Before I dive into my Wimbledon preview, I want to quickly look back on the two weeks that were at Roland Garros earlier in the month. Rafael Nadal won his 11th French Open title and 17th grand slam title overall while Simona Halep won her first grand slam title.
#1. Rafael Nadal is arguably the GOAT: While it is probably wise to shelve GOAT (Greatest Of All-Time) discussions until careers are over, that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun while two of the games' greatest players are still playing. Roger Federer gets the nod from many for the title of GOAT due to having 20 grand slam titles, but Rafael Nadal is making a compelling case for himself racking up French Open titles and staying right atop the world rankings. I know some like to hold it against Nadal for winning the vast bulk of his slams at one event, but the name of the game is to win slams, is it not? So long as Nadal continues to win in Paris, we might someday be looking back on him as the greatest ever.
#2. Simona Halep is the real deal: Simona Halep backed up her world number one ranking by winning her first grand slam title at Roland Garros. After knocking on the door for quite a while, she finally broke through and what's scary is that she probably isn't done winning grand slams. Look for to win a few more before it's all said and done.
#3. Dominic Thiem backed up his status as the #2 player in the world on clay: In my French Open preview, I picked Dominic Thiem to reach the final, citing him as the #2 player in the world on clay behind Rafael Nadal. Thiem proved me and many others to be right by reaching the final, where he lost in straight sets to the King of Clay. If there's anyone who we can peg as the next player to win a few slams in Paris, Dominic Thiem would be the guy. The big question is whether or not he'll miss his window due to Nadal's continued dominance.
#4. Sloane Stephens is no joke on the dirt: Sloane Stephens had an impressive run all the way to the final before falling to Simona Halep. While many Americans struggle on clay, Sloane Stephens appears to be quite comfortable on it. She's reached the 4th round a few times and now has a trip to the final under her belt. Do not be surprised to see her win in Paris in the next few years.
#5. Marco Cecchinato has arrived: Going into Roland Garros, few knew who Marco Cecchinato was as a 25 year old player ranked #72 in the world. After the event, he's made quite a name for himself, reaching the semifinals before losing to Dominic Thiem. It's too early to say whether or not the Italian can sustain this type of success, but given the type of season he's had overall, there's little reason to doubt his ability to get back to this point again in the future. He won his first career title in Budapest earlier this year and appears to be picking up some steam. He's definitely a guy to keep an eye on in the future.
#6. Maria Sharapova is still dangerous: Maria Sharapova benefited from Serena Williams' withdrawal in the 4th round, advancing to the quarterfinals as a result. Even with this fortunate break in mind, Sharapova still has to be applauded for the way she played at Roland Garros. She's won the event twice and showed that she's still a threat despite her suspension and layoff. I never thought the day would come when we'd say clay is Maria Sharapova's best surface, but it's safe to say that at this point, that's the surface she is most deadly on.
#7. Novak Djokovic should feel cautiously optimistic: Novak Djokovic's weakest grand slam has been Roland Garros, so he has to take some confidence knowing he reached the quarterfinals. While it remains unclear whether or not we'll see Novak Djokovic ever return to form, his performance at Roland Garros has to give him some confidence to make some noise at future grand slams.
#8. Serena Williams isn't going anywhere: Coming off childbirth, Serena Williams was unseeded and still found a way to reach the 4th round before having to withdraw due to injury (overuse). Once she gets back into game shape, she should be a threat at future grand slams to come. In a way, seeing her go as far as she did given her circumstances just shows us how good she really is.
#9. Alexander Zverev needs to get it together in the slams: Alexander Zverev is the latest highly ranked player who struggles in slams. Once one guy breaks through, there's always someone else to carry this unfortunate torch and right now it's Zverev carrying it in the men's game. Despite being seeded #2 and ranked #3 in the world, Zverev lost in the quarterfinals and once again flamed out much earlier than expected. The good news for him is that progress is being made as he had previously never reached the quarterfinals at a grand slam before. Still, when you are ranked as high as he is, you need to be going deeper in slams. Hopefully for him, he'll be able to make an even deeper run at Wimbledon.
#10. Madison Keys is still knocking on the door: Madison Keys lost in the semifinals to her close friend Sloane Stephens and is still trying to crack the code to win her first grand slam. The good news for her is she keeps knocking at the door. It just hasn't opened yet. Once it does, expect her to win several. She's the real deal.
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