Wimbledon 2011

So, sorry for the delay between first posts and now. I had no internet for a bit, I was out of the apartment a lot, there was this whole alien abduction thing... Anyways.

Anyone who knows me knows that Wimbledon is my favorite sporting event of the year. As it just ended today, I thought I'd give some tournament wrap-up thoughts.

• As much as I love Rafael Nadal, I'm quite glad Novak Djokovic won today. One, he's easy on the eyes. Two, it would appear that Roger Federer's at the cashier ready to pay for his career and leave the store. I just don't think it would be very interesting if Nadal had nobody to challenge him the way he challenged Federer. Federer was utterly dominant for about 2 years before Nadal showed up on the scene, and it was starting to get boring. Nadal came in, and we had a true rivalry in the sport. Now, Djokovic will do the same thing. He's already proven he can win a Slam before today (2 Aussies under his belt), and this year he's proven he can beat Nadal and outlast his opponents. The latter part is key when you consider that Djokovic used to retire from way too many matches due to poor conditioning. Point is, I think we've got an amazing rivalry going.
  
• Can I just say how much I love watching Jo-Wilfried Tsonga? This guy can create a Top 10 Plays all by himself, and he's got an incredibly entertaining personality to boot. It was nice to see him go deep.
• Okay, you can shove this statement in my face if I'm wrong, but I'll say it: Andy Murray is never going to win a major. If he does, it's because everyone else in the field has mononucleosis. The guy's got such incredible skill and talent, and yet just can't keep it together mentally in the bigger matches. Sure, he'll beat a Nadal or Federer or Djokovic at a Masters 1000 Event, but not a Slam. And while he has them in the way at Slams, it's just not happening for him. See: Tim Henman (although Tim's a lot cuter).
• Federer may be done. Now that Nadal and Djokovic are ahead of him, and since other players have learned how to play him, I think getting another Slam title will be difficult. Don't be shocked if he plays the 2012 Olympics (AT Wimbledon, even), and then announces that the US Open will be his last tournament. I think he knows that all he can do is hurt his legacy if he goes on well into his 30s.
• Moving onto the women's side, I think we're beginning to see a sea-change. So many new faces are cropping up these days, and we've got some folks who are nearing retirement age. The Williams Sisters will both be north of 30 next year, and people just don't play until their 40 in this sport. Kim Clijsters could just up and retire at any moment... again. I think we need to start looking to the future. For now, Maria Sharapova could be the great beneficiary, as she's still only 24, and has more experience than most folks her age. But we need to start looking at folks like, say, Petra Kvitova, who actually won Wimbledon. I also think we need to pay attention to Melanie Oudin from just outside Atlanta. Point being, it's about to be an all new game on the women's side soon.
• As much as I never thought she'd win here, it's always fun watching Francesca Schiavone play. She's entertaining, she goes for everything, and she's got a great attitude on and off the court. I wish she'd have gone deeper, but that's okay...

Okay, enough for now. That's obviously not everything, but it'll do.