The Wimbledon championships ended on Sunday. Two full weeks of exciting tennis came to a close, with Serena Williams and Andy Murray winning titles which were expected. Murray’s title, of course, wasn’t expected until after Novak Djokovic lost, but once that happened, Murray was supposed to win this tournament, and he did. Those were the normal events. What about the four most surprising players of the tournament?
Elena Vesnina
There is no doubt that the biggest positive surprise in the WTA for Wimbledon was Vesnina. Almost 30 years old, she’s been playing on the tour for a long time. No one was mentioning her as a threat to go deep in this tournament, and there was no reason to think so, either. She was ranked No. 50, and she had never made a Grand Slam quarterfinal, let alone a semifinal. She had made the fourth round of Wimbledon only once before, back in 2009. She had made the fourth round of a Grand Slam event only three times in her lengthy career – Wimbledon of 2009 and the 2006 and 2013 Australian Opens. Some players are off the radar because people unwisely ignore them, but many others are obscure because they simply don’t do anything to deserve publicity or attention. This was Vesnina’s position heading into Wimbledon. Yet, she bolted out of the blue to reach her first Wimbledon and Grand Slam semifinal.
The amazing thing about Vesnina is that she and Dominika Cibulkova both made the quarterfinals after winning fourth-round matches by a score of 9-7 in the third set. Both players had reason to be tired in their quarterfinal meeting, but only Vesnina powered through her condition. Cibulkova, who is roughly two years younger, was much more fatigued. Vesnina was an iron woman at Wimbledon, playing deep into the singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles tournaments. She made a lot of money… and memories.
Lucas Pouille
The Frenchman had never made a Grand Slam quarterfinal heading into this season, but that has changed after Wimbledon. Pouille beat Juan Martin del Potro in the third round and Bernard Tomic in the fourth round to get to the final eight. Del Potro has won a Grand Slam title, and Tomic has made the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Those are big-time wins for a young player who is trying to stick around on the tour and show he belongs. Pouille has enjoyed a breakout year in 2016, and everything that happened at Wimbledon should give him the confidence to think he can continue to improve and win on an even larger scale.
Juan Martin del Potro
The idea that del Potro is a pleasant surprise might catch a lot of people off guard. He did lose break leads in the sets he played against Pouille in a deflating third-round loss. He didn’t even make the first week. How can del Potro be viewed as a surprise in a good way?
The reality is that del Potro is still not fully healthy. He still can’t hit through his backhand. He is still playing with one and a half groundstrokes instead of two. That he could still beat Stan Wawrinka, a two-time major champion, without a drive backhand is pretty remarkable. It’s one of the most unforgettable moments of Wimbledon in 2016. If Wawrinka was still in the tournament and on his game, he could have been one of the last men standing.
It will be interesting to monitor del Potro as he gets healthier. The United States Open is coming up in the next few months and del Potro will have enough time to get back in form. Remember that he once won that event and could very well be in contention by the time its back on the radar.
Yaroslava Shvedova
Ranked at 96, Shvedova should have been done in the first round. Instead, she powered her way to the quarterfinals. She made a Grand Slam quarterfinal for the first time since 2012 and validated her career in a big way. This was a vital and uplifting tournament for Shvedova, who also made the women’s doubles final with Timea Babos before losing to Venus and Serena Williams.
