The Wimbledon Championships, one of the oldest tennis tournaments in the world featuring Men’s singles, Women’s singles, Men’s doubles and Women’s doubles, started on Monday, June 25, and ended on Sunday, July 8, at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London. Wimbledon is played on a grass court and is one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, which include the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open.
Roger Federer (Switzerland) won the Men’s singles for the seventh time in a close match (4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4) against Andy Murray (Great Britain). Serena Williams (USA) won Women’s singles against Agnieszka Radwanska (Poland). Jonathan Marray (Great Britain) and Frederik Nielson (Denmark) won Men’s doubles against Robert Lindstedt (Sweden) and Horia Tecau (Romania). Serena and Venus Williams (USA) won the Women’s doubles against Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic).
The Men’s singles final with Federer and Murray was, without doubt, the most heated match of the tournament. Federer was the expected winner because of his numerous grand slam wins.
However, Murray had total support from the English crowd and came out strong. After going down 4-3 in the first set, he was able to come back, winning three straight games for a 6-4 victory.
Federer and Murray traded games in the tight second set, but Federer was able to tie up the match in the end, winning the second set 7-5. In the last two sets, Murray couldn’t hold off Federer, who earned his seventh Wimbledon title by taking the third and fourth sets 6-3 and 6-4, respectively.
Murray was able to get back at Federer in the Olympic final, securing the gold in straight-sets.
US Open (Golf)
The U.S. Open, an annual golf major, took place from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 17 at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.The tournament occurs in different places across the United States every year and is on the official schedule of the PGA Tour and European Tour.
U.S.’s Webb Simpson ended up winning the three-day tournament, defeating former champions Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell. McDowell finished in second place, but shared the spot with Michael Thompson.
On the final day, Simpson shot 2-under 68 finishing the tournament with 1-over, one stroke ahead of Thompson and McDowell. Simpson had scored a 68 on Saturday as well, which was considered remarkable given the difficulty of the Olympic Club’s course.
Furyk was the expected winner after starting the final day tied for the lead, but scored 4-over par in the final round to land himself in third place.
Olympics
The Olympics began Friday, July 27 with an Opening Ceremony conducted by British director Danny Boyle and ended Sunday, August 12. Throughout the two weeks of the game, the U.S. has had strong showings across the board, and especially in gymnastics and swimming.
At the time of print, the U.S. had won a total of 66 medals — 30 gold, 16 silver and 20 bronze — right behind China who currently have 70. The U.S. and China have been consistently trading the lead, usually either tied or one ahead of each other.
The U.S. was especially dominant in the pool. Swimmer Michael Phelps continues to hold the record of receiving the most medals in Olympic history. Although Phelps started slow at the beginning of his last Olympics ever, he came back strong to win six medals in London. During the 200-meter individual medley, Phelps won gold while fellow American swimmer was milliseconds behind, securing the silver. Another great moment for the Olympic team came in the 4 by 200 meter freestyle, in which Phelps, Lochte, Berens and Dwyer defeated the Chinese and French in order to secure the gold for the U.S.
The women’s swim team also did well, with Rebecca Soni setting a World Record in the 200-meter breaststroke final, finishing the race in 2:19.59. Swimmer Missy Franklin, a 17-year-old rising senior, also took home several medals including a gold for the 200 meter Backstroke.
America also has been well represented in gymnastics. Gabby Douglas, along with winning golds individually and with her gymnastics team, was named All-Around Champion for Gymnastics. Gymnast Aly Raisman also excelled during the Olympics, winning gold in Floor Exercise and a bronze on the balance beam.
