Handing Out the Wimbledon Awards
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jul 8, 2008 | Print | Email | Bookmark | Free Subscription
Venus Williams left Wimbledon with the top honors, but who else deserved commendation after a fortnight at the 2008 Championships?
Feel free to leave your own picks in the comments!
Best Player: Venus Williams
Best Surprise of the Championships: Jie Zheng
Best Quote: Serena Williams
“I’m going to sabotage her and eat all the breakfast. I’ll eat all the Wheaties so she doesn’t have any chance.”
Best Serve: Venus Williams
Best Forehand: Ana Ivanovic
Best Backhand: Jie Zheng
Best Dressed: Venus Williams
Best Design Label: Polo Ralph Lauren
Best Comeback Win: Nicole Vaidisova d. Anna Chakvetadze (Fourth Round)
Best Commentator: Mary Joe Fernandez
Best Shrieker of the Championships: Elena Dementieva
Best New Innovation: Scoreboards on Centre Court and Court No. 1
Best Blogger of the Tournament: Drew Lilley and the AELTC staff
Best Interview Subject: Tamarine Tanasugarn
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Nexty | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
isn’t it quite difficult to say that Venus was the best player of the tourement?
I like Venus and seriously admire her, but let’s say she had a cool draw this year and that maybe somebody played better no?
At the same time, if you base your picks on the final result and the fact that she won, then yeah, she was the best player.
So what were you criteria?
Will.I.AM | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
Best Forehand- Venus Williams! It’s a beautiful thing to watch (on grass).
Best Comeback Win- Ivanovic versus Dechy
Best Mover- Venus Williams
Best Outfit- Tuxedo Outfit (Maria Sharapova)
Biggest Disappointment- Tie betweeen Jankovic (win a grandslam already!) and Kuznetsova
Nexty, Venus was the better player regardless of criteria. It’s not her fault all of the “top” players were upset. She did her job and played brillantly to win the title. Venus is great, get over it buddy!
Can we expect wimbedon by the numbers post this year? If so, I would like to make a contribution.
Aaress Lawless | Jul 8, 2008 | Reply
Nexty,
My criteria for best player was not only the final, but overall performance. Although Venus had a more favorable draw than some others, she still performed consistently at a top level during the two weeks and did not drop a set. Again, this was my pick for the best player, but if you think someone else deserves the honor, let us know!
Will.I.Am - Yes, we do plan to publish a By the Numbers post either tomorrow or Thursday. Why don’t you email me at info@onthebaseline.com with your ideas? Thanks!
Nexty | Jul 9, 2008 | Reply
Personally I didn’t have a best player for this edition.
Theoretically, the best player is the one who manages to win the last point of the championship , and so did Venus!
But I don’t know I feel like someone else could share that spot. Maybe Serena…
Van | Jul 10, 2008 | Reply
Hey Aaress!
I think Venus was definitely the player of the championship. Her draw really wasn’t that easy. I don’t think it matters who she’s playing on grass; she can beat 99 percent of the players on it any given day, I feel.
I had a couple of “Best of’s”:
Best performance by a veteran: Tamarine Tanasugarn
Best back-on-track performance: Nicole Vaidisova
That’s all I’ve got now.
Aaress Lawless | Jul 12, 2008 | Reply
Hi Van! Thanks for commenting!
Alice | Jul 12, 2008 | Reply
It gives me little pleasure to say it, but Bethanie Mattek had a good Wimbledon. She stuck up for herself well against Serena, and has risen exponentially in the rankings in the past few months.
She’s a gregarious spunky chick. So the best of luck to her.