Category: Tennis

Andy Murray Quits His Season

Andy Murray was once the top seed in the world of tennis. Well, that time appears to have long gone, considering his recent performances. In the quarter-finals of the Shehnzen Open, Fernando Verdasco beat Murray in straight sets. To call this a humbling defeat or a humiliating experience for Andy Murray is entirely up to you. However, in this regard, one thing that’s to be noted is that this episode has brought out the strength of Murray’s character.

When a top seed gets defeated in this fashion, you’d expect them to go back to the drawing and come back stronger than ever. Quitting would be the last thing on their mind, owing to how champions don’t quit. However, in case of Andy Murray, all of these talks have proved futile, considering how Murray has decided to quit this season!

Yes, you’ve read that correctly. It only took a straight set defeat for Andy Murray to drop curtains on the current season. Andy Murray was due to play in China Open in Beijing this October. However, after his humiliating defeat to Verdasco, he has decided to withdraw from the competition as well.

If you’re a fan of tennis, you’d know of Andy Murray and what he was capable of pulling off on the court. However, with this decision, Murray has reduced himself to mere mockery. If he really is all that he claims himself to be, he shouldn’t have quit. Champions, role models and icons don’t have such an attitude. If this truly is the real face of Andy Murray, it’s advisable for him to quit the sport altogether and salvage his legacy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKpEIf-xy_k

Why Do Serena and Roger Have A Problem With The Dope Tests?

Serena Williams is one of the greatest tennis players of all time, regardless of the mention of gender. It is impossible for a fan of tennis to not have heard the name of Serena Williams!

After all, Serena Williams has been the champion of Wimbledon seven times throughout her illustrious career. However, what Serena Williams needs to learn and understand is that her status might be able to win her favor among the fans but that will certainly not be the case when it comes to the tennis authorities.

Serena Williams has recently raised concerns on the manner in which the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) treated her. According to her, the department is nothing short of a nuisance, forcing players to take out-of-competition tests. However, what caused Serena to truly become enraged was the fact that the anti-doping official arrived slightly earlier at her house than the time that had been decided. While it might not appear to be as big of an issue on paper, it appears as if the official should really send an apology Serena’s way, considering the hoo-ha she has created about the event ever since.

The Swiss superstar, Roger Federer, surprisingly appears to agree with Serena on the matter. According to him, Federer has already been tested five times this year while some of his American counterparts have not been tested at all. On top of that, Federer is of the opinion that Serena’s frustration is justified.

Regardless of what opinion you might hold, the fact of the matter is that the anti-doping officials target above average performers on purpose, to ensure that their dominance is well-deserved. When you consider Federer and his reign at the top, it is only natural for him to be tested more often. Perks of hogging the entire spotlight, I guess!

The Real Reason Why Zverev Lost to Nadal

Alexander Zverev

Those who follow tennis would that Alexander Zverev has made his way to the fourth spot in the ATP rankings, owing to how the likes of Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had been going through their own injury scares. When you take this into perspective, the fourth spot does not appear to do justice to Zverev’s caliber, considering how he should be featuring much, much lower on the rankings, especially in light of his latest statement.

According to Alexander Zverev, he was glad to not have been drawn in the same group as Rafael Nadal, in the Monte Carlo Masters, considering how he had been defeated by Nadal in the Davis Cup. The reason that Zverev gave to back his statement comprises of how he believes Nadal to be the best tennis player to ever grace the clay court. With such an attitude, it’s no surprise that Zverev has lost the final in Rome in the manner that he has—straight sets.

If Nadal was in his usual fire breathing, a case COULD have been made for backing Zverev’s claim of fear. However, when you consider that Nadal had been out of the court since his hip injury in October, you have got to say that Zverev should have been begging the stars to let him come up against Nadal as early in the competition as possible.

If Zverev is afraid of a Nadal who is just returning from a serious injury, you have got to say that he does not deserve the title of the world’s fourth ranked tennis player, at all. Moreover, Zverev felt that he and Nadal will meet in the finals. Well, we all saw what happened in Rome, didn’t we? Zverev was out of his depth when in the same court as Nadal. Fortune certainly never favors the fearful and those who CHOOSE live under someone’s shadow, even if that someone is as great as Rafael Nadal!

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gry5A8a5ajU

Cricketers Looking for Limelight in the Tennis World

Virat Kohli

We all have been told, time and again, that passing comments on something you know little of is nothing short of a sin. However, the captain of the Indian Cricket Team, Virat Kohli, appears to be oblivious to this simple word of advice. If he wasn’t, then he would not have made the kind of a comment that he has made recently.

According to Virat Kohli, Roger Federer has been defying logic by remaining on the top of the world of tennis, in spite of his age. Virat Kohli, who is perhaps the best batsman in the modern era, did not fall short of making a claim that reeks of favoritism but lacks substance. If you peer at the claim closely, you will realize that it portrays Federer to still be as good on the court as he was back in the old days. True tennis fanatics—unlike Virat Kohli—will know, however, that such is not the case.

If it was, Federer would not have lost the number 1 world spot in the tennis rankings, recently, to a player—Rafael Nadal—who hasn’t stepped into the court in months. On top of that, when you consider how the recent victories of Federer have come at a time when Murray, Nadal and Djokovic were out of competition due to injuries, caution has to be exercised before making exuberant claims of Federer’s greatness.

Regardless of how surreal Federer’s legacy might be, it is a fact that he is a mere shadow of the player he once was. To say that Federer is still the kind of a player he was back in his prime would, actually, be a disgrace to Federer, considering how his prime years were unlike anything that has ever been witnessed in the world of tennis. But you can’t explain that to a cricketer, or can you?

Billie Jean King and Her Preposterous Logic on Why Men Should Not Play Five Sets At Grand Slams

Billie Jean King

It would be hard for you to come across a hardcore tennis fan not acquainted with the name of Billie Jean King. After all the 74 old year old ex-world number one and the winner of 12 singles Grand Slam Titles should need no introduction, right? However, over the course of time, age appears to be taking a toll on Billie, owing to how her recent talk of reducing the number of sets male tennis players play at Grand Slams, has brought out surprise, resentment and disgust among the lovers of the game.

The reasoning Billie gave to buttress her stance was based upon how she found the large number of sets to be the primary reason for tennis stars getting injured all the time. However, while presenting such an interesting insight, Billie must have forgotten the likes of Roger Federer, who are still fit and entitled to being called the best in the world owing to not only their superior fitness but performance as well.

The more you think about it, the more you realize that Billie’s remarks will give tennis stars nothing more than an excuse to blame their failures and injuries upon. Grand Slam matches have featured five sets for as long as we can remember and the fans would appreciate if the legacy is not trifled with. On top of that, shortening the matches will have implications on the broadcasters as well, owing to how the new rules will have a significant impact on how long the matches last.

Darwin argued for the survival of the fittest, in his theory of natural selection, and this is exactly how it should be in the world of tennis as well. The unfit will succumb to the competition and continue to find petty excuses for their failures while the great ones will rise up to the top as a result of their superior passion and hard work!