2021 Wimbledon is now behind us, which means it is time for me to write my 10 things to take away from the two weeks that were in London. The top seed in both the gentlemen's and ladies' singles draw won the championship, making it somewhat unique in that sense. #1 Novak Djokovic defeated #7 Matteo Berrettini 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the gentlemen's singles final while #1 Ashleigh Barty defeated #8 Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 in the ladies' singles final.
#1. Novak Djokovic is on path to being the GOAT: Novak Djokovic now has 20 grand slam singles titles, tied for most all-time on the men's side with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He also now has six Wimbledon titles, two back of Federer's all-time mark of eight. While there will always be those who say Federer is the greatest of all-time and to a lesser extent Nadal, it's clear at this point that Djokovic is on path to being the greatest men's tennis player of all-time. He's already tied Federer and Nadal and he is the youngest of the three. There's no reason to doubt that he'll walk out with at least 5+ more grand slam titles and with the US Open just around the corner, he has a chance to finish the year with 21 grand slam titles and hold the record outright.
When you consider that Djokovic has done this in the era of Federer/Nadal that just makes it all the more amazing. He's never not known having them in front of him, which raises the scary question of what his numbers would look like if they weren't around. Before attempting to complete the calendar slam later this summer at the US Open, Djokovic first heads to Tokyo for the Olympics where he will attempt to get a gold medal, setting up the possibility of a calendar golden slam. It'll be fun to see if Djokovic can pull that off.
#2. Ashleigh Barty backed up her #1 ranking: Going into Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty held the world #1 ranking on the women's side, but she did so without having won a grand slam in the past 12 months. She had won a grand slam before at the 2019 French Open, so that helped boost her resume a bit, but still, if you are world #1 without a grand slam title in the past 12 months, some may feel your ranking isn't legit. By winning Wimbledon, Barty backed up her #1 ranking and showed that she is deserving of the world #1 ranking that she holds. She will even further solidify that ranking if she can win a gold medal in Tokyo and/or win the US Open later this summer.
#3. Roger Federer could be done: Roger Federer's plan to withdraw from Roland Garros after his 4th round match win in order to save his body for Wimbledon didn't go as planned. He exited in the quarterfinals to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, casting doubts about his long-term outlook. Personally, I think Federer will play one more season as a farewell tour of sorts, giving the tournaments a chance to say one final goodbye to him.
In terms of whether or not he has one more grand slam title up his sleeves, I think it's unlikely though it is possible that he will be able to get one more. Maybe at this year's US Open, which has historically been the most unpredictable tournament on the men's side for the past few years now. Regardless of how this all ends for Federer, he will go down as one of the greatest players to ever play the game, with some forever calling him the GOAT.
#4. Serena Williams may never pass Margaret Court: While there isn't as much discussion about Serena Williams' future as there is about Roger Federer's, the truth is there is just as much reason if not more to wonder whether or not Serena is done winning grand slams. She hasn't won a grand slam since the 2017 Australian Open (Federer ironically has won two since then at 2017 Wimbledon and 2018 Australian Open) and she hasn't reached a final since 2019 (Wimbledon and US Open). Wimbledon was especially bad for her as she went down in the 1st round, appearing to injure her knee/ankle.
As it stands, Serena has won 23 grand slam titles, one shy of Margaret Court's all-time mark of 24. When you consider the data I just presented, it's clear that it's quite possible that Serena is done winning grand slams. If you are a Serena fan looking for some hope, it should be noted that Serena reached the semifinals at the 2020 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open. She is better on hard court. So, there is good reason to think she can win another US Open and Australian Open. Still, father time is not on her side and she knows it.
#5. Hubert Hurkacz could be the next big thing: I might be getting way ahead of myself here, but after reaching the semifinals and knocking off Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, Hubert Hurkacz deserves some love on here. He's only 24 years old and made a major breakthrough at Wimbledon. His previous best outing at a grand slam was reaching the 2nd round. It's of course possible that this was one magical run by Hurkacz and that's it, but if you watch him play, you know that there's more reason to think this is only the beginning for him. He has great size at 6'5", moves well, has confidence, and in general has a really good feel for the game. On top of that he's very poised and relaxed on the court. The US Open and Olympics will be a good test for him to see if he can keep the mojo going.
#6. Can Karolina Pliskova build on her run to the final? Karolina Pliskova reached her second grand slam final (2016 US Open) after nearly five years. That's a bit surprising since she's one who we thought might even have a grand slam title by now. After reaching her first grand slam final, she didn't do much to build on that reaching just two semifinals until this most recent run to the final. Maybe this is the start of something new for Pliskova and she'll be a threat at the US Open and beyond, but for now I wouldn't hold my breath.
#7. Matteo Berrettini is the real deal: If we're gonna talk about Hubert Hurkacz possibly being the next big thing, the same has to be asked of Matteo Berrettini after his trip to the gentlemen's final. It was his first trip to a grand slam final and his second trip to a grand slam semifinal (2019 US Open). On top of that, he had a very nice outing at Roland Garros, reaching the quarterfinals. The US Open has recently produced some surprise champions on the men's side (e.g. Dominic Thiem in 2020). Maybe Berrettini will win it all in New York later this year. That's certainly something I might address when my US Open preview comes rolling around.
#8. Aryna Sabalenka is making progress: While she didn't win it all this year, Aryna Sabalenka's time could be coming soon. She reached her first career grand slam semifinal at Wimbledon and is starting to show that she has the confidence to go deep in grand slams. She came in as the #2 seed and overall backed up her ranking. This year's US Open will be big for her.
#9. Stefanos Tsitsipas needs to figure out Wimbledon: In case you were wondering if Stefanos Tsitsipas' 1st round exit at Wimbledon can be simply be blamed on fatigue from a run to the French Open final, it doesn't look like that answer will suffice. Sure, it might be part of it, but Tsitsipas has never fared well at Wimbledon. The furthest he's gone at Wimbledon is the 4th round back in 2018. In 2017, 2019, and 2021, the result was the same: 1st round exit. While I don't doubt that Tsitsipas will figure out the grass in the future, at the moment, it does remain something that he needs to figure out if he wants to take his game to the next level.
#10. It's amazing that Venus Williams is still playing: At 41 years of age, I just wanted to give Venus Williams a shout out for still playing on the tour! Not only that, she's still winning matches at grand slams! She won her first round match at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year. While she is long past her prime and no longer contending for slams, it's nice to see that she still has a love for the game and is out there playing. It certainly would be fun to have one more grand slam featuring Venus Williams in the second week.
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