2023 Wimbledon is over. With victories, surprises, disappointments and a little more…
First among equals… Using this definition about Wimbledon would probably be useless. The oldest, most prestigious, and most faithful of the Grand Slam tournaments, the 2023 edition touched history again. We will look at what’s left of Wimbledon, which brought two new singles champions, hosted unforgettable matches, flooded with celebrities like every year, and left us feeling quality even when watching from the screen.
Number 1 Farewell
Iga Swiatek is currently driving women’s tennis. But for the young star who, despite being 22 years old, has four Grand Slam titles, Wimbledon is an unexplored world. Iga, who came here right after the Roland Garros championship last year, was blocked by Alize Cornet in the third round. There was a belief that things could go differently in 2023. Already, Swiatek confirmed this with his performances at the beginning of the tournament. Problems started in the fourth round for the Polish star, who did not leave a set in the matches of Zhu Lin, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Petra Martic. Returning from the brink of defeat against Belinda Bencic, Iga lost to Elina Svitolina, who signed one of the stories of 2023 Wimbledon. Returning after giving birth, the Ukrainian got the most special victory of his adventure that will last until the semi-finals, in front of the world number 1. This meant another Wimbledon for Iga that ended in sadness and unfinished expectations. In short, the world’s best female tennis player is still not fully adapted to the grass court. And he will struggle to overcome this obstacle in the years to come.
Novak’s Kingdom
23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was the champion of the last four Wimbledons and came to the tournament to set records. If we take a look at it; she could capture Roger Federer and Björn Borg with her fifth consecutive Wimbledon victory, equal Federer with her eighth overall title, and most importantly, share Margaret Court’s all-time record by lifting her 24th slam trophy. It was hard to beat Djokovic, who hasn’t been undefeated on the Center Court since the 2013 final, hasn’t lost a Wimbledon match since 2017, and has a 28-game winning streak on the grass court. Indeed, as the tours progressed, it became clear what a difficult task this was. Nole, who had to grapple with Hubert Hurkacz’s huge serves in the fourth round, came to the final without a major crisis, except for that match. Wimbledon is still Novak’s kingdom, although the result after the final ball was thrown in the cup match against Carlos Alcaraz was a surprise. And until he hangs that racket, he’ll be on the lawn of the All England Club with a completely different aura.
Destruction Again
Ons Jabeur, nicknamed the “Minister of Happiness”, is one of the most beloved figures in the tennis world. So much so that even his losing opponents congratulate him with shining eyes and hug him around his neck, always talking about him with praise. The mission of Jabeur, the first Arab woman to see a Grand Slam final, is also enormous. The Tunisian racket represents both the African continent and the Arab world at the pinnacle of tennis. Jabeur, who lost to Elena Rybakina in the Wimbledon final in 2022 and to Iga Swiatek in the US Open final, came very close to the Wimbledon championship that she always dreamed of. Who wants this victory enough to make the championship trophy Venus Rosewater Dish a phone background; Ons, who passed the Grand Slam champions such as Bianca Andreescu, Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka in back-to-back matches, became the side that remained empty-handed in another final. Ons, who lost her favorite match against Marketa Vondrousova, has to wait at least one more year for the victory that she dreams of. And maybe this victory will be the sweetest of all, if his day comes and he wins.
The Last Ring of the School
The history of Czech tennis players at Wimbledon is well known. Although she represented the USA for most of her career, former champions such as Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna, Petra Kvitova left their mark on the Center Court. Karolina Muchova, who recently saw the Roland Garros final, and Petra Kvitova, who came to the tournament by lifting a 500 WTA trophy in Berlin, and former finalist Karolina Pliskova had a certain amount of claims. But before Wimbledon, few people mentioned Marketa Vondrousova, who won only seven games on the turf and never made it to the second round. Vondrousova, who played in the Roland Garros final in 2019 when she was a young tennis player, but gave in to Ash Barty; With her left-handed forehand, slices and short strokes, she showed that she can be effective on turf as well. The Czech racket, which finished Elina Svitolina’s adventure in the semi-finals and disrupted Ons Jabeur’s dreams in the final, now belongs to the same sentence as its compatriots who won Wimbledon. And there’s no reason why it shouldn’t do much more than that with its quality.
Beating the Best
“I wonder if he will be able to play on the grass court?” Carlos Alcaraz, like Iga Swiatek, was at the center of this problem despite all his success on other floors. Both men’s and tennis number 1s came to Wimbledon 2023 with a circle of curiosity around them. Of course, Carlitos’ difference was that he had a happy ending in Queens, one of the preparatory tournaments. Gradually solving one of the most difficult things on this specific terrain, namely the issue of movement, the Spanish star was expected to have a certain amount of impact with his big guns. However, it is possible to evaluate the beyond as a surprise. Alcaraz, who struggled in front of Nicolas Jarry in the third lap, then set Matteo Berrettini; Holger Rune and Daniil Medvedev were in good spirits with their pairings. The Djokovic rematch, which had been eagerly awaited since the match that ended with cramps in the French Open semi-final, thus took place in the Wimbledon final. Although all the numbers are in favor of the Serbian legend, Alcaraz, showing maturity beyond his years, won the match in five sets, losing the first set 6-1. He was now the first Spanish male tennis player to win Wimbledon after Manuel Santana and Rafael Nadal. And as he often stated, he had beaten the best to be the best.
