Wimbledon, true to Rudyard Kipling’s famous words inscribed at the All England Club, has indeed been the scene of triumph and disaster for Serena Williams and her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.
They triumphed there in 2012, in their first tournament together. Mouratoglou exchanged sharp words with Williams’s father during the tournament, rejected her silent treatment at one point and then helped her overcome some shaky early rounds and click into an irresistible gear to win the title.
Last year came the tennis disaster. Williams was shocked in the third round by Alizé Cornet and then bizarrely staggered around the grass in a doubles match with her sister Venus, crying during an on-court medical exam and then retiring after three disquieting games.