- Seven withdrawals, many due to slips and falls on the grass, including a few top talents. Azarenka, Tsonga, Cilic, Isner, Darcis (STEVE! The guy who beat Nadal), Stepanek. Who am I forgetting? Wild.
- Seven former number ones took the court; all lost.
- #3 seed Maria Sharapova lost to #133 in the world.
- And late in the evening (at least when I finally got to watch it), #3 seed, 7-time and defending Wimbledon champion Roger Federer lost to #116 in the world, breaking his streak of making it at least as far as the quarterfinals in 36 consecutive majors. A NINE-year record.
It was crazy.
Players voiced their incredulity. Commentators struggled to make sense of it. But in the wee hours of this morning, as I watched the Federer post-match press conference, the voice of a tennis legend, yes perhaps the GOAT, put it all in perspective.
When asked how his fans should feel after watching his incredible quarterfinal streak broken, Federer quickly replied (and I paraphrase because it was late and I wasn't taking notes), "It's gonna be OK. I'm gonna be OK."
Yes. It will be OK. And hopefully order can be restored to the All England Club today.
But it *was* a bit insane. And yes, wacky. Weird.
Wonderfully so.
After all, it's Wimbledon. It doesn't get bigger than this.
In the midst of all the shocking withdrawals/defeats, a whole host of lesser known players had banner days they'll remember forever--for all the right reasons. If you missed Dustin Brown (who?) beating former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, you missed a talented, entertaining, gutsy player make the most of the best opportunity his chosen sport has presented to date.
Brown was brought to tears on court after winning. And soon after, he delivered a compelling and poised post-match interview in which it was clear just how much this meant to him. Just great stuff.
Will he be a factor in this tournament or any in the future? Too soon to tell. But the possibility is there.
And either way, it'll be OK.
