Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Wimbledon. Serena and Andy

In a shocker, heavily favored Serena Williams just got knocked off at Wimbledon by Sabine Lasicki of Germany, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4. Obviously, the match yo-yoed from set to set. But in the end, this was no fluke. Lasicki beat Williams' butt fair and square. With the gorilla in the room of ladies' tennis having been dispatched -- it would appear the tournament is now wide open for the women still remaining in contention.

Most tend to forget that despite Serena being the #1 lady player in the world, she'll be 32 on 9/26/13. Sabine will turn 24 four days prior. Like it or not, 32 is getting old in the pro tennis world, and as sure as the sun rises and sets, those young talented kids like Lasicki are going to keep coming from all over the world to challenge the established stars. It's just the nature of the game. Though only a single year older, Serena's elder sib Venus has seemingly recently discovered she can't keep up any more once the competition staring her in the eyes from across the net gets serious.

What is even more interesting is the men's side of Wimbledon. In an even bigger shocker, Rafael Nadal got knocked out in the first round. Long time, but aging superstar Roger Federer would quickly follow him to the airport on a flight home. Even not so notable, but highly ranked and always dangerous player Jo Wilfried Tsonga got the boot.

This opens up the possibility of an extraordinary event happening. What if Andy Murray were to win Wimbledon? Yes, that dastardly Serb Novak Djokovic, by most accounts far and away the #1 player in the world, is still there. But hey, Murray won the Olympic gold medal in tennis not long ago and is ranked as high as #2 in the world by many knowledgeable tennis folks. He's got a shot.

The last time a male "Brit" won Wimbledon was when a guy named Fred Perry pulled it off way back in 1936. As in before WWII. As in when future queen Lizzie the Deuce was only a few years removed from her royal pacifier. As in when my editor wrote his first column as a cub reporter. A LONG time ago.

But a native finally breaking through a historic barrier is something Americans could never appreciate, because they're spoiled. Every year American sports fans have the World Series, the Super Bowl, NBA championship, and Stanley Cup winners. Plus there's the March Madness of college hoops and the NASCAR "chase" in the fall, amongst other sporting events. As soon as one sports high ends, another one is there to quickly fill the void.

But if Murray were to defeat Djokovic and win Wimbledon, can you imagine the celebration it would set off in Great Britain? They'd be partying for weeks, months, years, and good for them. It might be akin to the American hockey squad pulling off the "miracle on ice" at the Olympics back in 1980 when they improbably defeated the mighty Soviet Red Army team. That wasn't supposed to happen either, but you never know. Do you believe in miracles?

Then again, I'm still trying to figure out exactly what constitutes an "Englishman". I'm pretty sure Wales is in the mix. The people from Cornwall have historically been known for their underground mining expertise -- not to mention those little chickens called Cornish hens. Good stuff, and keep them coming. Not so sure about the Irish. Some of them embrace jolly old England and some of them would like nothing better than to give them the boot. Go figure.

Thing is -- Andy Murray is Scottish by birth. Kind of like Sean Connery, the original and best ever James Bond. Most people think of both as "Brits". Does being a Scotsman fall under the umbrella of the "United Kingdom", hence they are British? Beats me.

But if Murray wins Wimbledon, somehow I suspect it will be close enough.

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