A big champion in Wimbledon: Serena Williams

I did not write the matches I have seen since March. Last time I wrote about Indian Wells; afterwards, the big tournament French Open has passed. But I could not watch it live due to the match hours, and also could not be inspired by what I have watched. Therefore, I did not write about anything. I had the chance to watch a few matches during the evening seasons in Wimbledon this year. However, I did not make any plans especially for the men’s and women’s final matches. I watched the matches and I’m very happy to do it. :) 

In the beginning of the tournament, Sharapova was my favorite. Since Williams Sisters have had health problems for a long time, their games could not be consistent. But as the tournament progressed, it was not the case at all. The favorite players were eliminated one by one. Actually, a healthy Williams is a big threat for all other female players. I have written this in my previous articles and it was exactly the case!

Serena Williams is a real fighter. I think both Serena and Venus are very valuable with respect to the point they have reached. With their entry to tennis, strong female players came to the forefront, and both the services and shots started to become harder and stronger. During their active tennis period, they have dominated the game so much that both sisters managed to win all Grand Slams and cups. Then both had various health problems and became distant from tennis. During this period, new stars like Azarenka have emerged. One of the players from this new generation whom I like is the Polish player Agnieszka Radwanska.

I have always admired this young tennis player with her calm, smart and mature play, and I think she is the potential world’s number one. Besides, when these two players met in the final, I thought: This is a very appropriate test to understand if Serena really recovered. Because it is really not very easy to beat Radwanska, and this really was the case. Suffering from common cold throughout the tournament, Radwanska looked a little tired. In fact, I think she was very tense as well. When she played hesitantly and sluggishly, her opponent took the set, 6-1. After the Polish player pulled herself together in the second test, she proved that she is not an easy target. She disturbed Williams’s balance and caused the sets to be 1-1. (5-7)

Now the final set would be determinant, and it really was. Even though Radwanska made a good start, Serena showed her quality, experience and ambition. She broke service twice; took the final set 6-2, and reached the 14^th Grand Slam championship. She also won the 5^th championship in Wimbledon, it is a great success. I find it very valuable that in sports, especially the sportspeople come back from such injuries or diseases and make great achievements. This disciplined fight, devotion and work ethics is great. Therefore I do love sportspeople.

When I read Andre Agassi’s biography titled “Open”, my perspective towards tennis and players has also changed a little. Agassi resembled tennis to a boxing match somewhere in the book. And now when I look at it from his perspective, I believe he is quite right. Tennis is a great sport with sportspeople who are lonely, fight tooth and nail, and try to be always strong mentally and physically. I wish more players were trained in Turkey.

Speaking of which, I could not understand the logic behind the fact that WTA year end championship, which will be organized for second time, coincided with the Feast of Sacrifice and that this year’s ticket prices were almost three times the last year’s prices. I was on court almost everyday last year. And the top 10 players of women’s tennis played in front of a big crowd. This year a high number of people will be on vacation due to our religious holiday. Also, I think that the organizers should have adjusted the price if they wished the hall to be full everyday in a 6-day organization. They managed to do that last year, but they failed this year. I wonder how many people and how many times people would go to match for which the ticket price is 120 TL for category 1. Let’s see what the number of spectators will be during the championship. I hope I’m wrong, but it is a reality that, owing to these prices, I will be able to go there for only 1 day. And I will watch it on TV on the other days if it suits my program. Such a pity I would say…