Wimbledon

Tennis at Wimbledon is probably one of the highlights of summer. Watching it on telly aint bad either

What I do not understand though is the grunts that some, if not all of the female tennis players produce. Is it because it’s now tougher to play tennis. I do not recall watching the Steffi Grafs, Martina Navratiolvas, Chris Evert-Lloyds making such noises. I hope my memory serves me right here. Take for instance yesterday’s match between Ms Azarenka and Ms Williams. Ms Azarenka was so noisy that at one point I had to mute the TV sound. I really felt sorry for her. All that pain for the game she loves. Ms Azarenka’s noises were said to have reached 98 decibels at some point. Well that’s rather much coming from such a petite human being.

I remember Martina Navratilova once calling those ‘shrieking noises’  a form of cheating. Whether it is ‘cheating’ I don’t profess to know if it or if it isnt. It certainly did not give Ms Azarenka any advantages yesterday. Or maybe we should be asking Ms Williams post-match whether the noises had any effect on her concentration. It certainly puts viewers off. Even those in the confines of the stadium, I am sure seem miffed. According to some papers today, it became a laughing matter after she lost. One paper even ridicules her, describing her as the Screaming Banshee of Belarus. A bit unfair.

Apparently according to that venerable fountain of knowledge, Wikipedia, Monica Seles and  Jimmy Connors share the honour, the ignominy of being pioneers of grunting in tennis (depends how you see/hear it). Some male players do grunt. It’s not the sole preserve of female players. Djokovic makes noises as well. However, he is no match for the Screaming Banshee of Belarus.

I wish they could penalize players for the screeching. It does put people off. It makes you think playing tennis is rather painful.

Today’s the men’s semi-finals. I wonder why they do not call it the Gentlemen’s semi-finals, after all the girls’ version is called the  Ladies semi-final. Another anomaly is this, the boys do not get addressed as ‘Mr’,yet the girls are addresses as ‘Ms’. Am I missing something here?

Well the Great British Hope is playing this afternoon. Mr Federer is playing  Mr Djokovic, and as things stand, Mr. Federer seems to be heading for a win. Mr Murray (Hope of the nation) will be playing Mr. Tsonga, the mercurial French Man. Wish the headline writers had come up with some eye-catching politically-charged headline. Remember they did come up with the ‘Debt Derby’ when Germany played Greece at the Euro2012 tournament. It’s the Scotsman (British) versus the Frenchman,surely there must be an eye-catching headline waiting to be uncovered. I have come up with my own- the ‘Battle of the nearly-Men’. This may not be very eye-catching, but I am not a professional journalist! Both have  never won a  Grand Slam.

I am sure by the time you read this Andy Murray will be in the Final. If  National fervour could hit aces; serve and volley like Mr. Becker used too, cover green grass like Mr. Djokovic does and scrrech like Ms Azarenka-it would surely be enough for Andy Murray to reach and win the Final.

Now that Mr Murray has reached the Final, erasing 74 years of hurt in just under 3 hours of some absorbing tennis, we hope he does win the final.We also hope Federer wins. We are not going to be biased. However, if one is into betting, the smart money would be on Mr Murray winning.  We all look forward to a great match.

Wishing all the players success. Come on Andy!! Your time is nigh.

Slumbering British tennis

There is something rotten in the state of…South west London (Wimbledon, to be exact). Millions of pounds are being harvested from Wimbledon every year by the LTA. A good chunk of that is being invested in developing talent. But it doesn’t look like any talent is coming through to challenge in the top rankings. Reading the Boris Becker interview in the Guardian this afternoon made me think.

European countries pouring less money in development of junior players seem to be doing a better job than the LTA. This is no criticism of the LTA at all. The problems are deep and embedded in the social fabric. In the north-west part of England I am familiar of, I have never seen a single girl or boy carrying a tennis racket. The primary schools do not seem to encourage this sport. However, other sports like football, rugby league, gymnastics, netball and sprints are well catered for. Is tennis seen as an elitist sport? A southern sport? Or not a sport at all, but just a Wimbledon spectacle? Former Wimbledon Champion Becker’s view is that ‘Tennis is no doubt an elitist sport, it’s expensive; racquets are expensive, courts are expensive, a pair of tennis shoes is expensive. But it is fairly obvious that the LTA is not struggling for money and the question is: what should they be looking for?’ And where are they looking? I hasten to add.

A lot of work needs to be done otherwise the whole nation’s hopes will be on one Briton every year, Andy Murray. God Forbid the Scots decide to go independent!

Schools must be encouraged to provide for tennis training. The LTA should be helping schools promoting and encouraging this sport at grassroots level. More people need to be encouraged to coach and above all else funding should be provided for setting up of tennis courts. Preferably all-weather surfaces to counter the vagaries of the weather.

We need more players in the top 20. We should be looking forward to a Briton winning at Wimbledon. It is a sad indictment  of the state of British tennis with one of the most famous tournaments all over the world that Fred Perry is the last Brit to have lifted the trophy.

Even Sleeping Beauty woke up eventually from her slumber. Lets hope our tennis does; and not become another Dodo