Wimbledon 2013: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Best...

Maria Sharapova of Russia speaks to members of the media during a press conference on day three of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club on June 26, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

The Bad

To say that the tournament had a bad start would be an understatement. The first day saw Rafael Nadal losing to unseeded Belgian Steve Darcis in straight sets. Totally out of sorts, Nadal put up a meek response to the Belgian and was totally upended by the missiles that Darcis flung his way.

Even more was in store, as Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Sara Errani went crashing out of the tournament (through upsets and withdrawals) in the first couple of days itself.

The biggest shocker however was Sergiy Stakhovsky packing off defending champion Roger Federer in the second round – the latter’s earliest exit at Wimbledon since his loss to Mario Ancic in the first round in 2002. This defeat also ended Federer’s record of 36 consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances since the 2004 Wimbledon, marking his earliest loss in a Major in almost a decade.

The totality of nine injury-related pull-outs during the course of the tournament was the most that the Open Era had ever seen. These incidents paled the aura of Wimbledon considerably, and after Serena Williams’s defeat in the fourth round, Djokovic was left as the lone Wimbledon titlist remaining in the fray.

Federer’s trainers during his gentlemen’s singles first round match against Victor Hanescu on day one of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club on June 24, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

The Ugly

‘The grass is green, the attire white…

Etiquettes and propriety, do so matter right

Shoes set not in whitish monochrome,

Caused a champion to be waved,

With a flouting under the rule-book tome…’

Federer, who rarely ever gets it wrong fashion-wise, put a huge foot wrong with the tournament authorities. His orange-coloured soles were deemed unacceptable by the Wimbledon standards and he was asked to do away with them. It was not that Federer didn’t adhere to the rules, but this was probably the first time that the seven-time Wimbledon champion was foot-faulted over such a matter.

Marion Bartoli however waved aside all comments upon her person by senior BBC commentator John Inverdale about her appearances and appeal. Inverdale apologised for his blatantly rude and chauvinistic comment about Bartoli’s supposed lack of good looks being a major disadvantage for her as a tennis player.

Bartoli’s calm response made her a heroine all over again even as she attended the Champions Ball, causing the likes of Inverdales of the world to go green with envy.