Assessing U.S. Chances at This Year’s Wimbledon

When it comes to tennis, Brentwood has quite a history. We are home to one of the most popular tennis clubs in L.A. and have a long history of producing proficient young tennis players. We can also point to the fact that both Serena and Venus Williams and John McEnroe trained on a private tennis court in one of our most exclusive properties.

Unfortunately, though we have quite a few young players that have done well in the amateur game, we have yet to have our own homegrown Brentwood Grand Slam winner. And while it might seem like grasping, we’re still proud of the fact that both Serena and Venus Williams knocked balls around with Pete Sampras and John McEnroe right here in our neighborhood.

However, with the news that Serena is out, we got to thinking who, besides Venus, would be our best hope of a U.S. winner at Wimbledon.

Venus is the eighth seed for the ladies’ singles title, and one would like to think that with Serena out of the tournament that this represents her best chance to reclaim the title she last won in 2008. Having lost to Serena in the Australian Open, we’d love to see her get her first Grand Slam since that last win at Wimbledon, but another U.S. player may have something to say about that.

Madison Keys, seeded ninth, is only one place behind Venus in the WTA Rankings so far this year. Their head-to-head record is an even two wins apiece, so fingers are crossed they are fortunate with the draw. We might even see an all U.S. women’s final that does not involve Venus or Serena Williams.

When it comes to our chances of a first men’s title since Pete Sampras in 2000, our chances are quite slim. Jack Sock is our best hope, and he is an outside shot. Although Sock is having an extremely successful year, there are questions over his dedication to playing both doubles and singles. He’s the only player in the world with a top 20 ranking in both singles and doubles, and that is no minor feat. It’s hard to see him putting the likes of Djokovic and Federer to the sword though, so let’s hope he carries on the streak he’s on right now.

John Isner and Steve Johnson, ranked 23rd, and 25th respectively, would be our only other hopes, but with Isner given unfavorable odds, it seems highly unlikely that either will make it past the quarterfinals, at best.

It seems, rather, that our best hopes of a U.S. singles win at this year’s Wimbledon depends on Venus and Madison. And as unlikely as it might have seemed just a couple of years ago, this year could be the year we finally see the elder Williams step out of the younger Williams’ shadow. Whether it’s Venus or Madison, Jack or John, whoever is flying the flag for the U.S. gets our full support for Wimbledon. 

 

 

 

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