Before I look ahead to the Olympics and US Open on here, I need to write my list of 10 things to take away from the championships at Wimbledon. It was a very exciting tournament with Serena Williams winning her 22nd grand slam title, tying her with Steffi Graf for the most in the Open era. On the men's side, we saw Andy Murray win his second Wimbledon title and third grand slam title overall making him the first Brit since Fred Perry to win multiple Wimbledon titles. History was made in both the gentlemen's and ladies' draws. Without further introduction, here is my list of 10 things to take way from the championships at Wimbledon.
#1. Serena Williams is the G.O.A.T. Let me be clear that Serena Williams has been the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) in women's tennis for at least a couple of years now, but by tying Steffi Graf for the most grand slam titles in the open era, Serena Williams made it official. She breaks the tie over Steffi because Steffi benefited from the tragic downfall of Monica Seles, whereas Serena Williams has routinely owned the top players of her era. Serena still has to win two more grand slams to pass Margaret Court, which I think she will do in time. But, for now, Serena Williams has reached the record for most grand slam titles of the Open era which should erase any doubt of as to whether or not she's the greatest women's player ever.
#2. Andy Murray can't be taken lightly Andy Murray, at least I feel, gets overlooked too much. It's easy for him to when you compare his body of work to that of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. But, with an Olympic gold medal and three grand slam titles under his belt, it's time we start giving him the respect that he deserves. Considering that his accomplishments have come in the most competitive era of men's tennis, one has to rank him among the games' greatest players right now.
#3. Winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back is really tough Both of the 2016 French Open singles champions (Garbine Muguruza and Novak Djokovic) went out early. Muguruza went out in the second round to Jana Cepelova and Novak Djokovic went down to Sam Querrey in the third round. While one certainly has to give credit to their opponents for winning their matches, I think the early exits of both Garbine Muguruza and Novak Djokovic is a cautionary reminder of just how difficult it is to win grand slam titles on both the dirt and the grass within such a short period of time. The surfaces are very different and the clay really does wear players down. After battling so hard on the clay for two weeks, it's very difficult to find the strength to win another grand slam just a few weeks later.
#4. Novak Djokovic is human As sort of an extension of the previous point, we learned that Novak Djokovic is human. Djokovic came into Wimbledon holding all four grand slams and I think we all just took it for granted that he would once again steamroll the competition and pick up another slam. In the end, he showed us that he too has his moments where he can't find that extra gear to win, which I think should actually make us appreciate his greatness even more. The fact that he's accomplished what he has as a human being and not a robot makes him all the more remarkable.
#5. Venus Williams proves she's still a threat Venus Williams advanced to the semifinals before falling to Angelique Kerber. If anybody wonders about whether or not Venus Williams has what it takes to still contend at grand slams, I think the two weeks at Wimbledon showed us that she does. So long as she's playing tennis, she'll always be a threat to win at Wimbledon, a place where she's won five of her seven grand slam titles.
#6. Milos Raonic has arrived Even though he lost in the final, Milos Raonic showed us that he's going to be a force to be reckoned with in men's tennis for quite a while. He played a great match against Roger Federer in the semifinals and played with a lot of heart in the final. I expect big things from Milos at the US Open and in future seasons to come.
#7. Angelique Kerber is here to stay After winning the Australian Open, Angelique Kerber made a run all the way to final before losing to Serena Williams 5-7, 3-6 in the final. With Maria Sharapova still suspended indefinitely and nobody else really challenging Serena Williams, expect Angelique Kerber to stay as the #2 player in the world and also continue being a threat to win grand slams.
#8. Roger Federer is still dangerous, but can he win another one? Roger Federer lost in the semifinals to Milos Raonic and has since ended his season so that he can be 100% for 2017. Roger Federer is showing that he is still an elite tennis player, but can he win another grand slam is the big question. Personally, I think he has it in him to win one more grand slam, but the odds are still not in his favor. With each passing year, guys like Milos Raonic continue to get better while Federer continues to age. It's gonna be tough for Roger Federer to win a slam in 2017, but I have the faith that he can. Especially since it appears as though he's really gonna be gunning for it.
#9. Sam Querrey gave US Men's tennis some hope The United States continues to do well in women's tennis thanks to Serena Williams and some exciting young players. But in men's tennis, the US has had a difficult time making some noise in recent years. Sam Querrey upsetting Novak Djokovic in the third round and reaching the quarterfinals gave US men's tennis a spark of hope and something to get excited about. Hopefully Sam will have a strong outing at the US Open and also inspire the other US men to pick up their game as well.
#10. Elena Vesnina is a name to keep an eye on If you hadn't heard of Elena Vesnina before Wimbledon, that's totally fine, but after making an impressive run to the semifinals she suddenly showed that she's a name we need to know. To some extent, she benefited from a friendly draw, defeating Ekaterina Makarova in the 4th round and Dominika Cibulkova in the quarterfinals, but even so, the very fact that she won those matches and didn't let the pressure get to her is impressive.
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