8 Insanely Watchable Moments from a Fortnight at Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic defeated Nick Kyrgios in a loud championship finale on Sunday, and Wimbledon’s online sports betting portion has now concluded. If you’re hungry for more major tennis betting, you’ll have to look ahead to the US Open betting odds.

If you like me, you like to bask in a little afterglow after two weeks of great tennis. (There’s also the possibility that you’re an uncouth troglodyte that didn’t watch any Wimbledon at all.)

Either way, I picked eight of my favorite moments from the last two weeks at Wimbledon for posterity’s sake. Enjoy the highlights of another fortnight on the London lawn:

Harmony Tan Spoils Serena Williams’ Return

Many casual tennis fans tuned into the first round of Wimbledon to watch the return of all-time great Serena Williams, who hadn’t played since last year due to an ankle injury. 

As I wrote before the tournament, though, Williams shouldn’t have been such a public betting darling after a year of rust accumulation. She also turns 41 later this year. She was ousted in the first round by a relatively unknown player.

Tan used her Williams upset to mount an impressive run through the tournament’s first week.

Wild Card Katie Boulter Beats No. 6 Pliskova, Advances to Third Round

"My gran passed away two days ago. I'd just like to dedicate that to her"

A touching moment on Centre Court for @katiecboulter and her family 💚​💜#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/48rzrM3OPR

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 30, 2022

Katie Boulter (WTA Rank 131) is a personal favorite of mine. She’s a UK native and was extended a Wild Card invitation to the Wimbledon draw – something that’s common for fringe tour Brits.

However, Boulter has been playing well of late, and she made the most of the opportunity. She upset No. 6 seed Karolina Pliskova en route to the third round, which is likely the best moment of her career. She eventually lost to Tan.

Wimbledon Highlights: Enjoy This Awesome Taylor Fritz Set Point

Pretty much everyone in the building thought this point was over.

Instead, Taylor Fritz took the set off Alastair Gray and eventually advanced to a quarterfinal matchup against Rafael Nadal.

Wimbledon Highlights: Alize Cornet Ends No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s Monster Winning Streak

One of the biggest storylines coming into Wimbledon was Iga Swiatek’s preposterously long winning streak. She hadn’t lost a match for months. Virtually no one could touch her throughout the entire clay season.

But Swiatek opted to lay out during the grass warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon, which may have cost her a tough main draw in London. She was eliminated in the third round by Cornet, who is making a habit of knocking out big-time contenders at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios vs. Tsitsipas Drama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dru6WJvyPT0

This is probably when casual tennis fans suddenly became very interested in Wimbledon odds. 

Nick Kyrgios and No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas played probably the most memorable game of the tournament – one that turned into a wild, entertaining and maybe even sacrosanct clash of trash talk and body shots.

Also, this produced probably two of the most-watched post-match press conferences in the history of organized tennis.

Nadal vs. Fritz: The Fifth-Set Tiebreak for All the Marbles

American Taylor Fritz pushed Nadal all the way to the end in their quarterfinal matchup, which meant both men squared off in an extended tiebreaker at the end of a marathon match that went nearly four and a half hours. 

In the end, Nadal had too many veteran tricks, and Fritz was eliminated. But Fritz pushed Nadal so far that he had to retire from the draw with an abdominal injury, which was a huge development. Nadal had already won the first two major tournaments of the year, and a Wimbledon championship would have put him on the brink of a calendar grand slam.

Instead, the Rafael Nadal injury pushed Kyrgios straight from his quarterfinal victory in the championship round.

Wimbledon Women’s Champion: Jabeur vs. Rybakina

Elena Rybakina defeated Ons Jabeur, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.

No, this wasn’t a championship with big names, though tennis betting regulars definitely will know both Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina. (I wrote about how Jabeur was one of the Isharpest picks to win Wimbledon a few weeks ago.) 

But that’s actually what I like about it – the fresh faces are great for the sport. Contrast this against the men’s final, where Djokovic and Nadal have won six of the last seven titles. Yawn.

But Jabeur, who is Tunisian, is the first Arab player to make the final round of any of the four slams. She’s also the first African player to make the final. 

Rybakina is the first professional player from Kazakhstan to win a major.

Men’s Wimbledon Champion: Djokovic vs. Kyrgios

It’s been a long year for Djokovic, and he was uncharacteristically vulnerable in some of his post-game interviews after the four-set win over Krygios. 

The match was great – Kyrgios was entertaining, and Djokovic was brilliant as usual – but I actually thought the most entertaining part was the media coverage and the typical sequence of interviews after the match. 

Athletes are so media-prepped in the 21st century that we rarely get to see honest, authentic moments from them. But Djokovic has struggled for a variety of reasons in 2022; watching him speak candidly about what his 21st major title means was meaningful.