A gentleman named Nick Newlife, who died in February 2009, placed a little over $2300 in ’03 on the notion that Roger Federer would win seven Wimbledon titles before 2019. Federer won his first Grand Slam title in 2003. Newlife actually made a stipulation that his winnings should go to the charity organization Oxfam if he wasn’t around to cash in the ticket. The charity would earn over $156K if Fed wins at Wimbledon. Most oddsmakers have Federer at +225 with only Rafael Nadal ahead of him at +200.
Fedtastic
Is Roger Federer the best tennis player to ever play the game? The argument has been brewing for a couple of years now and it will surely become more contentious considering today he broke the all-time Grand Slam titles mark previously held by Pete Sampras. Federer outlasted Andy Roddick 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14 today in the Wimbledon Finals to set the record. In my mind there should be no argument because Federer is by far the best tennis player ever and that should be the end of the discussion. The man is only 27 years old and has won a record breaking 15 Grand Slam titles in his career not to mention he also previously held the world #1 ranking for a record 237 consecutive weeks. If that isn’t enough then also consider Federer has reached the semifinals, or better, in the last 21 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments which is a record streak spanning over a fiver year period. On this topic it is best to accept greatness rather than fight it!
Maria, Maria
As we discussed less than a month ago Maria Sharapova seems to be regaining her old form coming off a shoulder injury suffered last year and we couldn’t be happier. Well, today Maria hit a minor speed bump against #72 ranked Viktoriya Kutuzova, but she was able to gut out a first round win in two sets 7-5, 6-4. Sharapova will next face #45 ranked Gisela Dulko out of Argentina and we are expecting a more polished game from Maria.
Serena Ready for Wimbledon
Serena Williams won her first round Wimbledon match today against #154th ranked Neuza Silva 6-1, 7-5. By the looks of this picture taken recently while she was out training Serena has her eyes set on a possible third Wimbledon championship. As a side note, is it just me or is Serena looking more and more like Ben Wallace each day?