2024 Wimbledon is over as Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova won the gentlemen's and ladies' singles titles respectively. Below are my ten things to take away from the two weeks that were in London. Enjoy!
Note: On CardinalSportsReport.com, I wrote about incoming Stanford freshman Alexander Razeghi winning the junior boys doubles title at Wimbledon. Read that here.
#1. Carlos Alcaraz is going to win many grand slams: Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 to win the gentlemen's singles title. It was the fourth grand slam title of Alcaraz's career and his second Wimbledon. He won the French Open earlier in the year, completing the "English Channel Double." That's really impressive.
What makes it all the more impressive for Alcaraz isn't just the fact that he won it all, but it's the way he won it. From start to finish, he was the top player in the tournament and when going up against Novak Djokovic, who is widely considered to be the greatest tennis player of all-time, Alcaraz took him out in straight sets. Granted, Djokovic wasn't at full strength, but the fact that he was able to reach the final indicates he was still playing good tennis to get there. Given he's just 21 years old, Alcaraz has the potential to win a ton of grand slams and put himself into the conversation for greatest of all-time.
#2. Barbora Krejcikova is now a two-time grand slam champion: Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to win the ladies' singles title. Krejcikova is now ranked #10 in the world and now has two grand slam titles under her belt, having won the French Open back in 2021. Winning two grand slam titles is a lot more than winning one. Once you have multiple grand slam titles under your belt, that puts you in a whole new tier of greatness and Krejcikova has done just that. At 28 years of age, Krejcikova still has time to add to her collection. It'll be interesting to see if she is able to win any more grand slams and if she does, whether she'll have to wait as long as she did to win her third as it took her to win her second.
#3. Novak Djokovic is still a threat: While he wasn't able to win it all this year, just by reaching the final after having a knee operation following the French Open, Novak Djokovic showed that he is still a contender at grand slams. I don't know how many more he'll win, but I would be very surprised if he doesn't end up winning at least a couple more grand slams before it's all said and done. He's towards the end of his career, but he still has some gas left in the tank, I think.
#4. Jasmine Paolini's time is coming: After reaching the final of the French Open, Jasmine Paolini was able to reach the final at Wimbledon, coming up just short against Barbora Krejcikova. Paolini is now ranked #5 in the world and will enter the US Open with a lot of momentum. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the summer and season goes for Paolini. It feels like it's only a matter of time before she finally breaks through and wins her first grand slam.
#5. Daniil Medvedev is still knocking on the door: Daniil Medvedev reached the semifinals of Wimbledon for the second straight season, falling to Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 4-6. Ranked #5 in the world, Medvedev continues to show that he is a threat at grand slams. He's reached the final of the Australian Open three times and then of course has the 2021 US Open singles title as well. I don't think he's done winning grand slams, but with Carlos Alcaraz now coming up in full force, he has his work cut out for him.
#6. Elena Rybakina falls a bit short of second Wimbledon title: Elena Rybakina fell to Barbora Krejcikova in the semifinals 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. Rybakina came in seeded 4th and is currently ranked #4 in the world. Rybakina was gunning for her second Wimbledon title and second grand slam title as she won Wimbledon in 2022. She's only 25 years of age, so she still has plenty of time to add more to her total. She just wasn't quite able to do it this time around.
#7. Jannik Sinner had a disappointing tournament: For most players, reaching the quarterfinals would be considered a solid tournament. But when you come in ranked #1 in the world as Jannik Sinner did, anything short of winning it all is a disappointment. Sinner fell to Medvedev in the quarterfinals 7-6, 4-6, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6. Sinner reached the semifinals in 2023, so he's capable of going deeper. It'll be interesting to see if he is able to finish the season strong after getting off to a great start with that Australian Open title.
#8. Coco Gauff had a really disappointing tournament: If you read my preview, you would know that I picked Coco Gauff to win it all on the women's side. She didn't even come close as she went down in the 4th round in straight sets to 19th seed Emma Navarro 4-6, 3-6. Gauff came in seeded 2nd in the tournament and all eyes were on her to make a deep run and possibly win her first Wimbledon. It obviously wasn't meant to be. The 4th round is the furthest she's gone on the grass, so clearly she does need to figure some things out.
#9. Ben Shelton had a solid tournament: One of the things I was looking for going into Wimbledon was how the young American Ben Shelton would do. He ended up having his best Wimbledon ever as he reached the 4th round before falling to the top seed Jannik Sinner 2-6, 4-6, 6-7. At just 21 years of age, Shelton has a very bright future. He should feel good about how this Wimbledon went provided he's able to build on it and improve.
#10. Iga Świątek needs to figure out the grass: Iga Świątek came in ranked #1 in the world and has won five grand slam titles, four of which are at the French Open. Of all the grand slams, Wimbledon is the one she has the most trouble at and this year was no exception as she went down in the 3rd round to Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 1-6, 2-6. Świątek is well on her way to being an all-time great, but right now she's more of an all-time great on the clay. The other surfaces, especially grass, she still needs to figure out.
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