As I originally advocated in April, the decision to carefully return to competitive sport has been the right one. The impact of COVID-19 has been undeniably devastating. Yet although the circumstances remain far from ideal, the resumption of sporting fixtures has been a welcome distraction for many. It has allowed Liverpool to claim the Premier League […]
Tennis
King of Queen’s
Even his few remaining critics found it hard to begrudge him victory on Sunday. Back in January, as Andy Murray sat sobbing at a press conference ahead of the Australian Open, it was almost impossible to imagine that he would taste success on court again. After all, he was finished, wasn’t he? Not quite. Murray […]
Tasty at the top in men’s tennis
At Wimbledon this year all four of the competitors in the singles finals were in their thirties. This inevitably refocused the attention on the struggles of the upcoming players who have so far been unable to develop their burgeoning talents to challenge for the game’s greatest trophies. Serena Williams’ run to the final just 10 […]
18 is a magic number
As England discovered on Saturday, reaching number 19 is devilishly difficult. The week before Eddie Jones’ team had made history by steamrollering Scotland to equal the All Blacks’ record of 18 consecutive international victories. Yet, like the Kiwis, England appeared laboured and out of ideas against a defiant Ireland side. Across sport, 18 appears to mark a major […]
Sublime Murray reigns supreme at Wimbledon
It wasn’t supposed to seem so straightforward. An event Britain had waited 77 years for in 2013, has been repeated three years later. The greatest compliment that can be paid to Andy Murray is by recounting the minimum level of fuss with which he won the title. Only in the quarter-finals against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was […]
Can Nadal prove the doubters wrong again?
After losing in the third round of the Barcelona Open to Fabio Fognini, even Rafael Nadal’s most ardent supporters are beginning to question whether he will win his 10th French Open title this spring. The result comes a week after the Spaniard was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters. […]