Tennisnowornever

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Stan The (forgotten) Man

If there is one guy I hate writing about its Stan Wawrinka!! But probably not for the reasons you are thinking… Actually, as a player and as a personality I really love Stan. In fact, it’s a shame the tennis world doesn’t talk about him as often as we probably should . He is, after all, a 3 time grand slam champion at 3 different slams and holds an impressive 75% success rate when he reaches a major final. However, the thing is….he is an impossibly annoying subject to write about!! Why? 1) He’s unpredictable: I like to make predictions, especially before grand slam events, which sometimes hit the mark and other times (more often than not) don’t. Trying to guess where Wawrinka is at, however, is a sure fire route to public humiliation… 2) He’s unpredictable: Not only does Stan’s form go up and down like an elevator from tournament to tournament, but he can also find a world beating level from seemingly nowhere at a moment’s notice without any warning. Hence, ma

Mid-Season Roundup: InDjoray Issues

Having talked of injury in my last post , there were also a few players that were hit particularly hard by exactly this and it has left fans in doubt of whether we will see them at the upcoming US Open. It’s one thing for Wimbledon to be annoyed with player withdrawals, but if one player can justifiably be angry with the tournament then it would be Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Grass courts are always injury central as they retain natural moisture which sends players sliding and slipping all over the place: it’s the nature of the beast. The transition from clay to grass can be hard on the body and is often the reason behind injuries that players carry into Wimbledon. The later in the day you are scheduled, the more aware you should be of this fact as the surface is at its most treacherous after a couple of matches have already been played on it. As the tournament progresses the courts get steadily worse, especially around the baseline, as the grass gets damaged and churned up. This has a

Mid-Season Roundup: Injury Issues

There was a running theme throughout this year’s Wimbledon and unfortunately it was not a positive one. We have become accustomed to talking about the impact of the weather at Wimbledon over the years and the impact it can have as a third player, but this year the spotlight was on a different issue: injury! Indeed, it was the talk of the first round as the centre court crowd saw two consecutive mid-match retirements when both Klizan and Dolgopolov succumbed to injuries they had carried into the tournament. Under current rules a player may not take a medical time out in circumstances where the issue already existed before the match. Hence, they had no option but to concede defeat….. Or did they? I only ask because the decision sparked a lot of controversy! For those that didn’t hear the discussions, a first round Wimbledon loser gets around £30,000 (maybe as much as £35,000- I honestly don’t remember) for participating in the tournament: regardless of the score-line. This, o

Mid-Season Roundup: Grass is just for cows…and a guy named Roger

“Grass is just for cows” that old quote that someone said once and people like me haven’t stopped using in articles since. Who was it again? Certainly wasn’t 8 time Wimbledon winner Roger Federer: that’s for sure! Okay, so I know it was Manuel Santana but one would be forgiven for mistaking the origin on someone like….Rafael Nadal? Now, I’m not saying that Nadal is bad on grass! Partially because I fear the backlash from the millions of Rafans worldwide but mainly because it would be unfair and simply untrue….however….. I think at this stage of his career even Rafa himself would be happy to admit that it is the surface he feels the least comfortable on. I mean, as uncomfortable as someone who has won it twice (one of which required him to beat the great Federer) could ever feel! But we must acknowledge that since that fateful 2012 Nadal on grass has been more woe than whoa. It all started with a Czech player by the name of Lukas Rosol who came from nowhere to upset Nadal i

Mid-Season Roundup: Garbine Going Up?

Mid-Season Roundup Yes folks, it really is over for another year! The summer festivities we know as Wimbledon reached completion yesterday and with this the tennis season reached its mid-point…..roughly. That’s the perfect excuse to take stock of the stories the two week fiesta brought us and discuss the answers and questions it gave the tennis world. So, in the next few days to wave off the grass courts I will be summarising what I thinks have been most interesting plots and I might even risk a few predictions along the way… As always, Wimbledon has raised as many questions as answers! Garbine Going Up? So we all know that Garbine Muguruza lifted the Wimbledon ladies singles trophy for the first time (and if you don’t then I’m surprised you’re reading this), but it wasn’t the result that most expected. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a shock victory! Especially as most pundits agreed that in the absence of Serena Williams there were around 15 different women that were i

Christmas Eve....

Here we are again folks: it’s that time of year. Excitement and anticipation is bubbling up within you, simmering under your skin as you try to sleep until it reaches boiling point and you can physically wait no longer. Like a child desperate to unwrap their gifts and hoping to sneak a peak of the man himself. Twas the night before….the Championships Wimbledon?!? Yes, it’s Wimbledon Eve everyone and that means one thing only! It is time for unnecessary pre-tournament analysis and predictions that will most likely not come true!! Yay!!! But we do it anyway because somehow to just watch and enjoy the matches for what they are would be too simple….so let’s start! There is no better place to start than with this year’s top seed, defending champion and world number 1: Andy Murray . Sorry, Sir Andrew Murray. A two time Wimbledon winner already, both of which victories were completed in stunning straight sets. Furthermore, he has literally just annou