Wimbledon’s elite eight
The sober Crocket was the social game of All England Crocket Club in the mid eighteen hundreds. The forerunner of modern tennis was Major Wingfield’s SPHAIRISTIKE, devised by him in 1876. Being far more dynamic than Crocket, in 1877 as ‘Lawn Tennis’ was added to the activities of the club. Club was renamed All England Crocket and Lawn Tennis Club. Marylebone Cricket Club, the MCC, governed the rules of the game in competition.
In 1997, Major Wingfield inducted to the Hall of Fame as the inventor of tennis. The men-only first Wimbledon championships was in 1877. The winner was Spencer Gore. He beat William Marshal in the final. These two names made their mark in history. Today the eight quarter-finalist get the same status in recognition. Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam events. Throughout times talented players appeared from all continents ever increasing the global tennis geography. The grand stands of Wimbledon too, carried the blend of all continents in spectatorship.
The Wimbledon grass
This year, it became a topic of discussion more than previous years. The June rain in England, according to the Wimbledon grounds man was too heavy. Almost all the players had problem changing direction and many walked away unable to continue injured. For player recovering from injuries, grass is a difficult surface to accommodate. The first to go was the Serena Williams. In all probabilities, it was her final appearance in Wimbledon, if it happens to be so, it will go on record that she served her time well. Unfortunately, had to give up at three all in the first set of her first match. Another prominent player to drop off was Australian Nic Krygios.
Tactically many in the top 20 of the world ranking are formidable groundstroke players. Burst of power and all court game gives better dividend on Grass. It is Serena Williams brand of tennis. Surprisingly up to quarterfinal, the player who exhibited it in full force was Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. She won the title in Birmingham grass two weeks ago. Now, first North African to appear in the Wimbledon quarterfinal. Her physical ability and her skill was never a doubt, the ingrained mental toughness got her a berth into the elite eight. She will be in the top 20 in the world ranking after this performance.
Prestige’s quarter finalists
The eight women in the quarter final round were Barty, Sabalenka, Kerber, Pliskova, Golubic, Muchova, Jabeur, and Tomiyanovic. That is five Europeans, two Australians and one North African for the first time. Wimbledon is a 128 draw. Players will have to win four matches to reach the quarter-final. An exhausting journey.
There were many under 20 aged up and coming talented women players. All of them had problem to with stand the strain in the fourth round. With having to win seven times for the title, even the best must win the early rounds without burning out. The teenagers under twenty were Rybakina, Gauff, Raducanu, Swiatek and one other. They will have a bright future.
The eight men in last eight were ever green Federer, Ali Assime, Djokovic, Fucsovic, Shapolov, Berrettini, Kachanov and Hurkacz. That is two Canadians and six European. Noticeable performance came from Canadian Ali Assime beating Zverev. Shapolov beating Andy Murray, Hurkacz beating Medvedev and Fucsovic beating Rublev. Murray is in his comeback try-outs. The missing big name players in the last eight were Tsitsipas and Zverev.
Fluency secret of winning
Of all match mechanics, stroke-making fluency is the winning need in today’s tennis. Under match pressure body reaction speed drops. Colloquial expression of fluency drop is ‘choking’. Many players just before going into a rally do a dry run of groundstroke to reiterate fluency. Many will recall Maria Sharapova’s going through forehand and backhand stroke routine facing the side screen. Recent times I saw Federer doing it.
Modern tennis does not give great deal of time to hit a shot. There was a time when players worked their position to meet the ball at waist level. That gave time to opponents. Now players position nearly inside the court and hit the ball as-early-as-possible, for this all height stroke making fluency matters. Playing on grass courts players also accommodate irregular bounce and increase in speed. Then, tracking ball right into racquet contact is not request but a rule. Every match disturbance affects player’s fluency.
Ons Jabeur ability to maintain fluency deserves credit. She is from a country on the fringes of Sahara sands, no grass. She must be an extra ordinary person to have won Birmingham grass court event and reaching the quarterfinal of Wimbledon 2021. Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian players come from the French colonial Tennis influence. They could very well form a cluster, a requirement for modern competition player development.
Not so full grand stands
The Virus shadowed this year’s Wimbledon. It reduced player presence and limited spectators. Organisers had to place precautionary measures, which were not acceptable and were unaffordable. Even under these conditions, Wimbledon 2021 gave away 35 Million pounds as prize money. Starting fro m 1877, All England Club has conducted Wimbledon Championships 134 times of the 144 possible. Wimbledon cancelled during the 2 world wars and in 2020 due to Covid-19.
—George Paldano, Former int. player; Accredited Coach of German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka, coached ATP, WTA and ITF top 200 ranked players, Davis-Cup, Federation-Cup coach. — geodano2015@gmail.com