Sara Sorribes Tormo is probably one of the most unique players on tour right now. Like many WTA players, she is a great returner of serve, but she pairs this with relentless consistency, outstanding defense, and topspin-loaded groundstrokes. All of this makes her a nuisance to hit through — odds are the aggressor misses before Sorribes Tormo does, even with the Spaniard on the run. And in her second-round loss to Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon, she displayed a biting slice and some impressive touch at net on top of her other attributes.
All this wasn’t enough to topple Kerber, a Wimbledon champion in 2018. She advanced to the third round after three hours and 18 minutes, winning 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 in a match utterly loaded with long, fascinating rallies. But Sorribes Tormo, even in defeat, offered quite a look at everything she adds to the tour.
She broke Kerber seven times, more times than the German has been broken in a match all year, even in the losses. And she brought the best out of the three-time major champion, whose offense had to be — and was — effective and unrelenting. Kerber didn’t just have to attack, either. She had to break serve often to keep pace with Sorribes Tormo, and had to play some great defense of her own when the Spaniard went on the attack more frequently in the second half of the match.
And “great defense” falls woefully short of accurately describing the heroics both women, but particularly Sorribes Tormo, performed to keep the ball in play. There were returns off overheads, deep returns at full stretch of line-smearing forehands, and incredible sprints to drop shots. It is difficult to do justice to this defense in writing. Everything besides actually watching the match probably falls short.
This isn’t the first time Sorribes Tormo has played a match of this ilk. Though she lost 6-3 in the third, she pushed eventual finalist Bianca Andreescu into a three-set scrap in Miami, breaking the Canadian four times in a row at one stage. And during the clay season, Sorribes Tormo squeaked past Camila Giorgi in a three-setter lasting nearly four hours, extracting 86 unforced errors from her opponent.
This set of qualities — the drive to extend points, turning matches into marathons to highlight her superior fitness — make Sorribes Tormo a tough opponent. Not in the I-don’t-think-I-can-beat-her way, but in a I’m-going-to-have-to-work-so-hard-to-win-this-why-couldn’t-I-have-drawn-someone-else way. Yet despite the fear of cramp or exhaustion she must inspire in opponents by now, many of her best moments have occurred in her losses.
This may be because while Sorribes Tormo’s game makes her a hell of a nuisance to play, it may not be the best winning formula. She was never particularly close to beating Kerber, despite the tight scoreline. Her lack of a good serve and a big forehand, though compensated by amazing defense and fitness, allows her opponents to dictate play with their extra power. So it’s not entirely surprising that Sorribes Tormo went 7/20 on break points. Not because she choked at any point, but because Kerber got to play most of those break points on her terms. Even that wasn’t enough to prevent Kerber’s serve from being under siege, Sorribes Tormo’s defense tending to be a match for even the best offense, but being able to direct the run of play, many times, eventually proves telling.
Yet despite her limited ability to direct play, the tour is supremely lucky to have Sorribes Tormo. Her brick-wall defense forces her opponents to produce equally dazzling offense to make headway in matches. Her prolific breaks of serve forces her opponents to respond in kind, or else be left in the dust.
Sorribes Tormo’s resistance forced Kerber into the hunched-over, hands-on-knees position many times after rallies. But she also pushed Kerber to run the extra step and reach for the extra power to keep pace in the match. Kerber did so, playing at an extremely high level. And this sums up the Spaniard’s services to tennis: the state of her game frequently causes the quality of a match to ascend. Practically whenever Sorribes Tormo steps on court, there is a possibility that she will play an epic, regardless of her opponent. And that, as a spectator, is absolutely tantalizing.
Sorribes Tormo’s magnetism seemed to sweep up even the commentators of the match. One of them said the level of play was worthy of a Wimbledon final. Both laughed in delight as the Spaniard saved a match point and held for 5-all in the second set with a devilishly low slice and two feathery drop shots. Each was impressed with the lengthy exchanges throughout the match — a notable soundbite after Kerber ended a wonderful rally with an inside-out backhand passing winner was “oh, shut up! This is unreal!” And why shouldn’t joyous remarks like this be made? It was so difficult for each player to crack the other’s defense that the average rally length of the contest exceeded seven shots, a huge outlier for a grass-court match.
Another lovely remark from a commentator, after the second set ended, was “we can dissect these stats, but if you have any knowledge of this sport or not, if you’re not invested in this, if you’re not enthralled by what these two women have brought to the court, then you’re dead inside.” Nothing to add there.
It is quite the testament to Kerber’s mettle as a champion that she was able to weather the Sorribes Tormo storm. She held from love-40 down at 1-all in the third set and broke to love to seal her appearance in the third round. She hurled stunning winners across the net for over three hours, but not recklessly — if it took time to build a point, Kerber would build the point, sore legs and cramping wrist be damned. Kerber played with all the collectedness and skill of the three-time major champion that she is, and refused to buckle when the match went to a third set after her having match point. The level she attained today may well be high enough to get her a second Wimbledon title if sustained.
Yet somehow, despite Kerber overcoming the mighty challenge and advancing to the round of 32, it felt like Sorribes Tormo won the day. She emphatically showed her status as a great propeller of match quality. She may well become more — she is 24 years old and her fitness should last for several more years. But even without big weapons, the legacy of Sara Sorribes Tormo and the unique way she plays tennis is already considerable, her ability to run down shots effectively and consistently having left a mark on many.
Those who disagree, to invoke the words of a wise commentator earlier today, are dead inside.