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,

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 12^th 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.

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https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/federer-and-murray-win-wimbledon-warm-up-titles/

This was published in Stuff.co.nz

Endless suffering of Andy Murray raises questions around player welfare

OPINION: Exactly one year ago former world No 1 Andy Murray pulled out of Aussie Open citing a hip injury.

Shortly after, he made a major decision – to have surgery on that hip.

He seemed very positive after the operation, fairly certain that he would make a full recovery and get back to business.

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So, Andy Murray has withdrawn from Wimbledon.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.
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