Tennis at the 2012 Wimbledon tournament was fabulous, with a surprising mix of results.
None could be more bizarre than the third round match between Sara Errani, French Open finalist, and Yaroslava Shvedova. Errani didn’t win a point in the first set.
From the American perspective Serena Williams demonstrated that she continues to be a dominant player when she is healthy. She captured her fifth singles title, set a record with 102 aces in singles, and won the doubles title with her sister Venus. Her win also begs the question, “What happens when she and her sister finally get too old to win tournaments?”
There are about a half dozen American women under the age of 24 who have demonstrated they can win Grand Slam matches. Unfortunately, they demonstrated that they are only capable of winning one or two rounds. The most impressive are Sloane Stephens and Taylor Townsend. Stephens is 19 and Townsend is still playing juniors.
Hopefully, Serena and Venus can stay healthy for a long, long time.
Murray lifted the spirits of Brits who have been humiliated recently by Barclay’s LIBOR rate fixing scandal and Rupert Murdoch’s less than ethical behavior. Despite Murray’s loss to Roger Federer, who won his 17th Grand Slam, the Brits can take solace in knowing they are slightly more fortunate than the Chicago Cubs (Fred Perry was the last British man to win the title in 1936 and the Cubs last won the World Series in 1908).
The win by Federer makes this the 33rd out of the last 37 Grand Slams to be won by the big three.
The American men had their strongest Grand Slam performance of the year as 30-year old journeymen Mardy Fish and 27-year old Brian Baker bowed out in the round of 16. Nine of the 12 American players who contended at Wimbledon are 25 years old or older. That means they are the same age or older as Nadal and Djokovic. While they are wonderful players, they have demonstrated they are not consistent “world-beaters” and they are not likely to win a Grand Slam event as long as the top three are at the top of their game.
Ryan Harrison is the most promising up-and-coming player along with junior Mitchell Krueger and McKenzie McDonald. In other words, the dry spell in American men’s tennis is likely to continue for awhile.
The singles results for Americans are listed below.
U.S. Men’s Results
Round of 128
The 12 U.S. men players had strong start – 8 wins and 4 losses.
• Winners – Ryan Harrison, Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Jesse Levine, Mardy Fish, and Brian Baker.
• Losers – James Blake, John Isner, Donald Young, and Wayne Odesnik.
Round of 64
Half of the remaining American players lost in the second round – 4 wins and 4 losses.
• Winners – Andy Roddick, Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, and Brian Baker.
• Losers – Ryan Harrison, Michael Russell, Ryan Sweeting, and Jesse Levine.
Round of 32
At the Australian Open 1 of 11 American men made it to the round of 32, while none of 8 American men made it to the round of 32 at the French Open. At Wimbledon, the remaining four American men split their matches – 2 wins and 2 losses.
• Winners – Mardy Fish and Brian Baker.
• Losers – Andy Roddick and Sam Querrey.
Round of 16
Both players lost in the round of 16.
• Losers – Mardy Fish and Brian Baker.
At Wimbledon, the 12 American men won 14 matches and lost 12.
At the French Open, the 8 American men won 3 matches and lost 8.
At the Australian Open, the 11 American men won 7 matches and lost 11.
U.S. – Women’s Results
Round of 128
The 10 U.S. women players had a comparatively weak first round – 5 wins and 5 losses.
• Winners – Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, Jamie Hampton, Serena Williams, and Varvara Lepchenko.
• Losers -. Vania King, Venus Williams, Melanie Oudin, Coco Vandeweghe, and Irina Falconi.
Round of 64
The women fared well in the second round – 4 wins and 1 loss.
• Winners – Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, Serena Williams, and Varvara Lepchenko.
• Losers – Jamie Hampton.
Round of 32
With the exception of Serena Williams, the American women lost – 1 win and 3 losses.
• Winners – Serena Williams.
• Losers – Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale, and Varvara Lepchenko.
Round of 16
Serena William remained on the winning track – 1 win and 0 losses.
Quarterfinals
Serena continued to play well – 1 win and 0 losses.
Semifinals
Serena won a tough two-set match against Azarenka – 1 win and 0 losses.
Finals
Serena wins in three sets – 1 win and 0 losses
The 10 American women won 14 matches and lost 9, although Serena won half the matches.
At the French Open the 12 American women won 15 matches and lost 12. At the Australian Open, the 10 American women won 9 matches and lost 10.
Additional results and discussion about the performance of American players is available at posts summarizing the French Open and Australian Open tournaments.
This year there is a bonus. The Olympics will be played between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. We can only hope for the best for the red, white, and blue in these upcoming events. 
Jay Berger will be coaching the men’s team. Singles players will include Andy Roddick, John Isner, Ryan Harrison, and Donald Young. If Roddick or Isner get hot or lucky, they might be in line for a medal. The two doubles teams will feature Bob and Mike Bryan and Isner and Roddick. The Bryan Brothers should be medal contenders.
Mary Joe Fernandez will be coaching the women’s team. Singles players will include the Williams sisters, Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko. If Serena remains healthy she will be favored to win a singles medal. Both doubles teams, Liezel Huber/Lisa Raymond and the Williams sisters are medal contenders.
Tennis became an Olympic medal sport in 1988. Since then, U.S. players have graced the award podium on 17 occasions. It will be disappointing if four additional medals aren’t added at this year’s event.
