Sweet for the 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva who reached the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. And there was some good old-fashioned geopolitical edge to the action. So no glorious dawns on the wondrous green lawns.
Marketing alert
No room for cynicism in the review. But at a certain point, the "I'm jut a normal teenager" shtick can't hold because Mirra Andreeva is clearly no normal teenager. The 16-year-old made it through to the last-32 at the French Open (142,000 euros in prize money) and should she lose in the last-16 at Wimbledon, she will leave the swards in south-west London with around 210,000 euros. The amount goes up, obviously, the further she progresses. "I do, I think, everything that the girls my age do," said Andreeva. "I love to watch some series. I have to do my school ... and that's it. When I have free time ... sometimes it depends on my mood I prefer to be alone." Hang on that bit sounds like a teenager, albeit quite a tennis prodigy one.
Talking 'bout my generation
He's only 32 but clearly it's felt that he's getting on. Grigor Dimitrov, fresh from reaching the last-16 after his straight sets win over the 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, was quizzed on the circuit's young gunslingers - given that he will play 20-year-old Holger Rune in the fourth round. "They are already at 20, hitting the ball so big," remarked the oldster. "You know, strong with their feet, great serves." Dimitrov - once dubbed "Baby Fed" for the similarity of his style to the maestro Roger Federer - won the boy's singles title at Wimbledon in 2008 but has only reached the semis once at the senior level since. Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, are the players to have got their name on the trophy since his junior moment. "The younger generation already come in very completed," observed Dimitrov. "More so I think than maybe my generation and even the one after me," added Dimitrov. "But when I see now the young generation I feel like, what else can they improve? Certain decision-making and all that. But that comes also with experience." So a chance then old man?
Right spirit
Kudos to Alexander Bublik whose warm embrace with Andrey Rublev at the net after their fourth round battle was a highlight among many brilliant exchanges between the pair on Centre Court. Rublev won the five-set tussle to reach the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time. At the end, he pulled off an incredible scooped forehand slice shot as he dived at Bublik's backhand drive down the line. Bublik stood in disbelief. Rublev sat on the lawn as incredulous. “Probably was the most unlikely shot ever, it was luck," he told the on court interviewer. "I don’t think I can do it again." Probably right.
A little bit of geopolitics
Elina Svitolina famously didn't shake Aryna Sabalenka's hand when the two played at the French Open. The reason? Sabalenka is from Belarus and that country allowed its territory to be used for Russian troops to invade Svitolina's homeland of Ukraine. So what would be the response with Victoria Azarenka? The same again. This time Svitolina actually won the match. And the 28-year-old is into the quarter-final. She didn't even bother to choke back the tears. She gushed about the support from the crowd and there was no hint of: "Don't mention the war," because she did at length. Still, it was a great match which is over. Unlike the war, sadly.
No win
So here's an idea for better comprehension. Perhaps organisers could promote it up on the scoreboard that Player X will not shake the hand of Player Y because of stances over a particular world issue. And that way we can all avoid unseemly scenes like the one after the match between Elina Svitolina and Victoria Azarenka who was booed at the end for the Ukrainian not shaking her hand. Yes, really. Azarenka told reporters afterwards that the crowd's reaction was unfair. "She doesn't want to shake hands with Russian, Belarusian people," added the Belarusian. "I respected her decision. What should I have done? Stayed at the net and waited? There's no thing that I could do that would have been right, so I just did what I thought was respectful towards her decision," she added. Poltics and sport. They mix so, so well.
