Wimbledon 2015: Talking points from Day 1
Is Novak Djokovic feeling the heat more than usual?
The world number one and joint favourite for the title this year did not have the most ideal pre competition luck for Wimbledon this year. Not only was he drawn against the highest ranked unseeded player in the draw, Philipp Kohlschreiber but was also distracted by the media who launched into full attack mode when allegations of cheating entered into the public consciousness following Boris Becker’s autobiography.
Even though he hasn’t played a competitive warm-up tournament before Wimbledon in five years, the headlines were focusing on whether Djokovic would be undercooked for the defence of his title. Both his wins in 2011 and 2014 came without an appearance at Queen’s or Halle. Needless to say, Djokovic might have been angrier coming into this Slam than any defending champion since John McEnroe.
He managed to survive some early jitters against the tough German after some very wayward forehands to clinch the first set 6-4. From here on in, the result was academic as the Serb ground down Kohlschreiber winning the final two sets 6-4 as well. The reaction at the end of the match from the defending champion was the most fearsome we’ve seen from him in a first round win in a Grand Slam in a long time.
Djokovic’s mental strength when the public seems to be against him has always been questioned. He isn’t as universally loved at Wimbledon as Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal so if he reaches the Wimbledon final to take on Andy Murray as expected, will he crack? Given what happened yesterday, and despite the relative ease he dispatched a stiff first round opponent, the Serb apparently still needs to learn to control his emotions when external factors seem to be unfavourable.
?Wimbledon says goodbye to Lleyton Hewitt
At just after 5:30 pm local time, Wimbledon said goodbye to a one of its modern day legends. After four hours of typically gruelling tennis, Lleyton Hewitt mustered what little energy he had to wave goodbye to the packed crowd on Court 2. He gave the crushed fanatics – who had not stopped cheering throughout the entire dogfight of a match – one last thumbs up and walked off court to the locker room for the last time at Wimbledon.
In a battle of the impending retirees, Jarkko Nieminen had every reason to chase down each ball just as much as the feisty Australian. Eventually the Finn’s power outlasted Hewitt’s determination and retrieval skills breaking the 34-year-old’s serve to win 11-9 in the fifth set.
With that tortuous loss, it was time to say goodbye to one of the most underrated grass court specialists of the 21st century. Roger Federer may be the King and Andy Murray might bring out the most spectator emotion, but very few competitors brought the same intensity, fan interaction and maximum effort that Hewitt delivered year in year out. That is why you could always count 20 or 30 men and women in yellow shirts cheering him on with four hours’ worth of prepared material in every match he played.
Who knows how many Majors he could’ve won or at least seriously contested had his body not let him down so many times. Particularly at SW19 his chances always seemed that little bit better due to his superior movement on the court. It is one of the great unknowns in modern tennis but one thing is certain. Hewitt will be sorely missed in 2016.
Is Lucie Safarova here to stay?
When a player reaches their first Major final, a question has to be asked. Is this a flash in the pan? When Lucie Safarova surprisingly made the French Open final a month ago, people didn’t know whether we were witnessing a consistently tough player achieve a personal best or just a perennial ‘midseeder’ on an amazing hot streak.
Safarova had made the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year and had to beat Dominika Cibulkova and future top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova to get there. Although she was battered by the irrepressible Petra Kvitova in the last four, this surprise run coupled with her recent stunning results in Paris made the likeable Czech an intriguing name to watch out for on Monday.
For almost two sets that intrigue looked to be for all the wrong reasons as Safarova came within a game of losing to Alison Riske. A woman who even the woefully out of form Eugenie Bouchard could beat at Eastbourne last week.
The American served for the match in the second set but the Czech showed her steel to break back when it mattered most. As the unseeded underdog’s level dropped just slightly, Safarova pounced and clinched the final two sets with aplomb.
Was this another example on the women’s tour of a new face breaking through and then seeing their form dip e.g. Bouchard or Cibulkova or was it a player finding the resolve to dig in and fight off a game challenger that is characteristic of a top class professional.
Safarova did magnificently to reach her first Grand Slam final. Can she continue that excellent form to consistently rank inside the world’s top eight? Wimbledon 2015 could provide a clear indication.