The ‘Unbelievable’ Becomes Believable At Wimbledon

BY JAMES BECK

What’s believable about this Wimbledon?

The TV guys, McEnroe and crew, for awhile the first week seemed to think every great shot was “Unbelievable.”

And when the tournament got serious, Wimbledon split up the matches between ESPN and ESPN2. That was good. But it ruined the viewers’ planned recordings of the matches when either ESPN or ESPN2 would reveal the secret of what was happening on the other channel.

RECORDINGS REVEAL SECRETS

So much for enjoying the intense moments of Iga Swiatek’s and Jessica Pegula’s individual quarterfinal matches, even though both suffered major upsets. Or the pressure moments of Carlos Alcaraz’s and Daniil Medvedev’s wins, or the collapse of Christopher Eubanks against Medvedev after appearing to have Medvedev beaten.

You already knew what was happening, thanks to the other ESPN channel.

The pleasure of watching the recordings before the results were unveiled by the other channel on your recording was wiped out.

Fortunately, the women’s semifinals were on the same ESPN channel so you could enjoy them at your leisure, live or on a recording.

VONROUSOVA? WHO?

Who would have picked unseeded Marketa Vonrousova to make the Wimbledon women’s final, or even for Ons Jabeur to be her opponent in the championship match? Only Wimbledon’s grass could make a battle between those two a really exciting final.

It was supposed to be Swiatek against Aryna Sabalenka, or at least defending champion Elena Rybakina.

Swiatek was expected to have easily beaten Elina Svitolina in the quarters, but Wimbledon’s grass took the punch out of Swiatek’s usually near-perfect strokes and turned them into wild shots as the then No. 1 Swiatek repeatedly over-hit her shots.

The fact it was a battle between the Polish star and the not so highly regarded Svitolina from her neighboring country, Ukraine, may have had something to do with Swiatek’s inability to handle the pressure.

OLD MAN MURRAY WAS DANGEROUS

Andy Murray’s legs may not be quite as strong as they were when he was winning Grand Slam titles.

But Andy is as mentally tough as ever.

And shot-making? Solid as a rock.

He looks like he never took a break from the tour to fight injuries, even if he is 36 years old.

Nearly perfect soft hands and brilliantly compact strokes. Not to mention powerful serves that explode like a bomb.

But Andy lost in the second round to Stefanos Tsitsipas. And Tsitsipas fell to the big-serving Eubanks in the round of 16.

Hopefully, Andy Murray will make it all the way back, and Rafa Nadal will have a good 2024, too.

—

James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.