The Novak Djokovic debacle is finally done and dusted. He is out — deported, visa revoked for the second time, with the threat of being barred from entering Australia for the next three years.
The Novak Djokovic debacle is finally done and dusted. He is out — deported, visa revoked for the second time, with the threat of being barred from entering Australia for the next three years.
The Park Hotel on Friday in Melbourne where Novak Djokovic is being detained at the state-run quarantine facility
In the words of the legendary Aussie tennis player, Rod Laver, in relation to the current Novak Djokovic debacle: “If he’s got a reason then . . . we should know it. Yes, you’re a great player and you’ve performed and won so many tournaments, so it can’t be physical. So what is the problem?”
On 2 nd November, the former tennis star and two times Grand Slam doubles champion, 35-year-old Peng Shuai, dropped a bombshell via the Chinese Twitter-style platform, Weibo, in a social media post in which she accuses former Vice Premier, 75-year-old Zhang Gaoli, of coercing her into having sex “about three years ago”. Read More
“I’m going to treat this match as if it’s my last one because it’s arguably the most important of my career. I’ll be giving it all I have possibly got in the tank,” said Novak Djokovic before Sunday’s US Open final. Despite being overshadowed, unusually, by the Women’s Final, the Men’s Final was hugely significant.
Significant, because were he to have won, he would have been the first man since Australian “Rocket” Rod Laver to win the Calendar Slam, all four majors in the same year. “Rocket,” who achieved this in 1969 and is now 83, may live in Australia, but he flew in to New York to witness the occasion.
Last night, Emma Raducanu won the US Open Women’s singles title. The scoreline was 6-4, 6-3 which looks straightforward enough — except it was anything but.
At 18 years old, Raducanu is the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004. She is also the only qualifier, male or female, ever to win a Grand Slam.
In the final, she was pitted against another wunderkind, the Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who is just a few months older and has also enthralled the New York crowds over the past fortnight.
In the end, Radcucanu was the one who held her nerve, despite overwhelming support for her opponent. That must have been unnerving for a player who until then had been the darling of the mainly New York crowds.
You’d think these two youngsters in their maiden Grand Slam final would be riddled with nerves on this huge occasion. Instead, we had a match of scintillating quality, with long, gruelling rallies – a match of extreme tension and a consistently high level of tennis.
19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez versus the 18-year-old British player Emma Raducanu in the US Open Women’s singles final. To say it’s an unlikely scenario is an understatement. The Men’s final will be contested between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, the number one versus the number two seed. Yet in the Women’s we are talking about Fernandez, world number 73 vs Emma Raducanu, the world number 150. It’s almost unimaginable.
Which means, on paper, Fernandez is the favourite. She’s also beaten four high seeds in consecutive matches. But they’ve each been three-set nailbiters and one would think she must be mentally exhausted. Raducanu, despite having had to qualify, hasn’t lost a single set throughout and will surely be the fresher of the two.
As complete underdogs they’ve both traded on the nerves of their far more experienced opponents. The second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka more or less imploded in her final service game with a couple of wild double faults and splayed groundshots, finally handing the semi-final to Fernandez. Against Raducanu in the other semis, Maria Sakkari repeatedly sent forehands sailing over the baseline, her elbow tight with nerves.
What on earth is going on with Emma Raducanu at the US Open?
The 18-year-old Brit was a wildcard at Wimbledon, ranked just 343 in the world. She got to the fourth round, where she finally dropped her first set of the tournament, before retiring against Ajla Tomljanovic with what appeared to be a panic attack — hardly surprising after the intense press and public scrutiny. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
And now she’s doing the same at the US Open in Flushing Meadows — but even better. She not only got through three rounds of qualifying, but has now reached the semi-finals without dropping a set. This makes her the first female qualifier in American tennis history to get to the last four. In fact, the scores in those sets have mostly been a breeze – 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 — and , like many people, I ’ ve been confused as to how this has all been happening.
One thing that seems to have helped her is that her opponents appear to have been riddled with nerves against what now seems to be a carefree youngster. She came out onto the main stadium for her match against the home favourite, Shelby Rogers, smiling and waving at the crowd. And then she breezed through in a 6-2, 6-1 whitewash. Rogers had beaten the number one seed, Ashleigh Barty, in the previous round — so this was pretty unexpected. Read More
Wimbledon was a fascinating tournament this year, except that it all went out with a bit of a whimper. Matteo Berrettini, the 25-year-old Italian heart-throb, won the initial set at his first Wimbledon Singles Final appearance, polishing off the tie-break with a thunderous serve down the tee. Initially, his opponent seemed a touch nervous. But anyone who thought he was in for a chance at winning the title against Novak Djokovic was dreaming. Novak got his act together and more or less breezed through to the finish line, winning in four sets by 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Get the Serb on an off-day over the best-of-three sets in a lesser tournament and you might just stand a chance. Dan Evans managed it in Monte Carlo, an event more about the country club’s spectacular scenery and glamorous reputation, where the tennis appears to be somewhat secondary,
July 2021
So, Wimbledon 2021 bids farewell to Roger Federer. It was a sad spectacle, really: spraying ground shots, missing easy volleys, being constantly passed and completely outclassed by the Polish player, Hubert Hurkacz, a 6’5” powerhouse whose game belies his gentle and shy nature.
Stuff.co.nz
OPINION: Imagine the scenario. Your name is Naomi Osaka, you’re a teenager, playing a Grand Slam final against Serena Williams, the home player, a legend and firm crowd favourite.
You win the drama-filled match and, as you hold the trophy, some twenty thousand fans are booing you. You pull your visor down over your face to hide your tears and try to
block out the deafening jeers. And then you have to make a winner’s speech in front of this hostile crowd.
Finally, a Grand Slam event, the first since lockdown, albeit without spectators.
But no Nadal, who was preparing for the French Open on his beloved clay.
And no Federer, who was taking time out to have knee surgery.
So that just left Djokovic out of the top three, and who could beat him, since he hadn’t lost a match this year? Read More
With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer choosing not to play, Novak Djokovic decided to travel to New York for the US Open. Here was his golden opportunity to win another Slam and get closer to Federer’s record of 20.
He hadn’t lost a match this year. How could he not win this tournament?
A Great Figurehead in the Field of Sport for the Disabled
Written for Campden Hill LTC
We are sad to inform you all that Liz Dendy, who was our president from the late 90’s until 2012, died two weeks ago at the age of 90 yrs.
The world of professional tennis is in chaos right now.
The US Open grand slam, held over two weeks, is due to start on August 31. It’s going to be a very strange affair. No player entourages, definitely no ballboys handling players’ towels and, most significantly, no spectators. Read More
By Katrina Allen
So, Wimbledon tennis this year has been cancelled, for the first time since WW2. The decision came late, leaving us all on tenterhooks, but really it was inevitable. Read More
By Katrina Allen
On Wednesday, the French Tennis Federation announced that the French Open was to be moved to September, one week after the US Open. The tournament was due to be held from 18th May.
The Federation made a unilateral decision on this. No discussion with players or any other tennis sports bodies who were, understandably, aggrieved. Read More
by Katrina Allen
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living
There was some debate as to whether the tournament would actually take place this year. The air was thick with smog from the bushfires during the qualifying, causing problems with breathing and one player even withdrawing part way though her match.
Have you never heard of Claire Fahey? Well, that’s probably because she’s at the top of the somewhat obscure game of Real Tennis, the predecessor of the sport that we see today at Wimbledon.
Real Tennis was invented in around the 12th century by French monks and the rules are fiendishly complicated.
The balls are hand-made and heavy, rather like a cricket ball but covered in felt. The rackets are not entirely symmetrical and are made of wood. Graphite is banned since the game would simply be too dangerous with those heavy balls.
By Katrina Allen
This article appears on LanguedocLiving.com
It was an exciting Slam this year with a lot of close matches, in particular in the women’s event.