The grass courts are all worn out and the 2023 Wimbledon Championships are officially in the record books.
Two brilliant weeks of tennis have now passed at the All England Club, site of the tennis world’s oldest and delightfully snobbiest tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz completed an ascent to greatness in a mesmerizing men’s final against legend Novak Djokovic, a surprise women’s player from Czechia hoisted her first major title, American Chris Eubanks captivated fans with a Cinderella run, and Canadians Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov impressed, even in defeat.
Here are five takeaways from the 2023 Wimbledon Championships:
A New Heir to the Throne – King Carlos
Fifteen years ago, a 22-year-old athlete named Rafael Nadal Perera did the unthinkable, defeating the Swiss maestro Roger Federer in five sets to win the 2008 Wimbledon crown in a match viewed by many as the greatest of all time.
The victory ended a five-year reign at the event for Federer, who for half a decade looked truly invincible on the grass courts in London.
Now, there is a new king sitting atop the throne at the prestigious event.
He is just 20 years of age.
Carlos Alcaraz accomplished the near-impossible, overcoming 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in an enthralling gentlemen’s singles final to win the title.
The match took every ounce of skill and determination the Spaniard could muster, as he defeated the legend in four hours, 43 minutes.
It was a gripping final that captured the eyes of the sporting world as the two players exchanged body blows from the baseline, dove acrobatically along the slick grass, and delivered exquisite angles, volleys, and passing shot winners along Centre Court.
How tall an order was this for the young Spaniard?
It’s Djokovic’s first loss in 2,195 days at Wimbledon, dating back to 2017.
He’s also now 79-2 after winning the first set at the tournament and had not lost on Centre Court since 2013.
The loss for the Serbian ends his quest at a possible calendar slam (winning all four majors in one season).
For Alcaraz, he’s now a multiple grand slam champion and retains his world No. 1 ranking.
The Spanish champion has a frighteningly complete game, with the ability to do just about everything on a tennis court.
Djokovic marvelled at his skillset in defeat.
Alcaraz now leads the head-to-head 2-1 over Djokovic, and the two have split the first three majors of the season, standing on their own hill in men’s tennis, simply a class above the rest.
Vondrousova Victory a True Underdog Story
She’s one of the most unlikely champions in the history of the event.
Czechia’s Marketa Vondrousova stunned the tennis world, defeating Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to become the first unseeded women’s champion at Wimbledon.
The left-hander is no stranger to the big stage, having finished runner-up at the French Open in 2019, and winning the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in singles in 2021.
Still, how unlikely was this victory?
Vondrousova had gone just 2-8 on the surface in years prior, never having been past the second round of Wimbledon.
She came into the tournament ranked 42nd, with decent results on the calendar season by reaching the fourth rounds of Indian Wells and the Miami Open, yet hardly the performances to put her on the radar as a title contender.
A 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over compatriot Marie Bouzkova was a confidence booster.
She came back from the brink of defeat to upset American Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinals, ended the magical run of Elina Svitolina in the semis, and spoiled the planned party for Ons Jabeur in the championship match.
Vondrousova has a brilliant counter punching style highlighted by her defensive skills, an effective backhand slice, and a powerful left-handed forehand she can use to open up angles.
They were all on display throughout these two formidable weeks in London.
She now has two career singles titles – how special it is that one of them is a major.
Jabeur’s Painful Defeat
Tunisia’s Jabeur is one of the sports most charismatic and lovely personalities.
She is funny and down to earth, charming, friendly with all her opponents, and, most importantly, plays beautiful tennis.
Naturally, she was receiving the bulk of the crowd support through the tournament, and particularly in Saturday’s final.
Unfortunately, competing in a pressure packed environment can overwhelm even the greatest athletes at times.
Jabeur lost her third career Grand Slam final, and for a second consecutive year, came up just short of her dream to win Wimbledon.
Her road to return to the title match featured some astonishing performances.
She won a fabulous centre court clash with Andreescu in the third round, finding just the right amount of poise under pressure to come through in three sets.
In the quarterfinals, she avenged her loss to last year’s champion Elena Rybakina, capitalizing on five of nine break point opportunities in a terrific 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 win.
She again rallied from a set down in the semifinals, defeating Aryna Sabalenka 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 and denying the Belarusian an opportunity to take hold of the world No. 1 ranking.
Unfortunately for the beloved Tunisian, there was no such comeback in a final. Instead Jabeur relinquished breaks of serve in both the first and second sets, struggling to remain consistent against the steady back-court play of Vondrousova.
Jabeur can take plenty of lessons from fellow champions, who needed several opportunities before winning their first major.
Andy Murray lost his first four Slam finals before he was victorious at the U.S. Open in 2012.
Belgium’s Kim Clijsters also lost four consecutive Slam finals before breaking through in 2005.
There’s also Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, who is set to come out of retirement this summer in Montreal. She contested her first major final in 2009 US Open and would go on to win her maiden major in nine years later at the 2018 Australian Open.
Eubanks, Svitolina Lead Rankings Leap After Cinderella Runs
In the early stages of his grass-court campaign, American Christopher Eubanks sought help from Clijsters.
“Kim! Grass is the stupidest surface to play on…”, he texted to the four-time singles Grand Slam winner.
“Try to do some little footwork drills every day in practice,” Clijsters advised, as the two had a wholesome exchange about the challenges of the surface.
Just two weeks later, Eubanks would win his first career ATP title on it, capturing the Mallorca Open.
He’d clearly found his mojo on the grass.
With a newfound confidence, the big-serving, lanky 27-year-old produced one of the most memorable runs at the All England Club, advancing all the way to the quarterfinals.
He delivered huge upset wins over British hopeful Cameron Norrie and world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas.
World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev had to muster his very best tennis to overcome Eubanks 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1 in the quarters.
Back in late February, the American was still outside the top 100.
Now he’s moving to a career high of 31.
Meantime, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina is back inside the top 30 of the WTA rankings for the first time since May of 2022.
The former world No. 3 took a hiatus last year in March, initially due to injuries, then had her first child with fellow tennis player Gael Monfils later in October.
She began training in January and made her return to action this season in April at the Charleston Open, and just over a month later captured her 17th career WTA title, winning in Strasbourg.
At Roland Garros, she advanced to the quarterfinals, playing her textbook and complete baseline game to perfection on the clay.
At Wimbledon, she went one step further and reached the final four.
The tournament run featured victories over grand slam winners Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, Victoria Azarenka, and Iga Swiatek, the latter her seventh victory over a No. 1 player
The results and performance were particularly emotional as Svitolina proudly competes for her homeland, which is still suffering during the Russian invasion.
It’s Svitolina third career Grand Slam semifinal -- a result that’s likely to earn her a seeding at the U.S. Open this summer.
Promise from Andreescu and Shapovalov with NBO Approaching
While there wasn’t a deep run into the second week from any Canadians at Wimbledon, there were positives to take through their on-court performances.
Andreescu looked to rediscover some of the tennis brilliance that captivated this nation in 2019 and featured a Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open.
Andreescu went the distance in all three of her matches at the All England Club this year, and escaped from the jaws of defeat in the second round, overcoming Anna Kalinina 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10-7).
The Canadian initially coughed up a set and break lead, then roared back from a 5-2 deficit in the finale for the dramatic victory.
She then played an exceptional match against Jabeur, falling 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court.
Andreescu carried the momentum with an early break of serve in the third set before a rain delay disrupted her rhythm.
The 23-year-old often plays some of her best tennis on the North American hard courts, and will no doubt have great memories of her 2019 Toronto victory when she returns this summer to the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Meantime, Shapovalov produced his best run at major since 2022 in Australia as the talented lefty made a second-week run at the All England Club, reaching the round of 16.
Shapovalov fired an impressive 53 aces through four matches, notching solid wins over Radu Albot, Gregoire Barrere, and Britain’s Liam Broady.
He was candid in his post-match interview following the win over the British hopeful:
Ultimately, a knee injury proved to be his undoing, as his movement was noticeably limited in a four set loss to Roman Safiullin of Russia.
Provided he’s healthy, the Canadian should also be eager to get back on the hard courts.
He’s on the entry list and set to compete at the National Bank Open in Toronto, alongside Felix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic.
For Raonic, its expected to be a final farewell and goodbye from the 2016 Wimbledon finalist to his Canadian fans.
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