Before I preview the 2017 US Open, I need to give my list of 10 things to take away from the two weeks that were at Wimbledon.
#1. Roger Federer reminded us that he's the GOAT: Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 to win his 19th grand slam title. By adding on to his record for most grand slam titles of all-time, Federer reminded the tennis world that he is the greatest to ever play the sport. I know there are those who will want to argue a case for Rafael Nadal or possibly Novak Djokovic, but make no mistake, Federer is the greatest of all-time and will be so long as he holds the record. I picked Roger to win the event and he delivered just as I thought he would.
#2. Garbiñe Muguruza is the real deal: Garbiñe Muguruza defeated Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to win her second grand slam title. With both a Wimbledon and French Open (2016) title under her belt, Muguruza is half way to a career slam, which is no small feat. In a sport that is very unpredictable, Muguruza is starting to maintain a fairly consistent presence at the grand slams.
#3. Marin Cilic is back to being a contender: After winning the 2014 US Open, many of us expected Marin Cilic to be a more consistent threat to win grand slams. Unfortunately for him, he has not been able to be the type of threat that we were all expecting. By getting back to a grand slam final, perhaps Cilic will finally find his groove and be able to make these kind of deep runs on a more regular basis.
#4. Venus Williams is still a threat: I've been saying for the last couple of years not to sleep on Venus Williams in a grand slam and especially at Wimbledon. Venus backed up my claims by reaching the final. While she came up short, she has to feel good about the tournament that she had. Especially when you consider that she is 37 years old.
#5. Sam Querrey was a pleasant surprise: Nobody would have predicted that Sam Querrey would have been a threat, but he proved the doubters wrong by making it to the semifinals. Whether or not Querrey has turned the corner or not remains to be seen, but it was nice to see him make such a deep run. He's a very beloved and well respected guy on the tour.
#6. Johanna Konta played well under the pressure: It's not easy to play at Wimbledon as a Brit when you consider all the pressure that they have to play under. This pressure didn't seem to faze Johanna Konta, who made a run to the semifinals. I picked her to win the whole thing, so I was disappointed to not see my prediction come to fruition. At the same time, it was also nice to see her make as deep of a run as she did.
#7. Rafael Nadal should feel good about he played: I know that a 4th round exit isn't what Rafael Nadal was hoping for, but when you consider all the early exits he's had at Wimbledon over the past few years, reaching the 4th round was much better than he had done in quite a while. Nadal is still playing elite tennis. It's just that grass isn't really his thing.
#8. Magdalena Rybarikova was the big surprise: Coming into the tournament as the #33 ranked player in the world, nobody saw Magdalena Rybarikova making a run to the semifinals. The WTA is where anything can happen and Rybarikova certainly proved that to be true. It will be interesting to see what kind of momentum Rybarikova can carry over to the US Open after such an impressive run.
#9. How much trouble is Novak Djokovic in? Novak Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals to Tomas Berdych and has since been ruled out for the rest of the season due to an elbow injury. Djokovic is not living up to his standards and expectations, making us wonder whether or not we'll ever see the best of him again. 2017 is the most disappointing season Djokovic has had to date, putting a lot of pressure on him to right the ship in his 2018 campaign.
#10. Angelique Kerber had a disappointing outing: Angelique Kerber came into Wimbledon as the #1 ranked player in the world, but lost that ranking after losing in the 4th round to the eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza. After winning two grand slams in 2016, Kerber is yet to win one in 2017. It appears as though the #1 ranking got to her head and put a lot of pressure on her. It will be interesting to see if she plays better without the top ranking hanging over her.
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