7 Things We Learnt From the First Week of Wimbledon

As we take a well-earned breather after an eventful opening week of Wimbledon there is just enough time to reflect on the goings-on at SW19.

Men's tennis has it's entertainers.

With big servers prominent at the top of the game, it was great to see the showmen take centre stage in the opening week. There was constant one-upmanship between Nick Kyrgios, Gael Monfils and Dustin Brown as the three sought to produce shots of increasingly unique flair and originality.

Whilst only Kyrgios remains in the draw, both Monfils and Brown created first week fireworks before their departure. Brown made himself a household name with a sensational four set victory over Rafael Nadal as well as claiming the unofficial title of best locks in tennis. Similarly Gael Monfils' athletic shot selection reduced his opponent and friend Gilles Simon to laughter with a ridiculous forehand [below] in their third round encounter.

There are Brits other than Murray.

Okay, so as is usual, Andy Murray is the only Brit to make it to the second week in the singles draw. But for the first time in recent memory there were signs that he may not be alone for much longer. Both Heather Watson and James Ward came within a matter of points of making it through to the fourth round, the former almost defeating world number one Serena Williams after a hugely valiant effort. Local lad, Ward, also came close in the third round, eventually falling to Canadian Vasek Pospisil in five sets.

They were not the only success stories though, as Liam Broady kick-started the week with an epic five set victory over Marinko Matosevic before recently converted Brit, Aliaz Bedene, followed suit into the second round where both their journey's ended. It was the most successful Wimbledon in years for British wildcards and gives hope that it is not long until Murray has a friend in the top 30.

Wimbledon's All-White Policy has gone mad.

Kyrgios sporting his controversial headband.

There is tradition, and then there is madness. One of the more controversial talking points from the opening week is the extreme nature of the All England Club's all-white dress code. Both Eugenie Bouchard and Nick Kyrgios found themselves with rapped knuckles after falling foul of the extensive rules.

Bouchard found herself in trouble after a black bra strap emerged during her first round defeat whilst, more bizarrely, Kyrgios was told to turn the official Wimbledon headband, inside out for violating colour rules. So just to emphasise, Kyrgios was not allowed to wear the official Wimbledon headband during an official Wimbledon match. Brilliant.

Anyone is beatable in the WTA... Except Serena.

The first week saw the disappearance of a number of the biggest names in women's tennis as the grass claimed its early victims. One of the biggest shocks was Simona Halep's first round loss to Jana Cepelova. This year's form player, Carla Suarez Navarro swiftly followed whilst she was joined by Ana Ivanovic and Ekaterina Makarova who both exited in round two.

The third round saw the most notable upset as defending champion Petra Kvitova, so comfortable in her opening two rounds, left the court in tears after a tough three-set defeat to Jelena Jankovic.

Serena though. Well, she keeps just being Serena. Not only did she have to battle an inspired Heather Watson but she had to battle a packed-out Centre Court crowd in her gritty third round victory over the British number one. Can anyone actually stop her collecting her third grand slam of the year? I don't think so.

Nick Kyrgios is the Real Deal.

Since exploding onto the tennis scene in last year's Wimbledon through his defeat of Rafa, few have questioned the talents of the tenacious Aussie. One of the pitfalls though, of having a grand slam run as a teenager, is backing it up and injuries during the year have seen question marks as to whether he can last at the top level.

Not only is Kyrgios backing it up, but he is bringing character and interest to a sport with too many robotic personalities. His on-court personal rows and inventive style have made him a fan favourite, but more importantly, a real danger to the big guns in this draw. He has already dismantled big serving Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet is next in his line of fire. John Newcombe may be right about not writing Kyrgios off too early.

Bouchard isn't having a blip, she's having a crisis.

Bouchard suffered her 12th defeat in 14 matches.

In contrast to Kyrgios' success, Eugenie Bouchard has had a year to completely forget exacerbated by her terrible first round loss to unknown 117th ranked Duan Ying-Ying. Bouchard has been desperately seeking a tournament to turn around a turgid year but the grass of SW19, where she reached the final last year, has not been it.

Bouchard has now lost 12 of her past 14 matches and seems to be suffering from what is commonly referred to in football as a case of second-season-syndrome after her outstanding breakthrough year in 2014. The Canadian looks a shadow of the player she was 12 months ago and some serious self-evaluation needs to occur before the return to the hard court.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Why, oh why did the BBC opt to revamp their highlights coverage into the terrible 'Wimbledon 2day'? When I came in from work on Monday I wanted to sit down and enjoy the highlights of the day. Instead I was treated to amateurish conversation between the out-of-her-depth Clare Balding and an awkward member of an awkward crowd among a couple of legends and a smattering of actual tennis.

The BBC have done their best to evolve the show as the week has gone on but the lack of actual tennis on show is the particular disappointment for what was formerly an excellent highlights show. I believe Balding is an excellent presenter but I am not sure she is the right person for this job and wonder whether, much like Leyton Hewitt, she won't be back at Wimbledon next year.

Cilic Continues Rankings Rise

Marin Cilic continued his fine run of form with his second title in three weeks as he claimed victory at Delray Beach. The Croat added this victory to his Zagreb title two weeks ago and a runner's up spot in Rotterdam last week to rise four places in the rankings to 25. Cilic will be looking to push back into the top 20 following a disappointing second half of last year.

Elsewhere Ernest Gulbis rose to a career high eighteenth following victory in Marseilles this weekend. Gulbis claimed his fifth ATP title with a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who did not move this week.

In fact it was a quiet week at the top of the men's rankings with no movement inside the top ten. Kei Nishikori was a big loser though, dropping five places to twentieth whilst a strong showing from Pablo Andujar reaching the Rio Open semi-final sees him rise six places to 34th. Andy Murray will be wary of Andujar's form after being drawn against him in the opening  round of this week's tournament in Acapulco.

A first round appearance in Marseilles pushed promising young Brit Kyle Edmund into the top 300, whilst it was a quiet week elsewhere for the British boys. The girls also had a quiet week with neither Laura Robson or Heather Watson taking part in any competitions. Nor will they be playing this week as Robson continues to recover from a wrist injury whilst Watson retired in a qualifying match in Brasil.

The women's rankings saw more change at the top than the men. Despite losing in the first round to Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber rose two places to 6th whilst Simona Halep followed her in rising two places to 7th. Petra Kvitova's lack of action meant she dropped from 6th to 9th whilst a quarter-final showing from Jelena Jankovic was not enough as she fell one place to eighth.

The Dubai champion, Venus Williams celebrated a fantastic week with a fifteen place rise to move back inside the top 30 at 29th; only her second WTA title in four years. The other big mover inside the top 100 was the Japanese first seed, Kurumi Nara. Her maiden WTA victory in the Rio Open catapulting her fourteen places to 48th.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Li Na Breaks Rankings Record

By moving up to second in the world, Li Na has become the highest ever ranked Asian player after rising above Victoria Azarenka. Despite only reaching the third round in Doha, Azarenka's absence meant that Na was guaranteed to move into second before the tournament had even started.

Agnieszka Radwanska also rose above Azarenka into third after a strong tournament in Doha, reaching the semi-final. Doha champion Simona Halep rose just one place to ninth whilst beaten finalist Angelique Kerber also rose one to eighth. The other semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic rose to seventh as Sara Errani dropped three places to tenth.

One of the biggest movers this week was Britain's Heather Watson who moved up 39 places to 122nd after claiming the Midland title. Yanina Wickmayer also moved up 14 places to 58th after a strong quarter-final showing in Doha.

In the men's draw, David Ferrer's victory in Buenos Aires combined with Juan Martin Del Potro's poor display in Rotterdam meant that Ferrer moves above Del Potro to fourth in the World. Tomas Berdych ended his 16 month barren run by winning the Rotterdam title, moving him above Andy Murray to sixth as Murray slips to seventh, his lowest position for six years.

Promising youngster Kei Nishikori continued to move towards the top 10, successfully defending his Memphis title and moving up to fifteenth. The largest mover in the top 50 was Marin Cilic who continued his fine run of form by reaching the Rotterdam final, moving him up eight places to 29th.

Big serving Croat Ivo Karlovic was the biggest mover in the top 100 after reaching the final in Memphis, ascending 24 places to 56th. However, it was a poor week for Julien Benneteau as he fell 28 places to 67th in the world.

Published on SEaT Capital.