Every tennis Grand Slam event now seems to be an opportunity for an important milestone to be set. The recently-concluded Wimbledon tournament was no exception. On the men's side, Andy Murray won his second Wimbledon and third major title. As a tennis fan, I can't help but wonder how many more Grand Slam titles he could have won if he he didn't have to face Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, all of whom have won an astounding 43 of the last 53 Grand Slam events and together have had a stranglehold on the world #1 ranking since 2004. While Andy may be a far fourth among the Big Four, his continued hold over the #2 ranking and his appearance in the finals of all Grand Slam events this year prove that he is clearly a cut above everyone else. I'm just happy that Andy's win-loss record in major finals has now slightly improved. He has played in 11 Grand Slam finals but has lost 8 times - all of them to the tennis big three - and won only 3 (including his latest Wimbledon trophy). If anyone needed and deserved a trophy after getting close to many times, it's Andy.
On the women's side, Serena Williams just tied Steffi Graf's open era record by winning Wimbledon and claiming her 22nd Grand Slam singles title. After succumbing to immense pressure in the last three major events, she finally shook off the nerves and the lofty expectations and achieved history. When she won her 17th Grand Slam singles title, making her one short of the number that the legendary players Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert had, it took her four tries to tie their record but she she went on to win four in a row right after that, bringing her total to 21. Now that she has tied Steffi's record, again on her fourth attempt, she may just win another succession of Grand Slam titles and break the all-time record of 24 held by Margaret Court. Serena is now also only 8 weeks away from breaking another Steffi record of consecutive weeks at #1 (on the women's tour). I still don't see anyone in women's tennis capable of taking over the reins from Williams so who knows what other records she will have when she finally retires.
*****
As a Steffi Graf fan, I am a bit sad that her records are now being broken one after the other but at least she will always have the Golden Slam - all four major titles + Olympic Gold, all in the same year! - which to date has not been matched by anyone else. Last year, Serena was close to a calendar Grand Slam last year but stumbled at the final hurdle, so close to the finish line. This year, Novak Djokovic had a chance to win a calendar Grand Slam by winning the first two. It is also an Olympic year, so he had a shot at Golden Slam glory. Alas, it was not meant to be as he was stunned in the third round by Sam Querrey. What's interesting to note is that Serena won 4 in a row and Novak also won 4 in a row before they both lost, eliminating their chances to win a calendar Grand Slam. I have written about this in the past, but four in a row doesn't carry the same degree of difficulty or psychologically pressure as a calendar Grand Slam. Either, or even both, of them, can still achieve it, but based on what we've seen, it definitely won't be easy.
Two worthy champions...#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/QosmSqu1PK— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2016
On the women's side, Serena Williams just tied Steffi Graf's open era record by winning Wimbledon and claiming her 22nd Grand Slam singles title. After succumbing to immense pressure in the last three major events, she finally shook off the nerves and the lofty expectations and achieved history. When she won her 17th Grand Slam singles title, making her one short of the number that the legendary players Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert had, it took her four tries to tie their record but she she went on to win four in a row right after that, bringing her total to 21. Now that she has tied Steffi's record, again on her fourth attempt, she may just win another succession of Grand Slam titles and break the all-time record of 24 held by Margaret Court. Serena is now also only 8 weeks away from breaking another Steffi record of consecutive weeks at #1 (on the women's tour). I still don't see anyone in women's tennis capable of taking over the reins from Williams so who knows what other records she will have when she finally retires.
*****
As a Steffi Graf fan, I am a bit sad that her records are now being broken one after the other but at least she will always have the Golden Slam - all four major titles + Olympic Gold, all in the same year! - which to date has not been matched by anyone else. Last year, Serena was close to a calendar Grand Slam last year but stumbled at the final hurdle, so close to the finish line. This year, Novak Djokovic had a chance to win a calendar Grand Slam by winning the first two. It is also an Olympic year, so he had a shot at Golden Slam glory. Alas, it was not meant to be as he was stunned in the third round by Sam Querrey. What's interesting to note is that Serena won 4 in a row and Novak also won 4 in a row before they both lost, eliminating their chances to win a calendar Grand Slam. I have written about this in the past, but four in a row doesn't carry the same degree of difficulty or psychologically pressure as a calendar Grand Slam. Either, or even both, of them, can still achieve it, but based on what we've seen, it definitely won't be easy.
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