Welcome to Wimbledon Rewind, where wtatennis.com will take a look back at some of the most memorable matches from the past two decades at Wimbledon. From notorious upsets to great escapes, rewind the clock and check out our list of the Top 8 first-round matches, laid out in chronological order.
1999: [Q] Jelena Dokic def. [1] Martina Hingis 6-2 6-0
When it rains at the All England Club, it pours, and such was the spring of 1999 for World No.1 Martina Hingis. The Swiss Miss was a mere three points from a Career Grand Slam at Roland Garros, only for Stefanie Graf to step in and sweep to her 22nd Grand Slam title. Looking to make a major change, she arrived in London without Melanie Molitor, her mother and lifelong coach, and had every reason to feel confident, having not lost before the semifinals of a major tournament in her last 11 outings.
Enter Dokic, ostensibly a qualifier but actually every bit the rising phenom Hingis had been three years earlier. With precise groundstrokes punctuated with a whooshing exhale, the Croatian-born, Aussie-raised 16-year-old soared through 11 straight games to shock the top seed on Centre Court. She went on to reach the quarterfinals that fortnight, falling to fellow qualifier Alexandra Stevenson, while Hingis promptly reunited with Molitor, though the 1997 champion would never again make it past the last eight at SW19.
2005: Eleni Daniilidou def. [7] Justine Henin 7-6(6), 2-6, 7-5
Where Hingis had come to Wimbledon on a low, Henin was on high, having recaptured her Roland Garros crown after all but lost to a bout with mononucleosis. Playing her first match since thumping Mary Pierce on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Henin was firmly back in the Top 10 and looking for a result on par with her run to the 2001 final - her first at a major tournament.
Unseeded and looming, Daniilidou had other plans. While Henin forewent the grass court warm-up events, the Greek talent made an impressive mark in Birmingham, pushing defending Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova to three sets in the quarterfinals. A former Top 15 player, she matched Henin's effortless one-handed backhand with one of her own, and overcame a late fightback from the Belgian to dismiss the former and future World No.1 for her most impressive major victory.
2007: [23] Venus Williams def. Alla Kudryavtseva 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
Venus Williams' first Wimbledon had many expecting the tall teenager to breakthrough alongside the likes of Hingis and Anna Kournikova, only for a rainy first week to end with an opening round loss to unheralded Magdalena Grzybowska. A decade later proved to be a polar opposite, as the American entered the draw as under the radar as any then-three-time champion could, ranked just high enough to rate among the Top 32 seeds and up against a talented teenager in Kudryavtseva, fresh off a third round Roland Garros run.
From the brink of defeat, Venus dove through the sliding doors and reclaimed her dazzling grass court game, dropping just one more set en route to a fourth Wimbledon crown.
2011: [7] Serena Williams def. Aravane Rezai 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
"Survival" is an oft-attributed concept, typically reserved for players forced to overcome some sort of athletic adversity. For Serena Williams, the verb is far more literal, particularly as it applies to her 2011 comeback - first from a foot injury, then from a pulmonary embolism that left her hospitalized. The defending champion's return to Wimbledon, therefore, had obviously greater significance as her first major tournament in a harrowing 52 weeks.
It would be no easy effort, either, as she was up against Aravane Rezai, a former Top 20 player who had pushed Williams to three sets on hardcourts in 2010, and would do the same on grass, forcing the future 23-time Grand Slam champion to lift her game to its signature peak as she mowed through the final set. The ensuing ovation reduced Williams to tears in her chair, celebrating a return to both life and tennis.
2012: Tamira Paszek def. [7] Caroline Wozniacki 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4
Eyes lit up at the release of the Wimbledon draw as 2011 quarterfinalist Tamira Paszek drew Caroline Wozniacki, World No.1 back in January but on definite downturn after two years at the top.
An obvious upset pick, Wozniacki wasn't about to bow out quickly - not even on her least successful surface - and began her 2012 campaign with new coach Tomas Johansson, who had noticeably tweaked the Dane's service motion. The shifts seemed to work and perhaps Paszek was fatigued from her winning week in Eastbourne. The Austrian was never out of reach, however, and wrested victory from match point down thanks to a thudding ground game. Paszek brought the crowd to its feet and rode the wave back into the quarterfinals, where she fell just short of the same escape against Victoria Azarenka.
2014: [13] Eugenie Bouchard def. Daniela Hantuchova 7-5, 7-5
Eugenie Bouchard proved capable of shock runs to Grand Slam semifinals in 2014, stringing together a season of unbelievable consistency that had even Maria Sharapova on the ropes at Roland Garros. An undoubted favorite ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, the question became how the Canadian youngster could rise to the challenge of conquering the game's best as one of the game's best?
The challenge came early in the form of Daniela Hantuchova, a former World No.5 who openly enjoyed the quick courts that the All England Club provided. In two close sets, Bouchard channeled the confidence earned from a slew of hard-fought wins to advance over the Slovak, and would win her way to the final before running into an unstoppable Petra Kvitova.
2017: [4] Elina Svitolina def. Ashleigh Barty 7-5, 7-6(8)
Every player has a preferred opponent, someone who helps to forget the nerves and bring out her best tennis. For Elina Svitolina, hers appears to be "the doubters," those who tagged her match against talented Aussie Ashleigh Barty as potential upset fodder.
"Lots of people were saying, 'Oh, you know, very tough draw for Svitolina.' Now they can, 'Shhh.'"
Svitolina indeed silenced the haters, edging past Barty en route to the Round of 16, foreshadowing a semifinal run in 2019.
2019: [Q] Coco Gauff def. Venus Williams 6-4, 6-4
Twenty years ago it was Venus Williams playing the part of the teen upstart, but she's long since settled into her role as the sport's Grand Dame, one still able to summon awe-inspiring tennis - as evidenced by her two Grand Slam runner-up finishes in 2017. That initial part has now fallen on Gauff, who exhibits a precocity that mirrors a young Venus both on and off the court.
Up against one of her idols, Gauff played a game all her own to edge past the five-time Wimbledon champion and announce herself on the world stage with a fighting spirit that would not be denied as she battled into the second week before bowing out to eventual champion Simona Halep. Despite the defeat, Gauff had arrived not only with the game, but also a voice - both loud enough to lead the next generation as Venus once did.
