So Wimbledon 2019 is over. The highs were many, with “Coco”, “Murena” and “SerAndy” entering the lexicon of the Fortnight, alongside a treasured re-emergence for “Fedal”. Memories have been created, chapters big and small written. At times like this, some reflections are called for. wimbledon.com delivers.
Fate has a certain symmetry.
Barbora Strycova, 33, became the oldest first-time semi-finalist in the 51 years of the Open era, delivering classic serve-and-volley lawn tennis. It turns out the Czech has been coming to Wimbledon for more than three decades – her grandfather brought her to the Museum here in 1988, when she was aged just two. “I saw the trophy,” said Strycova. “I was like, ‘I’m going to play here’.”
Facts we know to be true.
If you want to guarantee a rain-free Wimbledon… build a roof. In 2009, the first year with the Centre Court roof complete, the Fortnight naturally passed without a drop of precipitation. In 2019 the three-year project to deliver the No.1 Court roof was completed on time and on budget, so The Championships were once again resolutely dry during the hours of play. But the roofs on both courts have permitted play when evenings would otherwise have been too gloomy. So on that issue… we have closure.
Dylan Alcott is a rock star.
The Australian world No.1 – already the winner of 11 Grand Slam titles elsewhere – stormed to the inaugural quad singles title here, to hold all four Grand Slams simultaneously. In the final he overcame his doubles partner Andy Lapthorne, just 24 hours after the two captured the doubles event as Venus Williams observed from the stands. Alcott enriched The Championships with his skill and star quality, suggesting to the delighted Court 12 crowd: “To all my friends who have come to watch, let’s get absolutely sauced.” Ashleigh Barty joined in the celebration, tweeting (as only Australians can): “Onya Dyl!! Never change – you’re a bloody legend.”
Haven’t we heard that before?
Speaking of the women’s world No.1, we salute Ashleigh Barty’s quest to shoehorn lines from Disney films into her post-match comments. First round, Lion King: “Came into it thinking like hakuna matata, just relax and go into it.” Second round, Toy Story: “Over and over my neice tells me you can go to infinity and beyond.” Third round, The Little Mermaid: “Sometimes I look at a shot, I play a shot, I think the seaweed is always greener in someone else’s lake. I try and think how else I can win the point.” Fourth round… that one didn’t work out, as Alison Riske defeated her. We look forward to seven quotes some time in the future.
We smiled…
It wasn’t just Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff’s tennis that was memorable. The 15-year-old American, who reached the last 16, was good value in her post-match press conferences. Having been overcome by tears at the moment she defeated five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams in the first round, Gauff was asked afterwards when she last cried. Her reply: “It was watching Avengers: Endgame when Iron Man died. Every time I think of it, I get teary-eyed." A good answer, made perfect by the sight of large numbers of middle-aged men nodding in thoughtful empathy.
…and cried.
Marcos Baghdatis announced he would retire immediately after this Wimbledon, and the moment came when the 34-year-old Cypriot lost in the second round to No.17 seed Matteo Berrettini. As the No.2 Court crowd rose to him, an emotional Baghdatis kissed the turf and patted his heart, before distributing to the fans every racket in his bag, the towel on his chair and even the shoes he was wearing. In every sense, he left it all out on the court.
Rules were discovered…
In the last 16, Serena Williams was on the brink of closing out the first set against Carla Suarez Navarro, only to hear from umpire Aurelie Tourte that she would have to wait a while longer. What Serena thought was a winning point had in fact been awarded to the Spaniard, because Williams’ racket was over the net when she put the ball away. Laughing a minute later as she sat down for the changeover, Serena queried: “Is that a new rule?”
…in doubles too.
Jelena Ostapenko and Veronika Kudermetova, the No.14 seeds, faced Alize Cornet and Petra Martic in the opening round of the doubles. At 3-4 and deuce in the deciding set, Ostapenko misfired a second serve to the wrong side of the court – but the ball connected with Cornet before hitting the ground on Cornet’s side of the net, so Ostapenko won the point, to her opponents’ puzzlement. But Cornet and Martic went on to win the match.
Take cover.
In doubles, the player at the net is often likely to be struck by the ball… but usually it arrives off an opponent’s racket. Jelena Ostapenko – yes, the Latvian again – teamed with Robert Lindstedt in the mixed, and they would ultimately finish runners-up. But in the second round against Makoto Ninomiya and Andres Molteni, Ostapenko hit a 94mph serve straight into the back of Lindstedt’s head. Then it happened again, in the round of 16 against John Peers and Shuai Zhang. Strike two.
Maths was never more extraordinary.
The most astonishing collection of stats in tennis got a fresh airing when Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all reached the semi-finals here – surprisingly (a) for the first time here since 2012; (b) for the second time at any Grand Slam since 2012; (c) for the second Grand Slam in a row. Including The Championships 2019, one of the Big Three has won 14 of the last 16 Wimbledons, and 50 of the last 58 Grand Slams, including all of the last 11. Gasp.
Finally, the ultimate random fact was revealed.
With Simona Halep’s Twitter followers soaring above 300,000 after her singles win here, the identity of the only two people she herself follows drew attention. Darren Cahill’s longtime coaching involvement with her made him an unremarkable choice. Not so Mark “the Jester from Leicester” Selby, three times the world snooker champion. Apparently Halep’s manager Cosmin Hodor is good mates with Selby, and introduced the two. "I have no idea how you play snooker," Halep said. "But I appreciate him. He's been in Romania a few times. Also I have a snooker ball signed by him. That's why I follow him." Excellent.
