15 July 2018
Embed from Getty Images
Context
The world’s oldest major tennis tournament (it’s 141 years old) and arguably the best known, is now over. Saturday was the day that the Ladies Singles Championship was settled, along with Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles. Today, the men played for the Gentlemen’s Singles Championship and the mixed doubles championship was also decided. So that’ll be it for Center court, Wimbledon, until the tournament starts up again next June. It was, in short, a doozy this year.
Results to Date
Serena Williams dream run to the Ladies Final Championship ended without a lot of drama, with Angelique Kerber from Germany beating Serena Williams from the United States 6-3, 6-3. Kerber was business like and totally professional and Williams couldn’t put a dent in the Kerber game. Congrats to Angelique. She’s on the rise and also congrats to Serena, who proved in a very major way she is back. Let’s see how she does at the U.S. Open or if Wimbledon was an anomaly (now there’s a word you don’t see much in sports coverage but, then, we’re talking about Wimbledon.
Novak Djokovic had a great match against Rafa Nadal on Saturday, winning in the 5th set to earn his spot in the finals, where he took out Kevin Anderson–who played the longest match of the tournament against Big John Isner, in straight sets. The Isner-Anderson match was not particularly great tennis until it reached the “must win by two” stage in the fifth. There..it seemed a bit like an endurance contest but with some very good shots. In the Men’s Finals, played today. Anderson was either tired or not up to the power precision game of Novak. All of the great points that center court had to offer to the men were played yesterday, when Nadal and Djokovic went at it like it was cage fight with millions on the line (and, yes, there were millions on the line but we will save the money talk for later). Novak’s back and he could have a long run; he took time off for surgery, fatherhood, and surgery. His spirit is good and his game is rising (again). Welcome home.
In mixed doubles, Peya and Melichar bested home-town favorites Murray and Azarenko; Mike Bryan, playing without his brother, teamed with American Jack Sock to win the Men’s Doubles; and Krecikova and Siniakova won the Women’s Doubles. Wimbledon is an amazing tournament because of the sheer number of championships it offers; click this link to see all the 2018 winners.
The prize money at Wimbledon is the same for men and women (the women can thank Billie Jean King for that ) and a finalist receives 50% of what the Winner gets. This year, the Men’s Singles champion won £2,250,000 pounds and the doubles winners received £450,000 pounds. Wimbledon hands out a lot of money and they take their responsibility seriously; thus, no surprise that Wimbledon has this rule in effect: “A new rule in 2018 is that any first round singles player who is unfit to play and withdraws on-site after 12pm on Thursday before the start of the Main Draw will now receive half of the First Round prize money, the other half to be awarded to the replacement Lucky Loser. Any player who competes in the First Round Main Draw singles and retires or performs below professional standards, may now be subject to a fine of up to First Round prize money, to deter players from appearing only to claim prize money.” Bottom line–it’s an honor to be invited to play at Wimbledon, but don’t show up just for the first round check and tank, or you will owe a rather tidy sum of money. They should have the same rule in all pro sports–especially basketball and football.
Click this link to see the draw (and results) for all classes of competition at Wimbledon.
Court Notes
Djokovic looked sharp and ready to be a major champions today. Anderson looked a bit tired. And England looked dispirited when they played Belgium for third place in the World Cup. More on the weekend’s sports in tomorrows long form wrap up of Wimbledon.
ICYMI
The daily video review of play at Wimbledon, today courtesy of Wimbledon, YouTube and ESPN.
Resources
You know the drill by now: Nightshift Sports provides overnight updates on the previous day’s play, along with relevant links to the best coverage (print, on the net, TV, and streaming) and an amazing collection of photos from the event. We continue to add interesting links to and about Wimbledon. There’s a new link to Wimbledon’s Instagram feed, as well as one to the Wimbledon official Twitter Feed. Now you can stay in touch from the comfort of your phone…..
Direct Link to The Official Wimbledon Website
The Wimbledon Dress Code
The 2018 Draw
Time Magazine Deep Background on the Wimbledon Dress Code
Wimbledon Background and History
Wimbledon Results (updated Continuously)
Where to Watch Wimbledon
Wimbledon Apps Link
Wimbledon YouTube Channel
The Guardian Covers Wimbledon (great print coverage, continuous update)
Wimbledon Instagram Feed
Wimbledon Official Twitter Feed
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