A remarkable Wimbledon of record crowds, abundant sunshine and unbelievable upsets delivered two new champions, one of whom fulfilled a British ache for a male champion after 77 years. Andy Murray, the first British champion in shorts, as well as Novak Djokovic, his World No. 1 Serbian opponent, promise the arrival of a whole new era of domination in the men’s game in which two other great champions, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, may just be fading.
The Scot Murray and the cerebral French lady Marion Bartoli represent the triumph of nerves to satisfy expectations, both personal and national. Bartoli may have been fortunate that she did not come across a single top 10 player on her march to the crown but she was in a Wimbledon final once before and was not unnerved by the occasion, as her opponent Sabine Lisicki seemed to be.
It’s a pity then that Bartoli drew the wholly unnecessary piece of sexism from a BBC TV presenter who tended to judge her by her looks, not skills. Women athletes must fear living the life of a gold fish even in these more emancipated times in which there is also equal pay among the genders, at least at prestigious grand slam events like Wimbledon.
Those who tumbled, including the “looker” Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams, had some complaints about the slippery lawn surface, which is something of an anachronism in modern tennis. The charm of Wimbledon was only enhanced by a roller-coaster championship.