Wimbledon was full of surprises this year. After 14 years of competing at Wimbledon, Pete Sampras decided against playing tennis this year. After winning Wimbledon last year, first-seeded Lleyton Hewitt stumbled against Ivo Karlovic in the first round. In what seemed to be only a moment, the men’s championship was up for grabs. Roger Federer, seeded fourth, appeared in his first Wimbledon semi-final this tournament, going on to meet unseeded Mark Philippoussis in the finals, and defeat him 7-6, 6-2, 7-6. Federer is the seventh men’s champion in the last seven Grand Slam tournaments, and Switzerland’s first. American Mardy Fish was the only man able to steal a set from Federer during the tournament when they met in the third round.
Federer went into Wimbledon this year without losing a match on grass. Before the finals, he commented, “If I could finish off the grass-court season by not losing a match; that would be just fantastic.” After winning his first Grand Slam title, he has done just that.
Even with the loss, Philippoussis has already won a major battle in his life. After three knee surgeries in a 14-month span, Philippoussis spent two months in a wheelchair. Following the surgeries, he was told he might not be able to play tennis again. Nevertheless he has persevered and has come back to play competitive tennis.
American Andy Roddick improved on his best result at Wimbledon, making it to the semifinals where he lost to the eventual winner, Federer, in three sets. Andre Agassi lost in the fourth round to runner-up Philippoussis in five sets after being up two sets to one.
On the women’s side, the tournament went the way many people predicted. The Williams sisters met for the sixth time in a major tournament. Top-seeded Serena Williams beat her sister, fourth-seeded Venus Williams, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to win her second Wimbledon title in a row.
Venus, with an aggravated abdominal strain, was not able to keep up with Serena throughout the three set match. Serena dropped only two sets this tournament, one to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, and one to her sister in the finals. The family now has four Wimbledon titles.
