The brash Australian is a divisive but definitely modern figure, and the embodiment of sport in the social media ageIn the mid-90s, when the internet was all prairie-land as far as you could see, there was a genuine feeling this new frontier was a force for enlightenment. Here was a space where the shared human essence could coalesce and commune, a pure shore on which the future would be crafted by gentle, unhurried humans with bulbous green Apple Macintoshes, concerned only with upcycling blogs and really cool typefaces and artisan bagel houses in Prague.The reality has of course been a little different. It turns out our shared human essence isn’t a mild dove-like thing, but is instead an ambient swamp...
The US Open champion played her first matches on Centre Court at a time when new heroes are needed at SW19Farewell to all that then. In the end Emma Raducanu’s first superstar Wimbledon, her first as a champion – or increasingly, in front of a fond, rapt Centre Court as Em! – could only stretch to three days and two matches.On a chilly June afternoon the British No 1 was beaten in straight sets by Caroline Garcia of France. And there will be sadness at such a meek exit. For Raducanu because she was simply blown away by a more powerful opponent, a moment of cold, hard sporting reality for a teenager who is still just a year into her...
World No 1’s skill and power are awe-inspiring, but her mental-health focus is perhaps the most important part of her gamePredicting the future is a business best left for gamblers and fools. But here is one regardless. Shortly after 1pm on Tuesday, Iga Swiatek will hit a bullwhip forehand with such violence and beauty it will make the Centre Court crowd gasp and purr. And before too long the wider British sporting public will also grasp what the tennis world knows already: the 21-year-old Pole is a generational talent heading for multiple grand slams.Swiatek’s movement is sublime, her power obvious. The US Davis Cup captain, Patrick McEnroe, has even compared the venom on her groundstrokes favourably with those of Serena...
Some love it, some love to hate it, but today the grass-court swing is as strong as it has ever been since 1990Filip Krajinovic has been a professional tennis player nearly half his life. He knows himself on the tennis court as well as he knows anything else and after 14 years on the tour he was so sure grass-court tennis was not for him that he barely even tried: “Every year I find a way to skip the tournaments, just coming to Wimbledon, losing first round,” he said last week. “It’s been the last 10 years like that.”And yet, it turns out, he was completely wrong. This year, at 30, he arrived at Queen’s for his long-awaited first main-draw...
The Australian doubles act offer one of the wildest rides in tennis but it remains to be seen how they will be received on the genteel lawns of SW19The rowdier the crowd, the better. Such a plea would usually be as welcome at Wimbledon as Russian and Belarusian players in 2022. But it is the ethos that drives the Special Ks show, coming to the All England Club over the next fortnight and featuring bullet-like serving, blistering forehands and bombastical quotes.The Australian double act of Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis have played to full houses in Melbourne, Indian Wells and Miami this year, drawing crowds with their thrill-a-minute routine. A doubles match featuring the duo provides one of the wildest...