Wimbledon 2024 – Krejickova and Alcaraz
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In the 2024 Wimbledon, most of the Top 10 in the WTA ranking did not survive to play the semi-final. WTA No.1 Iga Swiatek lost early along with Coco Gauff, Qinwen Zheng and Jessica Pegula. They could not cope with grass – could be.
Krejickova
The unexpectedly title win of Krejicova, it placed her back into the Top 10 of the WTA ranking. She went up 22 places up to position 10. This is Krejickova’s second Grand Slam title. She won the Paris title in 2021. Known for Doubles with her comrade, Katerina Siniakova, they split this year. Siniakova won the 2024 Wimbledon Doubles title with Townsend of USA. Making Czech Republic most successful in Wimbledon 2024 women’s tennis.
Final – two of the same kind
Krejickova and Jasmine Paolini played gutty tennis for the Wimbledon Singles title in the final. Even in tight situations, both sustained their tactical play. Krejickova is a proven match player and Paolini matched her. Paolini is the first Italian ever to reach Wimbledon semis and final – this will be a surprise to many. Italy always had very good women tennis players; none reached Wimbledon semi-finals?
Paolini is 5 foot 4 inches tall and she too is 28 years old. She jokes about her height and calls it her secret weapon. Donna Vekic, also 28, a Croatian, spent some time in Australia and returned to Europe, reached the semi-finals. She did well on the grass court prior to Wimbledon, now stationed in Monte Carlo. Jelena Osterpenko of Latvia, proving to be an ever-present threat to Top 10 round the year, she too reached the quarter-finals. Emma Navarro and Madison Keys of USA enhanced the American image. Elina Rybakina of Kazakhstan performed well and reached semi-finals. The Krejickova-Rybakina encounter in the semi-finals produced appealing tennis. Rybakina showed stress when the match
went into third set. She is on a health recovery spell.
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz won the title beating Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Tommy Paul, Ugo Humbert, Frances Tiafoe and Mark Lajal. Of the 26 sets he played, he lost five. USA’s Frances Tiafoe matched him and took two sets from him. No one can say Alcaraz had an easy run. His injury is somewhat fine now. He missed out few events to recuperate prior to Wimbledon. An admirable sportsperson and plays very fair by the opponent. He is carrying compatriot Nadal’s legacy very well.
The men’s semi-finals had an Italian, Lorenzo Musetti. Playing a game suited for sand court, had issues playing Djokovic. By the time he faced Djokovic he has played 22 sets. Musetti positions far behind the base line, gave Djokovic extra time. [Alcaraz plays from base line or inside the court. Like Roger Federer and Pete Sampras giving opponent less time – tactically this matters].
Others who did well in this Wimbledon are Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Jannick Sinner, Holger Rune, Alexander Zevrev, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur. Unfortunately, Australian Alex de Minaur sustained a serious injury. This could keep him out of tennis for a considerable time. Much more expected from Jannick Sinner, he holds the top position in the ATP ranking.
Wimbledon, like French Open in Paris, struggled with its schedule. In the first week of Wimbledon, all outdoor courts closed due to rain for three days. Coping with 256 singles entry along with many others, players face difficult unfriendly schedules.
Local Davis Cup
Our Davis Cup team once again survived, and was promoted to Group 3 of Asia Oceania. Over the last 20 years countries like us along with Kuwait, Qatar, Cambodia and UAE stay remain Group 3 and 4 continuously. This seems to be the last string for these countries in tennis. There is no player from lower groups of Davis Cup nations in any of the recognised ATP/WTA event. Not even as qualifiers. A few have ventured to go to tennis academies in Spain and USA. Defects in our development from 14 to 19 is the cause for this. In developed countries, players make a strong commitment, especially in the physical side. Davis Cup success is not going to come from local event successes, simply because our tennis standard is too low.
Globally good score of young professionals break the 200 mark in the ATP/WTA ranking. From then on player’s personality matters. This has proven to be missing link in Asian tennis.
–George Paldano, European and Asian competition player; Coach German Tennis Federation; National coach Brunei and Sri Lanka; Davis Cup, Federation Cup coach, coached ATP, WTA and ITF ranked players in Europe and Asia; WhatsApp +94775448880–