Before I write my preview of the upcoming US Open, I wanted to quickly write my 10 things to take away from the two weeks that were at Wimbledon earlier this summer. Without further delay, let's get into it!
#1. Novak Djokovic is one Wimbledon title away from tying Roger Federer's record: Novak Djokovic now has seven Wimbledon titles, one shy of Roger Federer's record of eight. Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 in the final. In addition to it being his seventh Wimbledon, it was Djokovic's 21st grand slam title making him one shy of Rafael Nadal's all-time mark of 22.
While he is known most for being a hard court player, where he has won most of his grand slams, Djokovic has become close to equally dominating on the grass. It's truly remarkable what he's doing right now.
#2. Elena Rybakina is a grand slam champion: Elena Rybakina won her first grand slam title, defeating Ons Jabeur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. This is one that came out of nowhere as the furthest Rybakina had gone in a grand slam before was to the quarterfinals at the 2021 French Open. I don't know if we'll see her win a grand slam again, but regardless, she'll forever be a Wimbledon champion. Hats off to her.
#3. Nick Kyrgios was in peak form: Nick Kyrgios did the most Nick Kyrgios thing ever: He reached his first career grand slam final amid facing charges for assaulting his ex-girlfriend in Australia. Even when he has the best tournament of his career, he still is embroiled in controversy! The court case shouldn't overshadow the amazing two weeks he had in London. Reaching a grand slam final is a big deal and maybe this will be a sign of things to come for the Aussie.
#4. Ons Jabeur made history: While she came up a bit short in the end, Ons Jabeur still made history by becoming the first Arab woman to reach a grand slam final. Per her Wikipedia page, she is also the highest ranked Arab and African player in ATP & WTA history. At 28 years of age, it's no guarantee she'll ever win a grand slam. But even if she doesn't, what she's accomplished is remarkable. She'll forever hold a special and unique place in tennis history.
#5. Grass just isn't for Rafael Nadal: Rafael Nadal's days of winning grand slams is not over, but I think it's pretty safe to say he's done winning Wimbledon titles. He's won two in his career (2008 & 2010) and he can say he's won each grand slam at least two times, so he doesn't need to prove himself at Wimbledon anymore. He's done it. But, for whatever reason, he just keeps coming up short. This year, he lost in the semis via walkover against Nick Kyrgios. No matter what the reason is, since that 2010 title I should say, he keeps falling short.
Now, if there's one reason to have some hope that he might win Wimbledon again, it's the fact that he has been knocking on the door, reaching the semifinals in the last three Wimbledons he has played in. So perhaps he'll prove me wrong, but until/unless he does, my skepticism will be warranted.
#6. Serena Williams is at the end of the road: The US Open will be Serena Williams' final grand slam after she lost in the first round at Wimbledon. She's had a phenomenal career and is without a doubt the greatest female player of all-time. But at some point, father time catches up with even the very best and it has caught up with her now.
#7. Cameron Norrie made Great Britain proud: Cameron Norrie fell to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in four sets, but while he came up short, he still made Great Britain proud. He's a British citizen, born to British parents in South Africa. So I guess you could say he made both countries proud. At 27 years of age, it'll be interesting to see if Norrie enters a new stage of his career and starts to make deeper runs at grand slams with some frequency or if this was just a flash in the pan.
#8. CoCo Gauff needs to take this up a notch at Wimbledon: CoCo Gauff first burst onto the scene four years ago when she reached the 4th round of Wimbledon at just 14 years of age. Four years later, she has not gone any further at Wimbledon, losing in the 3rd round this year. Ironically, clay has become her best surface as she reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros last year and the final this year. But for whatever reason, she hasn't been able to go deeper at Wimbledon than she did when she was 14. Grass is a surface she needs to figure out.
#9. Casper Ruud needs to figure out Wimbledon: Despite being a top ten player, Casper Ruud has never gotten past the second round at Wimbledon. If CoCo Gauff has things to figure out, this guy has to do some real soul searching on the grass. A run to the final at Roland Garros this year was fantastic, but clay and grass are very different surfaces. He flamed out in the second round this year, but that was his best career result. Baby steps, I guess.
#10. Iga Świątek needs to figure out Wimbledon as well: One more player who needs to figure out Wimbledon is world number one Iga Świątek. She's got the two Roland Garros titles, so she's doing just fine for herself, but right now she's looking more like a clay specialist than a legit all-around player. Showing you can compete on both the dirt and the grass is one of the first tests to show you can excel on multiple surfaces.
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