Wimbledon 2014: The new generation emerge

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Wimbledon 2014 (logo pictured below) will always be remembered as the time when the new generation of tennis superstars came of age. The heavyweights of the game had a tough time at the All-England club, overshadowed by the power, determination and no fear attitude of new kids on the block.

Wimbledon 2014 provided a mix of fresh talent and expected forces winning

It brought us controversial moments, sensations on Centre Court, a groan of disappointment as our champion had a bad day and the return of a Swiss ace that refuses to go away. However, if you looked at the record books, you’d think the SW19 edition this year had a retro feel as the men’s and women’s singles champions were the same as they were in 2011.

Czech Petra Kvitova returned to the scene of her greatest triumph to overpower Eugenie Bouchard in the women’s final, whilst Serbia’s Novak Djokovic put aside his pain of losing his last three Grand Slam finals to win the men’s showpiece in an epic five-set encounter with Roger Federer.

Andy’s agony

British tennis was in its best place last year when Andy Murray ended 77 years of heartache to beat Djokovic and become men’s champion. It hasn’t been an easy year for the Scot since and this Wimbledon was going to bring highs and lows.

Back surgery last September and a parting of the ways with his coach Ivan Lendl earlier this year have made life more difficult for Murray. An encouraging run to the French Open semi-finals on his least favourite surface (clay), had people talking his chances up of repeating his glory from 2013. The realism was though that with a new coach in Amelie Mauresmo, a former female champion in 2006; it was going to take Murray time to gel with his new partner.

The first four rounds were a breeze. Murray played some great tennis and made no hassle with his opponents, not dropping a set and barely losing his serve. That all change though in the quarter-finals against the tall Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.

Dimitrov, best known to us as being the other half of Maria Sharapova’s life, was in the form of his career. He had won the AEGON Championship at Queens before coming to south-west London and dealt brilliantly with the pressure of having a home crowd against him. Couple this with a bad day for the champion and Murray’s defence of the title was over.

The straight sets demolition was a shock and questions were raised about Murray’s mind, shot selection and condition of his fitness. His ranking has dropped to no.10, the lowest it has been in six years but the reality is that this was always going to be a testing year after such major surgery. At 27, Murray still has time to win more Grand Slams. The sparkle from winning Olympic gold, the US Open and Wimbledon in such quick succession has most definitely fizzled out. However, he will bounce back from this challenging period in his career.

Serena’s shambles

In the women’s game, the overwhelming favourite going into the tournament was Serena Williams. Despite disappointing early exits from the first two Grand Slams of the year, this is Serena’s favourite surface…well it was until the last fortnight.

First, she crashed out before the start of the second week in the singles, beaten by Alize Cornet on the middle Saturday of the championships. Four days later and in bizarre circumstances, she came onto court with Sister Venus for the doubles quarter-finals, looking disorientated and dizzy. A mystery virus meant she couldn’t even control her racquet. After a game with four double faults, she sensibly withdrew but it was a sorry and shambolic way for her SW19 challenge to end.

Her exit made Sharapova the bookies favourite, but she didn’t get much further. The French Open champion was beaten in one of the matches of the tournament, ousted by German no.9 seed Angelique Kerber in the round of 16. Kerber had earlier ended British interest in the ladies draw, having beaten Heather Watson on Centre Court in the second round.

The female game was rocked to the core by the tragic death of former British no.1 Elena Baltacha in May from liver cancer. On day two of the championships, a highly-charged Centre Court paid its tribute to ‘Bally’ with nine-year-old Elle Robus-Miller – a young player from the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis in Ipswich walking out hand-in-hand with the 2013 champion Marion Bartoli to emotional applause.

Bartoli herself struggled to fight back the tears. She retired from competitive tennis only six weeks after her Wimbledon glory last summer. The Frenchman was back this time working for the BBC, and took her seat in the Royal Box to see one of her best friends and the runner-up from 2013, Sabine Lisicki win her first round match. The German’s wave towards Bartoli after completing a straight sets victory showed her respect and gratitude in taking the honour of opening up Centre Court action on day two, normally reserved for the defending champion.

Lisicki would reach the quarter-finals this time, before being blown away on the same court by Simone Halep. The Romanian has soared up the WTA rankings and was one of the many newcomers who made their mark at Wimbledon 2014.

The new generation

Halep was seeded no.3 here and despite admitting that grass was her least favourite surface, she showed no mercy to Lisicki in the last eight and made the semis, being beaten by another newcomer in Bouchard.

The Canadian is definitely one of the most attractive females on the WTA tour and the British media definitely loved her. Only two years ago, she was winning the girls singles here. Now, she charged into her maiden Grand Slam final. The Czech, Lucie Safarova shouldn’t be forgotten either. She made her first Grand Slam semi-final, before being beaten by Fed Cup partner and compatriot Kvitova.

After winning Wimbledon in 2011, Kvitova didn’t seem to handle the pressure of it well and had almost faded into obscurity. Now 24, she seems ready to be able to cope with becoming a Grand Slam winner again. Apart from a bruising encounter with Venus Williams in round three, she charged into the final with consummate ease, barely breaking sweat with some accomplished performances.

The sensation in the men’s draw was Nick Kyrgios. Only given a wildcard entry into the tournament and ranked outside the top 100, the teenager caused a stir by knocking out no.13 seed Richard Gasquet in round two and then an even bigger sensation two rounds later. He faced Rafael Nadal, who was coming off the back of a stunning ninth title at Roland Garros.

Nadal looked uneasy once again on the grass. He dropped the first set in his three opening games but managed to recover. The Spaniard did it again against Kyrgios, only he couldn’t recover this time. Kyrgios showed great maturity for such a young age and his power was unstoppable. Rafa had no idea and checked out in four sets. If he stays fit and keeps focused, Kyrgios is a champion of the future.

He bowed out in the next round to another young Canadian in Milos Raonic. Raonic has so far unfulfilled his genuine promise but that all changed in the past fortnight. The eighth seed moved through into a first semi-final, although he was no match for Federer. It is fair to say the future of tennis is looking bright.

The double repeated   

On paper, Bouchard vs Kvitova looked like being a close women’s singles final. It sadly didn’t live upto the hype and promise. Kvitova was the slight favourite with many due to her previous experience of a Wimbledon final but she produced a simply stunning performance that Bouchard couldn’t live with.

Unlike Lisicki last year, Bouchard’s game didn’t crumble under pressure of the big occasion. She simply had no answer to Kvitova’s brilliant serve and her strong return shots that were making rallies very short and therefore, the match far too quick for many people’s liking. To Bouchard’s credit, she kept going but there was only going to be one winner. Kvitova (pictured below) won 6-4, 6-0 – becoming champion for a second time in under an hour. Petra has the ability to capitalise on this momentum and win many more titles. She just has to believe in herself more, something that didn’t seem visible three years ago.

Petra Kvitova produced a breathtaking performance to win the title for the second time in four years

If the crowd felt short-changed on Saturday, no-one will be asking for a refund after Sunday’s match. Djokovic and Federer met in a Grand Slam final that will go down as one of the best. It went the full distance, as the balance of power shifted back and forth. Federer won the first set on a tie-break, Djokovic the next two 6-4, 7-6 and he seemed to have it wrapped up with an early break of the Swiss’ serve in set four. He even had a championship point, but this was saved by Federer on the Hawk Eye technology. He then reeled off five games in a row to win the set 7-5 and leave his opponent stunned.

The fifth set was a tight and close affair. Both players had opportunities to break serve, but couldn’t take them. Finally at 4-5 in the decider, the Serb had two chances. This time, championship point wasn’t squandered. A return into the net and Djokovic was champion at SW19 again. Federer’s drought without a Grand Slam now has stretched to two years, but while he was denied an eighth title this time – he has the capability and the concentration to still win more in the future. For now though, it was Djokovic’s time and over the course of the fortnight, he was the best player and deserved to take this great prize again.

And just like that, it was all over. Two weeks of absorbing tennis had come to an end; the tournament where the new generation had shone but the established were still able to take the top prizes.

Categories: 2014, Andy Murray, Centre Court, Novak Djokovic, Petra Kvitova, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Singles, Tennis, Wimbledon

2012 - A year in review - Sport

By Simon Wright

The sporting year of 2012 was dominated by the Olympics and Paralympics in London, but that doesn’t mean it was a quiet year elsewhere.  Far from it, as there was plenty of intrigue and drama all the way.

Cycling saw history made and legends disgraced, tennis allowed records to be broken and new challengers to emerge, football produced one of the most sensational finishes to any season, while horse racing had another year of triumph and tragedy.

It was a mixed bag for cricket, minor miracles emerged in golf and Formula One produced another thrilling showdown.   So, here is the sporting review of 2012, excluding the Olympic highlights.

It’s Wiggo time

Cycling has rarely been out of the headlines in 2012.  Thankfully, most of the stories were of a positive nature.

Bradley Wiggins made history in the Tour de France

The country fell in love with Bradley Wiggins and his sideburns.  He might have won Olympic gold and BBC Sports Personality of the Year, but his main feat arrived just days before the London extraganvanza.

He won the Tour de France, cycling’s most difficult race to win.  He crossed the finish line with the yellow jersey in Paris, to become the first Brit to win the race since its inception in 1903.

British team-mate Chris Froome backed him up by finishing second, while Mark Cavendish did his bit for Team Sky too and won the final stage for the fourth year running.

Cavendish has quit Team Sky since, but the future looks bright for the team, as they have snapped up youngster Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, who was winner of the Tour of Britain in September.

On the track and a sign of Team GB’s Olympic dominance shone through at the World Championships in Melbourne.

Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Ben Swift and Laura Trott all won gold and broke world records in the process.

While Wiggo fever hit Britain, Lance Armstrong’s reputation is in complete tatters.

Armstrong’s record seven Tour de France titles were annulled from the history books, after doping allegations were upheld and made public.

He was one of sport’s most inspired figures a while ago.  Now he goes down as the biggest cheat in sporting history.

Murray comes of age

In tennis, the year saw some surprises and a big breakthrough for Britain.

In the women’s game, Victoria Azarenka finally fulfilled her potential with victory in the Australian Open.

The flamboyant Maria Sharapova was the Queen of Clay at Roland Garros.  The Russian completed her set of Grand Slam titles and became world number one for a brief period.

Ultimately though, it was Serena Williams who stole the limelight once again.  After overcoming some serious health issues in the last two years, the American won her fifth Wimbledon title, defeating a brave Agnieszka Radwanska challenge in the final.

She then went on to win the Olympics, the US Open and the WTA Championships at the end of the season.

It was a good year for the British female players too.  Laura Robson reached round four at the US Open, beating the retiring Kim Clijsters along the way, and Heather Watson became the first British female player to win a singles title in 27 years, as she won the Japan Open.

2012 though was the year that saw Andy Murray coming of age.  The year started inconsistently, with defeat to David Ferrer in the French Open quarter-finals, then an embarrassing first-round exit from the AEGON Championships at Queen’s Club.

However he bounced back at Wimbledon and in some fashion.  Murray became the first British male player to reach the final in 76 years.  He came up short in the final, going down in four sets to Roger Federer, but his emotional speech after the agonising loss at SW19 won him the hearts of the nation.

British drought in tennis ended with Andy Murray's US Open victory

Murray used his Wimbledon heartbreak as a motivation to not be the nearly man once again.  He thrashed Federer in the Olympics final, and in the early hours of a Tuesday morning in early September, he overcame Novak Djokovic in five brutal sets to win the US Open.

He ended the drought at Flushing Meadows, becoming Britain’s first Grand Slam winner since Fred Perry back in 1936.  The foundations have been set for a bright future.

Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title and broke the record for most weeks at number one, as the Swiss Master showed once again that he can still do it at this level.

Djokovic won the Australian Open and the ATP Tour Finals event at the 02 Arena.  The Serbian ends the year as number one, and although he was more vulnerable in 2012, he is still probably the best in the game at the moment.

Former Grand Slam winners Juan Carlos Ferrero and Andy Roddick both called it a day and Rafael Nadal might have to join them.  He did win his seventh French Open title, but an early exit at SW19 in round two against Lukas Rusol and persistent knee trouble mean he hasn’t played since the summer.

His career is firmly in the balance and if he doesn’t come back, it will be a real shame as tennis is currently in a golden period.  It is pleasing to say that Murray is now firmly in the battle to be the best in the world. 

The miracle of Medinah

Golf has often been accused to be a very boring and pedantic sport but that wasn’t the case in 2012.

In the major tournaments, Bubba Watson held off the challenge of South African Louis Oosthuizen to win in a play-off at the US Masters at Augusta, while Webb Simpson won his maiden title at the US Open in San Francisco.

At the Open Championship in July, it was Ernie Els who delivered the goods.  The veteran seized on an opportunity to take his second Open title, a decade on from his last major success.

It had been Adam Scott’s tournament to lose, but he did a ‘Van der Velde’ from 1999 and bogeyed the last four holes – handing Els the coveted Claret Jug.

The golfer of the year was definitely Rory McIlroy.  The Northern Irishman stormed to his second major championship in August, blitzing the field at Kiawah Island to win the US PGA Championship by eight strokes.

He ended the year with the most prize money and top of both the European and US rankings. 

So it was on to the Ryder Cup and what turned out to be the ‘Miracle of Medinah.’  The American team were in complete control on the first two days and opened up a handsome 10-4 lead at one point.

However the heroics of Ian Poulter, Justin Rose and McIlroy allowed Europe to stay in the contest.  On the final day, trailing 10-6 – they produced one of the greatest sporting comebacks in history to dominate the singles and retain the Ryder Cup 14½-13½.

Some inspired performances and a great team unit, organised by captain Jose Maria Olazabal had delivered.  This has gone down as one of Europe’s greatest ever team performances. 

Aguero wins it at the last

Sunday, 13 May 2012 and one city was divided – with the destiny of the 2011-12 Premier League title firmly in the balance.

Manchester United had been eight points clear at one point, but Manchester City closed them down – beat them in the Manchester derby in late April and held the advantage going into what looked like would be a routine final day.

Wayne Rooney’s early goal won the Red Devils their match at Sunderland.  As ever, City looked to have made a meal of it.

They led relegation threatened QPR 1-0, but second half goals from Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie allowed the visitors to take a 2-1 lead, despite having just 10 men on the field.

The Citizens fans looked shocked but Edin Dzeko rekindled hope in stoppage time, heading in an equaliser. 

As the final whistle blew on Wearside, United were champions again but they were still playing at the Etihad. 

Mario Balotelli found Sergio Aguero, who drilled his shot inside Paddy Kenny’s near post to seal City the title in the most unbelievable fashion.  It was their first title in 44 years, won on goal difference and confirmed their place as one of the superpowers of the English game.

Chelsea produced their usual habit of sacking managers.  They started 2012 with Andre Villas-Boas in charge, and ended it with Rafa Benitez at the helm.

In between though, interim manager Roberto Di Matteo produced his own minor miracle.  They beat Liverpool 2-1 to win the FA Cup final, then a fortnight later – went to Munich to take on Bayern in the Champions League final.

Drogba inspired Chelsea to an unlikely Champions League triumph

Trailing 1-0 with three minutes to go, Didier Drogba thumped a header home in his last game for the club.  Petr Cech saved a penalty from Arjen Robben in extra-time, then from Ivica Olic in the penalty shootout itself.

Bastian Schweinsteiger hit the post, before Drogba’s final kick for the west Londoners took them to the promise land.  Roman Abramovich’s dream had finally been realised – they were Champions of Europe at last. 

Di Matteo was appointed full-time boss in the summer, but was dismissed harshly in November and the Blues are already out of this season’s Champions League edition.

Liverpool won the League Cup in February on penalties but Kenny Dalglish still lost his job and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers.  The Reds fans though were delighted in September, when the findings of an independent panel revealed the full truth about the Hillsborough disaster of 1989.

The first verdicts in the inquests of 1991 were quashed recently in the High Court and the families of the 96 who never came home can start to think about finally getting justice.

The John Terry racism storm continued in 2012.  The FA removed the England captaincy from Terry in February, prompting Fabio Capello to quit as Three Lions boss.

Terry went on to play at the European Championships in the summer, and was cleared in a court of law – but charged by the FA for racist abuse.  He retired from international football in September and was banned for four games, his reputation  as an individual completely destroyed.

Despite Harry Redknapp being the fans choice, the FA went for Roy Hodgson as the next man to lead England.  He took them to Euro 2012, this time with low expectations.

England won their group in Poland/Ukraine, but suffered the familiar exit – this time at the hands of Italy in a quarter-final penalty shootout.

Spain were once again the class of the international scene.  They thrashed the Italians 4-0 in the Kiev showpiece to retain the trophy.  The frustrating Fernando Torres ended as Golden Boot winner.

Pep Guardiola quit Barcelona in April and they lost their La Liga crown to Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.  Current boss Tito Vilanova is unbeaten so far domestically, but in hospital undergoing treatment after a cancer relapse.

However, it was another stunning year for Lionel Messi.  He has scored 91 goals across the calendar year – breaking Gerd Mueller’s 40-year record in the process.

Celtic won the SPL title and famously beat Barcelona in the Champions League group stages in November.  Glasgow rivals Rangers went bust though financially, and have had to start again in the fourth tier of Scottish football.  Hearts won the Scottish Cup, but also could face financial ruin.

Lastly, the world of football came together in March to support Fabrice Muamba.  The Bolton Wanderers midfielder collapsed in the 41st minute of an FA Cup quarter-final at Tottenham.

His heart stopped beating for over an hour, and he was giving emergency CPR on the pitch at White Hart Lane, infront of 35,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers. 

Incredibly, Muamba survived and although he had to retire from football in August on medical grounds, his story is probably the miracle of the year, and showed that football can unite as one game, despite the constant fighting battle against racism.

An Indian winter

It hasn’t been the greatest year for English cricket but it did end on a high.

Andrew Strauss started the year as captain but their number one test ranking was put under threat after losing 3-0 to Pakistan away, before grinding out a drawn series in Sri Lanka.

The West Indies were comfortably dispatched 2-0 in May, but South Africa outclassed the home side in the summer.  They clinched a 2-0 series win at Lord’s to become the number one test side.

The build-up to the final test was dominated by Kevin Pietersen’s ridiculous involvement in a series of ill-exchange texts and tweets with South African cricketers – criticising Strauss and Andy Flower.

Pietersen was suspended from the test side and although he has since returned, he is another individual who will probably want to forget 2012 ever existed. 

Strauss retired from all forms of test cricket and was replaced by Alastair Cook, who has guided England to a fantastic 2-1 series victory in India, the first away test series victory for an English side in India since 1985-86.

England did also lose their World Twenty20 crown, beaten in the Super Eight stage.  Hosts Sri Lanka reached the final but were defeated by the West Indies.

The game also said goodbye to Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting, who retired after the Aussies lost a test series at home to South Africa in November.

On a domestic scale, Hampshire won the CB40 and Twenty20 finals, whilst Warwickshire became County Championship winners.

Vettel does it again

The 2012 Formula One world championship was the most thrilling of all-time.  There were seven different winners in the first seven races but after all that unpredictability; there was a familiar final outcome.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel became the youngest ever triple world champion, clinching the title at the final race in Brazil in late November.

Vettel was spun around on the first lap, but recovered brilliantly to finish sixth and pip Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso to the crown by just three points.

Alonso was magnanimous in defeat.  He drove like a champion all year, winning three times and getting the absolute maximum out of a Ferrari that had no right to be in the championship reckoning.

It was a testing season for the British drivers.  Lewis Hamilton did win four races and Jenson Button triumphed three times, but reliability issues and accidents blighted McLaren’s title challenge. 

Hamilton’s relationship with McLaren was damaged beyond repair in September, when he shocked the paddock by tweeting confidential telemetry data to his millions of Twitter followers in the run-up to the Belgian Grand Prix.

A few weeks later, he announced he was joining Mercedes for 2013, with Michael Schumacher heading into retirement for a second time after an unsuccessful comeback. 

Pastor Maldonado won Williams first race in eight years in Barcelona but celebrations turned to horror when a fire in the garage erupted.  Luckily, no-one was seriously injured.  It was the same at Spa, when Romain Grosjean’s dangerous driving off the start saw him nearly decapitate Alonso’s head and become the first driver to be banned in 18 years.

Dario Franchitti won another Indy 500 in America but it was young Australian Ryan Hunter-Reay who took the IndyCar title.  Scotland’s Gordon Shedden claimed the honours in the British Touring Car Championship and it was Newmarket’s Rob Huff who became World Touring Car Champion. 

On two wheels, Max Biaggi triumphed in World Superbikes before going into retirement at the age of 41.  Casey Stoner also quit at the end of the MotoGP season, but the Honda man broke his ankle in Indianapolis and wasn’t a factor in the title reckoning.  

There were two podiums for Britain’s Cal Crutchlow and a battle for the title between two Spaniards.  Despite some stunning consistency, Dani Pedrosa lost out on the prize to Jorge Lorenzo, who became champion for the second time in three years.

Triumph and tragedy in horse racing

2012 in horse racing produced its usual share of controversy and drama, with a mixture of triumph and tragedy.

The greatest flat horse of all-time retired undefeated.  Frankel won all 14 races he took part in, while in the jumping game, Kauto Star was also retired after winning a record fifth King George VI.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup was won by Synchronised and AP McCoy, but tragedy would strike Jonjo O’Neill’s horse less than a month later.

After delaying the start of the John Smith’s Grand National, Synchronised was put down after breaking a leg following a fall in the world’s greatest steeplechase.

Neptune Collonges (left pictured) won a very close Grand National

The race itself had to be decided on a photo-finish, eventually given to the 33-1 shot Neptune Collonges, trained by Paul Nicholls.  It was the closest ever national finish at Aintree, but the deaths of Synchronised and another horse has put the future of the race in long-term jeopardy.

Frankie Dettori also took a massive fall from grace in 2012.  He failed a drugs test in France and was given a six-month ban. 

The rest of sport in 2012

Despite playing the best rugby league in England and winning top of the league standings, Wigan Warriors ended the year with nothing.

It was Leeds Rhinos who once again led the way, winning their sixth Super League crown.  They defeated Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford 26-18 in the final, getting some revenge for Warrington’s own Challenge Cup final victory in August.

Bradford Bulls were saved by a local consortium after being placed into administration, with Salford City Reds the latest club to face a winding-up order.  The short-term future of the rugby league game in this country isn’t looking rosy.

It isn’t either in rugby union, but that is more down to the form side of things.  In the spring, Wales maintained their momentum from the Rugby World Cup, to take their third Grand Slam in eight years in the Six Nations.

However come autumn, they suffered seven successive losses and dropped out of the IRB top eight rankings.  English rugby has had a quieter year after the disaster of 2011, but Stuart Lancaster’s side did record a tremendous autumn international success over world champions New Zealand.

Leinster made it three Heineken Cup titles in four years and it was Harlequins who were the kings in the AVIVA Premiership, as they beat Leicester Tigers 30-23 in the May final at Twickenham.

The University Boat Race in March was ruined by a protestor swimming down the Thames.  He was arrested, but a further clash between the two crews meant that Cambridge’s victory will forever be tainted.

Ronnie O’Sullivan won the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible, beating Ali Carter in the final, before taking a sabbatical from the game.  Stephen Hendry retired for good.

And the sporting world paid sad goodbyes to the likes of Sid Waddell, Mitchell Cole, Lee Richardson, Gary Ablett, Angelo Dundee, David Tait, Danny Fullbrook, Brian Woolnough, Jack Taylor, John Bond, Tom Maynard, Professor Sid Watkins and Dave Sexton.

The 2012 sporting year has been truly remarkable.  2013 promises much again but will do well to beat this year’s excitement. 

Categories: 2012, Andy Murray, Bradley Wiggins, Cycling, Didier Drogba, Football, Golf, London, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris, Roger Federer, Sergio Aguero, Synchronised, Tour de France