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Tennis thread

More importantly where is Sheikh Mc Tuggits with my 6 or 7 figure winnings ??? I was expecting at least a down payment when Murray hit World Number 3. I assumed when he got his first Grandslam I'd start hearing about a payment plan. With the epic Wimbledon victory I thought bayliffs.
 
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Former British number one tennis player Elena Baltacha has died of liver cancer, aged 30.

Born in Ukraine and raised in Scotland, Baltacha revealed she had the illness in March of this year.

Baltacha, who was British number one for nearly three years, retired from the sport in November 2013.

"We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally," said husband Nino Severino, who was also her coach.

Baltacha learned she had liver cancer in mid-January 2014, two months after retiring from professional tennis and only a few weeks after marrying.

"She was an amazing person and she touched so many people with her inspirational spirit, her warmth and her kindness," added Severino.

Baltacha was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver condition which compromises the immune system, aged 19.

Despite her illness and multiple injury problems, Baltacha went on to reach the Australian Open third round in 2005 and 2010 and reached a career-high world ranking of 49.

She won 11 singles titles, made the third round of Wimbledon in 2002 and was part of Great Britain's Fed Cup team for 11 years.

The current women's British number one Laura Robson took to Twitter to pay tribute to her "team-mate".

She tweeted : "Impossibly sad. Forever a team-mate. Sweet dreams Bally."

Tennis legend Chris Evert also tweeted her respects : "Rest in Peace, beautiful Elena Baltacha...No words...Thoughts and prayers..."

Six-times Wimbledon Singles champion Billie Jean King tweeted: "Saddened to hear about Elena Baltacha's passing. My fondest memory with Bally was sharing a wonderful chat when we met the Queen at Wimbledon."

Lawn Tennis Association head of women's tennis Iain Bates said: "We have lost a shining light from the heart of British tennis - a true role model, a great competitor and a wonderful friend.

"We have so many special memories to cherish, but this leaves a gaping hole for everybody in both British and women's tennis, and words simply cannot express how saddened we are by this news.

"All our thoughts are with Nino and the rest of Elena's family. We will miss you Bal."

Chairman and chief executive of the World Tennis Association Stacey Allaster added: "We are deeply grieved to lose our friend Elena Baltacha in her battle with cancer. Elena's journey was never an easy one and yet she consistently showed her strength, good humour and indomitable spirit."

Baltacha's agent and friend Eleanor Preston told Sky News: "It was part of Bally's emotional make-up to be very stoic, she never once asked why me or why is this happening. She was incredibly strong and determined and that was who she was.

"She achieved an awful lot and in the context of having a serious liver condition that she struggled with since the age of 19. This is why she should be held up as a role model.

"She went through it all without the slightest bit of self pity or ego."

A host of stars, including Andy Murray, Ross Hutchins, Martina Navratilova, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski, Jamie Murray, Jonny Marray, Anne Keothavong and Heather Watson have agreed to take part in a fundraising event, The Rally Against Cancer - Rally For Bally, which will now be held in her memory on 15 June.

The mixed doubles exhibition matches at the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club, the Aegon Classic in Birmingham and the Aegon International in Eastbourne will raise money for Royal Marsden national cancer charity and Elena Baltacha Foundation.
 
The Men' final already shaping up to be of much higher quality than yesterday's disappointing match with Sharapova winning ugly as usual, a shame that the Ladies tour is of such poor quality in recent years compared to the era of Graf, Seles and Hingis.
 
japenesegardenlover said:
Been a good wimbledon so far, really will have to get tickets for it one year.
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My pal is friends with a guy who allocates all the umpires for the tournament and for all of GB tennis, he got him centre court tickets for thur, frid, sat just gone, tomorrow and then mens finals day for free, touch
 
markysimmo said:
My pal is friends with a guy who allocates all the umpires for the tournament and for all of GB tennis, he got him centre court tickets for thur, frid, sat just gone, tomorrow and then mens finals day for free, touch
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Alright for some!

I've seen Stefan Edberg, Richard Krajicek and Roger Federer play on Centre Court over the years but had to queue up at the resale kiosk and pay £10 for the privilege along with the other plebs!
 
A question for those in the know about Tennis, do you think history will really look back and consider this era a 'Big 4' or really a Big 3 with Murray better than everyone else but not really on their level.

Just looking at Grand Slam finals participants (clearly a very narrow view admittedly), it seems like

2005-10 Nadal/Federer
2010-12 Novak/Nadal
2012-13 All four won slams (Nadal 3, Novak/Murray 2, Federer 1)
2014 Nadal/Novak dominating again

Of course since pretty much 2008 these guys have been the 4 best players, but Murray only got over the hump in 2012 and by that point Federer was no longer the player he was, he's only made 3 grand slam finals in the last 19.

Perhaps this is too simplistic, with a couple of exceptions all 4 won at least one Masters 1000 tournament from 2008-14, with others winning only 9 tournaments of a possible 61 and nobody with more than 1. In that period their wins break down as follows

Nadal 18
Novak 17
Murray 9
Federer 8
 
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Richie said:
A question for those in the know about Tennis, do you think history will really look back and consider this era a 'Big 4' or really a Big 3 with Murray better than everyone else but not really on their level.

Just looking at Grand Slam finals participants (clearly a very narrow view admittedly), it seems like

2005-10 Nadal/Federer
2010-12 Novak/Nadal
2012-13 All four won slams (Nadal 3, Novak/Murray 2, Federer 1)
2014 Nadal/Novak dominating again

Of course since pretty much 2008 these guys have been the 4 best players, but Murray only got over the hump in 2012 and by that point Federer was no longer the player he was, he's only made 3 grand slam finals in the last 19.

Perhaps this is too simplistic, with a couple of exceptions all 4 won at least one Masters 1000 tournament from 2008-14, with only 9 tournaments of a possible 61 and nobody else winning more than 1. In that period their wins break down as follows

Nadal 18
Novak 17
Murray 9
Federer 8
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I'd say a big 3 personally. The other 3 are just a bit above Murray, the only way he change that is by winning a few more slams, 2 just isn't enough to be considered part of a "big 4".

The other 3 have all been involved in countless classic matches too, far more than Murray has. And I like Murray btw.
 
He definitely needs a couple more grand slams, however playing with his dodgy back for ages and then having surgery I think he will be happy that he pushed Novak as hard as he did this week.
I think it bodes well for next year if he can keep working hard on his fitness at the end of the season (Christmas/New Year), then he should be able to get back to a level where he can really challenge again next year. Remember Murrays strength is pretty much grinding down opponents, something getting back to full fitness should enable him to do more.

I think the bigger question (and I don't know the answer!) is who history will claim is the best of all of them?
 
dingdongo said:
He definitely needs a couple more grand slams, however playing with his dodgy back for ages and then having surgery I think he will be happy that he pushed Novak as hard as he did this week.
I think it bodes well for next year if he can keep working hard on his fitness at the end of the season (Christmas/New Year), then he should be able to get back to a level where he can really challenge again next year. Remember Murrays strength is pretty much grinding down opponents, something getting back to full fitness should enable him to do more.

I think the bigger question (and I don't know the answer!) is who history will claim is the best of all of them?
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I think Federer will go down as the greatest ever, and Nadal has to be considered the greatest ever clay court player. It seems like Nadal has consistently had to battle more injuries than the others which has hurt his chance to surpass Federer. On grass and hardcourt, Djokovic has lost the same number of Finals as Federer has (5) while winning 9 fewer.
 
dingdongo said:
He definitely needs a couple more grand slams, however playing with his dodgy back for ages and then having surgery I think he will be happy that he pushed Novak as hard as he did this week.
I think it bodes well for next year if he can keep working hard on his fitness at the end of the season (Christmas/New Year), then he should be able to get back to a level where he can really challenge again next year. Remember Murrays strength is pretty much grinding down opponents, something getting back to full fitness should enable him to do more.

I think the bigger question (and I don't know the answer!) is who history will claim is the best of all of them?
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i may be completely wrong but i get feeling there is a touch of the Bradley Wiggins about Murray now.
 
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