After Ash Barty fulfilled her Wimbledon destiny in 2021 and Nick Kyrgios made the 2022 final, the absence of Australians in the second week this year is starkThe night before Australia’s charge at Wimbledon withered on Saturday, a key figure from the nation’s golden generation declared he too would be bowing out due to the difficulty of travel. Neale Fraser, the 1960 Wimbledon champion who later became a successful Davis Cup captain, told a gathering at the annual “Aussie barbecue” that his 60th visit to the All England Club would also be his last.“It is like a second home. It is 70 years since I played my first match at Wimbledon,” said Fraser, who turns 90 in October. “I remember...
Former Wimbledon champion’s performance in defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas shows that his strength and desire remainIs he done? The headlines say, maybe; history and sentiment say, don’t bet on it. From this keyboard, however, It is inconceivable that Andy Murray will walk away from tennis while there is strength in his 36-year-old legs, power in his whirring racket and the odd tear in his reddened eyes.If there is a single compelling argument for the best player these islands have produced since Fred Perry to continue into the gloaming of his illustrious career it surely lies in Murray’s almost perverse compulsion to defy all odds, predictions and whispers in tournament watering holes. He has been doing it at least since 2019,...
He’s fine-tuned equipment for McEnroe, Lendl and Navratilova, while being credited for helping Djokovic’s career resurgence. Meet Roman Prokes: racquet stringer for the starsOn Super Bowl Sunday afternoon in 2022, while the vast majority of Gotham’s residents were huddled in their homes awaiting the start of the big game, I was making the short drive from Manhattan to a tennis club across the East River in Queens. The reason: Roman Prokes, racquet stringer and all-around equipment guru to the pros, was giving my son a custom “racquet consultation”. In other words, my son was getting the same advice and attention to his equipment that Prokes has given countless professionals.Prokes carefully examined my son’s racquet – getting an exact weight of...
The Australian tennis player revels in defying convention and now returns to the scene of his 2022 final loss – where tradition is everythingAs Nick Kyrgios trained on the Aorangi practice courts at Wimbledon on Thursday, a club photographer snapped a moody portrait that seemed to capture the Australian’s essence. Wearing his white peaked hat backwards and sporting a dangling necklace, two earrings in his left lobe and a full beard, Kyrgios’s eyes were narrowed and his brow furrowed. For that split second, with his glance cast towards the camera with suspicion, last year’s finalist appeared as watchful as a toddler about to have their favourite toy taken away.Never one completely in love with tennis, the Canberran has additional reason...
The former boys’ finalist has always enjoyed playing on grass and, with Nick Kyrgios if fit, is expected to lead the Australian contingent this yearAs Alex de Minaur challenged Carlos Alcaraz with his dash and dare at Queen’s last Sunday, he presented as Australia’s leading contender for the 2023 Wimbledon crown. Nick Kyrgios is the headline grabber but the injury doubt surrounding him, combined with the strong form of De Minaur, suggests the latter is the Australian who will be the one to watch at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.Although the 24-year-old fell to Alcaraz in straight sets in the Queen’s final, the skill set he deployed to test the new world No 1 should hold De Minaur in...