Not since Fred Perry in 1936 has there been a male British Wimbledon Champion but that could finally be about to change. Andy Murray, currently the world’s number three, just completed a remarkable tournament at Queens in preparation for Wimbledon in which he didn’t drop a set and the British media have been quick to hype up his chances.

Murray is a player more suited to the hard courts but his grass game seems to have come on a lot over the past year. He pulled out an outstanding array of shots in the Queen’s final against James Blake and made victory look relatively easy. I have great admiration for Blake as a player and the way Murray dealt with him was impressive to say the least, the American seemed to have no response to Murray’s high-tempo game.

Where the Scot has come unstuck in previous Wimbledon Championships has perhaps been his failure to kill a game off, often making sloppy mistakes meaning he has to play a full five sets before he beats his opponent. This has a big effect on his fitness for the following matches and you can often see Murray feeling the effects of fatigue later on in competitions. His displays at Queens demonstrate Murray seems to have overcome this particular problem and he should see off the lesser known players with greater ease meaning he is fresher when he faces the greats such as Roger Federer. Obviously, Rafael Nadal’s absence will make things easier for him (ever so slightly).

A problem that seems to haunt British players at Wimbledon is the expectations of the British media who always put the pressure on the best British representitive to lift the trophy. For some players this helps them, Tim Henman, for example, arguably overachieved by reaching the semi-final stage of the competition four times. Henman never won a Grand Slam and in all fairness never really looked as if he was going to, yet the British media continued to talk up his chances. Similarly Greg Rusedski’s chances were always talked up but in reality it would have been highly unlikely for the big-serve specialist to have gotten much further than the quarter finals in a Grand Slam.

Without a doubt Murray is the best British tennis player in a long time and if anyone is going to end the 73-year wait winner it surely has to be him. However, the player himself remained cautious on his chances of upsetting the tennis odds and lifting the trophy at the end of the tournament.

Speaking after his Queen’s victory Murray said: “I’m a long way from winning Wimbledon.

“I feel confident but I try not to get too far ahead of myself before I’ve played my first match there.”

Tennis, Wimbledon | No Comments »

This has been considerably tougher than the Men’s list, since I feel there are clearly two planes, one with the each incomparable top four, and the remaining six who seem to have very little to separate each other . I certainly think, this ranking is going to elicit more contradicting opinions, so, bring it on folks!

10.Martina Hingis – When Graf was fading out, the tennis world had gotten used to a single woman dominating the court and it was no surprise that this teenager, who claimed to be named after Navratilova herself, usurped the throne nonchalantly setting in the wake, a series of “youngest ever…” records. But, the early start led to an early demise, when injured and scandalized with drug abuse, Hingis was forced to quit the game prematurely. More than her entry, it was on her exit thus that a void was created at the top, leading to a series of pretenders, none of whom have adequately impressed. The dainty Swiss Miss today is a forgotten star; her countrymen have since then found, Roger Federer.

9. Justine Henin – What can you say about a great player who decided at her very best, that enough was enough? The fragile Belge belied her competence against Serena and Venus with a peanut sized frame. With a perfect backhand, nimble toes reaching out to complete volleys and a harsh, ruthless forehand, Henin was just about to capture the throne, when in the midst of it all, she called it quits. Henin battled personal troubles, injuries, accidents and illness to make it to the top. When she reached there, I suppose she no longer wanted it.

8. Serena Williams – During the interregnum after Graf, Serena Williams has come across as the most impressive women’s player by far. Not only has she won herself all the four majors, she has radically altered the game with her brutal, assaulting style that would easily be competitive even in the men’s game. If ever there was a move to make the women’s game a grueling five set one, it would suit Serena best. However, a complete lack of consistency and apparent fitness problems keep Serena from being at her best in most contests and also keep her eighth in these rankings.

7. Monica Seles – While Graf ascended the throne of women’s tennis with her supreme technique and crisp style, a pint sized double handed pretender from troubled Yugoslavia was grunting her way up with sheer aggressiveness and unmatched agility. Just when Graf’s throne was up for grabs, tragedy struck and Seles became the victim of the most infamous regicide in tennis, effectively “assassinating” her career. An overweight emotionally drained Seles made a return after her backstabbing incident only to feel ill at east on the court and never ever to play at her best. Needless to say, the world never got to see the best of Seles and thus she never achieved what she could have. Despite a short career, her achievements merit a place on this top-ten list.

6. Evonne Goolagong Cawley – It was not easy to notch up 14 grand slams in an era when Margaret Court was ceding way to Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert. It was even tougher when key opponents like Billie Jean King and Navratilova were starting to use power and aggression over speed and skill. Evonne Goolagong Cawley was the last of the Aussie greats, winning 14 grand slams across three majors, narrowly missing out, four times in New York.

 5. Billie Jean King – Billie Jean is best remembered for her infamous victory over Bobby Riggs. While Riggs had earlier beaten the top ranked Margaret Court, thus adding to his chauvinism, Billie Jean King’s power and aggression foreshadowed much of what the William’s sisters would do to tennis in the future. Billie Jean amassed twelve grand slams across all majors with forceful ground strokes and  aggressive lobs which allowed her to dominate both in doubles and singles. Billie Jean, rather curiously never won the Australian Open in the Open Era, winning it instead in 1968 when it was still called the Australian Championship.

4. Chris Evert – Chris Evert has the best win-loss record in the history of the game and has a career grand slam to her name. Chris Evert also appeared in the most number of finals ever and never lost in the first round of a tournament. She is best remembered for an intense rivalry with Martina Navratilova, while ruling the clay court, often caving in at the grass of Wimbledon to the left hander.

3. Steffi Graf – Graf reached her peak form rather early, winning her famous Golden Slam way back in 1988, coupling all four majors with the Seoul Olympic Gold. Graf’s effortless game was rarely challenged and she was perhaps the most complete player in recent times, equally at ease across all surfaces. Graf also holds the all time record for maximum time spent as the top ranked player, a record 377 weeks. However, Graf put the game at loss when she decided to call it quits in 1999 when she felt her rankings were slipping although many felt she still had years left in her.

2. Margaret Court-Smith – Margaret Court dominated the game effortlessly for more than a decade, winning all possible majors both in doubles and in singles both before and after the Open Era began. Court also is one of the few mothers to have won a grand slam, US Open 1973. The all time record that still stands in her name is that of 24 grand slam singles titles. Her all pervasive achievements in singles and double, have not ever been equalled either, except by one person.

1. Martina Navratilova –The all start resumes of Margaret Court and Martina Navratilova seem eerily similar, a cut above the rest. Martina Navratilova is the only other player, apart from Court to have dominated both the singles and the doubles games equally, earning her the “boxed” set of Grand Slams, winning all four majors in singles and doubles. She was perhaps the best known serve and volley player in the women’s game.  There are two reasons why I put Navratilova above Court, one is that Navratilova had the fortune of winning on hard court, the other is sheer longevity, playing her last match at nearly fifty, and who can forget that emotional Wimbledon final in 1994 at 37?

Australian Open, French Open, Tennis, US Open, Wimbledon | 5 Comments »