Tag: Wimbledon

Sam Querrey Posts Top Performance for American Men at Wimbledon

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The quality of American men’s tennis has gradually deteriorated since Pete Sampras unofficially retired in 2002. It dropped off further when Andre Agassi played his last match in 2006. The final nail in the coffin was delivered when Andy Roddick stepped away from the sport in 2012. For the past 13 years there has been very little to cheer about on the men’s side, especially at the Grand Slam tournaments.

Recently, John Isner has been the top performer. With his big serve he has frequently been ranked between 15th and 25th. That means he has usually been seeded in that same range. Over time, he has been a dependable performer. In many tournaments he has usually held his seed and had the best record of any of the American men.

At this year’s Wimbledon Isner was seeded 18th. Even though he had a 2-1 record and was defeated in the round of 32 he did not have the top performance of the American men.

Sam Querrey provided a pleasant surprise for the American men with a 4-1 record! As the 28th seed he defeated Lucas Rosol (Czechoslovakia) in the first round and Thomaz Beluci (Brazil) in the second round. Then he stunned Novak Djokovac (Serbia) in 4 sets in his third round match. Querrey continued his winning ways in the round of 16 by defeating Nicolas Mahut (France) before bowing out to Milos Raonic (Canada) in the quarterfinals.

The 11 American men posted a respectable 14-11 record at Wimbledon this year.

The five first round losers included Denis Kudla, Bjorn Fratangelo, Brian Baker, Taylor Fritz, and Rajeev Ram.

Five Americans won their second round matches. Donald Young was the only player to exit with a 1-1 record.

Jack Sock, Dennis Novikov, and John Isner were 2-1 and lost in the round of 32.

Like Querrey, Steve Johnson had a strong performance, finishing 3-1 and departing in the round of 16.

Most likely the surprising performance of Querry and Johnson is an anomaly. One can only hope that Querrey, Johnson, and Isner will continue their winning ways at the U.S. Open next month. Stay tuned!

Serena Leads Strong Performance by American Women at Wimbledon

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Serena Williams topped off an exceptionally strong performance by the American women at Wimbledon with her 22nd Grand Slam singles trophy. In addition, Serena and Venus captured their 6th women’s doubles title.

Overall the 18 American women were 25-17 in singles, although the Williams sisters accounted for almost half of those victories. Venus was 5-1 and lost in the semis, while Serena was 7-0.

Coco Vandeweghe and Madison Keys both had respectable 3-1 showings as they reached the round of 16. Vandeweghe was seeded 27th and Keys was 9th.

The nine American women to lose in the first round were: Anna Tatishvili, Alison Riske, Nicole Gibbs, Louisa Chirico, Madison Brengle, Victoria Duval, Irina Falconi, Shelby Rogers, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Christina McHale, Varvara Lepchenko, and Samantha Crawford were each 1-1. They bowed out in the round of 64.

Julia Boserup and Sloane Stephens fared slightly better. They were 2-1 and lost in the round of 32.

The performance is in line with the WTA rankings. On June 20th there were 3 American women in the top 10, 5 in the top 30, and 14 in the top 100. It is impressive to be able to say that about 1-in-7 players among the top 100 are American women.

World Ranking Athlete Birthday
1 Serena Williams 26-Sep-81
9 Venus Williams 17-Jun-80
10 Madison Keys 17-Feb-95
20 Sloane Stephens 20-Mar-93
29 Coco Vandeweghe 6-Dec-91
61 Shelby Rogers 13-Oct-92
62 Madison Brengle 3-Apr-90
64 Varvara Lepchenko 21-May-86
66 Christina McHale 11-May-92
72 Irina Falconi 4-May-90
74 Louisa Chirico 16-May-96
76 Nicole Gibbs 3-Mar-93
80 Alison Riske 3-Jul-90
85 Bethanie Mattek-Sands 23-Mar-85

It is also interesting to note that half of the women are younger than 25 and half are older. Of the players who are 25 years or younger, only Stephens, Keys, and possibly Vandeweghe have the potential to win Grand Slam events after the Williams sisters retire. Of the older players, only Serena Williams is capable of winning a Grand Slam singles title.

Next stop, U.S. Open – with the exception of the few players who will participate in the Olympics. Look for another strong performance by the American women at Flushing Meadows.

Changing of the Guard in Women’s Tennis

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On Saturday, Serena Williams captured her 6th Wimbledon title and her 21st Grand Slam event with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Garbiñe Muguruza. By winning her 3rd Grand Slam event of the year Williams is positioned to be the first woman since Steffi Graf (1988) to win a calendar-year Grand Slam if she captures the U.S. Open in September.

Finalist Garbiñe Muguruza joins Eugenie Bouchard, Belinda Bencic, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, and Simona Halep as the young women who are part of the changing of the guard in women’s tennis. At the moment Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, and Coco Vandeweghe are the leaders of the pack of American women who have flirted with being in this group of elite players.Changing of the Guard in Women's Tennis

Collectively the 16 American women were 24-15 at the 2015 Wimbledon. The best showing was by the Williams sisters, Vandeweghe, and Keys who all made it to the round of 16. Venus was the only player to lose in the 16s as she bowed out to Serena.

On a positive note, three American women reached the Wimbledon quarters. The last time this happened was in 2004 when Serena, Lindsay Davenport and Jennifer Capriati reached the round of eight. Unfortunately, Keys lost in three sets to Radwanska, while Vandeweghe suffered a similar fate at the hands of Maria Sharapova.

American Women World Ranking 6/29 1st Rd 0-1 2nd Rd 1-1 3rd Rd 2-1 16s 3-1 Qrtrs 4-1 Semis 5-1 Finals
Serena Williams 1 X
Madison Brengle 36 X
Venus Williams 16 X
Bethanie Mattek-Sands 158 X
Nicole Gibbs 103 X
Shelby Rogers 47 X
Irina Falconi 50 X
Coco Vandeweghe 51 X
Edina Gallovits-Hall 53 X
Sloane Stephens 58 X
Lauren Davis 60 X
Alison Riske 63 X
Varvara Lepchenko 40 X
Christina McHale 86 X
Sachia Vickery 98 X
Madison Keys 21 X
TOTAL W-L 8-8 6-2 4-2 3-1 1-2 1-0 1-0

Congratulations to Serena on her 21st Grand Slam title and to the young women who are part of the changing of the guard!

Another Weak Performance by American Men at Wimbledon

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Only one of the seven American men made it to the second week of the Championships at Wimbledon. The top performer for the Americans was Denis Kudla, a Ukranian who moved to the U.S. when he was a youngster.

Kudla entered the tournament ranked 105th in the world. He won three matches before losing in the round of 16.

The storyline hasn’t changed for the American men and it won’t in the near-term. The American men are excellent players, but they are not among the elite players in the world.

The top ranked American, #17 John Isner, won two rounds before losing to Marin Cilic in another excruciating five set match. Isner’s big serve isn’t enough to make him a Grand Slam champion.

American Men World Ranking 6/29 First Round Loss Second Round Loss Round of 32 Round of 16
John Isner 17th X
Denis Kudla 105th X
Donald Young 58th X
Steve Johnson 52nd X
Tim Smyczek 77th X
Jack Sock 31st X
Sam Querrey 36th X

Combined the American men were 7-7.

While the short-term outlook for the American men is dim, it should be noted that all eight junior boys won their first round matches in the Junior Championships. There may be a light at the end of the tunnel for the American men if the current juniors can make the transition to pro game in the next couple of years.

Wimbledon Trivia

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The following facts, figures are a small part of the Wimbledon trivia highlighted on the official website of The Championships.

The Crowd
• In 2014 the attendance was 491,084.
• On a daily basis there are 39,000 spectators
• There are 15,000 seats for the finals matches.

Courts
• 41 total
• 19 Championships grass courts (Centre + Numbers 1-19, less 13)
• 22 grass practice courts in Aorangi Park and at Southlands College.
• Championships playing height 8mm. Court grass composed of 100% rye grass.

Balls
• 54,250 balls are used
• Slazenger is the official ball.

Racket Stringing
• Championships stringing team string on average over 2,000 rackets
• 60% for men
• 40% for women.
• Over 40 miles of string.

Catering
Wimbledon is the largest activity for catered food in Europe:
• 350,000 cups of tea and coffee
• 150,000 bottles of water
• 207,000 meals
• 230,000 glasses of Pimm’s
• 190,000 sandwiches
• 150,000 bath buns, scones, pasties and doughnuts
• 130,000 lunches
• 100,000 pints of draught beer and lager
• 60,000 sausage baguettes
• 40,000 char-grilled meals
• 32,000 portions of fish and chips
• 30,000 liters of milk
• 142,000 portions of English strawberries
• 28,000 bottles of champagne
• 15,000 bananas (for players)
• 60,000 portions of ice cream
• 12,000 kg of poached salmon and smoked salmon
• 7,000 liters of dairy cream
• 6,000 stone baked pizzas.

Retail
The top selling items in the Wimbledon Shop were:
• 16,000 Men’s Championships Towel
• 9,000 Women’s Championships Towel
• 11,000 Mini Tennis Ball Key ring
• 10,000 Twin pack wristbands
• 10,000 Mini Umbrellas
• 8,000 Yellow Midi Autograph Balls.

Staff
Around 6,000 staff are on staff for the Championships:
• Ball boys & girls: 250
• Ball distributors: 7
• Building Services: 84
• Catering Staff: 1,800
• Cleaners (night): 191
• Cleaners (day): 114
• Court attendants: 151
• Data Collectors: 36
• Dressing room attendants: 22
• Groundsmen: 20
• Left luggage office: 30
• Lift operators: 30
• Physiotherapists: 14
• Practice courts: 8
• Media staff: 38
• Referee’s Office: 15
• Scoreboard operators & data collectors: 46
• Security guards: 700
• Stewards (Honorary): 185
• Stewards (Service & London Fire Brigade): 595
• Transport service drivers: 320
• 350 officials on duty comprising mostly British plus 60 from overseas.

Serving – Aces/Fastest Serve
• Men: 212 Aces – Goran Ivanisevic (CRO) 2001
• Ladies: 57 Aces – Alexandra Stevenson (USA) 1999,  Serena Williams (USA) 2008
• Men: 148 mph – Taylor Dent – 2010
• Women: 129 mph – Venus Williams – 2008.

Hawk-Eye – Challenges (singles only) 2014
• Men made 428 Challenges and 120 were correct, a 28.0% success rate.
• Ladies made 191 Challenges of which 49 were correct, a 25.7% success rate.

Broadcast totals for 2014
• Gentlemen’s Singles final drew a peak audience of 10 million viewers. (BBC)
• The Ladies’ Singles Final drew a peak audience of 3.1m viewers (BBC).
• ESPN’s broadcast of the Gentlemen’s Singles final drew an average of 1,894,000 homes and 2,456,000 viewers.
• Australia: Channel Seven indicated the Kyrgios quarterfinal match attracted a viewing peak in Metropolitan and rural districts at just over 3.4m – the Gentlemen’s Singles final peaked at 2.5m and the total reach for The Championships was close to 7m.

Website
• Unique users – 17.1 million users
• Visits – 63 million
• Page views – 473 million
• Geography split in order of most trafficked: UK, US, Australia, Canada.
• Mobile app downloads (iPhone, Android and iPad) – 1.7million
• Live @ Wimbledon – 1.3 million streams
• Live @ Wimbledon Radio – 6.3 million streams
• Wimbledon-hosted Russian service – 3 million streams.

As can be seen by this list of Wimbledon trivia, The Championships are much more than a great tennis tournament.

USTA Player Development MIA at Wimbledon

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There was something different about the results for the men’s and women’s draw at Wimbledon 2014 – No American advanced past the third round in the singles. In fact, only one American man and five women made it to the third round.

Sadly, the embarrassing showing of the Americans made their abysmal showing at the French Open look somewhat respectable. Even worse, Wimbledon is a tournament where the Americans usually play well.

Clearly, the results of the men and women accentuate the fact that the USTA Player Development has been MIA for a number of years. The program may be taking credit for developing players, but it is not producing elite players at the international level.

On the men’s side, John Isner was the only player to have a winning record. He exited in the third round.

Sam Querrey, Jack Sock, and Denis Kudla all lost in the second round after winning a match. Bradley Klahn, Steve Johnson, AlexKuznetsov, Ryan Harrison, Donald Young, and Michael Russell were all first round losers.

The men won 5 matches and lost 10. In other words, if the American men had combined all of their wins and allocated them to one player, they would have lost in the semifinals.

The American men are excellent players; however, with the exception of Isner and Querry, they are ranked closer to 100 than number 1. The player development programs of other countries appear to have aspirations for greatness that exceed those of the USTA Player Development program.

Memo #1 to USTA Player Development.
Topic: There were no American men players in the round of 16.

The following countries had multiple players in the round of 16:
• Spain – 3
• France – 2
• Switzerland – 2
The following countries had one player in the 16s: Argentina, Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Serbia, and South Africa. The player from Serbia won the tournament.

There were 13 Americans in the women’s draw. Combined, they won 13 matches and lost 13.

The first round losers included: Anna Tatishvili, Christina McHale, Taylor Townsend, Sloane Stephens, and Vania King. They were joined on the sidelines by second round losers Victoria Duval, Coco Vandeweghe, and Varvara Lepchenko.

The following American women won two matches before exiting the tournament: Serena Williams, Alison Riske, Madison Keys, Venus Williams, and Lauren Davis. Game over for the women!

The recent American youngsters to appear on the big stage are finding that life is tougher than it looks like from the sidelines.

Memo #2 to USTA Player Development.
Topic: There were no American women players in the round of 16.

The following countries had multiple playing in the Round of 16:
• Czechoslovakia – 4
• Germany -2
• Russia – 2
• Kazakhstan – 2
The following countries had one player in the 16s: Canada, China, Denmark, France, Poland, and Romania. One of the players from Czechoslovakia was the winner.

Wimbledon 2014 confirmed what was expected last summer. At that time it appeared there were either an inordinate number of upsets or a changing of the guard. The recent results confirmed the latter has occurred.  Halep, Bouchard, Kvitova, and the host of other young players have begun to take over the top spots in the women’s game.

Djokovic, Nadal, and Federer, still control the men’s sport, but the youngsters are rattling their sabers that change is on the horizon in the not too distant future.

Hopefully the leaders of the USTA and the USTA Player Development Program were watching. Wimbledon is much more fun to watch when Americans are playing in the finals!

Strong Performance by American Girls at Wimbledon Juniors – Weak Showing by the Boys

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The finals matches of the Wimbledon junior championships illustrate how tennis has become a strong international sport.  An Italian defeated a Korean in the finals of the boys’ singles and Switzerland’s top player defeated an American in the girls’ finals.

The performance of the American boys at Wimbledon was nearly as dismal as their counterparts in the mens’ event.  Spencer Papa, Noah Rubin, and Luca Corinteli fell in the first round.

Stefan Koslov fared slightly better; he won three matches before losing in the quarterfinals.  Overall the boys won three matches and lost four.

Of the five American girls, only Louisa Chirico (15) and Taylor Townsend (5) were seeded.  Overall the five girls won 12 matches and lost five.  Dasha Ivanova and Johnise Renaud lost in the first round. Jamie Loeb won three matches (3-1) before losing in the quarterfinals, Louisa Chirico won four matches (4-1) before losing in the semifinals and Taylor Townsend won five matches (5-1) before bowing out in the finals.

This was the second consecutive strong showing for Chirico and Townsend. Chirico lost in the semifinals and Townsend lost in the quarterfinals at the French Open.  The U.S. girls are likely to have a strong showing at the U.S. Open in late August. Stay tuned!

 

Wimbledon 2013 – Upsets or Changing of the Guard

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Most sports enthusiasts expected the Cubs to win the World Series before either Marion Bartoli (seeded 15th) or Sabine Lasicki (seeded 23rd) reached the finals of Wimbledon 2013.  Based on their seeds they were projected to exit the tourney in the round of 16 and 32.

With due respect to both players, the consensus was that the Jamaicans would win the Olympic bobsledding gold medal before Bartoli would reach the finals at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in the same year as Lasicki.  Their presence in the finals raises the question, “Were the upsets at Wimbledon 2013 an anomaly or were they a sign that a new era of women were joining the top ranks?”

While it is an accomplishment to be ranked in the top 10, only 5 of the top-ranked women (rankings prior to Wimbledon), have won Grand Slam women’s singles events.  The players and their birth years are:

  • Serena Williams  1981
  • Victoria Azarenka  1989
  • Maria Sharapova  1987
  • Agnieszka Radwanska  1989
  • Sara Errani  1987
  • Na Li  1982
  • Angelique Kerber  1988
  • Petra Kvitova  1990
  • Caroline Wozniacki  1990
  • Maria Kirlenko  1987

On average the top 10 players are 26 years old. While this is young by most standards, some of the upsets at Wimbledon are an indication that about half of the top 10 are closer to the end of their careers than to their peak competitive years and their ability to win a Grand Slam singles title.  Serena Williams and Na Li are both over the 30 while Kvitova and Wozniacki are the youngsters at 23.

The American women have a chance to make their presence felt as the changing of the guard continues to unfold over the next 18 months. The 14 American women Wimbledon entrants and their birth year follow:

  • Serena Williams  1981
  • Alison Riske  1990
  • Mallory Burdette  1991
  • Bethanie Mattek-Sands  1985
  • Madison Keys  1995
  • Varvara Lepchenko  1986
  • Sloane Stephens  1993
  • Jamie Hampton  1990
  • Christina McHale 1992
  • Alexa Glatch  1989
  • Lauren Davis  1993
  • Melanie Oudin  1991
  • Coco Vandeweghe  1991
  • Vania King  1989

Nine of the players lost in the first round:

  • Burdette, Hampton, Davis, Oudin, and Vandeweghe are 23 years old or younger.
  • Mattek-Sands, Lepchenko, Glatch, and King are at least 24 years old.

Most of the first round losers are young and have potential for success in future Grand Slams.

Overall the American women won 12 matches and lost 14. First round winners included Serena Williams, Alison Riske, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, and Christina McHale. With the exception of Williams the other four are 18 to 23 years old.  McHale lost in the second round and Riske and Keys were third round losers. Williams was upset in the round of 16 and Sloane Stephens lost in the quarterfinals.

Stephens has demonstrated that she is a force to be reckoned with.  Her losses in the 2013 Grand Slams follow:

  • Australian Open – lost to Azarenka (winner) in the semifinals.
  • French Open – lost to Sharapova (finalist) in the quarterfinals.
  • Wimbledon – lost to Bartoli (winner) in the quarterfinals.

On August 26, the U.S. Open begins.  At that time the next step in the evolution of women’s tennis will be showcased. It will be interesting to watch the role that the American women play in the changing of the guard.

 

USTA Men’s Player Development Missing In Action

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Wimbledon 2013 began on Monday June 24, and by Thursday June 27, the 11 American men entrants had been dismissed.

First round losers and their birth years included:

  • Steve Johnson  1989
  • Ryan Harrison  1992
  • Wayne Odesnik  1985
  • James Blake  1979
  • Sam Querrey  1987
  • Alex Kuznetsov  1987
  • Michael Russell 1978

These seven players captured 8 sets while losing 24.

The second round was even more depressing as the remaining four players won only 1 set. Second round losers and their birth years included:

  • Bobby Reynolds  1982
  • Denis Kudia  1992
  • John Isner  1985
  • Rajeev Ram  1984

These 11 American men are tremendous athletes – that is not the issue. Since its inception the USTA has spent millions of dollars on player development without producing any Grand Slam competitors or winners.  A closer look at birth years of America’s top men players shows that most are in the same age range as the current top 10 in the world.  In other words, they are closer to retirement than to winning a Grand Slam.  Querrey and Isner are currently ranked in the top 25 (closer to 25 than 1), but they are not serious competitors for a Grand Slam title.

A look at the top 10 men players in the world and their birth years shows:

  • Novak Djokovic  1987
  • Andy Murray  1987
  • Roger Federer  1981
  • David Ferrer  1982
  • Rafael Nadal  1986
  • Tomas Berdych  1985
  • Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 1985
  • Juan Martin Del Potro 1988
  • Richard Gasquet  1986
  • Stanislas Wawrinka  1985.

Only Steve Johnson, Ryan Harrison, and Denis Kudia provide a glimmer of hope for the future.  Looking further down the food chain, the top American juniors include Noah Rubin (third round loser at the French Open), Stefan Kozlov (second round loser at the French Open), and Spencer Papa and Luca Corentelli (first round losers at the French Open).

The future of American men’s tennis is very clear. The USTA Men’s Player Development has not been ready for prime time for a long time – if ever. That is not likely to change in the months ahead.

 

U.S. Juniors Have Mediocre Showing at Wimbledon

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After solid performances in the French and Australian Opens, the American juniors had a disappointing performance at Wimbledon. Through the first three Grand Slams, the two strongest performers have been Mitchell Krueger and Taylor Townsend.

The girls and boys singles events were won by a pair of Canadians. Eugenie Bouchard defeated Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) in the finals of the Girls’ singles. In the Boys’ event Filip Peliwo upset Luke Saville of Australia.

Eight Americans Boys represented the U.S. in singles. Their results are listed below.

Round of 64
The boys had a combined record of 3-5 in the first round.
Winners: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Stefan Kozlov and Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: Noah Rubin, Alexios Halebian, Connor Farren, MacKenzie McDonald, and Spencer Papa.

Round of 32
The boys had a strong second round, 2-1.
Winners: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and Mitchell Krueger.
Loser: Stefan Kozlov.

Round of 16
The boys split their matches in the third round, 1-1
Winners: Mitchell Krueger.
Losers: Thai-Son Kwiatkowski.

Quarterfinals
Only Krueger advanced to the semifinals, 1-0.
Winner: Mitchell Krueger.
Loser: None.

Semifinals
The journey ended in the semifinals for the boys, 0-1.
Winner: None
Loser: Mitchell Krueger.

The boys had a combined record of 7-8 at Wimbledon. Krueger, the top American, also lost in the semifinals of the French Open. At the French Open, the American Boys were 9-6. Down Under they were 4-3, and McKenzie McDonald led the way, bowing out in the semifinals.

Eight girls represented the U.S. in the singles draw. Their results follow.

Round of 64
The girls had a modest showing in the first round, 4-4.
Winners: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, Sachia Vickery, and Kyle S. McPhillips.
Losers: Christina Makarova, Catherine Harrison, Chalena Scholl, and Jennifer Brady.

Round of 32
The girls had a solid second round, 3-1.
Winners: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, and Sachia Vickery.
Loser: Kyle S. McPhillips.

Round of 16
The girls had a disastrous third round, 0-3.
Winners: None.
Losers: Taylor Townsend, Alexandra Kiick, and Sachia Vickery.

Overall, the girls had a disappointing showing at Wimbledon, with 7 wins and 8 losses. At the French Open the American girls had 10 wins and 7 losses, although nobody advanced past the round of 16. Down Under, the American girls had 18 wins and 6 losses. Taylor Townsend won the event and Krista Hardebeck was ousted in the semis.

There will like be a larger contingency of American juniors at the U.S. Open. With a little luck and some good home cooking, a strong showing should be on tap.