2011 Wimbledon Results: Looking Back at the Entire Tournament

The 125th Wimbledon Championships ended on Sunday with two new names being added to the singles honor boards.

Novak Djokovic overtook Rafael Nadal as world No. 1 by reaching the final and added salt to injury by beating the two-time champion 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 in the final. The win also ended Rafa's 20-match unbeaten streak in the tournament and added to Novak's impressive run this year, now standing at 48-1.

On the women's side, 21-year-old Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic reached her first Wimbledon final after being knocked out in the semifinals last year. The eighth seed then went on to beat crowd favorite Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-4 in the final in front of two of her compatriots and former Wimbledon champions—Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna.

It was a dream come true for both the champions, and they did not get there easily. They had to battle some of the world's top players and some really stubborn challengers to get their hands on the trophy.

Here's a recap of what has been one of the best Championships in recent years:

First Round

The first round of the Championships was a pretty straightforward affair for all the top seeds.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, all recorded straight-sets victories.

Serena Williams was back playing tennis after a 49-week gap due to injury and illness. She started proceedings on Center Court as the defending champion and it was quite an emotional return for her.

Serena could not hold back the tears after beating Aravane Rezai 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. She was back after what she described as a "disaster year" and it was fitting that she was back playing at her favorite tournament.

The first round was also notable for John Isner vs. Nicolas Mahut Part II. The duo had engaged in an 11-hour epic battle last year, spread over three days and there was less than a 1 percent probability that they would be drawn together again in the first round.

But fate is a cruel mistress, something that the duo learnt after the draw. Their record-breaking marathon match last year had made them the best of friends but they would surely have dreaded the prospect of another matchup.

However, their encounter this year was 149 games and nine hours shorter than their previous one. Isner came through a 7-6, 6-2, 7-6 winner and delivered a giant buzzkill to one of the most eagerly awaited matches in the history of the tournament.

Second Round

The second round saw the first of the massive shocks of the tournament when wild card entrant Sabine Lisicki knocked out French Open champion Na Li 3-6, 6-4, 8-6 in two hours and 11 minutes. 

The 21-year-old German, a quarterfinalist in 2009, faced a match point twice in the third set, but fought back with four first serve winners. Na Li even served for the match, but four uncharacteristic unforced errors from the Chinese fourth seed gave Lisicki one of the biggest wins of her career.

On Center Court, Venus Williams, aged 31, took on a player nine years her senior in Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan. Williams required all of three hours to finally put to bed a thrilling match that ended 6-7 (6), 6-3, 8-6 in the American's favor.

Elsewhere, fifth seed Robin Soderling was put through a stern test by 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. The big-serving Swede had to come from two sets down to finally suppress Hewitt 6-7 (5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 in a little under four hours.

The rest of the top seeds sailed through to the round of 32.

Third Round

Robin Soderling didn't have much time to celebrate his victory. In the very next round, he was knocked out by another Australian—an 18-year-old qualifier named Bernard Tomic.

The teenager, of Croatian descent, enthralled Court No. 1 and the Australian fans who were let down by Hewitt in the previous round by defeating Soderling in straight sets. The victory signaled the rise of a new Australian hero who had won his first tour-level match just six months ago.

Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic survived a roller-coaster of a match against the charged up Cypriot and crowd favorite Marcos Baghdatis.

Baghdatis saved four break points in the second set and then broke Djokovic, which led to the Serbian losing his cool and venting out his frustration on his racket.

But Baghdatis finally cracked and lost 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 in a match that lasted over three hours, bringing to an end one of the most memorable matches of the first week.

Roger Federer showcased some magical serve-dominated tennis to steam past an old nemesis, David Nalbandian, and reached the last 16 with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory.

On the women's side, British teenager Laura Robson provided a stern test to 2004 champion Maria Sharapova. The Russian struggled to exert her dominance on Robson and was finding it difficult to get her famed serves in. Sharapova eventually prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-3, but Robson left the British crowd with a lot to hope for in the near future.

Fourth Round

The second week of the tournament began with an exodus of high-profile players.

Defending champion Serena Williams, who wasn't looking at her best throughout, was knocked out by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli 6-3, 7-6 (6). Bartoli needed five match-points to do it, but restlessly bounced around and finally prevailed over the four-time champion.

Serena's sister Venus Williams was also ousted by the same woman who knocked her out in the quarterfinals last year—Tsvetana Pironkova. Pironkova had had a mediocre year since that shock win last year, but got back her form in front of the five-time champion. The 32nd seed won comfortably 6-2, 6-3.

Caroline Wozniacki, who had looked solid so far, added fuel to the bandwagon that she does not deserve to be world No. 1 by losing to Slovak Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-7 (5), 5-7. Wozniacki is yet to win a Grand Slam in her career after reaching the top of the rankings in October last year.

On Center Court, Rafael Nadal sent shockwaves throughout the tennis world by clutching his left heel in pain during his high-profile encounter against Juan Martin del Potro.

Nadal required assistance between points, which angered del Potro and the Argentine made his disapproval clear to the chair umpire. However, later in the match, del Potro himself required assistance when he fell behind the baseline.

Fortunately for the crowd, both players battled through the pain barrier and finished the marathon match past 9pm with the Majorcan prevailing 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4.

After the match, Nadal had an MRI scan on his foot and to the relief of his fans, nothing serious was detected. He was given the green signal to continue playing in the tournament.

Quarterfinals

On a bright, sunny day on Center Court, Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga proved that six-time champion Roger Federer's exit in the quarterfinals last year wasn't a fluke by ousting the Swiss in a thrilling five-set match.

Federer surrendered a two-set lead in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career as Tsonga fought back to win 3-6, 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to spark off wild celebrations across the English Channel.

Elsewhere, Novak Djokovic brought to an end Bernard Tomic's dream run in the tournament by coming through a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 winner. The Australian teenager was on a bid to become only the third man in the Open Era to go all the way from qualifying to the semifinals. Tomic left the tournament with a lot of confidence and also as Australia's new No. 1.

Britain's only hope Andy Murray set up a mouth-watering semifinal clash against Rafael Nadal by recording a faultless 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. Lopez's compatriot Nadal reached the last four by beating the only American left in the draw, Mardy Fish, 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

In the women's draw, Sabine Lisicki's wonderful dream continued as she knocked out 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli with a 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 victory in two hours and 21 minutes. Doing so, she became the only German since Steffi Graf in 1999 to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon.

Semifinals

Sabine Lisicki's run in the tournament was brought to an end by Maria Sharapova in the semifinals. 

Sharapova looked to be struggling with her movement and serves, but won the match with relative ease—6-4, 6-3. Doing so, she reached her first Wimbledon final since she last won it seven years ago as a 17-year-old.

In the second women's semifinal, 21-year-old Petra Kvitova became the first left-hander since her childhood heroine Martina Navratilova to reach a Wimbledon final.

Kvitova ended the challenge of Belorussian Victoria Azarenka with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory in one hour and 44 minutes.

On the men's side, Novak Djokovic brought an end to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's run by winning 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-7 (9), 6-3.

The match, which took just over three hours to complete, was riddled with shows of athleticism and acrobatics from both players.

But Djokovic held his nerve and prevailed to his first ever Wimbledon final. Doing so, he overtook Rafael Nadal as the new No. 1 in men's tennis.

In the second semifinal, Andy Murray bid adieu to the partisan British crowd on Center Court by losing to Rafael Nadal 7-5, 2-6, 2-6, 4-6.

Murray started the match brightly and took the first set, to the crowd's delight. But Nadal showed his champion traits and pummeled Murray in the next three sets to reach his fifth consecutive Wimbledon final.

Finals

So at the end of it all, we were left with two former champions and two players who had never won a Wimbledon title before.

In the women's final, Maria Sharapova was the hot favorite to win her second Wimbledon title. But the Russian, who had breezed through the tournament, was well below her best on the big occasion.

Sharapova committed numerous double-faults, which eventually led to her downfall. She also struggled to cope with the left-handed Petra Kvitova's powerful groundstrokes and gave the Czech a memorable 6-3, 6-4 victory.

Kvitova could not believe what she had done, and that too in front of her heroes—Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna.

With this victory, Kvitova became the youngest Wimbledon champion since Sharapova herself in 2004.

If that was a fairy-tale, wait till you hear of what happened in the men's final.

Rafael Nadal was the favorite to lift his third Wimbledon trophy and cement his place as one of the greatest players in the history of the game. Standing in his way was a player who had never won a Grand Slam outside of Australia.

Novak Djokovic had replaced Nadal as World No. 1 by reaching the final, and the media had hyped up the story that revenge was on the cards.

Djokovic was known to crumble on the big stage and turn into a completely different player when under pressure.

But the player Nadal encountered in the final was of a completely different breed. Novak Djokovic kicked off the match with a pair of cracking forehand winners followed by an ace in the opening game. He had made his intentions very clear.

Djokovic played smartly and beat Nadal at his own game—by forcing the Spaniard behind the baseline with his bazooka groundstrokes and topped it off with some unbelievable court coverage.

Not many people had had the privilege of making Nadal run in the past. But Djokovic almost made it look like Nadal was running for dear life! He forced Nadal to the widest corners and then drawed him forward with sublime drop shots.

Nadal didn't know what had hit him as Djokovic raced to a two-set lead. The Spaniard rescued a set in the third and looked to be getting his form back, but Djokovic nullified any possibility of a comeback by powering through the fourth set 6-4.

Djokovic prevailed in two hours and 28 minutes by a scoreline of 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 and signaled the arrival of a new force, a new No. 1 in men's tennis.

Djokovic celebrated his first Wimbledon triumph by plucking out a blade of the Center Court grass and chewing on it. It must have tasted like a heavenly nectar to him.

So the 125th Wimbledon Championships had two new champions in the end, after years of dominance by the Williams sisters and Federer-Nadal.

Can they sustain their performance over the years or will the old guard be back with a vengeance?

Whatever transpires in the future, U.S. tennis fans are in for a treat!