Wimbledon 2025
Hear it here!
If there was any question concerning the state of tennis and its future outlook, they were answered emphatically in the just completed Wimbledon championships.
There is no need to wonder where the men’s competition is heading as the decades-old dominance of the Big 3 fades to a close.
What kind of letdown would there be with the terrific triumvirate of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic becoming a thing of the past? The answer is none.
Of course, the injury factor and overall health of the stars always comes into play when looking into a crystal ball, but all things being equal, the upcoming years offer tremendous excitement and memorable clashes.
You can thank Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz for that.
While the 38-year old Djokovic continues to amaze and challenge deep into the major tournaments, the two younger prodigies have stolen the show. Time is running out for Djokovic, the last of the three greats who won virtually every major title for over 20 years, and a new era has unquestionably arrived.
Sinner, the 23-year old Italian, underscored the adage that you can’t keep a great player down when he made the necessary adjustments to control virtually every aspect of play to finally get the measure of the 22-year old from Spain, losing the first set and taking the next three. Alcaraz had beaten Sinner the last five times they played. The last encounter was the French Open in Paris only five weeks ago when Alcaraz came from 2 sets down to defeat Sinner in one of the most remarkable matches ever played. Alcaraz was looking to become only the second player in history, other than the brilliant Bjorn Borg, to capture the French and Wimbledon in back-to-back seasons, but it didn’t happen because Sinner had the inner determination and relentless work ethic to bury his deep disappointment and stage a wondrous turnaround.
He did it by becoming more aggressive against the athletic Alcaraz who has every shot in the book.
He did it with a powerful first serve and blazing ground strokes. His second serve proved to be a weapon as well, and with his own athletic skills, which are actually not inferior to Alcaraz’, Sinner wouldn’t let Carlos be Carlos.
Not an easy task.
At 22 and 23, barring the unforeseen, just think of how many years we can enjoy the thrilling tennis rivalry of these two titans?
It features perhaps two aspects of things we haven’t seen before.
One, of course, is the astounding ability of the two to connect with a shot from anywhere on the court and even those which are off the court. Shots, delivered with authority. Quickness and movement by the pair to turn a lost point into a winner, and the finesse to change the pace with masterful drop shots just clearing the net and stopping. It is a style of play never before seen in the sport and it is breathtaking.
The other aspect is the authentic respect and kindness Sinner and Alcaraz have for each other, along with other players who compete and for the sport itself.
If you want to look at the opposite of the selfish, all-about-me attitude we see in the other sports, look at Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. They are truly humble and grateful. It was evident everywhere you looked.
When a spectator needed medical attention with the extreme heat conditions during the championships, there was Alcaraz quick to assist with bottles of water and delaying his match. This scene was repeated several times during the tournament with other players, including Aryna Sabalenka bringing water to a fan in distress.
Ironically, Sinner very nearly found himself eliminated before he got to face Alcaraz for the title.
In the round of 16, 34-year old Bulgarian Gregor Dimitrov shocked the eventual champion by winning the first two sets. But Dimitrov, who has been fighting injuries forcing his withdrawal in recent majors, suffered a partial pectoral tear and had to retire. It was without doubt the saddest moment of the Wimbledon fortnight, and Sinner came to Dimitrov’s side to console his fallen opponent, before telling the crowd he could not take that match as a win. He did, of course, move on, and the rest is now history.
Having viewed athletes on and off the field of play for years, you get a feel for what’s real and what’s not when it comes to the sincerity of what competitors say and do. You learn not to be fooled.
My sense is, and I understand this feeling is from afar, that the attitude, temperament, and fondness Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have for each other, and their fellow players is heartening.
We’ve seen something close in others through the years, but not quite what we see from these two.
Call it class.
That doesn’t mean either one can’t be disappointed, unhappy, and down.
We saw it from Sinner, more poker-faced and even keeled than his more animated rival after the French. We’ll see the determination from the Spaniard after his takedown in England.
We’ll see adjustments made, and counter-moves to follow as they continue to entertain sports lovers with what hopefully will be classic confrontations.
What a thing to look forward to in tennis.
We can also look forward to more Americans becoming a factor in world competition.
In men’s play, the performances by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton were promising.
For the women, there was the letdown by Coco Goff, who was hopeful of winning another championship. Jessica Pegula, and Emma Navarro continue to knock on the door.
This year, Amanda Anisimova, a New Jersey native, reached the Ladies final against Poland’s Iga Swiatek.
Swiatek routed Anisimova 6-0, 6-0. The only other time a player won Wimbledon’s Ladies crown by sweeping both sets in that fashion was in 1911.
It was an indeed a crushing, and tear-filled experience for Anisimova. But all she needs to do is look at Jannik Sinner to know that you can hit the depths and then come back to reach the heights.
He did. She will too.
A final thought about the Wimbledon broadcast. While it is not my practice to watch events and analyze commentary, I couldn’t help but react to what I saw and what I heard. ESPN which, in my view has always presented all sports with a pre-conceived agenda, not content in simply covering an event for the purpose of allowing the viewers to enjoy the competition.
There was no need to switch to low shots from behind a player for the duration of a played point. You can’t follow the point from that angle. Why were there countless shots of the crowd and the royal box (with little identification of the person shown closeup), and then missing a serve?
As for the announcers, they talked too much. It isn’t necessary to comment after every single point played.
Especially when it deals with what we just saw. Replays speak for themselves, except when an expert explains the why and the how. And let’s not get into the mental state of each player after each point. If I hear the word ‘pressure’ one more time I’ll scream.
Billie Jean King once said, ‘pressure is a privilege’.
Sports played on the grand stage are always about pressure. Those who compete know what it is, have handled it to get where they are, and they either come through or don’t.
It doesn’t solely determine winners or losers. It comes with the territory.
My favorite team calling matches was Patrick and John McEnroe, plus the studio folks. You can keep the rest.
There, I’ve gotten it off my chest.
