Fifty years before Ashleigh Barty claimed her first Wimbledon Championship, another Australian woman claimed the Wimbledon Women’s Singles title on her way to a Hall of Fame career.
The path to tennis greatness was a unique one for Evonne Goolagong Cawley. The daughter of an itinerant sheep shearer, Goolagong Cawley was the third of eight children in an Australian Aboriginal family. Though Aboriginal people faced significant discrimination during that era, Goolagong Cawley was able to play tennis from a young age due to the generosity and support of numerous people within Australia.
She emerged on the international tennis stage as a 19-year-old in 1971 as she reached the finals of the Australian Open and then won the French Open and Wimbledon titles. She remains the only person to win the French Open women’s title in her first time playing in the tournament.
In 1972, she reached the finals of the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, but did not claim any of the titles. She also played the U.S. Open for the first time in 1972 and reached the third round.
It was a long road back for Novak Djokovic to claim the 2018 Wimbledon title.
In the sports world it is interesting how two years can feel like a lifetime. It was only two years ago that Novak Djokovic had entered Wimbledon as the first men’s player in nearly 50 years to hold all four tennis major titles at the same, yet, much has transpired in the tennis world from that moment until Djokovic finally hoisted another major trophy with a three set win over Kevin Anderson at the 2018 Wimbledon.
Initially, the stunning third round loss by Djokovic to Sam Querry at the 2016 Wimbledon looked like just a blimp on the radar. Djokovic solidified his place as the number one player in the world by reaching the finals at the U.S. Open, though he lost in four sets to Stan Wawrinka.
What no one could have predicted at the time was that not only would Djokovic not win another major for nearly two years, but after making the finals in 19 of the previous 25 majors would not get past the quarterfinals in six straight majors and would fall out of the top 20 in the world rankings.
After losing in the second round of the 2017 Australian Open and quarterfinals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, Djokovic missed the 2017 U.S. Open due to an elbow injury. He reached the fourth round of the 2018 Australian Open, but after the tournament underwent elbow surgery.
It was a good sign that he was able to return for the 2018 French Open, but a four set loss to unranked Marco Cecchinato gave new question as to whether Djokovic would ever return to his previous form.
When Djokovic held all four major titles entering the 2016 Wimbledon not only had he done something previously done only by Rod Laver in the open era, but he was beginning to make a case for himself as the greatest player of his era, perhaps even ahead of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
However, over the past two years not only did Djokovic struggle, but Nadal and Federer both had a resurgence.
After combining for only one major title between 2014 and 2016 (Nadal winning 2014 French Open), Nadal and Federer split the four majors in 2017 (Federer won Australian and Wimbledon and Nadal claimed French and U.S. Open). They then began 2018 with Federer repeating at the Australian Open for his 20th Grand Slam and Nadal winning the French Open for his 17th.
Though Djokovic’s win at the 2018 Wimbledon breaks that streak and gives him 13 major titles, the 31-year-old now has much more work to do if he hopes to significantly narrow the gap between his titles and those of his two rivals. Read the rest of this entry →
A month shy of his 36th birthday, Roger Federer has claimed his eighth Wimbledon singles title.
In case there was any question entering this year, with his performance winning both the Australian Open and now Wimbledon in 2017, Roger Federer has clearly cemented his place as the greatest champion in men’s tennis history.
Memories in sports can be very short. While seven years may seem like just a blip in time for most of us, in sports it can be an eternity.
Even though it has just been seven years since the end of the dominant run that saw Federer win 16 of 25 major titles and reach the finals in six other, the fact that others (most especially Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic) had overtaken him at the top of the tennis rankings made his run sometimes feel like ancient history.
So when injuries knocked Federer out of the top 10 for the first time since October 2002, most were beginning to talk about how long it would be before he retired.
Certainly, few were expecting him to return to the top of the game and build on his record number of major championships with his first grand slam titles since last winning Wimbledon in 2012.
However, when Federer returned for the 2017 Australian Open he looked like someone who had been drinking from the Fountain of Youth. Read the rest of this entry →
Roger Federer is looking to add to his career earnings and to post his 19th Grand Slam title during Wimbledon 2017.
It’s no secret that tennis players earn a considerable amount during their careers. Wimbledon 2017 has just begun and the total prize money this year has risen to a staggering £31.6 million. Although players compete for the championship title, and the single’s prize fund of £2.2 million, every player that competes receives money- even if they don’t win. Some players have reached the $100 million mark in their career earnings.
Novak Djokovic
The Serbian player has been listed as the highest earning tennis player for the past few years. His total career earnings from prizes come in at $109,320,581 to date. His income is owed to his extremely successful career, which has seen him win a total of 775 matches. His worth could be set to increase if he is successful at this year’s Wimbledon championships, where he will compete against some of the world’s best players. Djokovic is sponsored by leading companies such as Adidas, Uniqlo and Head.
Rodger Federer
Federer has been sponsored by luxury brands such as Nike, Rolex and Mercedes-Benz for several years. The 35 year old, who plays tennis for Switzerland, has only recently been overtaken by Djokovic as the highest earner. His career prize money totals $104,002,250 and he has won a huge 1,099 matches since he began playing professionally in 1998. In 2016, he was the oldest player to make a Grand Slam final although he hasn’t shown any indication that he plans to retire soon. Read the rest of this entry →
Novak Djokovic lifted the championship trophy for the third time at the 2015 Wimbledon.
With his ninth tennis grand slam championship, Novak Djokovic has now separated himself from some of the greatest tennis players of all-time and seems to be on a path for even greater heights before his journey is complete.
In an era where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have clearly distinguished themselves as historic champions, Djokovic has been that irritating pebble in the shoe that has kept both of those stars from achieving even greater success.
His victory over Federer in the Wimbledon final marked the second straight year he has defeated the 17-time grand slam champion in the finals. He also has a 3-4 career record in finals against Nadal.
Clearly the number one player in the world, Djokovic will now set his sights on the U.S. Open, a tournament in which he has reached the finals five times. However, he has not won the title since 2011 and last year failed to reach the finals for the first time since 2009.
Having passed Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Fred Perry and Ivan Lendl, who each won eight grand slam titles during their careers, Djokovic now aims to become just the eighth player in history to reach double digits. He will match Bill Tilden with his next victory and then would aim for Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, who each won 11 grand slam titles.
While Djokovic will focus on growing his grand slam trophy collection at Wimbledon and then next year in Australia, you know that in the back of his mind is the French Open where his surprising loss to Stan Wawrinka kept him from reaching the career grand slam. Read the rest of this entry →
Defending champion Novak Djokovic is among the favorites to win the 2015 Wimbledon men’s title.
With Rafa Nadal unexpectedly dropping out of the most prestigious grass tournament of the year and Kei Nishikori leaving the title race due to an injury the tennis fans are wondering: who’s next? We took a shot and tied to predict the way Wimbledon is going to play out.
World’s No 1 Novak Djokovic should feel pretty comfortable with his upcoming bracket – none of his potential opponents, at least until the quarter-final are living up to their expectations. Today he plays the 27th seed Bernard Tomic, who had a pretty bumpy ride to the third round. It took the Aussie five sets to beat the 98th ranked Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round and two tiebreaks against ATP’s 151st Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the second.
Meanwhile Djokovic himself feels really comfortable in the record-breaking Wimbledon heat outplaying both of his previous opponents in three-set matches. In fact, the highway to the semi-final looks pretty clear for the defending champion. Yes, there are eight players in the top half who yet have a set to lose, but of the whole list only Stan Wawrinka seems like a potential threat for Djokovic.
It comes as no surprise that the bookies see the Swiss as Novak’s most likely opponent in the semis. The US Open champ Marin Cilic took a huge blow for his reputation from the World’s No 90 Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania in the second round, while the 7th seeded Milos Raonic has yet to face what seems to be a pretty tough challenge in the third round against Nick Kyrgios. The UK-licensed bookie TonyBet gives Raonic just 1.45 odds at advancing to the next round.
Meanwhile, the bottom half looks a little bit more complicated. The 2013 champion and the local favorite Andy Murray is seen as the main candidate to face Djokovic in the final, however, he still has a long way to go. While his third round opponent Andreas Seppi might not seem as a big threat for the World’s No 3, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga just might be. Read the rest of this entry →
Louie Dampier’s name might not resonate as widely as other basketball legends, but the Sports Then & Now Vintage Athlete of the Month’s impact on the game, particularly during the American Basketball Association (ABA) era, is undeniable. Known for his pinpoint shooting, exceptional ball handling, and relentless work ethic, Dampier enjoyed a stellar basketball career that saw him thrive in both the ABA and NBA. As one of the most consistent and prolific guards of his time, Dampier left a lasting legacy, and his role in the ABA’s history solidified his place in the annals of basketball greatness.
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