TOP TEN INEXPLICABLE EVENTS OF 2014: SERENA @ WIMBLEDON TOPS THE CHARTS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 31st December 2014

TOP TEN INEXPLICABLE EVENTS OF 2014: SERENA @ WIMBLEDON TOPS THE CHARTS BY RICKY DIMON |

Every tennis season delivers plenty of bizarre moments and 2014 was no exception. On both the men’s and women’s tours, things happened that had to be seen in order to be believed. For now, however, we’ll do our best to describe those wild and wacky happenings in writing.

Ten inexplicable events of the year:

Serena Williams retires from Wimbledon doubles match

Invoking memories of Novak Djokovic’s hilarious stretch of points against Juan Martin Del Potro at the 2013 Shanghai Masters, Serena looked completely out of sorts before and during her second-round match at Wimbledon with Venus against Kristina Barrois and Stefanie Voegele. While serving down 0-2 in the first set, Serena hit four consecutive double-faults–with some serves failing to even reach the net. She retired shortly thereafter and was diagnosed with a “viral illness.”

Serena Williams of USA takes on Sabine Lisicki of Germany during their fourth round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 01 July 2013. EPA/ANDY RAIN

Press conferences go haywire

At the French Open, Nicolas Mahut lost his first-round match to Mikhail Kukushkin. His press conference began with an American reporter saying, “Congratulations.” A stupefied Mahut promptly decreed that he would begin taking questions in French. A few weeks later at Wimbledon, Ernests Gulbis was asked about umpires and instead went on ramble about vampires.

Vasek Pospisil and Jack Sock miss out on World Tour Finals

Pospisil and Sock were in prime position for a doubles spot in the World Tour Finals after winning Wimbledon and backing that title up with another triumph in Atlanta and a runner-up showing in Cincinnati. Perhaps unaware that their Grand Slam victory did not officially secure them a place in London because Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt were also slam champions, Pospisil and Sock played only one tournament with each other the entire fall (Paris). They lost their first match and missed out on a trip to the year-end championship.

Roger Federer vs. Stan Wawrinka

Rarely is the story of a match in which one player blows four match points–including three on his own serve–what happened outside the lines. But that was the case in the World Tour Finals all-Swiss semi between Federer and Wawrinka. Although Wawrinka squandered four match points and eventually went down in a third-set tiebreaker, his heartbreaking loss was overshadowed by Federer’s wife–Mirka Vavrinec–allegedly calling Wawrinka a crybaby. The two Davis Cup teammates reportedly had a heated exchange in the locker room to discuss the matter. It is likely that nobody other than Stan, Roger, and Mirka will ever really know what happened….

Switzerland’s Roger Federer (L) shakes hands with compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka following his three set win during the ATP World Tour Finals semi-final match at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 15 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

The point between Angelique Kerber and Daniela Hantuchova

In a French Open showdown, Hantuchova served and Kerber hit a return that was called long. Hantuchova then blocked the ball back over the net and into the court of play as the two competitors prepared for the next point. But a mark apparently showed Kerber’s return to have landed on the line. Instead of replaying the point, chair umpire Louise Engzell awarded the point to Kerber. Almost as inexplicably, Kerber actually accepted the point instead of insisting on replaying it. On all counts, this was nothing short an absolute and unacceptable disaster.

The point between Denis Istomin and Radek Stepanek

Speaking of disasters, that’s exactly what chair umpire Mohamed El Jennati was in Indian Wells. The Moroccan was responsible for several cases of epic buffoonery throughout the fortnight, none more outrageous than his performance in the Istomin-Stepanek match. Stepanek hit a shot that was clearly out, after which Istomin hit the ball back in play but stopped the rally to challenge. Stepanek proceeded to hit his next shot out, as well. El Jennati, meanwhile, did not see Istomin challenge and then did not let Istomin challenge once he found out that a challenge had been called, saying it was too late. The umpire then gave the point to Stepanek for no explicable reason, as the Czech had hit not one but two shots out!

Fabio Fognini

Is any explanation necessary? Probably not, but let’s do it anyway. Fognini was up to his usual nonsensical antics throughout 2014, and he was in especially rare form at Wimbledon. The mercurial Italian was fined $27,500 for several instances of unsportsmanlike conduct during his second-round win over Tim Puetz. After losing a few days later to Kevin Anderson, Fognini accused tournament officials of banning him from show courts due to his fiery temper.

Darian King gets disqualified

He’s no Fognini, but King made a name for himself for all the wrong reasons in 2014. While competing at the Charlottesville Challenger, the Barbados native angrily flung his racket toward the back screen after losing a point. It came dangerously close to striking a lineswoman, but fell almost harmlessly by her side. Nonetheless, the lineswoman crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes and King was promptly disqualified from the match.

Genie Bouchard’s last three months

What was that, Genie? The up-and-coming Canadian was the toast of the tennis world throughout the first half of the season, and she even reached the Wimbledon final. But Bouchard completely dissolved once the hard-court summer began. She went 1-3 in U.S. Open tuneups, a stretch that included two 6-0 set losses to Shelby Rogers in Canada. The season-ending slump’s exclamation point came at the WTA Finals in Singapore, where Bouchard lost all three of her matches in straight sets with no set being more competitive than 6-3.

“Spending my last moments of 2014 in the gym… What are your New Years resolutions? #workhard” – Photo by @geniebouchard

John Isner hires Justin Gimelstob

One: he’s a Tennis Channel commentator. Two: he’s on the ATP Board of Directors. Three: he’s Justin Gimelstob. How Gimelstob has time to be John Isner’s coach is unclear. How he will be a good coach is even less clear. The only thing that’s certain is this player-coach relationship is going to be one of the most interesting storylines of 2015.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Angelique Kerber, Daniela Hantuchova, Fabio Fognini, Genie Bouchard, jack sock, John Isner, Mirka, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Serena, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis, top 10, Vasek Pospisil, Wimbledon, World Tour Finals, Wta

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10sBalls_com says:

December 31, 2014 at 10:10 am

#TOP10 INEXPLICABLE EVENTS OF 2014: @serenawilliams @ #Wimbledon TOPS THE CHARTS BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/8hCoWJEnH5 #tennis #HappyNewYear
Dimonator says:

December 31, 2014 at 11:33 am

RT @10sBalls_com: #TOP10 INEXPLICABLE EVENTS OF 2014: @serenawilliams @ #Wimbledon TOPS THE CHARTS BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/8hCoWJEnH5 #t…