Wimbledon

I was a very good young tennis player, my sister was also, we had coaching at a club in Barnstaple which was great, when we moved back to Plymouth the coaching was ok but not as good, we joined Mannamead tennis club, we would go to coaching sessions then get ushered off the courts whilst the members of the club would piss about thinking they were great, I got dissillusioned and dropped out my sister stuck with it but was definitely held back by the lack of facilities on offer in Plymouth. To give you a measure of how good she was she coached at (I think it was Queens club in New York) where Becker and Macenroe were the pro coaches at the time, McEnroe said that she had the hardest backhand of any woman he had met, yet in Plymouth she struggled to get on courts to practice. You can hire courts whenever you like but unless you have wealthy parents you just can't afford it, just joining a tennis club costs a lot to start with.

Djokovic v del Potro is shaping up to be a classic..

wow...just gone to 2 sets all...The Ice Man v The Ultimate warrior - del Potro just never admits defeat - this match is going to be right up there with the all time greats.

Murray wins in 4 sets.Can he beat Djokovic? Should be an intriguing match whatever,Djokovic slightly better player IMHO but Murray has other things going for him,including a crowd who seem to be backing him more and more.Very interesting scenario,may give it full attention on Sunday.

Djokovic is so good that Murray will need to take every chance, and half chance he gets. Djokovic will never give up and he is mega fit so today's game won't have any affect on him come Sunday.

I reckon Del Potro would've beaten any other in the world today he played that well but Djokovic just keeps going and it's that extra one percent that makes him a step up from great.

I think Murray can beat him but it needs to be the best tennis he's ever played and for almost certainly 5 sets in blistering heat.

The crowd will help Murray and Murray's now been in the last 4 grand slam finals in the tournaments he's taken part in so he's there on merit.

I'd love Murray to win Wimbledon just once even but I have a horrible feeling that Djokovic is just too strong for him and will cope with the conditions that bit better.

I hope I'm wrong.

Good time to go to the beach then, plenty of space if everyone else is inside.

The only sport that isn't really elitist is football although in all of them your parents need a degree of money even if it's just ferrying about Iggy. There is so much talent about in all kinds of sports if only it didn't rely on background and cash. Other countries pick up potential and nurture it but this one still doesn't do that yet. "Ordinary" schools don't even play half the sports or have the facilities and if you look at the backgrounds of a lot of the top players or internationals it doesn't come from the local council estate. Rugby, hockey, tennis, athletics are but a few.

Sensiblegreeny wrote:

Good time to go to the beach then, plenty of space if everyone else is inside.

The only sport that isn't really elitist is football although in all of them your parents need a degree of money even if it's just ferrying about Iggy.    There is so much talent about in all kinds of sports if only it didn't rely on background and cash.    Other countries pick up potential and nurture it but this one still doesn't do that yet.     "Ordinary" schools don't even play half the sports or have the facilities and if you look at the backgrounds of a lot of the top players or internationals it doesn't come from the local council estate.    Rugby, hockey, tennis, athletics are but a few.      

Which is why Britain did so poorly in the Olympics, eh Sensy?

You do talk absolute crap.

And the background of most of them were? If you don't think it's about where and how you grew up then you are deluded. Occasionally someone comes out of the council estate but it is only that, occasionally.

Try again Sensy...

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Greenskin wrote:

Murray wins in 4 sets.Can he beat Djokovic? Should be an intriguing match whatever,Djokovic slightly better player IMHO but Murray has other things going for him,including a crowd who seem to be backing him more and more.Very interesting scenario,may give it full attention on Sunday.

And McEnroe gives Murray the edge by 5 - 10% based upon the home crowd.

You don't have to go to a private school to be comfortably off. Show me how many came from council estate backgrounds. That article proves nothing at all. You have to have money in the first place to pay for equipment and travel. If you can afford neither then you are fecked from the start. My belief and I still stand by that statement.

Sensiblegreeny wrote:

You don't have to go to a private school to be comfortably off.    Show me how many came from council estate backgrounds.    That article proves nothing at all.    You have to have money in the first place to pay for equipment and travel.    If you can afford neither then you are fecked from the start.   My belief and I still stand by that statement.    

You'll be singing the Internationale soon, Sensi.  

I was so poor as a kid, I couldn't afford legs. I'd have been the best slalom skiier ever if I could have afforded some legs.

The only reason you were legless was because you were spoilt and allowed to be a student.

Like Oscar pistorious without the blades, and the shotgun hopefully.

Sensiblegreeny wrote:

You don't have to go to a private school to be comfortably off.    Show me how many came from council estate backgrounds.    That article proves nothing at all.    You have to have money in the first place to pay for equipment and travel.    If you can afford neither then you are fecked from the start.   My belief and I still stand by that statement.    

Having support from your parents is a must unless you live right on top of quality facilities, my point was though Sensi no matter how many times your parents are going to drive you to the tennis club you can't get a court to practice once the coaching session is finished.
Anyway I reckon that Murrat v Jukebox will be a cracking match, Murrays 4 set game will be a massive help to him if he can draw him out into a long game, Jukebox is a hell of a player though and I would have him as slim favourite.

Another brilliant English victory!

Murray wins in straight sets.Well deserved too,better player all round on the day and well done to him.Pretty agonising last game though but he got there in the end,first Brit for 77 years to win Wimbledon-staggering.

knecht wrote:

Another brilliant English victory!

Scottish actually.

Greenskin wrote:

Murray wins in straight sets.Well deserved too,better player all round on the day and well done to him.Pretty agonising last game though but he got there in the end,first Brit for 77 years to win Wimbledon-staggering.

And so begins a mass Andy love-in.....

pepsipete wrote:

knecht wrote:

Another brilliant English victory!

Scottish actually.

Are you sure?  

Brilliant stuff. Was sat watching some of it in the beer tent at the steam engine rally I went.

I thought Djokovic would be too strong but Murray has got so much better under Lendl he's now super confident and so he should be.

That must be the longest straight sets win ever. Makes it sound like it was easy when it was a right battle.

Hopefully Murray will win a few more slams now and gets to world number 1.

VillageGreen wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Murray wins in straight sets.Well deserved too,better player all round on the day and well done to him.Pretty agonising last game though but he got there in the end,first Brit for 77 years to win Wimbledon-staggering.

And so begins a mass Andy love-in.....

Not from me old chap,just acknowledging the fact that the guy achieved something rather historic and special today.No doubt as a sports person yourself you would recognise the talent,temperament and sacrifice needed for such heights to be attained,alleged personality defects notwithstanding.I do believe there's a certain resentment in some quarters about some anti English remarks that Murray made some time ago.Always struck me as rather strange that Murray should be castigated for this,yet Denis Law who made a concerted and deliberate effort to be as far away from the 1966 world cup final as possible in dread that England would win it,is still revered in this country.Odd,nowt as queer as folks i suppose.

knecht wrote:

pepsipete wrote:

knecht wrote:

Another brilliant English victory!

Scottish actually.

Are you sure?  

Well perhaps Oirish.

Greenskin wrote:

VillageGreen wrote:

Greenskin wrote:

Murray wins in straight sets.Well deserved too,better player all round on the day and well done to him.Pretty agonising last game though but he got there in the end,first Brit for 77 years to win Wimbledon-staggering.

And so begins a mass Andy love-in.....

Not from me old chap,just acknowledging the fact that the guy achieved something rather historic and special today.No doubt as a sports person yourself you would recognise the talent,temperament and sacrifice needed for such heights to be attained,alleged personality defects notwithstanding.I do believe there's a certain resentment in some quarters about some anti English remarks that Murray made some time ago.Always struck me as rather strange that Murray should be castigated for this,yet Denis Law who made a concerted and deliberate effort to be as far away from the 1966 world cup final as possible in dread that England would win it,is still revered in this country.Odd,nowt as queer as folks i suppose.

I agree about the achievement GS, fantastic, Murray is really difficult to like though.