All in at the All-England Club: A look at the unheralded stars of Wimbledon 2014

A blockbuster final matchup at Wimbledon lived up to its billing as now-world No. 1 Novak Djokovic outlasted seven-time tournament champion Roger Federer in a five-set thriller. Along the way there were a few well-documented surprises, such as Nick Kyrgios’ upset of Rafael Nadal and Grigor Dimitrov’s destruction of defending champion Andy Murray.

But who flew under the radar? Who quietly got the job done–and more–at the All-England Club while at the same time being overshadowed by bigger and brighter stars? The Grandstand’s Ricky Dimon, Steen Kirby of Tennis East Coast, and Joey Hanf of The Tennis Nerds have a roundtable discussion touching on Wimbledon’s unheralded stars, matches, and moments.

Ricky: Alright, folks; give me one name–aside from obvious answers like Djokovic, Federer, Dimitrov, and Kyrgios–who either surprised or overachieved at Wimbledon and why he stood out to you.

Steen: Jiri Vesely, who was for a time the highest-ranked teen on the ATP Tour, upset Gael Monfils in five sets and reached the third round of a slam for the first time in his career. He then took a set off of rising star Nick Kyrgios before losing in four. Vesely has been improving and climbing up the rankings under the radar and he is now a top 60 player. The 20-year-old has a talented all-court game and the mettle to compete beyond just the Challenger circuit. He should be the next Czech tennis star and could give some big names (bigger than, say, Monfils) trouble sooner rather than later. A second-week of a slam appearance seems to be on the immediate horizon for Vesely.
Highlights of an utterly bizarre Vesely-Monfils match:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3QJS5Y7dDI]

Ricky: I’ll go a different route and mention veterans Tommy Robredo and Leonardo Mayer. One of my favorite, self-coined sayings is “death, taxes, and Robredo in the fourth round of Grand Slams.” Just because it happens all the time does not make any specific one any less impressive–especially one that comes on his worst surface (grass). At 32 years old, this was Robredo’s first trip to the last 16 at Wimbledon and it came via a five-set win over Jerzy Janowicz (yes, Janowicz is slumping but is a force on grass and was a 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist). Robredo has been to at least the fourth round of the Australian Open five times and both the French Open and U.S. Open eight times. His consistency and longevity should not go unnoticed. As for Mayer, he took advantage of Kuznetsov beating Ferrer but also scored nice wins over Andreas Seppi and Marcos Baghdatis…. Not bad for someone who doesn’t love grass.

Ricky: Speaking of adjustments (or lack thereof), the Americans did not find much success away from their beloved hard courts. In fact, they were historically bad this year at Wimbledon with no man or woman in the singles fourth round since 1911. Still, the USA actually made noise of some sort. Three of the four men’s doubles finalists were Americans, with Jack Sock (and Canadian partner Vasek Pospisil) upsetting the Bryan Brothers to cap off a shocking run to the title. Sock, Sam Querrey, and Denis Kudla at least managed to join John Isner in the singles second round. Querrey played another five-setter at Wimbledon (he has now played at least one five-setter in five straight appearances), losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 14-12 in the fifth. Isner reached the third round for the first time in his career and played the second longest tiebreaker in tournament history in the process (beat Jarkko Nieminen 19-17). Finally, an All-American boys’ singles final saw Noah Rubin beat Stefan Kozlov. So, hey, come to think of it were we really that bad?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgLcakd4-vo]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zSvVJxnIEA]

Joey: We were only bad in one event, albeit the most significant one. I think the last two weeks should give American tennis fans some realistic hope. Querrey looked so much better than he had in any tournament for the last seven months and I think he’ll fare well on the hard courts. Obviously doubles was a huge success, and Sock was absolutely cracking his serve and forehand in that final. But I would like to focus on the juniors. I’ve been following the “98 trio,” which is comprised of Stefan Kozlov, Francis Tiafoe, and Michael Mmoh for about a year and half now, and I’ve got to say I think each one of these guys has a real future. I had the chance to talk to Mmoh, who reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon this year, and was very encouraged by what he had to say. He noted that although all three of them have been in the top 10 of the ITF junior rankings, they want more and are by no means satisfied. Kozlov in particular has been the best ’98-born player in the world for just about his entire life. Although he dropped a close three-setter to Rubin, who is quite the player himself, he showed us that he can play with anyone. In the quarterfinals Kozlov defeated No. 2 seed Hyeon Chung, who has won three Futures titles and just reached a career-high ranking of No. 253 in the world, in straight sets. We may have to wait 3-4 years to truly see the results, but the next generation is coming.

Steen: Once again the Americans disappointed as a group at a slam. The same I’ve said before can be said again here.: it seems the current breed of American player does not have a game designed for grass, like–say–Andy Roddick did,. But the next generation, with strong junior results, may. In any case, the U.S. Open Series should provide more fertile opportunity for the American contingent.

Ricky: If nothing else, Americans have recently been a part of some interesting matches: Querrey vs. Tsonga at Wimbledon and Johnson vs. Laurent Lokoli at the French Open, just to name a few. What other matches at the All-England Club were memorable but also underrated?

Joey: For my match I’ll go with one that got nearly no publicity or press. Kei Nishikori and Simone Bolelli went completely under the radar in the third round. Bolelli had pulled off a huge upset over Philipp Kohlshcreiber in his previous match, winning that one 7-5 in the fifth. Many experts had picked the German to make a deep run in London, including one member of this roundtable. (Cough, cough, Ricky) However, Bolelli–who needed a lucky-loser spot just to get into the main draw–played some of the best tennis of his life. I flipped it on when I saw Bolelli was up two sets to one. My first thought was that Nishikori must be injured or playing poorly, but that was far from the case. Bolelli was simply hitting the ball perfectly, dictating play nearly every point. What was most impressive was that Bolelli, who possesses a one-handed-backhand, was hanging with Nishikori’s outstanding two-handeder on a consistent basis. However, Japan’s top guy showed us why he is becoming a solid Top 10 player by rebounding to win the rain-delayed match in five sets, saving a match point in the process.

Ricky: A contest that ended in straight sets but still provided some drama and quality was Marin Cilic vs. Tomas Berdych (it also happened to be my best pick of the fortnight). Although Berdych did not play poorly, an in-form and inspired Cilic powered his way to a 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(6) victory. The Croat fired 20 aces to Berdych’s six and finished with 46 winners to just 27 unforced errors. Tournament statistics were generous the entire fortnight, but those may have been at least close to accurate. It was the latest–and likely the darkest–outer-court finish to a match in Wimbledon history, wrapping up at 9:38 p.m. Cilic was unusually pumped up both during and afterward, and who can blame him? He was rock bottom at this time last year, when his four-month, doping-related suspension began at Wimbledon and resulted in withdrawal–and subsequent disappearance from the tour until the Paris Masters–prior to the second round.

Ricky: How about for a memorable and/or underrated moment?

Steen: 2002 champion and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who recently won his 10th career grass-court title in Newport, may well have said sayonara to Wimbledon. An exceptional warrior with incredible passion for the sport, the Aussie has dealt with so many physical problems and has admitted he has been and still is potentially one injury away from retirement. With inconsistent results this season (although he has two titles, he has also crashed out at tournaments and had unusually long losing streaks), if the U.S. Open Series doesn’t see great results for him, the 2015 Australian Open might be his last call. Hewitt lost to Jerzy Janowicz in five sets in the Wimbledon second round, falling short of producing the five-set comeback he might as well have trademarked. The match didn’t have a ton of fanfare, but in hindsight it may be the last time we see such a tenacious champion on the grounds of SW19 as an active player rather than a commentator, coach or in some other capacity. If my suspicions are true, the situation will be similar to what we saw with Roddick in 2012. The two veterans shared a similar long, lonesome look as they walked off the Wimbledon court in their last matches.

Joey: Kyrgios got plenty of well-deserved attention at Wimbledon, and his victory over Nadal featured a truly breathtaking performance. In the upset he produced, in my opinion, the best moment of the tournament. The tweener he hit midway through the second set was indicative of how the whole match went. Nadal had caught Kyrgios off balance with a heavy forehand, and there was really no play for the youngster. But out of nowhere he half-volleyed an inside-out forehand between his legs for an outright winner. There was nothing Nadal could do. To hit a front-facing tweener that hard is nearly impossible. Go ahead, try it at home and see how you fare. Kyrgios’ reaction afterward was priceless. He didn’t look dumbfounded, but energetic and bursting with confidence.