From Chris Froome’s breakaway in the Giro d’Italia to an epic Wimbledon showdown, my year featured a number of breathtaking highlightsWhen the New York columnist Jimmy Cannon was starting out in journalism, the playwright Damon Runyon gave him some impeccable advice: “The best way to be a bum and make a living is to write about sport.” The game has changed in the intervening 80 years, but Runyon’s words still hold true. So as 2018 comes to an end, here is this bum’s favourite memories of the sporting events he witnessed at first hand … Continue reading...
The two players have at least addressed the situation but going ahead with December’s game in Jeddah given the global outrage over Jamal Khashoggi’s death is a mistakeOf the many withering put‑downs John McEnroe uttered in his playing career, a favourite remains his response to why he refused to play Björn Borg in apartheid South Africa: “I’ve got better ways to earn a million dollars.”In nine words McEnroe told the world he did not need to compromise his values or expose himself to ridicule – even for a million dollars. He was worth more than that. He was good enough to make up the slack somewhere else. He and Borg were at the height of their celebrity, having just played...
The two players appear to have remained deaf to growing clamour over seeming endorsement of Saudi Arabia amid outrage over disappearance of Jamal KhashoggiRafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, men of conscience and integrity, continue to risk their good name by accepting an invitation to play in a meaningless exhibition in Saudi Arabia, a regime under critical scrutiny for the disappearance of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The kidnap-and-murder story has led news bulletins around the world – alongside Saudi Arabia’s involvement in the conflict that has contributed to the famine engulfing Yemen – yet efforts this week by the Guardian to elicit a response from either player over playing in Jeddah on 22 December have proved fruitless. Related: Manchester United takeover tale...
The Scot has been out for a year but Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic remain the players to beatThe tennis jungle Andy Murray is preparing to re-enter – possibly next week at Queen’s Club – will not be noticeably different to the one from which he hobbled away a year ago.Roger Federer will be easing back into shape at Halle, having again chosen to skip the clay to save his 36-year-old legs for the grass of the All England Club he finds so suited to his game. Novak Djokovic – despite an uncharacteristically short-tempered exit from Roland Garros, mumbling about uncertainty over his future – will be desperate to get his career back on track where he has...
The Spaniard’s 11th Roland Garros title was emotional as the demolition workers prepared to smash up Court Philippe Chatrier but thoughts turned immediately to WimbledonThe tears were new but otherwise things were as they always seem to be in Paris. Rafael Nadal duly collected his 11th French Open title here on Sunday with a brutal, brilliant, resilient and ruthless performance, just as he had done 10 times before. But as Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal, said shortly afterwards, “this is not normal”.Less than an hour after the match was completed, demolition workers began to smash up Court Philippe Chatrier, part of the continuing redevelopment that will lead to a roof being in place over the stadium court in two years’ time....