https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/what-is-real-tennis/
Andy Murray Clutching at Hip (photo: Katrina Allen)
So, Andy Murray has withdrawn from Wimbledon. It’s sad for him and it’s also sad for those of us who were rubbing our hands in anticipation of what would have been a fascinating match against the Frenchman Benoit Paire in the first round. Paire would have been a tricky opponent, having had two match points in a hugely tense final set tie break against Roger Federer in Halle.
Read More
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/wimbledon-qualifying-second-round/
🎾We have an exclusive court-Side snippet with @katrinaallen21 from the @QueensTennis 🎾#FeverTreeChampionships #QueensTennis #courtside #tennis #Exclusive pic.twitter.com/DVKG89Jtq0
— Wimbledon Debenture Holders (@WDH_Tennis) June 22, 2018
This article appeared in Diva Magazine in June 2018
Back in 2014, I wrote an article for Diva Magazine about Amélie Mauresmo, a former World No 1 tennis player. She had just been appointed coach to Andy Murray, which rocked the tennis world since it was the first time a woman, let alone a lesbian, had coached a top ten male player.
Read MoreThis article appears on the Wimbledon Debentures website
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/
Murray vs Krygios at The Queen’s Club Fever Tree Championships, Tuesday 19 June.
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/murray-vs-krygios-special-court-side/
This article appeared in Givemesport.com
Rafael Nadal has just won his 11th Roland Garros title at the age of 32.
Roger Federer, at the age of 36, is favourite to win this year’s Wimbledon.
These two players have won all the Grand Slam titles between them since Melbourne last year and appear to be unbeatable.
So, who might be future contenders for those Slam titles?
Read MoreThe Queen’s Club, London
24 April 2018
Rob Fahey vs Camden Riviere
DAY ONE
A taster – from the previous world championships
Camden Riviere was here to defend his title! Fahey was very much the underdog, mostly due to the considerable age difference. You can train as much as you like but giving away nearly 20 years is a pretty tall order. Read More
A Site (sic) for Sore Eyes…
We get beyond our 50’s and start to collect injuries: bad backs, tennis elbow, dodgy knees, and then the eyes start to go. That bit has only hit me in the last few years and it’s depressing. Read More
and a mere club game in Bordeaux! Jacques Pouyot finishes with a winning gallery…
My friend Scott Barclay’s article on that disgraceful opening ceremony. The organisers have apologised but what were they thinking?
by Katrina Allen
This article appeared in LanguedocLiving July 2017
Usually, I’m really sad when Wimbledon finishes but this year I was particularly sad, and not for the usual reasons. Read More
This article first appeared on Campden Hill LTC Website, May 2017.
Halle (The Gerry Weber Open) Tournament, Katrina Allen
Have you been lucky enough to see the sublime Roger Federer play live? This time last year, I hadn’t, and was pretty desperate to do so before he retired.
And then I came across William Skidelsky’s book ‘Federer and Me, a Story of an Obsession’. It’s a brilliant read, both funny and informative but, best of all, in his chapter about the German tournament in Halle, he revealed how I might realise my dream. For this is where Federer plays his Wimbledon warm-up and where he has a lifetime contract (so there’s no chance of seeing him at the rival tournament at Queen’s). And, unlike Queen’s, there’s a sliding roof so play is guaranteed in the main stadium where they naturally schedule all his matches. Read More
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living in June 2016
Halle Tennis
by Katrina Allen
“Get yourself to Halle” urges William Skidelsky in his excellent book “Federer and Me”.
Like the author, I am a complete Roger Federer nut. Why? Because he is the most beautiful, elegant and creative tennis player there has surely ever been. I get goose bumps just thinking about his game.
(photo: Katrina Allen)
Like a Muhammad Ali or a David Beckham, he transcends his sport, adored by people who don’t even like tennis.
Pancho Gonzales once said of Pete Sampras: “He moves on oil”. Nothing like Roger he didn’t, but then Pancho was no longer alive when Fed. really came into his own.
The Gerry Weber Open – Der Besondere Profi
THE SPECIAL PRO.
Real Tennis player, Katrina Allen, is at the GWO (The Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany) for the first time.
She was the World no. 1. She took part in the British, Australian, US and French Open tournaments in both singles and doubles and she won them all.
She isn’t a big name in tennis history but that’s because we aren’t talking about our game but a different form of tennis “the original game, invented in the 12th century by the French” explains Katrina Allen, who is working at GWO at a journalist. “It’s a complicated game with complicated rules”. But this is what inspired her. “The sport is very challenging. The court is massive, the balls hard and the wooden rackets heavy. “I loved all that” says the Londoner. Today Real Tennis is not particularly well-known and is played in only a few countries.
Katrina has come to Halle just to be at the GWO. “This tournament is like a festival. I have been at many major tennis tournaments, but none as impressive as this one. The atmosphere is great, very relaxed and informal. My main reason for coming was to see Roger Federer. He is just wonderful, an exceptional player.” Roger was the only top ten player she hadn’t seen so she has finally ticked him off her list.
The French Open Tennis, Roland Garros 2016
by Katrina Allen.
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living in June 2016.
(photograph by Katrina Allen)
So, yet again, no French singles winner, male or female, at Roland Garros. The last man to do so was Yannick Noah, so cherished by the French, back in 1983. As for the women, the nervy and somewhat histrionic Mary Pierce won in 2000 but she was Canadian-born and raised in the States so I’m not sure that really counts. The French probably think it does as the previous winner was Francoise Durr back in 1967 and I expect they were a bit desperate. For a ‘French woman’ I’ve never heard such a deeply-entrenched American accent.
L’Equipe 20/06/2016 http://bit.ly/28InNlN
Translated by Katrina Allen
katrinaallen.co.uk
@katrinaallen21
The Queen’s Club Tournament: Andy Murray wins for the 5th time.
The Scot, Andy Murray, triumphed at Queen’s for the 5th time in his career by beating Milos Raonic on Sunday.
Murray has now overtaken several outstanding former champions: John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Roy Emerson, each one a four times winner. His previous triumphs were in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. This time he beat Milos Raonic (6-7, 6-4, 6-3 in 2h12) in the final. The match didn’t start well for the Scot (a recent finalist at Roland Garros). Everything rested on the serve in the first set and the Canadian’s was impenetrable (72% on his first serve) and Murray, although fairly strong himself in this department, lost it in the tie-break.
Lendl left before the prize-giving
Raonic was the more rested of the two players, having had quick wins in his previous two matches, whereas Murray struggled over three sets in his quarter final against Edmund and then against Cilic in the semis. Raonic forged on, going 3-0 up in the second set. And then his game started breaking down. A few moments of doubt, particularly on the volley, (3/10 in the second set), producing just two aces, and the world no. 9 lost his way. Murray, always solid on the serve, was rewarded each time in his six approaches to the net. As Murray started reading the ball better, the Canadian couldn’t come up with any solutions. Murray got back to 2-3 and then romped away with the match. He won 5 games in a row to go 5-3 up and pocketed the set at the first time of asking.
In a flawless display, Murray broke in the first game of the third set and closed it out on his third match point. This is the British man’s 37th career title. Since the beginning of this tournament, Ivan Lendl has been re-appointed as Murray’s coach while Lendl’s old rival John McEnroe was in the other player’s box, as Raonic’s new coach. For some strange reason, as Murray lifted the trophy, Lendl disappeared from sight. No matter. Andy Murray did what he had to and can go into Wimbledon in a week’s time with confidence.
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living in July 2016
Davis Cup tennis quarter final tie – France vs GB
Davis Cup Tennis Quarter Final tie : France vs Great Britain, The Queen’s Club, London. 17-19 July 2015
By Katrina Allen
Best of 5 matches. Two singles, one doubles.
The Davis Cup tie was held at The Queen’s Club in London, venue for the AEGON tournament, the Wimbledon warm-up event, which is also known as “the suit and tie tournament” because that’s how members think one should dress to watch sport.
