Sunday June 27th 2021
Wimbledon without many favorites
The relentless tour of the tennis stars
By Andreas Thies
The third Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Wimbledon Championships, starts on Monday in London. For the men, the eyes are on Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, for the women also on Angelique Kerber. But the tour also takes its toll. Many top players are not there.
Wednesday, May 12th 2021: Simona Halep leads comfortably in her third round match at the WTA tournament in Rome against the German Angelique Kerber. When she accepts a serve from her opponent, her calf hurts. She has to give up the match, and then the French Open. Shortly before the draw for the All England Championships in Wimbledon, she also announces that she has canceled Wimbledon.
Monday, May 31, 2021: Naomi Osaka first boycotted the press conferences at the French Open and then made a statement. After her voluntary withdrawal from the tournament. She opens them up on social media. Tells about her depression, which hit her in 2018. She has always moved on. But an end has been reached in Paris. It doesn’t work anymore. “As athletes we are taught to take care of our bodies, and maybe the mental aspect is neglected,” comments Martina Navratilova, the 18-time Grand Slam winner. World number one Novak Djokovic says: “I support her. It was very brave of her to do that. I am very sorry that she is going through such a difficult time and suffering psychologically.”
Thursday, June 17th 2021: Rafael Nadal lets his fans know on social media that he won’t be attending Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics this year. The Spaniard cancels both tournaments for the following reasons: the short distance between the French Open, which began a week later, and Wimbledon. The lack of the necessary regeneration time after his favorite Roland Garros tournament. The medium and long-term decision for his career and against the short-term success in London and Tokyo at the Olympics.
Tuesday, June 22nd 2021: Dominic Thiem leads 5-2 in his first round match on Mallorca against French Adrian Mannarino. If he hits his forehand, he injures his wrist and has to cancel both Wimbledon and the tournaments in Hamburg and Gstaad afterwards.
“I couldn’t hold it mentally at the end”
Four big names break away from the tournament this year. Admittedly, Dominic Thiem and Naomi Osaka haven’t had the best results on grass, but both Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep have already lifted the trophy on Church Road. Halep is even the defending champion.
It seems to be the result of a development that has been observed more and more in recent months and years. The players walk on their gums. Mentally and physically. After leaving Dubai in March, Dominic Thiem withdrew from the tournament for a few weeks. He didn’t get back in until later in the clay court season. He needed time.
The German professional Lennard Struff recently admitted after his second round loss against the American Marcos Giron in Halle / Westphalia: “We have an extremely long season in which we have extremely little vacation, extremely little time out and rest. I have to be completely honest say, I noticed today that in the end I couldn’t hold it mentally. I tried, I wanted to. I couldn’t keep the focus in there. ” He confessed, “I may be a little tired mentally.”
The show has to go on and on
The season is long, this year the professionals are working their way from bubble to bubble to host tournaments in order to maintain a tournament calendar in times of corona that lives from advertising income, from viewers, from TV broadcasts. Some players fall by the wayside.
The eyes of the men are now fixed on two names. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Djokovic has almost no preparation for grass. In Mallorca he played the doubles tournament with his good friend Carlos Gomez Herrera. They made it to the final before Gomez Herrera was stopped by an injury. Nevertheless, Djokovic clearly remains the goal of winning Wimbledon. “I’ve put myself in a good position to attack the Golden Slam this year.” So he not only wants to win Wimbledon, but also the Olympics and the US Open afterwards. A golden slam. The term was invented in 1988 when Steffi Graf won all four Grand Slams and gold in Seoul. At Wimbledon he absolutely wants to win his 20th Grand Slam and draw level with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Is Federer’s time up?
That same Federer travels to London with perhaps the most insecure feeling in his career. Everything this year was geared towards the two goals Wimbledon and Olympia. Even the French Open were just a preparation tournament for the Swiss. He will be 40 years old in August and think he has the best chance of winning the 21st Grand Slam title of his career on his favorite surface, the lawn. But his preparation was not satisfactory either. The defeat against the highly gifted Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in Halle / Westphalia was a reality check for Federer. The opponents no longer have the overwhelming respect for the eight-time Wimbledon winner. It is more difficult for him to win the points against the young power players. The draw meant well for him. He could only meet Novak Djokovic in the final, and Daniil Medvedev, seeded two, in the quarter-finals. There is still time for the “Maestro” to find his lawn shape.
With women, the picture is completely diffuse. The tour is more balanced than ever, there is not one favorite. Serena Williams makes her umpteenth attempt to win her 24th Grand Slam title and thus to draw level with Margaret Court in terms of titles. But even Serena no longer exudes the invincibility it did a few years ago. On the way to the final, she could meet Angelique Kerber. The 2018 title holder has come back into focus with her victory at the tournament in Bad Homburg. Lawn is your home. But: 25-30 players can be trusted to raise the “Venus Rosewater Dish” on July 10th.
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