ESPNtennis.com Jun 30, 2023, 6:05 p.m. ETRead: 3 min.
Wimbledon arrives and history is breathed in world tennis. The third Grand Slam of the calendarconsidered by many the best and most important of the four Majors, will live a special edition in 2023, since for the first time in 25 years it will not have three former luxury champions, such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams.
Federer, Serena Williams and Nadal absent from Wimbledon 2023.ESPNtennis.com
Since 1998, there has always been at least one of them in the singles main draws at the All England Club in London. On their traditional lawn, between the Swiss, winner of 20 Grand Slams, the Spanish, winner of 22, and the American, owner of 23 Majors, all former No. 1 in the world and winners of the four Grand Slams (Wimbledon, Roland Garros, Australia and US Open), they took 17 individual titles.
Federer is the top men’s champion at La Catedral, having won eight times, in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2017. He left his mark with his exquisite and offensive tennis, dominating with his serve and his drive. He made history at Wimbledon -the Major where he celebrated the most- and in the 2019 final he was one step away from ninth success there.
For his part, Nadal ended the Swiss’s streak of five consecutive cups by beating him in the memorable 2008 final. In 2010 he celebrated again, demonstrating that his grit and search for variants outside his favorite clay, with his maximum mark of 14 titles in the same Grand Slam, at Roland Garros, could also give him results on the London grass.
Meanwhile, Serena, the youngest of the Williams, achieved seven crowns in the English Major, as she celebrated in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016. Supported by her power from the base, she wreaked havoc with most of the rivals and was one of the major contests that won the most, equaling the seven in Australia.
Therefore, it is about three casualties at the same time as Wimbledon had not suffered since 1997. In 1998 Serena made her senior debut in London and only missed three occasions until her last performance, last year. Federer, also retired like the American, played it for the first time in 1999 and always appeared until 2021 inclusive, except 2020, when the championship was suspended due to the Covid pandemic.
Nadal played it for the first time in 2003 and was absent for four years, until 2022 was his last role in the All England. Now the Spaniard is out of the circuit due to a hip injury and hopes to return in 2024 to say goodbye to the four Grand Slams. It will be necessary to see if he will say present again at Wimbledon, the tournament that now greatly regrets this triple loss, after a quarter of a century, and what that entails for millions and millions of fans.
2023-06-30 22:05:00
#years #Wimbledon #Federer #Nadal #Serena #Williams
