So We Bid Adios to Wimbledon 2010 with ...

In a matter of a mere three weeks, the grass court season is over. Rafael Nadal holds the ultimate trophy of the Grass Court season—and possibly of tennis—and he would take over most of the conversations in the next few weeks. I have my own thoughts on him, but would wait for the euphoria to die down just a bit and meanwhile look back at other noteworthy news of the Wimbledon championships.

Rafael Nadal dispatched Thomas Berdych in straight sets towards his second Wimbledon title

—First title at any surface is very special, but the second one makes it even better as it proves the first one was not a fluke. And Nadal has shown an all round improvement in his game, most notably his serve, his flatter ground strokes, his skill at the net (he was 23/26 at the net against Andy Murray—is he the most underrated, and perhaps the best, volleyers of the era?) and of course, the returns.

This graphic shows not only shows how he placed himself much closer to the baseline in Wimbledon compared to the French Open, but also why it is so difficult to win the French Open-Wimbledon double. Imagine returning serves zipping at a much higher speed of the ground with less time on your hands (compared to clay). And all that in a matter of two weeks without much practice on the green turf.

—Is it time to transfer the title of the ‘Queen of Grass’ from Venus Williams to Serena? She has one less title than her elder sibling, but it is she who looks more likely to win the same crown next year. Maybe not yet, but if she serves those 89 aces and hits her high kicking second serves the next year as well, who knows she may not lose a single set at Wimbledon for 14 consecutive matches?

—Thomas Berdych finally is making full use of his talent, but unless he stops blowing away a 6-2 lead in the second set tie-breaker, I’m afraid, he’ll have to contend with the runner’s plate, than the Golden trophy. After all, Nadal is not Novak Djokovic.

—Speaking of the Serb, I’d much rather see the arrogant, chest-thumping, “I have three words for Roger, he’s going down” Djokovic than the humble sportsmen embracing the opponent after defeat, all the while raising his hands in desperation before/during/after a rally at the Wimbledon semi-finals. The world doesn’t conspire against you, Novak. It is you.

Gracefulness is a good characteristic to have off the court, but not at the cost of competitiveness on court. Rafa, anyone?

—It is the first time since November 2003, that Roger Federer has found himself outside the top-2. Is this the end of the Federer-era? If by an era, we mean the days of two or three slams a year, then yes. If it mean that he is done winning Slams, then no. Despite his win at Wimbledon ’09 and loss at the US Open finals, his best tournament—in terms of personal form and domination—was at Cincinnati. And that was played on the same surface, under same conditions as the US Open.

—Talking about losing finalists, the forever-headcase Vera Zvonareva was back at her best after showing uncharacteristic calm and composure during the ladies singles tournament. In the doubles finals, she was back to crying, breaking her racket and suffering an emotional meltdown. Safe to say that the Zvonareva in the singles semis and finals was the exception rather than the norm?

—Murray is definitely shattered, but he should take solace from the fact he is improving. His serve was more consistent than Australia including the second ball, the returns are as good as ever, and he still dispatches 90% of the tour with relative ease (he lost only one set before facing Nadal). His forehand is a big point of concern, though, and it is where he should spend his entire summer before the summer hard court stint. He even plays the big points well, just that he found an opponent in the semis who play them better.

—Is it a mere coincidence that Robin Soderling had to play a five set match before each of his three Slam meetings against Federer or Nadal (French Open ’09 and ’10 finals, Wimbledon ’10 QFs) after his historic win against the latter? It is no coincidence, though, that he underperformed in all three of these contests (of course, the quality of the opponent is responsible too). Perhaps fitness should be appended in his TODO list after ‘hands-at-the-net’ and backhand slice.

—The Sampras quote of Wimbledon being more about the returns than the serve holds true again. Nadal was not in any of the serving stats, be it number of aces, service winners or the fastest serve, but he led the chart in what matters most—32 break points won. That is four and a half per match. For winning a match, you require three (disregarding the tie-breakers).

Of course, he is already leading the year for the most break points saved.

—There needs to be a serious look at the way rules are imposed, most notably regarding the on court coaching. The 2010 champ was fined $2000 after a warning for on-court coaching, when television replays suggested none. Justine Henin, on the other hand, was not even considered for this offense when she was getting full advice from her coach Carloz Rodriguez during her match against Kim Clijsters. Thomas Berdych repeatedly looked towards his camp for a nod on a hawkeye challenge in his match against Federer.

“This is a joke, ” was John McEnroe’s reaction. Perhaps he meant, “You cannot be serious!”?

—If you ever want to see a wolf slaughtering a lamb on a tennis court (of course, figuratively) go watch the replay of Petra Kvitova beating Caroline Wozniacki. It will only take you 14 games and 46 minutes.

—This is an FYI for the absolute tennis nuts. The Wimbledon 26^th seed Lucie Safarova is the girlfriend of the Wimbledon finalist Berdych. And yes, Kim Sears and Murray are back together. Oh, and Murray is a big fan of Nadal.

Isner and Mahut are still a part of conversation

—If you’re wondering why there has been no mention of the most historic saga at this year’s Championship; I waited for it to get the “last but not the least” mention. There is an entire article on the wikipedia on the John Isner, Nicolas Mahut marathon. Mahut may have been devastated after the loss, and Isner may not have added a single ace to his tally of 113, but who cares? The pride and recognition after this historic match is much more valuable than a fourth round at Wimbledon, right? Add to this the fact that you made the front page of Guardian and Telegraph, both reputed British news agencies, over the news of England qualifying for the round-of-16 in the Football World Cup.

—More thoughts on Rafa coming soon.