Simona Halep wins her first Wimbledon title against Serena Williams in 56 minutes! I have to admit that this was not the original title of this article as I thought at some point Serena would fight back, being one set down. My original thought was speculative; wondering if this would be Simona Halep’s first Wimbledon win.
However, by the time I started writing that speculative article, the second set was already on its way and before I could even get through half of the article, my question was answered and the match was over. LOL. Who beats Serena Williams in 56 minutes? Well, Simona Halep did and I am not surprised that she won.
Simona Halep wins her first Wimbledon Title!
Admittedly, Simona Halep was not on my radar until about 2018. While I knew she was around and a good player, she grabbed more of my attention in 2018 simply because of the way she was playing.
From then on, I loved watching her play various tennis tournament. Admittedly, she played really well while competing in the various Wimbledon 2019 matches. Seeing her end Coco Gauff’s fairy tale performance in no uncertain terms, was bittersweet but the more experienced player won that match.
Not to take anything away from Serena Williams, as I love watching her play as well. Of course it would be great for her to finally win her 24th Grand Slam title and much more. However, as the match progressed, Simona played so much better, which was not much of a surprise. At least to me.
I think the surprising thing about the match was Serena’s performance, or lack thereof. Understandably, an athlete can’t win every game he or she plays, so expectations have to be realistic. It also seems a bit selfish to want your favorite player to win every single match he or she plays.
However, I don’t think that anyone anticipated a 56-minute final women’s single Wimbledon match. Especially with Serena being on the losing end.
Watching the reaction of the people who attended the game, the fans of Serena Williams seem stunned by her loss. Understandably so, as most would have been hoping for a Serena Williams win. Most people have the expectation that Serena Williams would win her matches whenever she plays. However, this game suggested something completely different.
7 Life Lessons to be Learned
In the back of my mind I wanted Simona to have her first Wimbledon title but I also wanted Serena to have her 24th Grand Slam title. But only one person can win. That’s the nature of the beast. Not discounting second place either, since most did not make it.
Simona Halep wins her first Wimbledon title and there are life lessons we can all take away from she did.
1. Strategy is important
While Simona admits she can’t match Serena’s power, her strategy was to play aggressively and that she did. Lesson learned: you can have the power but its all about how you use it, that matters. Simona knew she couldn’t match Serena’s power so she had to come up with an alternate strategy for success.
2. Positive Mindset
Changing her mindset was also something she had to do, as she and her previous coach parted ways over that issue. Even though Simona admits to being nervous before the match, she did not allow her nerves to affect her performance.
3. Dream big!
If you have to dream, dream big! Both athletes demonstrate that. Most people settle for mediocrity and just getting by and shy away from going after what they really want to do. Some try and because they fail, they give up on their goals altogether.
4. Focus
What you focus on is important. Simona made a decision to focus on herself and how she was playing and not on Serena.
5. Learn from failure
One of the things that Simona revealed in her post game interview was the fact that she learned for her past losses. That’s important. Most people shy away from failure or blame others for their failure.
However, failure is a part of life and the best thing to do is learn from the experience. When you do that, you’ll know what you should not do next time around.
6. Always do your best
Regardless of what you are doing or who you are facing, always do your best. Simona’s goal was to do her best in every game she played. That certainly came out in every 2019 Wimbledon game she played.
7. Believe in your self
Some people prefer to listen to others about what they can’t and cannot do as opposed to having that self belief that they can do or accomplish a specific goal. Simona believed in herself and her ability to win and she did it in no uncertain terms. How about you?
Summary
The job of an athlete is so different to having a regular job. Athletes are exposed to more people and more opinions, as opposed to being safely in an office, where the world isn’t judging your performance.
Working within the confines of an office, means the world at large does not get to see your failures, only the people you work with. Even so, you still need to people have the right mindset to deal with your failure, if and when it occurs.
What’s admirable is that despite their failures as athletes, they keep going. For them it’s not about giving up and as Simona Halep has demonstrated via winning Wimbledon 2019, is that having a traditional mindset just won’t work. Flexibility is important.
As a job hunter, sometimes you have to create your own opportunities. Having the right mindset and being flexible enough to utilize the right strategies allows you to accomplish your objective.
The ultimate lesson here is whatever you decide to do, believe you can do it and work towards achieving it, despite the setbacks.