Anyone for tennis?

So once more the annual gruntfest is over and the fair weather amateurs can cast away their tennis rackets for another year. Pleased for Serena Williams and Novak Djokavic and delighted to see Roger Federer playing so well, but on the day you could only say that Novak deserved his win. A victory of efficiency over elegance.

What I find particularly interesting about Federer is the way that his game has evolved as he has aged. The improvements to his serve and his willingness to come to the net more in order to shorten the rallies have not only enhanced his chances of a further major trophy but made the game more watchable. To be landing 80% of your first serves in court, as he did against Andy Murray, is an incredible level of consistency. 

Personally I have found the quality of the tennis in both the women’s and men’s events have been exceptionally high this year. It has surprised me that there have been so many gritty performances, particularly in the women’s game, and not just from ladies with the stature of a Williams or Kvitova. Some of the more petite players thumping down serves at 100 mph plus, making returns and actually placing the ball is a welcome sign of progress.

Maria Sharapova remains an enigma to me, in comparison to others her game is a powder puff yet her mental strength is phenomenal. Her serve has never been great, even before the shoulder surgery, and she lacks the power of some of the up and coming players but her resolve to fight for every point continues to get her out of the bleakest of scenarios. 

Once again the question of ‘the grunt’ has been raised again. Much has been made of the noise level and frequency of the Sharapova / Azarenka / Nadal grunting and there would appear to be a split in the camp as to its acceptability.

I did read somewhere that young players are taught to grunt in their early years as it helps them to exhale when they make a shot. I can understand why that may be the case but is it strictly necessary in later years.

In martial arts students are taught to yell as they strike a blow because it forces you to breathe, meaning you take in more oxygen to give you energy. Effectively control of your breathing helps to focus on delivering the blow.

When I played cricket taking a breath and raising the bat were part of my backlift routine for the same reason but I never felt the need or urge to shriek as I played the shot, it simply helped to focus the mind for that split second before deciding how to play the ball.

I have also played a fair amount of squash over the years and never once have I heard anyone grunt while making their shots. Grunts of dismay (or worse) following a bad shot there have been plenty but grunting has never routinely been part of any opponent’s game.

Martina Navratilova says that she finds grunting a distraction since she prefers to listen to the ball off the racket in order to determine the quality and direction of the shot.

To my mind the answer is simple, if you start to penalise players for persistent offending it will not be long before the practice stops. The number of 2-footed tackles dropped dramatically in football when it was decided to make this a red card offence and players now think twice about removing their shirt in celebration of a goal. Similarly rules have been introduced in rugby and cricket to curb the more unwelcome elements of the game so I believe a change in the rules on grunting will greatly reduce the noise level on the tennis court.

Bongos at the ready – it's samba time! Let's go Brazil nuts.

With the World Cup, Commonwealth Games, Wimbledon, Sri Lanka and India test matches in this country and some tasty rugby tours taking place in the southern hemisphere I have been really looking forward to a great Summer of sport in the safe knowledge that my heart-rate would not be put placed under too much pressure during any of England's performances.

Never having been a fan of pyjama cricket I can't say that I paid much attention to the Twenty20 World Cup but I did enjoy the test matches against Sri Lanka which were made far more entertaining than they should have been largely due to England's ineptitude with both bat and ball. That both Stuart Broad and James Anderson failed to perform on pitches that were 'tailored' to suit them only served to highlight the lack of a quality spinner. Fine bowlers as they are on their day, neither seemed capable of bowling a consistent length that would put pressure on the Sri Lankan batsmen.

The roof on Centre Court at Wimbledon has improved the spectacle considerably. I watched the match between Eugenie Bouchard and Alize Cornet yesterday and was impressed not only with both performances but the fact that they could hit the ball without squealing like a stuck pig.

On the men's game, the top 4 looked to be in ominous form until the 19 year-old wild card from Australia, Nick Kyrgios, blasted Rafa Nadel out of the competition with an impeccable display of thunderous serving that never allowed the world number 1 to get into his rhythm. It remains to be seen whether the youngster can maintain the quality and focus but with a 133 mph first serve (and a 2^nd serve of not much less) he could cause the other big boys a few headaches.

As for the Soccer World Cup, love the atmosphere in Brazil which has certainly lived up to expectations. I always thought that this would be a particularly open tournament in terms of team performance. The difference in climate around the country has definitely had an influence on some of the games but it has not spoiled the enjoyment of what has so far been a wonderful spectacle, with goals and incidents aplenty.

The climate I believe favours the South American sides yet I don't think there is any stand out team that you could say is a shoe-in for the final.

Teams seem to fall into distinctive styles, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay build the teams around their big names (Neymar, Messi and Suarez respectively) while others have made an impact through a collective performance. Then there is England – who fall into neither category.

Anyone who has taken the remotest interest in the game that is played on the playgrounds and pitches in this country (rather than the hype that is played out on the back pages of the tabloids) will realise the futility of placing any expectations on our national team. Yes, they were poor but I don't think they played as badly as some would have us believe. Would the results have been different if Suarez had been available for the Costa Rica game? What if we had not played Italy in Manaus, or the fixtures had been in reverse order?

Personally I would have liked to see John Terry and Ashley Cole playing. Both have the experience and unlike Steve Gerrard (good player as he is) John Terry is capable of marshalling the back 4, which is where we are particularly weak. Other than those 2, it is hard to say that the squad was not the strongest we could pick for this tournament.

It is frustrating looking at the performances of the likes of Iran, Nigeria and Algeria who have called upon players from lower leagues but still managed to piece together a unit capable of stringing more than half a dozen passes without giving the ball away.

It has always been an irritation to me that so many players at the top level are incapable of kicking the ball with either foot. What I find hard to understand is how often players fail to make a 6 yard pass with their good foot, even when they are under no pressure. Maybe the England team are very good at 'keepie-uppie' but you will never build a cohesive team if you don't have a strategy, can't pass the ball and most importantly can't keep hold of the ball effectively.

Of equal concern is the disappointing quality of heading displayed throughout the tournament. A lot of this is due to poor technique but I think there may be other factors to explain why so many balls bounced tamely off expensively coiffured bonces and ballooned into the arms of a delighted goalkeeper. As an aging man with a receding hairline I know that I am on thin ice when it comes to comments on hairstyles - A lot of players seem to have been sporting a  semi-shaved cut that I can only imagine is a homage to 'the Brazilian' bikini wax. It takes guts to go onto the pitch looking like a tosser, even worse if you play like one - I guess that in years to come they will look back at the footage and cringe in the same way as we all do when confronted by the folly of our youth.

Unfortunately the off field scandals have rumbled on throughout the tournament, fortunately the quality of the football has temporarily diverted the attention from them, but there are still a great many issues that football's governing body needs to address. The awarding of the 2022 tournament to Qatar, corruption within FIFA, match fixing allegations and the cost of staging the tournament. Is it any wonder that Sepp Blatter is roundly booed at every game he chooses to attend. How can he stand up and say that FIFA will investigate the corruption within its own organisation? That surely has to be done by an independent body.

I'm not sure about the conundrum that is Luis Suarez, a great player, compelling to watch but a total liability. This is the 3^rd biting incident during his playing career and I really wonder if the fine and ban imposed on him would have been different if the perpetrator had not had such a high profile in the game. I can't help feeling that a player from the 4^th tier of football would have been banned from game for life while, had the biting occurred anywhere other than on a football field he would have faced criminal charges.

Could Suarez now be come the first footballer to have his teeth ensured for more than his feet? Maybe some enterprising promoter could set up a battle 'Suarez v Tyson – Winner eats all'.

Away from the TV I have been following the World Cup via the BBC website and one particular element did get me thinking. Picking your favourite all-time World Cup XI from a pool selected by experts. It was a lot harder than I had thought because there are several ways that you could approach this. The most effective; the most pleasing to watch; the best balance and I dare say you could think of other criteria to take into consideration.

I have tried to pick a team that from players that I have enjoyed watching over the years and that I believe could play as a cohesive unit. This inevitably has meant that I have been unable to find a place for several of my favourite players but, for posterity, here is my selection for the All-time World Cup XI as well as a Team of the tournament based on the performances that I have seen so far in this World Cup.

All-Time World Cup XI

Dino Zoff (Italy)
Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
Paulo Maldini (Italy)
Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
Bobby Moore (England)
Jairzinho (Brazil)
Garrincha (Brazil)
Zinedine Zidane (France)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
Pele ((Brazil)

Cafu was ruled out for the worst piece of theatricals, Maradona for cheating; Miroslav Klose gets the nod ahead of Gerd Muller on the basis that I can't remember seeing Muller moving anywhere other than inside the penalty box and Cristiano Ronaldo is omitted on grounds that he has never really brought his right boots to the World Cup. 
 

It would have been nice to have found a place for Eusebio and Zico but I would probably go with Platini as reserve, if it was only possible to play with 1 substitute.

2014 World Cup XI

Ochoa (Mexico)
Omeruo (Nigeria)
Hummels (Germany)
Marquez (Mexico)
Zabaleta (Argentina)
James (Columbia)
Valbuena (France)
Pirlo (Italy)
Robben (Netherlands)

Van Persie (Netherlands)
Messi (Argentina)


Substitutes:

Howard (USA)
Beasley (USA)
Cuadrado (Columbia)
Feghouli (Algeria)
Musa (Nigeria)

Muller (Germany)

Who would I pick to go on and win the cup? As I mentioned I don't think any team is playing particularly well at present, but the usual suspect have managed to force their way through to the quarter-final stage. For the sake of the tournament I would like to see Brazil make it to the final; I am not convinced that the Dutch have the temperament to go all the way and could well 'bottle it' under pressure. The romantic in me would like to see Columbia or Costa Rica take the title but I think the Germans have the experience that could see them sneak through and win it, even if they are playing poorly.

7th Heaven

It was enough to send a numerologist into paroxysms of delight. The 7^th day of the 7^th month, 77 years since the last British male singles winner and the last British singles champion won in 1977.

Tennis has never been the easiest of games to watch, even at the top level. Games have sometimes been anti-climactic, one-sided, lacking in grace or simply plain boring with either booming serves or lengthy rallies that left you with the distinct impression that the players were being paid by the minute on court. Coupled with this has been the under-achievement of the Brits on any surface.

The game has changed dramatically over the years with the advancement of technologies that have brought about changes to the grass, the balls, the raquets and the umpiring. Players conditioning has improved beyond all recognition in terms of fitness levels, diet, nutrition and even their clothing.

As an avid lefty my personal tennis hero, and the guy I grew up watching, was Rod Laver – who wasn't even born when Fred Perry won the last of his Wimbledon championships in 1936 (Rod was born in 1938).

TV coverage has also made a big difference, especially with the slow motion camera and the wider choice of angles.

This year's championship has been one of the most memorable in history for a great many reasons. Every year has its share of fascinating encounters but I can't remember a year with so many matches of such high quality, both in the men's and the women's tournaments. I also can't recall a year where there have been so many upsets, ultimately it made the contests even more fascinating.

Within the first 3 days Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Maria Sharapova had disappeared from the line-up along with several other contenters who had either been knocked out or forced to withdraw due to injury.

The surprises of the first week left Serena Williams as a shoe-in for the Women's title, only to be beaten in straight sets by Sabine Lisicki. For once the women's tournament was wide open with none of 'the usual suspects' left in the running. The semi-finals threw up a very interesting combination of 4 players with very contrasting styles – the power of Lisicki, the dogged and unconventional Marion Bartoli, with Agnieszka Radwańska marshalling the base-line while Kirsten Flipkens aimed to get to the net as often as possible.

Andy Murray has much to thank Juan Martin Del Potro for in his semi-final game against Novak Djokavic, which was arguably the greatest game of tennis I have ever watched. The 5 set semi-final epic against the Serb lasted just under 5 hours in blisteringly hot conditions. I am not suggesting that Djokavic would necessarily have won the final though I do concede that the 40 unforced errors he made during the final was a lot more than usual by his high standard, though it is understandable that fatigue was partly to blame.

Murray's semi-final match with the Jerzy Janowicz was enjoyable for totally different reasons. The tall Pole with his massive serve was a fascinating encounter that demonstrated just how good Andy's return game is. In previous years the booming serves from the likes of Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanisevic or Roscoe Tanner were impressive but hardly entertaining.

His quarter-final match against against Fernando Verdasco also demonstrated how much the Murray game has improved, particularly his fitness and his temperament. To come from 2 sets down in the manner that he did was a great display of focus, discipline and determination, areas of his game that had previously let him down.

The quarter-final match between Del Potro and David Ferrer was another memorable occasion with the tenacious Spaniard putting up another stolid challenge to match his French Final defeat to Rafa Nadal.

This years tournament will also be remembered for one of the most bizarre matches I have ever watched – Maria Sharapova versus Michelle Larcher De Brito. The Portuguese girl has a decibel rating higher than the Sharapova Squeal, so watching these 2 grunt their way through 2 sets was never going to be an easy watch. On TV the squeaks, squawks and uumphs eclipsed the noise of the ball striking the raquet. The head movement of the spectators often appears to be out of sync with the action and during this match I was left with the uneasy feeling that the spectators were responding to the noise from the players with the ball becoming superfluous to events.

One of the most interesting comments following the victory came was a response from Andy to 'What he thought Fred Perry's response would have been to his success' – his reply being “Why aren't you wearing my clothing?” It should be remembered that for a long time Fred Perry was shunned by the tennis establishment and the absence of his sportswear logo from the arena of his greatest achievement has been very noticeable.

Perry was a working class lad who played with a style and aggression that was seen by many of the establishment at odds with the perceived spirit of the game.

Over the years the 'official' view towards competitive sport has swung to and fro, especially at schools level. Not everyone will be as dedicated or as talented to reach the highest level of the sport though if even a small percentage of those who will already be reaching for a racquet go on to play at club level then the boost to the economy and overall health will be worthwhile. If Andy Murray's victory doesn't inspire the next generation of kids and convince the bone heads at the top that competitive sport is a good thing then we may as well all give up the ghost and take up knitting.

Andy has built a wonderful team around him and if he can keep fit, focused and avoid injury then there is still time for him to add to his achievements. Go Andy go!