There are no certainties in sport

Over the past week, there have been a number of sporting results which can be categorised as upsets; Rafael Nadal, the world number one tennis player losing to his compatriot, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, in Bangkok, Liverpool FC, England's most successful club, losing to newly promoted Blackpool on Saturday and the reigning NBA Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves in an exhibition game at London's O2 arena last night.

While Rafa's loss can be categorised as bad day at the office given he had numerous break points, he got back to winning ways in his next match in Tokyo. For Liverpool, it's a different story altogether as this result has meant the club have made their worst start to the league for 57 years, far longer than I have been alive. The international break means the Liverpool players will have to wait until 17 October to see if they can turn things around - given they are playing Liverpool's other club, motivation won't be lacking, but it remains to be seen if that will be enough. The Los Angeles Lakers played all but 6 minutes without Kobe Bryant who is recovering from knee surgery he had in July. The Minnesota Timberwolves coach, Kurt Ramblis, is an ex Laker so his motivation for getting one over Phil "The Zen Master" Jackson was not in doubt. The Lakers kept things close in the first two quarters, but they made numerous turnovers in the third quarter and it was a similar story in the fourth quarter. The Lakers started with four of their usual starters; Derek Fisher, Kobe, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest, but only Derek and Pau played a significant number of minutes. Kobe has his eyes on a 6th NBA championship ring so it's no wonder he's playing things very safe.

The drama at Celtic Manor as the last day of the Ryder Cup unfolded is something that would have been labelled fanciful if a scriptwriter had come-up with such a rollercoaster of a plot as the destiny of the Ryder Cup remained uncertain until the 17th hole of the last singles match to be played.

Sport is a great leveller and the guaranteed uncertainty is what makes the watching and participation so compelling.

He came, he played, he conquered!!

At the age of 17 he won his first French Open and the deciding rubber that won Spain the Davis Cup. He successfully depended his French Open crowns three times and in the process surpassed Björn Borg's record for the number of consecutive victories on clay - they called him a clay court specialist, but by 2007 he had reached his first Wimbledon final on grass. In 2008, he would become the first man since Borg to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back, but only reached the semi-finals of the US Open - they said he couldn't play on hard courts. In January 2009, he won his first Australian Open title, on a hard court, but his renowned mental strength was sorely affected by off-court tribulations and he made an unexpected exit at the French Open, wasn't able to defend his Wimbledon title, only reached the semi-finals of the US Open and lost all his matches at the World Tour finals in November 2009.

Still not at his physical peak, he had to withdraw from his match against Andy Murray at this year's Australian Open, but by the time the clay court season rolled round, he was back to his best, becoming the first man to win all three clay court Masters titles in a season and in doing so he took his tally of titles to eighteen, surpassing Andre Agassi and Roger Federer on seventeen. At the French Open, he swatted aside his 2009 conqueror and illustrated the gulf between himself and Andy Murray in the semi-finals of Wimbledon. His straight sets victory in the final over Tomas Berdych secured him his eighth grand slam and having decided to focus his energies on the one grand slam to elude him, he arrived at Flushing Meadows ready to cement his place in history with a remodelled serve.

Up until the final, he hadn't drop a set, but his opponent who played his best match in the semi-finals to thwart Roger Federer's attempt to appear in a seventh consecutive final, claimed the second set. However, Rafa was not to be denied and he won the third and fourth set to complete the tennis grand slam.

As he still believes he can improve, despite being world number one, having won nine grand slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, eighteen Masters title and three Davis Cups, the chasing pack should be afraid, very afraid!

Felicitaciones Rafa!!

Déjà vu

In 2008, Rafael Nadal won his fourth Coupe des Mousequetaire, his first Wimbledon title and La Roja won their first European Championships in style.

In 2010, Rafael Nadal has emulated Björn Borg again by winning the French Open followed by Wimbledon, La Roja after coming a cropper in their opening match against Switzerland regrouped and steadily improved in subsequent games. Their mastery of possession football came to the fore in the semi-final match against Die Nationalmannschaft where they highlighted the weakness of the latter's counterattacking style - it doesn't work if you can't get the ball and La Roja had the ball 61% of the time. Die Nationalmannschaft expended so much energy trying to get the ball off La Roja that when they did get the ball, they were too tired to do anything useful with it.

I'm with Paul on this one.

Vamos La Roja!!

There's a tennis tournament going on too

I really thought V would earn her sixth Venus Rosewater dish because she's been in good form this year and was seeded 2 at this year's championships. However she crashed out and now it's down to her younger sister to defend the family's honor. While her opponent in today's final should not be underestimated given that she's one half of the doubles team that put the Sister Act out and will also be in the women's double final - the younger sister to win in 3 sets, if necessary.

In the run-up to this semi-final match up, the Scot had talked up his chances against the Spaniard - if ever proof was needed about the gulf between the two when it really matters, yesterday's match provided it.

True Grit!!

He has heart!! He may have injured his left elbow and his right knee started acting up, but his desire to win through to the next round meant he was able to push the injuries to one side and focus on winning his match. He next plays on Monday so here's to hoping he'll have recovered sufficiently to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu as he continues his quest for a 2nd Wimbledon title.

Vamos Rafa!

There's a tennis tournament going on

My predictions are as follows:

Winner of the appropriately named Venus Rosewater Dish - Venus Ebony Starr Williams aka V aka the Queen of Centre Court

Winner of the men's single's title: Rafael Nadal aka G.O.A.T

Place your bets!!

He is ONLY 24!!

Yesterday I was here and at the Menorca stand a very youthful Rafa beamed from the posters on display. I had followed the match while window shopping and it was while I was enroute to the Technology section that Rafa clinched his 5th Coupe des Mousquetaires. 

In the lead up to the final, I think Björn Borg was trying to gee up his fellow countryman when he predicted Robin would become the world no 1 - either that or his predictions are as way off as another former illustrious sports star because the Swede was truly diced and sliced!

ONE Australian Open, FIVE Coupe des Mousquetaires,  THREE Davis Cups, EIGHTEEN Masters' titles, ONE Olympic GOLD and ONE Wimbledon title is not a bad haul for someone termed a clay court specialist. With better management of his physical ailments and with his mental focus no longer in doubt, I am emboldened to predict he will go on to claim a second Wimbledon title and win his first US Open.

Did I mention he's just 24?!

Feliz Compleaños

Sorry I'm a day late, but things got kind of hectic yesterday and I didn't get round to posting like I thought I would. Anyway, by all accounts you had a good day and I know that the icing on the proverbial cake would be a straight sets demolition of the Swede on Sunday to lift your 5th Coupe des Mousquetaires and emulate Björn Borg.

My prediction: Straight sets win for Rafa

PS: Congrats to V & S (doesn't quite have the same ring to it!!) on their doubles' success - they have now amassed 12 grand slam doubles' titles

I'm back, he's back!

With his latest defeat of the Fed at the Madrid Masters Open, Rafael Nadal has become the first and youngest tennis player to amass 18 Masters' title. Yesterday's win saw him overtake the Fed and Andre Agassi who have 17.
His problems in the last year have been well documented and I suspect his personal problems affected him more than his physical ones.
I fully expect him to reclaim the Coupe de Mousequetaire at Roland Garros in a few weeks time.

Vamos Rafa!!

All good things come to an end

and so it was that on the Arthur Ashe court at Flushing Meadows yesterday Rafael Nadal's winning streak, that had seen him claim the number 1 spot, a Masters shield and an Olympic gold, was brought to an end by Andy Murray. It was a match too far for Rafa who has had a very competitive summer since winning Wimbledon and I've no doubt that normal service will be resumed when they meet again.

As for Murray, the guy likes Flushing Meadows as he won the US Junior Open in 2004 and he has the game to beat the Fed. I had predicted he would win the US Open last year, it looks like I was a year out.

The inexorable ascent to the summit

of men's tennis by Rafa has been as remarkable as his ability to retrieve balls on court. He has mental fortitude, a boundless supply of energy, the dedication that sees his game constantly improving and the humility to make him one of the most popular no 1s of all time. On court he is a modern day gladiator and the way he bounces up and down before the coin toss is reminiscent of a pugilist, but off court he is self-effacing with his feet firmly on the ground, despite his not inconsiderable achievements - 5 grand slams at the ripe old age of 22.

Felicitaciones Rafa!!

Spain's sporting prowess has been in evidence these past couple of months.

Wimbledon men's final

My prediction; Rafa vs Marat Safin and Rafa to win of course.

**UPDATE**
Oh well, it was wishful thinking on my part as the Fed hasn't won 5 Wimbledon titles on the trot for nothing. I'm still plumping for Rafa to bring the Fed's reign to an end though.

Vamos Rafa!!

Vamos El Niño, viva España!!

Spain's victory over Germany yesterday to clinch their first major football trophy for 44 years was triumph for scintillating attacking football and El Niño scored the goal that mattered most. My money is on Rafa to do the business at Wimbledon and make it another glorious sporting week for Spain.

Viva España

It's shaping up to be quite a sporting year for Spain; they won the women's doubles at Roland Garros, Rafa has continued his tradition of winning the French Open and looks set to become the first man since BB to win Wimbledon after reigning supreme at Roland Garros. The Spanish football team finally overcame their mental frailty to beat the Azzuri and if they meet Russia in the final, Euro 2008 will have a fitting finale.

Vamos Rafa!
Viva España!

Clay court specialist he is not

It bothers me that Rafa is labelled a clay court specialist as if that is the only surface on which he wins. True, he does have a remarkable record on clay, but he has beaten the Fed on hard courts (Dubai and Miami) and he continues to improve his performance at the Grand Slams with each passing year. His semi-final appearance at the Australian Open this year was better than his quarter final appearance last year - ditto for his performances at the US Open. In last year's Wimbledon final, he took the Fed to five sets which was a set better than the 2006 Wimbledon final. Now, he has just won his first grass-court title dispensing with The Joker, in a manner which underlines his Wimbledon credentials.

His inexorable climb to the summit of the men's game continues and I expect him to end the Fed's attempts to win a 6th consecutive Wimbledon crown and become the first man since the incomparable Bjorn Borg to win Wimbledon after winning the French Open.

Vamos Rafa!!

All hail the King of Clay, long may he reign

In the face of the Fed's relative slump of this season, El Pirata's steady but sure progress to the summit of the game has been overshadowed by the emergence of the Joker. Even his semi-final loss at the Australian Open was progression on last season where he fell in the quarter-finals. Now the tennis authorities, seemingly bored with his continued domination on clay, decided to make it physically impossible for El Pirata to defend his Masters' titles by scheduling Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome on consecutive weeks. As the defending champion in all of them, it was only natural that he would try to play them all. The blister he sustained in Rome was a consequence of too much playing, but if anybody thinks that it showed a chink in his formidable clay court armor, they've probably inhaled too much clay.

Vamos Rafa! Vamos!

Despite him having taken 3+ hours to see off the Joker, I expect him to dispatch the Fed with relative ease in today's final.

It goes without saying that Rafa is set to become the first man to win four consecutive French Open titles and given his year-on-year progression, he'll go on to win Wimbledon this year.

What is it with the Lefties?

What do Brian Charles Lara, Diego Armando Maradona, Rafael Nadal, Martina Navratilova have in common? They are either left handed or left footed and have all bamboozled, befuddled, bemused and bewildered opposing players on a regular basis, whilst holding spectators in their thrall.

The Swiss Maestro had a staggering win/loss of 82/5 last year, but 4 of those 5 times he lost to El Pirata. El Pirata has not been beaten on clay since 2005 and is currently on a 65* match winning streak. When Diego dribbled, it appeared as if the ball was glued to his left foot and opposing players resorted to underhand measures to dispossess him. Martina Navratilova bowed out of competitive tennis after winning her 59th Grand Slam title, at last year's US Open, at the age of 49. Brian Lara is the finest batsman of his generation and currently holds the record for the highest Test innings, the most Test runs and the highest first-class runs.

The left side of the brain is responsible for creativity so don't lefties have an advantage to begin with?!

Strangely enough, I'm right-handed, but left-footed.

*he could extend this to 67 if he wins in Monte Carlo this week.