An International, Professional and Indestructible Tournament
Now back to the history of Wimbledon. After World War II ended, the tournament resumed in 1946. Until 1967, it was the A mericans and Australians who dominated Wimbledon. Initially, the titles are claimed by U.S. (Jack Kramer, Budge Patty, Tony Trabert, Maureen Connolly and Althea Gibson - the first black winner at Wimbledon). But starting from the mid-1950’s, it's the Australians (Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, John Newcombe, Margaret Smith, ...) to start to triumph.
In 1968, the tennis world is revolutionised. It is now required that the tournaments are open to
Althea Gibson amateurs and professionals alike. In 1967, Wimbledon declares that the tournament will be open to everyone. In 1968, it was the first tournament to welcome professional players, despite the threats of the International Tennis Federation. The other tournaments follow suit, and the Open Era is born.
It is in 1973 that Wimbledon encounters its first great difficulty. This is a year of controversy in the tennis world. After refusing to play in a Davis Cup encounter (a claim denied by the player), Yugoslav Nikki Pilic was suspended by his Federation, meaning that he would not be able to play at Wimbledon. The ATP (Tennis Players Association) decided to protest by boycotting the next competition of the season: Wimbledon. Consequent ly, 79 players, including 13 of the original 16 seeds, did not participate in the 1973 edition. This caused panic as the Wimbledon organisers feared that the public would follow suit. Instead, the spectators flocked in. It also saw the arrival of a new Borg Mania - 1973
star – Bjorn Borg
The 1970’s and 1980’s are synonymous with major renovation work. For the occasion of the tournaments centenary, in 1977, and to accommodate the 300 000 + annual spectators, the Wimbledon organizers decide, initially, to build the first international museum dedicated to the history of tennis. Secondly, in 1979, the buildings surrounding the Central Court are rebuilt and the roof of the stadium is improved to create additional seating. Finally, in 1981, Wimbledon bought the neighbouring land to build 4 new courts and a commercial village. Wimbledon now covers just over 42 acres, the largest of the Grand Slam tournaments. Work is finally completed in 1985 with the expansion of the media centre. Fourteen years later a roof is added to the Centre Court, it was used for the first time during the 2009 tournament.
Centre Court before the re-build - 2004
On the Court, in the 1970’s and 80’s, the Swedish and American men dominate the table. The Swede Bjorn Borg had 5 consecutive triumphs from 1976 to 1980 (with the 1980 final against John McEnroe going down in history as one of the  best, with a 34 point tie-break, the 5 set match lasted 3 hours and 53 minutes) before he gave way to another Swede, Stefan Edberg (1988, 1990) and for the Americans John McEnroe (1981, 1983, 1984) and Jimmy Connors (1974, 1982) were the big winners. But Wimbledon also saw the victory of a young German, Boris Becker, the youngest male champion in 1985, aged just 17.
As for the women’s side, it is dominated by one player. Martina Navratilova became the most titled
Boris Becker c.1994 Wimbledon player in history, winning 9 times between 1978 and 1990, and being present in every final from 1982 and 1990. Navratilova won a total on 20 Wimbledon trophies during her career – 9 singles, 7 Ladies doubles and 4 mixed doubles). Her total domination was only stopped by three players: Evonne Goolagong in 1980, Chris Evert in 1981, and Steffi Graf in 1988 and 1989. This young German player would go on tto be the Queen of Wimbledon during the 1990’s, winning 7.
Before 2000, the American Pete Sampras made Wimbledon his private garden. With a record 7 triumphs (1993-95, 1997-2000) - Sampras was undefeated at Wimbledon. The only player to beat him at Wimbledon during t his period was the 1996 winner, Richard Krajiceck, who knocked him out in the Quarter Finals.
In 2001, the Croatian Wild Card Goran Ivanisevic won the final. Breaking his unlucky jinx after three final failures (in 1992, 94 and 98) and becoming the lowest Martina Navratilova revieving the 1982 title
ranked player (125th) and only Wild Card ever to win the tournament. Since then the tournament has been dominated by Roger Federer. The Swiss player won 5 consecutive times from 2003-5, eventually losing his crown in an epic final in 2008 against his biggest rival, Rafeal Nadal. The 5 set final was twice interrupted by rain and at 4 hours 48 minutes in the longest ever final.
For the women, Swiss Martina Hingis won Wimbledon at age 15 in 1997, and since 2000, the American Williams sisters – Venus and Serena – have dominated (5 and 3 wins respectively) this prestigious tournament.
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Wimbledon Final 2008 |
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