s sports. In late 2010, it seemed Serena may be through dominating the game and whispers of her career being over were rampant. A major foot injury caused her to miss the second half of the 2010 season and in early 2011 the frightening news surfaced that Williams had suffered a pulmonary embolism (an arterial blockage in the lung which can be fatal). Questions surrounding her future began to swirl and many tennis fans were beginning to adjust to tennis without Serena Williams.
However, after fighting through her injuries and illness Serena made her return at Wimbledon 2011 making the round of 16 and then the final of the US Open that September. Serena was back, but still many doubted she would ever hold a grand slam trophy again. After a disappointing start to the 2012 season, which included a first round exit at the French, Serena arrived at the All England Club on a mission.
Williams blasted through the competition losing only two sets on the way to the finals and decimating world number-2, Victoria Azarenka, and defending champ Petra Kvitova. A 3-set victory in the final over Agnieska Radwanska would give Serena her 5th Wimbledon championship and more importantly would silence the tennis critics who had been saying for the better part of the last two years that she would never reach the top again. A doubles title with her sister ,Venus, served as ‘icing on the cake’ later that day topping a truly outstanding run.
The queen of tennis had reclaimed her throne, but what about the King – Roger Federer?
Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time. But at the age of 30 and going without a major in 2011 (breaking an 8-year streak), doubters arose saying that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had taken over. Not many gave Federer a chance at Wimbledon given that he had made Quarter-Final exits two years running.
Federer had a 5-set scare against Julian Benneteau in the third-round, and seemed poised to bow-out in the quarters yet again. But he persevered, reaching the semi-finals against the incredibly talented Novak Djokovic. Despite being the clear underdog, Federer surprisingly handled Novak in four sets and faced Andy Murray in the final. Federer eventually emerged victorious after dropping the first set.
The Wimbledon title for Roger was important for many reasons. First, it showed that he could beat Djokovic off clay at a major, which was an Achilles heel for him over the past two years. Impressively, this Wimbledon title is Federer’s seventh, tying him with Pete Sampras and William Renshaw for the most all-time. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this victory returned Roger to the number-1 overall ranking, a place that no one gave him a chance to return to since losing it to Nadal in 2010. Not only is Federer still a threat, he is still the best in the world at what he does.
Although some tennis fans will counter with names like Borg, Connors, Sampras, Agassi and Laver, in my opinion they all come up short when compared to the King. The big question now is how long will Roger continue? He now has 17 grand slams, the most all-time, and with this win many are setting ’20’ as a magic number. I for one hope he gets there – and beyond.
