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New beginnings?

There’s that feeling again: the morning after. You are missing him already…

Before you conclude that I must have had a very interesting booze fuelled night out, and am now dealing with the inevitable hangover of the soul that too often accompanies while you painstakingly overanalyse every detail and wonder whether you should call the number he gave to you (I mean, he was soooo dreamy, right?), I will set you straight. I didn’t and I’m not! *guilty face*
But seriously, I refer to that feeling that every true tennis fan knows oh so well: it is the morning after effect. Roland Garros 2017 is finished. Mourn all you like people….it’s done… forever! Who are you missing? John Inverdale obviously! Now who is going to greet you excitedly every morning with promise of a whole days’ worth of incredible shot making and drama? (For any non UK readers wondering who John Inverdale is…don’t bother). Okay so considering that the French Open tournament will of course be back next year and that the current season rolls on seamlessly into the rich greens of grass court tennis I might be being the slightest bit overdramatic, maybe. Yet, it is true: there will never be another Roland Garros 2017 ever again. We all witnessed 2 weeks of history and now it is over. So let us accept the end.

Jelena Ostapenko has done it, out of what seemed to be absolutely nowhere the 20 year old bulldozed opponent after opponent with brute strength and brilliant winners en route to lifting the women’s trophy and collecting her maiden grand slam (no, maiden CAREER title). It’s exhausting just thinking about it! Perhaps we do need that break after all.  But note the past tense: ‘she has done it’…already, as in we can never see her win her maiden grand slam ever again!! (Ssshhh, yeah yeah okay the magic of YouTube but you know that’s not what I meant smarty). And indeed, remarkable it was to watch. This coming even from a Simona Halep fan such as me. But is that not kind of sad? That we can never relive that moment again without knowing the result? I think so…

Where to start with La Decima? How to even tackle the subject. Rafael Nadal’s 10th French Open title came 12 years after his first in what turned out to be a 2 week demolition which saw him equal his past feat of emerging victorious without the loss of a single set. He appeared to get better with every match and in the final effectively swept past Stan Wawrinka (a man who himself had a 100% victory record in slam finals up until yesterday). There was not really anything that any of the players he faced in the fortnight could have done to stop it and, in truth, there probably was not anything any other man in the whole field could have done to stop it either. So astounding was it to watch that the debate of whether Rafa is playing better now on clay than he ever has officially deserves discussion. It was scary. I think that pretty much sums it up? But still…it is complete. Done and dusted.
So what exactly is my point? Well basically, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter that it is all behind us. It doesn’t matter that we can’t experience these moments for the first time ever again. It doesn’t matter because that is the nature of our sport and of every sport. Every end is a new beginning. That is just what makes continual watching in the future exciting, addictive and inevitable for the true tennis fan. The great thing about this story is that it has only just started. What can Ostapenko do now? How does she react? Does Halep come back stronger? Can Nadal ever top what he just did? Will anyone else ever top what Nadal just did?


That is exactly what this blog represents, it is a new beginning. Hopefully one you will enjoy in months to come as we watch the story unravel together. Analysing the past, pondering and predicting the future and enjoying the present. So let us begin! Because the best part about this story? It never really ends.
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