Wimbledon 2021: Slippery courts, heartbroken Serena Williams, inspirational Ons Jabeur in talking points from first week-Sports News , Firstpost

Wimbledon returned this week after a two-year gap enforced by the coronavirus pandemic. And just as the tournament began, it was interrupted with rain in the first two days. Thankfully, there is the roof over Centre Court and Court 1 to keep some play going.

In the past week, there have been plenty of tumbles, unfortunate tears, speculation over futures of favourites and cause for the crowd to celebrate.

With the 2021 edition taking a traditional break on middle Sunday (for the last time), we look at the talking points from the first week.

Court conditions under question

There were so many slips and collapses in the first week that it felt reminiscent of 2013. The courts hadn’t been used for the major in over 700 days and then it rained the first two days. The conditions weren’t optimal.

On his 33rd birthday, Adrian Mannarino went down clutching his knee and was eventually forced to retire after giving Roger Federer a scare in the first round. Serena Williams, too, was forced to retire early in her first round. The American left the court in tears. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Frances Tiafoe, Jack Draper, Alexander Zverev, Gael Monfils and even Roger Federer took a tumble.

Djokovic joked, “I seem to be having a really nice connection with the grass!” Maria Sakkari also jokingly said, “Seeing all these players slipping here, I was afraid that something would happen to me and I couldn’t go to Tokyo [Olympics]. So there is something positive in an early loss after all!”

All England Club defended the state of the courts saying they are checked every day before play begins. Players, however, weren’t convinced.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, into the fourth round, said parts of the court were like “mud.” Murray tweeted, “centre court is extremely slippy out there. Not easy to move out there.” Nick Kyrgios ranted during his first round match, “It should be fast in here. It should be fast. That’s grass court tennis. They’ve made it slow. This isn’t grass anymore … Start watering it …. make it a grass court again please!”

End of the road for Serena Williams, Andy Murray?

Andy Murray lost in straight sets to Denis Shapovalov to exit Wimbledon in the third round. AP

Serena’s latest bid to go level with Margaret Court was thwarted not by an opponent but the Wimbledon Centre Court. The 39-year-old was “heartbroken” to retire in the first round when a second slip on the baseline was enough to end her campaign.

She walked up to the net and bid farewell in tears to the packed stadium. It is not clear if this will be the final image of the seven-time Wimbledon champion. She didn’t divulge the extent of the injury except saying it was her right leg. The G.O.A.T. did, however, thank the crowd in her statement: “Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked on – and off – the court meant the world to me.”

Meanwhile, Andy Murray recovered from blips twice in two remarkable wins in his comeback. But the journey was cut short by Denis Shapovalov with Murray looking, and admitting, less than impressive.

His honest self-probing cast doubts over his future in the sport. “There is a part of me that feels a bit like I have put in so much work the last three months and ultimately didn’t play how I would want and expect, and it’s like is it worth it? Is all of that training and everything that you’re doing in the gym, unless you’re able to like practice and improve your game and get a run of tournaments, like, is it worth all of the work that you’re doing?” Clearly, Murray’s aim is higher than just entertaining the crowd.

Kyrgios entertains and then fizzles

One player who admits to being inspired by the crowd and revels in entertaining them is Kyrgios. He played his first tournament outside Australia since the pandemic struck and arrived four days before the start of Wimbledon. With little preparation, he backed his talent to do him good.

In the first round, against Ugo Humbert, and second round, Gianluca Mager, he did that exceptionally. And then in the mixed doubles, alongside Venus Williams, they put on a show in front of a packed Court 2. But then the lack of match practice kicked in for the third round against Auger-Aliassime. The Aussie admitted to be suffering physically coming into the match and an abdominal injury surfaced in the first set. Part-time tennis can only get you so far before the rigour of regular matches takes a toll.

‘History maker’ Ons Jabeur

Unbelievable #Wimbledon | @Ons_Jabeur pic.twitter.com/oS0sEDhX87

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2021

Ons Jabeur became the first Arab woman to win a WTA tournament in Birmingham. And she’s taken that momentum into Wimbledon. The Tunisian is now the first to reach the last-16 of Wimbledon with wins over five-time champion Venus Williams and 2017 winner Garbine Muguruza along the way. But she has bigger ambitions than playing the big courts. She wants to inspire.

Her win over Muguruza had a bit of everything. She hit an around-the-net-post winner. She won 16 straight points – a joint-record at Wimbledon. She had 29 break points. She crouched in the corner of the court to vomit because of a stomach issue.

“I hope that so many of the young generation is watching, and I can inspire them,” she said. “Hopefully one day I could be playing with a lot of players next to me.”

Inspirations aplenty

If you’re seeking more inspiration from the first week of Wimbledon, there’s also Taylor Fritz and Emma Raducanu.

Fritz, 23, exited the French Open a month ago in a wheelchair. Couple of weeks later, he had undergone a quick operation, wore a black knee-support stocking and was serving down big aces once again.

“I’m positive this is the quickest anyone has ever returned to actual professional competition from this surgery,” said Fritz.

He lasted a week and eventually bowed out in four sets to Alexander Zverev in the third round.

The moment @EmmaRaducanu became the youngest British woman to reach the fourth round at #Wimbledon in the Open era ???? ???????? pic.twitter.com/SUxODx6VIo

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2021

Raducanu, 18, was giving her school-leaving exams couple of months ago. Now, she’s bracing for ‘Manic Monday’ and some more clean tennis kits. Ranked 338th in the world, the Briton outclassed Sorana Cirstea for a place in the fourth round on her Wimbledon debut.

With her Romanian father and Chinese mother looking on, Emma, born in Canada and brought up in London, became the youngest British woman to advance to the Wimbledon Round of 16 in the Open Era.

Historic moment for Indian tennis

There are no Indian singles entrants in the main draw for Wimbledon but plenty in doubles. Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, Ankita Raina, Divij Sharan and Ramkumar Ramanathan all played in the doubles draws. Mirza and Bopanna stay alive in mixed doubles going into the second week.

There was a warm embrace at the net when Bopanna and Mirza beat Ramanathan and Raina in the mixed doubles first round. Not often do you get both sides of the court occupied by Indians. It is in fact the first instance at a major in the Open Era.

Mirza’s comeback is also one to inspire. With her son watching on courtside, this is the first time she’s played four matches in a week. At the end of the match, she goes up to him irrespective of the outcome. He even accompanied her to the press conference. She admitted she has to think about his mental wellbeing, too, when deciding her schedule. Props to moms everywhere!