Wimbledon 2022 has been full of sensations since the first days of the tournament in the women’s and men’s singles. For the men, three seeded players left the tournament on Monday and Tuesday at once, while the women’s tour has been more stable so far, but not without surprises here either.
The longest-running and most prestigious individual tennis tournament of modern times has something special to look forward to this year. Wimbledon points do not count towards the ATP and WTA rankings nor do they count towards the individual 2022 season. All because of the conflict between the tournament organizers in Great Britain and the Tours themselves, who decided to be adamant about banning Russian and Belarusian tennis players.
However, all these nuances off-court did not become an obstacle for tennis itself, which is diverse, bright and, most importantly, does not rule out sensations. From the very first day of the tournament there were so many of them that the lovers of high odds got a chance to make a big score. In the context of long-term ambitions, betting in UK has also been given extra life.
Wimbledon men’s, Ruud and Alcaraz were one step away from the abyss
At the top of the men’s net, Kasper Ruud and Carlos Alcaraz were not initially expected to have easy matches. Already in the first round, their rivals were ready to cause a sensation and send the representatives of the world’s top ranking home. However, Albert Ramos could not score in a single set against the Norwegian, losing to him on two tie-breaks. In the third game Ramos was not strong enough, which is easy to explain when you look at his service record (6-7, 6-7, 2-6).
Carlos Alcaraz was excellent on the hard court last year and on the clay courts in 2022. Yet Wimbledon was still terra incognita for the promising Spaniard. And after the draw their worries only increased, because their favourite was now facing Jan-Lenard Struff. The German was in good form for the summer majors on grass. In addition, he was trivially better prepared for the peculiarities of the fast surface, unusual sliding and low rebound. The match itself was difficult for both players, Alcaraz was 1-2 down in each game. But still Carlos showed his famous will and made it through to the second round (4-6; 7-5; 4-6; 7-6; 6-4). The first career Wimbledon victory for the Spaniard, who is now being hailed as the heir to Rafa Nadal!
And what of the king of the clay himself? His first-round match on Tuesday also proved difficult. Although after winning the first two sets it seemed that Francisco Cerundolo would have nothing against the Manacor Bull. And yet the Argentine did manage to do so, being one step away from tying the game. Fortunately for the fans of the 22-time Grand Slam title holder, Nadal still pulled himself together in time to take the match to victory (6-4; 6-3; 3-6; 6-4). Novak Djokovic gave his starting opponent a set, as well, who took a long time adapting to the courts in his game against Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo (6-3; 3-6; 6-3; 6-4).
Well the sensations are worth talking about, especially as they have been read by people who have been betting on tennis for quite some time. Firstly, Felix Auger-Allassim got Maxim Cressey as his opponent, whose style of play seems to be designed for grass. It is called ‘Serve and volley’ which means that his serve and subsequent approach to the net almost always guarantees easy points for the American. So it turned out that the more technically equipped and terribly talented Canadian could not oppose anything to the man who perfected his basic skills and beat him in four sets (6:7; 6:4; 7:6; 7:6). Well, another match where a sensation could have been predicted was the departure of Hubert Hurkacz as a result of his defeat to Alejandro Davidovic Fokina (6:7; 4:6; 7:5; 7:5; 6:2; 6:7). The Polish player reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year but dropped out at the start of the singles tournament.
Wimbledon gives less sensation in the women’s tour
In the women’s round of Wimbledon 2022, there were far fewer sensations in the first round. At least Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova, Karolina Pliskova and even Paula Badosa made it to the second round with confidence. These are all representatives of the current top of the WTA world rankings, so it is no surprise that they proved their superiority over their opponents on the grass surface.
Emma Radukanu, a local British star who started her campaign in the second half of last season winning the US Open 2021, has also made it to the next round. But Emma’s rise to prominence started at home Wimbledon where she reached the fourth round. This year the bookies did not count Radukana as the favourite and it was all the more pleasing to see her beat Alison Uitwank in two games (6-4; 6-4).
In fact, the only high-profile sensation of the first round of the WTA Wimbledon was Serena Williams’ defeat Harmony Tan (5:7; 6:1; 6:7). With the score at 5-6 in the third set Serena had to win a match-ball. But in the deciding tie-break the most titled player in the history of tennis couldn’t escape from the destiny.
Further expectations for Wimbledon
Current trends are such that, despite the abundance of sensations at the start, it is in the men’s singles that the final can be as predictable as possible. Still, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, for all the problems in their first encounters, will gradually find their game and only get stronger from match to match. The live Wimbledon matches text stream will also give British tennis fans the chance to follow Andy Murray who is still a shoo-in for the title. And Emma Raducana has the support of the United Kingdom, Johanna Konta is finished, while Heather Watson is unlikely to make it big for British tennis fans after she regularly loses against genuinely strong opponents.
However, bookies in the UK still tend to favour the foreigners rather than their own players in the tournament. Among the real candidates to win this year’s tournament is Simona Halep, who has won Wimbledon before. The Romanian has just changed her coach, and judging by the start, she got into the playing rhythm quite well. Simona’s schedule is not easy – Petra Kvitova is likely to be her opponent in the third round, then she could face Bianca Andreescu. The semifinal round is likely to be a real test for Halep and her championship ambitions as she will play against the current world number one and the holder of the longest winning streak in the XXI century, Iga Swiatek. All the more interesting for the Romanian to meet such an ambitious challenge!
Asadnoy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Chris Czermak, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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