Plenty of champagne but not much fizz at Wimbledon

LONDON: Wimbledon can make a strong claim to be the greatest, as well as the oldest, of tennis’s major championships but the 2017 vintage will not go down as one of the finest produced at the All England Club.

For all the admiration for Roger Federer’s record eighth title and the appreciation of the exciting promise of women’s winner Garbine Muguruza, two one-sided finals were not what fans wanted to see.

Those finals did, however, typify a tournament that promised so much yet ultimately, for all its usual elegance and charm, failed to deliver the excitement and drama that sports fans expect.

Ticket prices of 155 pounds ( 203.08) for the women’s final and 190 pounds ( 248.94) for the men’s final can certainly be justified in the current entertainment market but the matches hardly brought bang for the buck.

In the showpiece men’s game on Sunday, Federer’s opponent, Croatian Marin Cilic slumped to a 6- 3 6-1 6- 4 loss, twice receiving attention from medical staff and afterwards saying he had been hampered by a blister.

A day earlier Venus Williams, searching for a sixth singles title at Wimbledon, lost in straight sets to Muguruza, meekly surrendering 6- 0 in the second set.

The impression was that Williams had run out of steam - even if she admirably refused to make excuses or take credit away from the victor - and that was disappointing for those who had hoped to see the 37-year- old go to the wire against one of the sport’s brightest young talents. The local fans had enjoyed a British victory last year with Andy Murray winning his second title but there was no ‘Murray Mania’ this year - with wear and tear also to blame for his demise.

The Briton came into the tournament under a cloud, facing questions about his fitness after a first-round exit at the grasscourt warm- up event at Queen’s.