Like a boss.

Ana Ivanovic def. Serena Williams, 4-6 6-3 6-3, in the 4th Round of the Australian Open.

You know what's even more impressive? Ana looking like this after playing under the Melbourne sun for 2 hours and just wearing a plain grey shirt with no trace of makeup on. *standing ovation*

Wimbleweird

Trophy troubles. It's all good ... (USAT) pic.twitter.com/aR7MUcZWfs
— Joe Fleming (@ByJoeFleming) July 7, 2013

Wimbleweird. Wimblegeddon. Wimble-done. These were just some of the puns that were  used by die hard and casual tennis fans alike to describe the recently concluded Wimbledon Championships. Who could blame them, really, after the tournament lost former champion Rafael Nadal in the first day (!) of the tournament? Who would have thought that Nadal would go out in straight sets to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis? Who also would have thought that Roger Federer would follow him out of Wimbledon by the third day of the tournament, losing to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky? The leading women were also not exempt themselves as Victoria Azarenka (retiring due to a knee injury sustained while in the competition), Maria Sharapova (losing to young ace Michelle Larcher De Brito), Ana Ivanovic (bowing out to former Junior Wimbledon champ Eugenie Bouchard), Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic were all out of the competition by the time Federer and his orange-soled shoes said their goodbye. 

By the second week, things seemed back to normal. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray (Britain's Great Hope), David Ferrer and Juan Martin del Potro were still in. So were Serena Williams (the heavy favorite to win), Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na. 

As the top seeds, Djokovic and Serena were now the overwhelming favorites to win. Djokovic stuck to the script and defeated a resurgent del Potro in an epic semifinal to forge a date with Murray, who many is expecting to finally extinguish the ghost of Fred Perry after 77 years. Murray's campaign last year, while so close, still ended in tears and heartbreak.  

Serena, on the other hand, bowed to the grass loving German Sabine Lisicki. Unfortunately for Serena, Lisicki's main specialty since 2009 has been to upset the current Roland Garros champion at Wimbledon.  When the dust finally settled on the women's side, Lisicki and quirky Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli (she of the comedic serve and hilarious practice swings in between points) were the only ones left. Thus, the Ladies Final featured two players that have never won a Grand Slam trophy before. In the end, it was second time Wimbledon finalist Bartoli who hoisted the trophy after Lisicki was rattled by a severe case of stage fright.

On the men's side, destiny seemed to be smiling on Murray's side. He almost never made it to the finals after being pushed to the brink by Fernando Verdasco (he of the perfectly gelled hair that never moves) in the quarterfinals and Polish up-and-comer Jerzy Janowicz in the semis. 

The whole Murray-Djokovic final was, sorry for the word, dreadful in the sense that there were lots of looooong rallies and not a lot of taking chances and hitting winners from both sides. Djokovic seemed not himself as he was missing a lot on his favored backhand down the line shots. I guess losing last year's final endeared Murray to a lot of hometown fans since one can feel how immensely invested they were in every Murray point. (In the past, Britons seemed to cheer for Murray out of duty because they had no other British guy to cheer for.) Fans were totally behind him, even cheering belatedly (and mistakenly) for points that did not go their countryman's way. You can also feel how Murray was soaking all the love and adoration in as he seemed very positive and happy to be out there. Murray finally defeats Djokovic after a dramatic final game (which, if Djokovic had won, could've led to a momentum shift) to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Tears of joy and goosebumps everywhere! 

In the end, this year's Wimbledon was a tournament for dreamers and believers. A tournament that will be remembered for the crazy ones who believed that they could defeat the Rafas, Rogers, Serenas and Marias of the world. It showed that everyone, no matter what their rank is or no matter the amount of struggle that they had to endure in the past, has an equal chance at Grand Slam glory. So, yeah, I think this video somewhat sums up this year's Wimbledon perfectly:

The "Must" List: Girls On Fire Edition

Forehand Policy's usual round-up of a few must read/see/view things that you guys (as in the five people who read my blog) might find interesting.

*I've watched this video about 789594 times already and it still makes me cry every time. Lea Salonga's performance of "Still Hurting" is haunting, heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time.

*Oh yeah. Hillary Clinton is finally on Twitter. Her profile is genius:
"Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD..." Obviously, this would not be possible without the guys from Texts from Hillary, who also got a shout out from Madam herself. 

*You want a tennis cat fight? We'll give you a tennis cat fight. Our pre-Wimbledon off-court main event is Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova and Round 1 has just started. The sad thing is this would probably end in another Pova shellacking should they meet for the Wimbledon final in two weeks time. (Pova hasn't beaten Serena in 9 years.)

*On a lighter note, let's check out what our favorite female tennis players wore at the WTA's pre-Wimbledon party. Fortunately, Ana Ivanovic, a perennial fashion hit and miss, dressed according to her beauty and wasn't a victim of a fashion fail. 

*Good girl gone bad? Read this intriguing story of why a seemingly straight and honest agent betrayed the US Homeland Security for a notorious Mexican drug cartel. After Homeland and The Americans, this is another theme worth exploring on tv. 

*I think any sports fan can relate to Patricia Lee's piece from Grantland's NBA Shootaround:

With the clock winding down and the Heat amassing what seemed like an insurmountable lead, I found myself negotiating with the basketball gods, or the devil, whichever would work. I promise I won’t curse at Tony Parker again if you just let the Spurs take this one. I promise I won’t make fun of Manu’s bald spot again if you just gift him with another 3. I promise I’ll stop questioning Pop’s coaching decisions and clock management if you just make this last possession count. I promise, I promise …

In the end, it was no use, of course.

There’s no way to avoid destiny, no way to make Danny Green score, no way to help Tim Duncan make that hook shot that he must’ve made a billion times. There’s no way to stop a hot-handed Shane Battier, no way to combat a ready King James, no way to turn the tide just because you feel like the team you’re rooting for deserves to lift the trophy.

...

It’s a strange feeling when the player you love most from your alma mater is playing against the player you’ve watched and loved your whole life. When one makes a 3, the other gets a dagger to the heart. When one misses a hook shot, the other is one step closer to the ultimate goal. It’s not winning or losing, not happiness or sadness. It’s a mélange of all of these things. It makes for an easily combustible bubble of emotion, one that is difficult to comprehend, to marry, one difficult to come to terms with. But I should’ve known that going into the series.

Chill, bro, it’s just sports. You’ll live. They’re not even your team, right?

But do you know what this feels like? To see one of your idols succeed at the expense of another? To see a team that deserved it so much lose to another that deserved it just as much? To see both teams go from miles ahead to inches ahead to, ultimately, just enough to cross the finish line? Somebody has to lose. And, somehow, that is why we all win.