Tennisnowornever

“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...

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...

How many times, tennis fans, have you heard commentators, journalists and now retired legends of the game squawk enthusiastically about the quality of play we have been spoiled with in the era of the big 4? Tournament after tournament they chant:  ‘The physicality is remarkable!!’  ‘These guys are just superhuman!!!’  ‘Will we ever see such greatness on court again?!!?!?’ ……Sound familiar? But before we accuse the hypothetical record of needing to be changed we should realise the band responsible for releasing it have recently launched a new album. That’s right, the smash hit of the moment: it’s the #nextgen!! All of a sudden EVERYTHING is about Zverev, Kyrgios, Thiem and the gang. What a boyband that would be. And don’t get me wrong, this is completely justifiable. No one would be talking about them if they didn’t have results and talents to back it up. Meanwhile that ‘classic album’ is still selling really well. You know, that one that brought the band to...

So dear tennis fans, you semi-postponed your life for a whole 2 weeks to immerse yourselves fully in what we know is one of the four most important events of the year. Personal hygiene and social life may have suffered but was it was worth it? Well, perhaps your answer depends partially on which players you were supporting but I assure you that whether you were happy with the results or not this tournament was an eye opener on many levels. With Wimbledon just around the corner, over the next few days I am going to roundup the 5 main knowledge nuggets we can extract from the French Open 2017 and, more importantly, what they mean heading into the grass courts: Lesson #1 The changing of the guard is coming… Tennis is a sport always looking to the future, even if sometimes prematurely. My first recollection of hearing about the impending ‘changing of the guard’ was probably in 2012 into 13. It was a year in which BBC commentators seemed to talk about nothing but the inevitable fall...