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Wimbledon 2015 – Top Five Moments

By Steve Nicholls

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Wimbledon 2015 – Top Five Moments

Lleyton Hewitt Signs Off

As tennis fans we have been spoiled by the quite frankly ludicrous standards that have been set by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

With that in mind, it is easy to regard fantastic players as less than that, due to the fact that our nature is to compare them with the very best.

However, it would be entirely remiss of the tennis fraternity not to give Lleyton Hewitt a fond send off from the biggest competition in the sport.

In his day Hewitt was a wonderful player, and even when his form started to dip, his fierce competitive nature was still there to be admired from all corners of the sporting world.

It is often forgotten that the Aussie has the same number of major titles as Andy Murray or Stanislas Wawrinka, and collected the trophy at SW19 in 2002 with a superb performance in the final against David Nalbandian.

His last hurrah came in, fittingly, a five set thriller against Jarkko Nieminen, with the veteran waving farewell to the All England Club in the first round. He may not have grabbed as many headlines as the leading lights in the sport, but his absence will be felt and his legacy should be fondly remembered.

Federer Masterclass Ends Murray Hopes

When all the elements of Roger Federer’s game click into place, there is simply no finer sight on a grass court, or any court for that matter.

On his favourite surface, in the semis of a major, Federer turned back the years to finish Andy Murray’s hopes of winning his home Slam for a second time in front of the loyal British crowd.

It is a shame that the Swiss star could not reach the ridiculous level of form he displayed against Murray in the final versus Djokovic, but for a single match to remember, this simply had to be the performance of the tournament.

The world number two gave his opponent no breathing room whatsoever and dominated the match from start to finish, facing just one break point in the process against one of the finest returners the sport has ever known.

A succession of mouthwatering shots had the crowd drooling at stages, and this was just a reminder of what the man is capable of when he finds his A game at a time when his age is preventing him from doing so with the required consistency to win Grand Slams.

It was not the result the home crowd wanted, but it was a masterful display that will live long in the memory.

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Brown Batters Reeling Rafa

In the previous three editions of Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal had lost early on to players not even ranked in the world’s top 100. Surely it couldn’t happen again when Dustin Brown stood in his way in the second round?

As it turned out, history repeated itself once more, and it did so in wonderfully entertaining fashion for the neutral.

Brown played with an almost reckless abandon, swinging from the hip and electing for shots that you presume no one else on the tour would even think of.

To do it for a set was impressive, but no one really believed the German could keep it up. That was where the majority were proved wrong, though, as he conquered the two-time champion in four enthralling sets to send the Spaniard packing before the second week yet again.

Most of the talk in the aftermath was about what was wrong with Nadal and what the future holds for the out-of-form leftie. However, nothing should be taken away from Dustin Brown, as he thoroughly deserved his moment in the spotlight and gave us a match to remember for a long time to come.

Djokovic Gets Over The Line

Despite having a career many amateur players could only dream of, owning eight Grand Slam titles and earning more money than he’s ever likely to spend, it was tough not to feel sorry for Novak Djokovic after he lost in the final of Roland Garros to Stanislas Wawrinka.

The final in Paris last month was supposed to be the time when the Serb finally completed his full list of major triumphs. On the day, however, the underdog was just too good for him, and even without Rafael Nadal on the other side of the net, Djokovic just couldn’t get his hands on the trophy he has waited so long for.

Only the man himself knows how much that loss hurt and how deep the scars are, but if the first week at the All England Club was anything to go by, the world number one was still feeling the effects coming into Wimbledon.

The defending champion was below his best for most of the two weeks in London, even trailing Kevin Anderson by two sets at one stage, but he came through every tough moment with aplomb to collect his third Wimbledon title and ninth Grand Slam trophy.

For a time it seemed as though Djokovic would let his mental demons get the better of him, but it was a nice touch to see him confront them and return to his usual dogged self on the most romantic court in the world of Tennis.

The Serena Slam

She was by far and away the out and out favourite going into the tournament, and her victory in the final felt more like an inevitability than a triumph, but that does not take away from what Serena Williams managed to achieve at Wimbledon this year.

It is easy for the fans and pundits to cast her as an almost automatic winner from the first day of the competition, but it is another thing for the woman herself to ignore all that pressure and execute with brutal efficiency, which is exactly what the American did.

The world number one now holds all four Grand Slams, and has collected every major on offer in this calendar year. Amazingly, this is the second time in her remarkable career so far that she has had her name written across all four of the sport’s biggest tournaments at once.

Add to that the fact that this was Serena’s 21st Slam triumph, and sixth title at SW19, and it is clear to see that the final victory for the 33-year-old on Saturday was special for a number of reasons.

She wasn’t at her best for the entire fortnight, but as usual, Serena Williams came out on top, further securing her gargantuan legacy in the process by sealing the Serena Slam. She truly is a one of a kind.

Next: Wimbledon 2015 - Analysing The Semi-Finalists

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