Henman And Murray

[poliphilo]

I never believed Tim Henman would win Wimbledon, but I think Andy Murray might. I was watching him play Santoro the other day and he's good. Very good.  He has the strength, he has the skills, he  has the hunger.

I doubt if he'll ever have the following Henman did. Henman was English, Murray is Scots- and there's not a lot of love lost between the English and the Scots these days. Britain is dissolving and Scotland- to the average Wimbledon-attending English person- is almost as foreign as France. Gordon Brown, our spectacularly unpopular Prime Minister, may want to hold the two nations together as they drift apart- but he's just about the only one who does. 

Andrew Marr put it nicely on TV the other day. He said the nations were joined together as two slices of pizza are- "by strings of melting cheese".

Actually I like Murray more than I liked Henman. Henman used to annoy me.  He was a caricature Englishman, sleek, modest, bland; he might almost have stepped out of a drawing room comedy of the 1930s. And I hated the wishful thinking that insisted year after year that he was a contender when he never was. He was a fine player, dainty, good to watch, but there were always better ones in the draw. He didn't have a prayer against Roger Federer. I also felt a little sorry for him- having to carry the weight of nationalist expectations he could never fulfil.

With Murray you get what you see. He's very Scottish- raw-boned, driven, intense; no small-talk, no side. He's about the game and that's all.  He's not pretty. But he's beaten Federer abroad and he could do it here. On the right day he could beat anyone.

Comments

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

I dunno, Tony. Rafa Nadal is the man to beat these days, I think. He wiped the clay court with Roger Federer at Roland Garros. He's strong, he's hungry and he's skilled. And BOY is he in good shape.

It's this time of year I miss having ESPN. I would watch Wimbledon - got to see a slice of it in the gym this morning.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Federer is still the man to beat on grass. He has five consecutive Wimbledon titles- and if he wins again this year it'll be a record. Sure, Nadal is the top contender- and he may well win this time- but if I were a betting man (which I'm not) I'd put a fiver on Roger- if only for reasons of sentiment.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

It hurts a little bit that Andy Roddick and James Blake are out in round two, but you'll have to excuse me for doing the happy dance at the thrashing of Maria Sharapova and her untimely exit. People accuse me of not liking her because she is young and blonde (and thin) and I'm not young...etc.

I'm sure that has something to do with it. It set me off the first year she won Wimbledon and when 'they' talked to her afterwards she said "oh, and I'm SO YOUNG to be a champion here."

But the unnecessary grunting and groaning and general noises that she makes when she's serving - that's what bugs me. I understand that when someone hits something (a tennis ball) that hard, an expulsion of breath probably takes place. Funny, though, that the moaning and groaning wasn't there until Monica Seles played.

Sorry, Tony, I seem to have taken over your LJ!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm not keen on Sharapova either. I think she's a fair to middling player who has received an undue ammount of attention because of her supposed good looks. Personally, I find her insipid. And- I agree with you- that orgasmic shrieking is really annoying.

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

she makes me think of Anna Kournikova. Except, Anna might be better looking, and Ms. Maria might be a better tennis player. Maybe.

Are you still a Venus Williams fan?

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes I am. I'd like to see her win again.