Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Fred Perry was the last Brit to accomplish the feat, back in 1936. Murray came close last year, losing in the finals to Roger Federer in 4 sets. With the home crowd decisively behind him, Murray took down the #1 player in the world in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
This was not the first time Murray had won a tournament at the All England Club. He also defeated Djokovic, who is from Serbia, in the finals of the Olympics last year. Wimbledon is Murray’s second Grand Slam Title. He won the 2012 U.S. Open, beating guess who. Yes, that was the first time he beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam Final. They have now each won 2 Grand Slam Finals against each other, with Djokovic winning at the Australian Open in 2011 and earlier this year. As the #2 player in the world, Murray is making a strong push to take that #1 ranking from Djokovic, who won his only Wimbledon in 2011.
By the end of the second round, things were looking very good for Murray to make it to the finals again. Two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal of Spain was upset in the first round, and Roger Federer from Switzerland, a seven-time and defending Wimbledon champion, was bounced in the second round. No one remained in the tournament that had won a Wimbledon title in the last 10 years, except for Djokovic, and he was in the other bracket.
While the door was wide open for Murray, he didn’t exactly cruise through his matches. In the quarterfinals, he went five sets against Fernando Verdasco of Spain. Murray had to win the last 3 sets to even make it to the semifinals. He also lost the first set in the semifinals against Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, but won the match in four sets. Does it take Murray a while to get warmed up? Clearly stamina is not a problem for him, as he won the last 3 sets in each match against Verdasco, Janowicz, and Djokovic to win the championship.
The Women’s Wimbledon Champion is Marion Bartoli of France. She won her first Wimbledon Championship, as well as her first Grand Slam title. She defeated Sabine Lisicki from Germany in the finals in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4. All four of the women in the semifinals, had never won a Grand Slam tournament before. Upsets were rampant on the women’s side of Wimbledon this year. The 3 top seeds were out by the quarterfinals, including Lisicki taking down #1 ranked Serena Williams in the 4th round.
Bartoli will surely move up from her #15 ranking after winning the title. Lisicki was ranked #23, and cried a few times as she took the straight set beating in the finals. Bartoli eliminated the final American at Wimbledon, Sloane Stephens, in the quarterfinals. In fact, Bartoli never had to go to a third set against anyone. She had quite a dominant tournament for a #15 ranked player.
This was a miserable showing for the Americans. Serena Williams has been basically carrying tennis for the United States lately. When she was upset, Stephens was the only one left, and she went out in the quarterfinals. The American men were an embarrassment. For the first time in 101 years, an American man didn’t even make it to the third round at Wimbledon. Hopefully, it will be another 101 years, before that happens again. Have you ever noticed that American tennis players are in England on the 4th of July, which celebrates are independence from them? Who picked this time of the year for their tournament anyway?
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