Reflecting on a delicious Wimbledon with a hint of golf
Within an hour, Roger Federer will be stepping out onto Centre Court at Wimbledon for the Men’s Singles Final against Croat Marin Cilic at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. One of the greatest players of our time, the much-adored 35-year old Swiss tennis genius looks set to win his 8th Wimbledon title – a record in the history of the Championship. Not only that, on the 4th July, on his way to the final, Federer calmly served his 10,000th career ace. Yes, your eyes do not deceive you: 10,000 aces!
It was during week one at Wimbledon that Federer surpassed the 10,000-ace mark whilst playing in his first round match against Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine). He became only the third man to achieve this remarkable feat, made even more special when you consider that Federer is more known for his all-round grace and finesse on the tennis court rather than as a player of power-serves.
Luiten’s ‘luck of the Irish’ ace
Two days later, in the first round of the Irish Open, Holland’s number one golfer Joost Luiten stepped onto the sixth tee at County Louth GC in Northern Ireland and made an ace. The four-time winner on the European Tour holed-out with a single shot at the par-three using a pitching-wedge. The rare ace brings the 31-year old golfer’s tally of holes-in-one in his career to three.
In the game of golf an ace is often rewarded with an expensive car on the pro circuit. Unlucky for Luiten, there was no special prize at that hole in the Irish Open. And, as far as we are aware, there is no official film of his incredible shot either. Now that’s a double, bitter blow! Luiten’s reaction? Although he was naturally disappointed at not winning a car, he was pretty calm, it seems. On his website, he simply says: “Just my luck! Oh well, it’s always nice to have a hole-in-one”.
Nice one, Joost! “Proost!”
Wendy Hoad
READ MORE about the 2017 Irish Open and Joost’s other aces:
Young Spaniard wins Irish Open in style
‘Luiten’s luck-of-the-Irish ace’
‘Shame for Shane – More luck-of-the-Irish tales’
Nice to know … For the lovers of tennis statistics …
Roger Federer has become only the third man to serve 10,000 aces in his tennis career since ATP World Tour began tracking the statistic in 1991. By the way, his score does not include results from the Davis Cup, the 2000 and 2004 Olympics and the 1999 Basel second round.
Most aces It was at Wimbledon in 2009 that Federer served the record number of aces in a match. He beat Andy Roddick (USA) that year by serving an impressive 50 aces.
Prizemoney at Wimbledon this year: 2.2 million pounds each – men’s and women’s champions; runners-up: 1.1 million each.
PICTURED: Roger Federer on his way to winning his 8th Wimbledon tennis title.