7 players who exceeded expectations at Wimbledon 2022 ft. Elena Rybakina and Nick Kyrgios
Wimbledon 2022 has come to an end with all the winners decided. Novak Djokovic won his 21st Grand Slam title by defeating Nick Kyrgios in the final on Sunday. Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina made history by becoming the first player from her nation to win a Major singles title. She beat third seed and fan favorite Ons Jabeur in the final despite being a set down.
This year's Championships did not have any players from Russia and Belarus competing, nor did it have any ranking points. However, there have been some exciting matches and some magnificent tennis produced over the past couple of weeks.
At every Grand Slam, there are players who punch above their weight and exceed all expectations. Let's take a look at seven players who did just that at Wimbledon 2022:
#1 Elena Rybakina
The 23-year-old Kazakh entered Wimbledon as the 17th seed and while she has a good record on grass, very few expected her to go far at the All England Club. Rybakina booked her place in the last 16 with tight straight-sets wins over Coco Vandeweghe, Bianca Andreescu and Zheng Qinwen.
The Kazakh beat Petra Martic 7-5, 6-3 to seal her place in the quarterfinals. She then fought back from a set down to beat Ajla Tomljanovic and book her place in the semifinals.
Rybakina was up against tournament favorite Simona Halep and stunned the Romanian 6-3, 6-3 to make her maiden Grand Slam final.
The 23-year-old faced Ons Jabeur in the Championship match. The Tunisian won the opening set 6-3 but Rybakina roared back into the match and won the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 to win her maiden Grand Slam singles title.
Elena Rybakina rises to the occasion ✨
In its centenary year, Centre Court crowns a new Ladies’ Singles champion
#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 https://t.co/Wabfr0GTdS
#2 Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios is a brilliant grasscourt player but very few would have expected him to make the Wimbledon final.
The Australian had a tough start to the competition as he survived a scare from local wildcard Paul Jubb in the opening round. He then beat Filip Krajinovic in straight sets to book a third-round clash against fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Kyrgios fought back from losing the first set to beat the Greek in an ill-tempered affair and seal his place in the fourth round. He then overcame American youngster Brandon Nakashima in five sets.
In the quarterfinals, Kyrgios beat Cristian Garin in straight sets to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. He was scheduled to face Rafael Nadal but the Spaniard withdrew from the match due to an abdominal injury, thus giving the Australian passage into his first-ever Grand Slam final.
Kyrgios faced reigning champion Novak Djokovic in the final and won the opening set 6-4. However, the Serb showed his quality and won the next three sets to win his seventh Wimbledon crown.
Nonetheless, Kyrgios has mesmerized spectators with his unique brand of tennis and will no doubt be someone to look out for at Wimbledon next year.
#3 Tatjana Maria
The 34-year-old mother-of-two had an inspiring run at the grass-court Major. Maria reached the third round following three-set wins over Astra Sharma and Sorana Cirstea. She then stunned fifth seed Maria Sakkari to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The German eliminated 12th seed Jelena Ostapenko despite being a set and a break down to book her place in the quarterfinals.
She defeated compatriot Jule Niemeier to reach her maiden Grand Slam semifinal, again fighting back after losing the first set. Maria took on her good friend Ons Jabeur and put in a spirited performance before losing 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
@Ons_Jabeur @Maria_Tatjana One of the moments of The Championships 💜💚 https://t.co/JfOerhF1qC
#4 Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner was seeded 10th at Wimbledon but entered the tournament with zero career wins on grass. The Italian got his first victory on the surface by defeating Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. He followed it up with another four-set win, this time over Mikael Ymer.
Sinner faced 20th seed John Isner in the third round and won 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-3 to set up a mouth-watering fourth-round clash against fifth seed Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian put in a brilliant performance to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 and reach his second Major quarterfinal of the year.
Sinner was up against Novak Djokovic in the last eight and took a commanding two-set lead. However, the Serb's elite mentality saw him come out on top and seal his place in the semifinals.
#5 Marie Bouzkova
Czech Republic's Marie Bouzkova was one of Wimbledon's many surprise packages as she went on to reach the quarterfinals.
The 23-year-old faced seventh seed Danielle Collins in the first round and found herself a set down. However, she bounced back to win the match 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and script an early upset.
Bouzkova then defeated two more Americans in Ann Li and Alison Riske to book her place in the last 16. She then beat Caroline Garcia 7-5, 6-2 to seal her place in the last eight.
The Czech was eventually beaten by Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals despite being a set up. Nonetheless, the Czech is in the midst of an excellent season and will look to improve her ranking further during the North American hardcourt season.
#6 David Goffin
David Goffin has had a resurgence this season and it continued with an impressive run at Wimbledon. The Belgian reached the third round after straight-sets wins over Radu Albot and 31st seed Sebastian Baez.
He fought back from a set down to defeat Ugo Humbert and set up a fourth-round clash against 23rd seed Frances Tiafoe. Goffin won a thrilling encounter 7-6(3), 5-7, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 to book his place in the quarterfinals.
The 31-year-old was up against ninth seed Cameron Norrie in the last eight and won two of the first three sets. However, Norrie, rallied on by a partisan home crowd, clinched the next two sets to eliminate the Belgian.
Goffin will be determined to continue his fine season and reach the heights of 2017 which saw him ranked as high as World No. 7.
#7 Harmony Tan
Harmony Tan is the only player on this list who did not make the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year. Nevertheless, she had a run to remember.
Tan, who was ranked 115th in the world, was drawn against Serena Williams in the first round. The 23-time Slam champion was playing her first singles match since last year's Wimbledon, but it was the French player who took the opening set 7-5.
Williams stormed back to win the second set 6-1, but Tan held her nerve to win the decider via a tie-break to seal her place in the second round. she then ousted 32nd seed Sara Sorribes Tormo to reach the third round, where she brushed aside Britain's Katie Boulter 6-1, 6-1.
Tan's journey at Wimbledon came to an end in the fourth round as she lost 6-2, 6-3 to Amanda Anisimovsa. However, the French player will no doubt take a lot of positives from her run and cherish her time at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.