So Wimbledon 2021 is over. Again, it has been a truly great event with some wonderful performances and awesome highlights. Here are some thoughts about the tournament.
Wimbledon Lessons
Women’s Draw
Ash Barty is incredible. Winning Wimbledon, after having suffered a serious hip injury only just before the French Open shows what an amazing champion she is. She has so many weapons in her game that she can afford to lose one of her biggest on the grass–her topspin forehand–and still come out on top. Given her results this year, she has got to be a huge favourite for the Olympics and the US Open. Ash Barty is a worthy No. 1 and deserves that title.
Karolína Plíšková is back. I am surprised that it has taken her this long to do well at Wimbledon. Her game should really suit the surface and she has been in the top ten for a long time. While she started off woefully against Barty, it was good to see her come back and make a match of it. With her confidence back, look out for her at the Olympics and at the US Open where Plíšková is a former runner-up.
Barbora Krejčíková backed up her performance at the French Open. While she was wayward in her loss to Ash Barty, making lots of errors on her forehand, she will be pleased with her results over the last few months. Expect her to be a force at the US Open.
Men’s Draw
Novak Djokovic is Superman. While he is tied with Nadal and Federer on 20 Grand Slams, it appears he has many more Grand Slams left in him. I can certainly see him going past Margaret Court’s all time singles record of 24 Grand Slams.
Matteo Berrettini came good on his pre-event “dark horse” label. He was my dark horse for the French, but a better draw and continued good form allowed him to make the final at Wimbledon. While Denis Shapovalov, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem, and Daniil Medvedev all currently move better than Berrettini, he has made huge improvements in this department. Expect him to perform well at the Olympics, especially in a field that lacks Federer and Nadal.
Denis Shapovalov had a great tournament. For the first time in his young career, he made the semifinals of a Grand Slam. Though Shapovalov lost to Djokovic in straight sets, he had many opportunities during the match including serving for the first set, and didn’t convert. He has become a lot more balanced. This has allowed Shapovalov to become more powerful and transfer more weight into his groundstrokes. I’m looking forward to performances over the next few years.
Main Photo from Getty.
