30 Days of Tennis Challenge – Day 13: Your favorite Grand Slam tournament

Last time I checked, we had four Slams. In theory, this means 25% of chance for each to be picked today. Theory. Different than practice, we know. Whatever. This is the third post I’m writing today, I’m feeling sleepy and don’t feel like I have lots to talk about this one.

Australia has the heat and the upsets. It’s a lovely tournament. The United States has the biggest complex in the world and is the Grand Slam where my all-time faves – Kim and Andy – won most (and in case of Roddick, only) of their Major titles. And Roland Garros has… well, French people?

Wimbledon has the traditions – no sponsoring, the same Slazenger balls, the white clothes, the Middle Sunday, the ball. Wimbledon is where the big guys made their name at. Sampras, Laver, Federer, Graf, Navratilova. They all won multiple Slams – some of them, the four – but it’s Wimbledon that made them famous.

Maybe because grass is the most peculiar surface of the sport – the only living one, as said by a local commie. The one with the shortest swing during the season – only four weeks, five for ATP if you take Newport in consideration. Maybe because it is – or was – the fastest of all the surfaces, demanding extra effort – mainly serving – in order to maximize the results.

Or maybe all these factors can be summarized in two words: simply Wimbledon.

Useful:

Prologue and explanation

Day 1 – Favorite men’s player

Day 2 – Favorite women’s player

Day 3 – Favorite doubles team

Day 4 – Least favorite men’s player

Day 5 – Least favorite women’s player

Day 6 – Most memorable match

Day 7 – First player you became a fan of

Day 8 – Earliest tennis memory

Day 9 – Favorite retired men’s player

Day 10 – Favorite retired women’s player

Day 11 – A player nobody would expect you to love

Day 12 – A player that you aren’t a fan of but you respect