Photo : Martin Sidorjak/Tennis Canada
At the end of Wimbledon last week, tennis history has been rewritten with the accomplishments of several players. Here’s the must-know facts from the third Grand Slam of the year, as well as what is happening this week in tennis from the stars of tomorrow to established elite players.
In case you missed it
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic made history once again this year by capturing his 20th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last Sunday.
The Serb, who had already broken Roger Federer’s record of most weeks at No. 1 and achieved the Double Career Grand Slam by winning his second Roland Garros title this year alone, fought from a set down against Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in the final to get the win.
In a three-way tie with Federer and Rafael Nadal, the trio known as the Big Three now has 20 Grand Slam titles each. Going into the US Open, Djokovic will have a chance to not only break the tie, but also to become only the second man in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams in the same season.
Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime reach new heights
While Novak Djokovic writes his own history, Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime set a new benchmark at Wimbledon for Canadian tennis.
With both Canadian men reaching the quarter-finals at SW19, it marked the first time ever two Canadian male players reached the stage in the singles tournament at any Grand Slam. Previously, in singles, Milos Raonic and Eugenie Bouchard had reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2014, when Raonic reached the semi-final and Bouchard made it all the way to the final match.
Auger-Aliassime posted arguably the best win of his career by finishing off World No. 5 (then No. 6) Alexander Zverev in a five-set thriller in the fourth round. Despite losing to eventual runner-up Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals, the 20-year-old climbed to his highest ranking yet at World No. 15.
Shapovalov recorded his own personal-best run at a Grand Slam, too. The left-handed posted wins over former World No. 1 Andy Murray and former World No. 8 Karen Khachanov en route to a semi-final showdown against Djokovic. In a tightly contested three-setter, the 22-year-old Canadian got inches close to taking the first set, but fell just short against the All Time Great.
With the semi-final result, Denis Shapovalov climbed back to the Top 10, matching his best ranking to date at World No. 10.
Ashleigh Barty makes history for Australia
In the Ladies tournament, World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty made another dream come true as she lifted the Venus Rosewater Dish and second Grand Slam title.
For the 25-year-old, the title also made her the first Australian woman to win the Wimbledon title since Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1980, and exactly 50 years since Goolagong’s first triumph in 1971.
Must Watch this week
Pospisil, Schnur not ready to quit the grass
At the last grass-court tournament of the season and only one outside of Europe played on the traditional surface, two Canadians will look to take advantage of the opportunity at the Hall of Fame Open. Vasek Pospisil is the No. 4 seeded player and will try to win his first ATP Tour title after a successful grass season coming back from an injury setback.
Brayden Schnur made it past the qualifying tournament and booked his place in the main draw of Newport. Schnur did not drop a set en route, and came back from a break down twice in the second set of the final round before sealing his place in his first ATP Tour main draw of the year.
Back on clay in Hamburg
Clay courts are trending again after the short grass-court period.
At the Hamburg European Open, 2020 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas will give it another shot this year. The Greek had a breakthrough season during the clay-court stretch this year, winning his first ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo and reaching his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros.
However, his Wimbledon campaign came to a disappointing end at the first round against American Frances Tiafoe. Tsitsipas will look to bounce back and win his third title of the season, and eighth overall.
Under the Radar
Liam Draxl makes first final
Last week, NCAA No. 1 Liam Draxl played a great tournament to reach his first Pro level tournament final in Weston, FL, an ITF 15k event. The match was abandoned due to poor meteorological conditions, and never finished. Both finalists finished the tournament with runner-up status.
Peter Polansky looking to turn his luck around
Veteran player Polansky will look to improve his record this year at any level with a run at the President’s Cup in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. Currently ranked World No. 254, the 33-year-old is the No. 7 seed this week at the ATP Challenger Tour event.
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