On Saturday, July 15 with the roof closed on Center Court and with each ground stroke cracking like an explosion of fireworks, Garbine Muguruza beat Venus Williams for the 2017 Wimbledon Title. At 4-5, 15-40 and serving, Muguruza saved the two set points, swinging match momentum behind her and cruised to a 7-5, 6-0 victory, winning 9 consecutive games. Since Serena won the first Williams Grand Slam in 1999, Venus and Serena have accounted for approximately 45% of Grand Slam victories up to The US Open in 2015. Since then, with wins only at Wimbledon 2016 and the 2017 Australian Open by Serena, that level has dropped to 25%. Over those years they combined for 330 weeks at number one. At this time neither is number one. As Bob Dylan put it in his song, The Times They Are A - Changing, "...the present now will later be past, the order is rapidly fadin'..."
We are in the midst of this change in women's tennis. It began with Muguruza roaring back to challenge Serena in the second set in the final at Wimbledon in 2015, continued with Serena's loss in the semis at the US Open that year, became more clear with the rise of Angelique Kerber in 2016 to number one, underscored by the surprise victory of Jelena Ostapenko at the French Open this year, and now, with the defeat of the matriarch of a dynasty of dominance in women's tennis at Wimbledon 2017, a definitive symbol of the arc of this change, the mantle has been formally passed to a new age of players, and, I arguably believe, standing at the peak of the new contours of the landscape of this change is Garbine Muguruza.
"Congratulations. Don't be sad. You'll be holding this trophy very, very soon believe me." Little did Serena know that these words she spoke to runner up Muguruza during her ceremonial speech, Wimbledon 2015, would in some way doom her sister to a defeat that would herald this change. Muguruza now proudly holds the trophy and there are indications she may rise to be the next dominant force in women's tennis. Many will point to her inconsistency in performance and lack of mental toughness in the tournaments after her victory at the French Open up to Wimbledon 2017, but as waves on the ocean rise but fall only to gather more water to rise even higher, a player may rise and fall the same way and in doing so learn more. Emerging from months of struggle after her victory at Roland Garros, Muguruza has grown in confidence and stability with a better understanding of her own self-referral dynamics on court, gathering strength to rise even higher. The test is can she keep rising, perhaps falling sometimes, but gathering more strength with each fall to exceed, at some point, a threshold creating a wave with enough majesty and power that just keeps on rolling? I believe she can.
On the horizon to challenge her are the returns of Serena and Sharapova and the recent return of Azarenka, but I feel them slipping into the dusk of a former time. In her top ten neighborhood are the new #1 Pliskova, Halep, Kerber, Konta, Svitolina, Venus, and others both established and on the rise to test her mettle. And in the upcoming US swing that mettle will be tested. However, if Muguruza can maintain in those tournaments that level she displayed in getting to the Wimbledon final and winning the last nine games to win the title, she will past the test and roll into Flushing Meadows riding a wave that may take her to another title. Those are big ifs, but she has put together now a game that can do it. I really feel she is slowly being blessed with that indomitable specialness we see in the perennial champions - Serena, Venus, Federer, Nadal, and all the others in the past of that ilk, and will emerge as the new dominant force in women's tennis.
A few years ago I had just tuned into a match and I watched this player whom I had never seen before
move from the court to her bench for the sit-down. I say move because it wasn't just a walk, it was a strut, that signature strut of an athlete in top form exuding power and confidence. I thought to myself, "She's got it. She's going to be a star." It was Garbine Muguruza. This past Saturday, Day 12 at Wimbledon, with that same strut, I watched her circle Center Court with the Venus Rosewater Dish, sharing her moment of glory with the crowd. I was right.
Epilogue: As we know Venus and Serena brought a new game to women's tennis. They raised the bar. The game of the Williams sisters made the other women on tour better players. Referring to Venus after her defeat in the final, Ben Rothenberg, freelance writer for the NY Times, tweeted in part, "...she didn't need to win to validate anything...she remains a transcendent, ageless champ." And, of course, the same can be said of Serena. Although this dynasty of dominance appears to have ended, they will continue to play, a mother and an aunt, and for that... we are grateful.
Anyway, that's how I see it.
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