This past weekend’s schedule of Wimbledon
finals was anything but short on storylines.
On the women’s side, you had Serena Williams who is always a big
storyline on her own. Even with taking
breaks from the game of tennis, she still continues to dominate women’s tennis
and to prove that rankings may not really matter too much. Her opponent, Agnieszka Radwanska, would have
taken over the number one ranking had she won her first ever Grand Slam title. Serena Williams took home the title (Serena and Venus also won the women's doubles championship).
The buzz of Wimbledon
happened to be on the men’s side this year.
The men’s final featured Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Federer was going for Grand Slam title number
17 and record Wimbledon number 7. Murray
had much more pressure on his shoulders.
He was trying to become the first Brit to win Wimbledon
in over 7 decades. With historic
implications on both sides, the finals were sure to be a huge draw. To the dismay of all of Great Britain , Federer was able to edge out Murray in 4 sets.
Ticket sales for the men’s Wimbledon
final were through the roof. There were
reports that tickets were reaching prices of over $20,000. Yes, $20,000. That is how badly the entire country wanted to
see a win for Andy Murray.
An interesting point with Wimbledon
is that the men’s and women’s prize money is equal throughout. Prize money disparities have been a big point
of contention in recent years in tennis.
At Wimbledon , prize money ranges from $14,500
for the first round losers all the way up to $1,150,000 for the winners. All prize money levels saw an increase that
was ahead of inflation from the 2011 tournament which would show that there has
been growth in the tournament’s revenue.
Just as I wrote last week, it’s time to take notice. Especially in men’s tennis, we are in a
golden age. The top 3 or 4 players may
be the best top 3 or 4 that we have seen in the game’s history. There will be tennis in the upcoming London
2012 Olympics and the next Grand Slam is the US Open at the end of the
summer. Do yourself a favor and give
tennis a chance.
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