The 2001 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom the event was part of the 2001 ATP Tour and 2001 WTA Tour. The tournament was held from 25 June to 9 July 2001. The 2001 event marked the first time in Wimbledon's 124 year history in which 32 players in the men's and women's draw were seeded, instead of the usual sixteen. This was a move made to appease clay court players unhappy with the traditional seeding system, which weighs grass court results over those of other surfaces.
Pete Sampras was unsuccessful in his 2000 title defence, being defeated by then little-known 19-year-old Roger Federer in the fourth round. Goran Ivanišević, a previous three-times runner-up at Wimbledon, was the winner this year, being granted a wildcard and was World No.125 at the time of entering Wimbledon. He defeated 2000 runner-up Patrick Rafter in the final, in five sets. Venus Williams was successful in her title defence, beating 19-year-old Justine Henin in the final in three sets. Henin became the first Belgian player to reach a Wimbledon final. Martina Hingis, the top seed, was beaten by Virginia Ruano Pascual in the first round.
Famous quotes containing the word wimbledon:
“New Yorkers love it when you spill your guts out there. Spill your guts at Wimbledon and they make you stop and clean it up.”
—Jimmy Connors (b. 1952)