Tag: Serena Williams

Photo Courtesy of Max Pixel

Simona Halep Wins Wimbledon With Unbelievable Performance

Heading into the Wimbledon Final many thought this would be the day when Serena Williams captured her 24th Grand Slam Title. Williams had the overall record over Simona Halep entering the match with nine wins in the last 10 matches. Halep only has one Grand Slam Title to her name winning the French Open in 2018. It seemed like today would be the day for Williams, but Halep played arguably the best match of her career.

Halep once struggled on grass and injured her ankle in the semifinals of 2014. As she has grown as a player so has her game and appreciation for the grass courts of Wimbledon. Earlier in the tournament Halep tweeted that she loves grass and today it showed.

From the beginning Halep looked strong putting Williams in difficult positions for shots. Even when it seemed like Williams would win a point with an impressive shot of her own Halep would seemingly come out of nowhere and return the ball out of the reach of Williams. Halep was winning point after point, breaking Williams’ infamous serve and finding rhythm with her own serve as well. Halep won the first set in commanding fashion 6-2. The slow start for Williams created frustration for her and perhaps reminded her of her 2018 Wimbledon Finals defeat to Angelique Kerber.

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With the first set now behind them perhaps it could be the break that Williams needed to refocus. Also, could Halep sustain her level of play against one of the sport’s best?

The second set was much of the same. There were moments of brilliance from Williams, but she only yelled her emphatic, “Come On!” a couple of times throughout the match. She spent much of the match chasing after balls well hit by Halep into the corners of the court. Halep carried the momentum from the first set into the second and did not allow Williams to get back in the match. Halep would win 4/5 break points and limit Williams to just two aces all match. The match would take only 56 minutes for Halep to claim her second Grand Slam title winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

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The loss for Williams is now her third loss in a row in a final bringing her all time Grand Slam Finals record to 23-8. Obviously disappointed in not winning and still chasing 24, but in true Williams fashion after the match she gave all the credit to Halep.

She literally played out of her mind. Congratulations Simona. You know it was a little deer in headlights for me. Whenever a player plays that amazing you just kind of have to take your hat off and give them a nod on the head. So congrats on all the hard work.”

Williams making it back to the finals again is a testament to her since she has played limited matches after coming back from her pregnancy. She will continue her quest for 24 at the US Open next month.

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Wimbledon is one of the most historic tournaments in all of tennis so winning a title here has so much historic significance. Halep talked about it after the match that winning at Wimbledon, specifically, was a dream come true for her and her family.

I will never forget this day because it was my mom’s dream. When I was about 10/12 she said if I want to do something in tennis I have to play the final in Wimbledon and the day came.”

Halep’s play was remarkable and while Williams did not have her best match Halep played her absolute best. She had the fewest unforced errors in a ladies’ singles final with just three. After the match when she was asked if she had ever played a match better than that she responded with, “Never, it was the best match.” When asked about her nerves which seemed few and far between she admitted she was quite nervous.

Well I had nerves, my stomach was not very well. But I knew there was no time for emotions.”

Despite the nerves Halep was able to play the match of her life and win the 2019 Wimbledon Ladies Single Title in dominant fashion.

Photo Courtesy of Romain Dauphin-Meunier

Serena Williams and Simona Halep Will Face-Off in Wimbledon Final

Three of the last six Grand Slam Finals have included either Serena Williams or Simona Halep and Saturday’s Wimbledon Final will feature them both. Before they take center court they each had to play a semifinal match against two players hoping to play spoiler to the higher ranked players.

Halep and Elina Svitolina played first on the day. Purely based on seeding the two are evenly matched and Halep just edges her by having the seven seed while Svitolina holds the eight seed. This was the first Grand Slam semifinal in Svitolina’s career and having only reached the quarterfinals three times, most recently at the 2019 Australian Open. Halep was also the highest seeded player Svitolina had faced at Wimbledon meaning this was the first time she was seen as the underdog.

Halep got out to an early lead in the match and quickly won the first set 6-1. Svitolina never really seemed to settle into the match only winning 1/5 break points and never earning consecutive game points. She did last a little longer in the second set but eventually lost 6-3, losing in straight sets.

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Halep looked impressive the whole match even enduring long rallies with Svitolina but won the majority of them demonstrating her stamina. A player who has struggled on grass in the past, only making it to the semifinals at Wimbledon once before this year, looks composed this year. At times player can slip on the surface especially if they are not used to it compared to the clay and hard courts. Halep even injured her ankle the last time she was in the semifinals at Wimbledon due large in part to the grass surface.

When asked how she has improved her game at Wimbledon over the years, Halep admitted she has made adjustments with drop shots, using the slice more and having an effective serve. But a big part to her game she noted has been her mental approach to the grass surface. She stated,

Now when the ball is coming my way I know what to do with it. Maybe that’s why and maybe I feel confident and not scared anymore of how the ball bounces. So I think I have the feeling and also I feel stable on the legs which is very important on the grass.”

The second semifinal of the day was between Williams and Barbora Strycova. Like Svitolina, Strycova was also playing in her first Grand Slam semifinal, but Strycova has only made the quarterfinals one other time at a Grand Slam before this year’s Wimbledon, back at the 2014 Wimbledon tournament. Unseeded Strycova upset four seeded players before facing Williams, most natably beating fourth seeded, Kiki Bertens, and 19th seeded, Johanna Konta. Unfortunately her string of upsets would stop in the semifinals due to the stellar play from Williams. Strycova looked outmatched from the start and Williams was firing on all cylinders. Williams had four aces on the day, winning 89% off her first serves and winning 4/5 break points. The match took less than an hour with Williams winning 6-1, 6-2.

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The upcoming final will be her second straight at Wimbledon and third in a year’s time. However, she has not won a Grand Slam title since 2017 before she took time off for her pregnancy plus time to relax and recover. Many doubted she would be able to fully get back to her peak performance and believed her recent pregnancy along with her age would derail her from winning another title. If she is able to win on Saturday her next title will be a big one.

If Williams is able to win she would have her elusive 24th Grand Slam title, which would give her the most all time, men or women. Anytime Williams makes it far in a tournament it is the topic of conversation. Reporters are constantly asking her about her thoughts on getting the 24th and she often claims to not think about it and really just focuses on tennis and her post-match interview was no different today. When asked about the pressure of 24 she replied,

I thought about it this morning and I actually didn’t think about it since. Because it’s really not about 24 or 23 or 25 it’s really just about going out there and giving my best effort no matter what. No matter what I do I will always have a great career. I just kind of let it go this morning. Yeah, I feel really calm about it.”

While Williams will be the favorite to win the match Halep is no slouch herself. She is a former number one player and the last of the two to win a Grand Slam; Halep won the 2018 French Open. They have played each other a total of 11 times with Williams winning the last six matches including two at Grand Slams.

The pressure, whether Williams feels it or not, will be on her to win her 24th title and get the critics off her back that say she is unable to return to her dominance in the past. If both players continue to play as they have this final will be a great battle with long rallies throughout the match.

The final will take place on Saturday at 9 am ET on ESPN.

Photo Courtesy of Steven Pisano

Top Seeded Barty Loses and Gauff’s Phenomenal Run Comes to an End

Wimbledon’s fourth round with the final 16 players left in the Ladies’ Singles took place today. Five of the top ten seeds were left in the field entering today, but only two would remain when the day was over.

The biggest upset of the day was top seeded Ashleigh Barty getting beat by unseeded Alison Riske. Barty was able to win the first set 6-3 but Riske rallied back to win the last two sets 6-2, 6-3. This will be the first time Riske has ever made it further than the fourth round of any Grand Slam tournament. Riske will play 11th seeded Serena Williams in the quarterfinals.

Barty was looking good heading into Wimbledon having won the last Grand Slam tournament this year, the French Open, and making it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year. Her number one ranking is not at stake since the number three ranked player in the world, Karolina Pliskova, the last player who could surpass her, lost today as well. Pliskova was defeated by Johanna Konta 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 today. If Pliskova had made it to the semifinals she would have been the new number one.

Earlier this year former number one Naomi Osaka talked about the pressure of being the number one ranked player and how freeing it was to not have the number by her name anymore. When Barty was asked if the number one ranking had changed her she had a very different and more relaxed response compared to Osaka.

No, I haven’t lived my life any differently. But there’s a little bit more attention… For me nothing has really changed. I try and go about it the same way, the right way. The way that I believe works for me and my team… If we can hold onto the number ranking it’d be great. But if we don’t it’s not really going to change anything that we do between now and our next event.”

Perhaps the match most people were tuning into involved the youngest player and lowest ranked player in the tournament, Coco Gauff. She had the hard task of facing the seventh ranked player, Simona Halep. On paper it seemed like Gauff would struggle, but if tennis was played merely on paper Gauff would not even be playing in Wimbledon.

Not only was Gauff the underdog heading into the match, but she was also be sick throughout the match with what appeared to be stomach pains. Whether it was her inexperience, her stomach pains or a combination of both Halep looked like the superior player through the majority of the match. Gauff lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 and only lasted one hour and 15 minutes. After the match, just like she was gracious in victory she was equally gracious in defeat and did not blame the sickness giving all the credit to Halep on a great match. Halep will play unseeded Shuai Zhang in her next match.

The final upset on the day was the 21st seeded Elise Mertens being beat by unseeded Barbora Strycova by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-2. With Strycova’s victory the quarterfinals will have a seeded and unseeded player in every match.

The quarterfinals begin tomorrow at 8 am ET with S. Williams playing Riske and Halep playing Zhang. Then followed up at 9:15 am ET (time subject to change) by Konta playing Strycova and Elina Svitolina playing Karolina Muchova. The matches will be broadcasted on ESPN and ESPN2.

Graphic Courtesy of Natalie Dettmer

WOW Sports Now Providing Coverage for Tennis Starting With Wimbledon

WOW Sports is happy to announce that we have expanded our coverage to now include tennis. With Wimbledon starting tomorrow we thought it was the perfect time to officially add our second sport. We will still continue our coverage of the Women’s World Cup followed up with overall soccer coverage.

We will provide current world rankings, tournament insight with schedules and analysis. Feel free to go to our “Tennis” page and check out our coverage.

Tennis has a rich history and is beloved by millions of people. Wimbledon is a staple tournament in the sport known for its fresh grass courts and all white apparel requirement.

128 women will compete in the singles portion of Wimbledon starting on July 1st and the final two players will square off on July 13th.

There are 36 different nations represented at the tournament with the most being from the United States having 18 athletes. The highest ranked American at Wimbledon is Sloane Stephens at ninth with Serena Williams not far behind ranked 11th.

The number one overall ranking belongs to Australian, Ashleigh Barty. She clinched the top seed by winning the Birmingham Classic on June 24th. The 23-year-old will look to add to her recent slew of victories most notably her win at the 2019 French Open.

When Barty was named the top seed she dethroned Japanese player, Naomi Osaka, who had the infamous win over Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open and followed it up with a win at the 2019 Australian Open.

Angelique Kerber of Germany currently ranked fifth in the world will look to retain her Wimbledon title she won in 2018. Kerber defeated S. Williams last year in the final match, but if the two win their matches respectively they would face off in the semifinals this year.

The top half of the Wimbledon bracket does seem to be more daunting and full of heavy favorites compared to the bottom half. Barty, S. Williams, Kerber, Kiki Bertens (ranked fourth), Stephens and Petra Kvitova (ranked sixth) all encompass the top half. While Osaka, Arvna Sabalenka (ranked tenth), Simona Halep (ranked seventh), Karolina Pliskova (ranked third) and Elina Svitolina (ranked eighth) make up the bottom half of the bracket.

Nine of the last ten Wimbledon champions are all in the top half of the bracket and Marion Bartoli is the only exception to the last ten years winning the 2013 Wimbledon title, but she has since retired. Venus Williams (ranked 44th) is the only player on the bottom half the bracket to win Wimbledon since the turn of the century winning in 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2008.

There have only been nine different Wimbledon winners since 2000 with the majority of those titles going to S. Williams who has seven.

Will a new champion be crowned this year or will the usual winners prove Wimbledon is made for the experienced veterans? Find out by staying up to date on WOW Sports and by watching the matches on ESPN with coverage starting tomorrow at 6:00 am ET on ESPN3 and ESPN+.