NEWS: Australian Open air quality a massive unforced error

Concerning reports coming from Down Under today as highlighted by the BBC article on the first rounds of qualifying being majorly affected by the bushfire smoke engulfing Melbourne. Dalila Jakupovic, who retired a set up from her Q1 match due to the conditions described how it was difficult to breathe and naturally very alarming. Other […]

Guess who’s back (back yet again)

Another January post spouting the usual words of a renewed focus with this blog. Well, hopefully I can merely nail some sort of achievable schedule. Somewhere in between the daily posts of the first half of 2018 to the all-too-brief and lacking in heart content of late last year. What does this new year, indeed […]

Tribute: Anastasia Myskina

With those large steely eyes and an equally great resolve underneath a slight frame, Anastasia Myskina lit up the WTA tour all too briefly from 2000 to 2007. In that time the Moscow-born baseliner became the first Russian player to reach number two in the world and with her sole major title at Roland Garros […]

US Open 2019: Finals review sees new ground broken and a grind towards history

A clunky post title, but then I haven’t had much sleep after last night’s drama almost saw a double changing of the guard in New York. Bianca Andreescu def Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5 First Saturday evening and for Serena, not a chance for redemption per se (her actions here 12 months ago remain unforgivable) but […]

US Open 2019: More favourites and former champs fall on Day 2, plus my Day 3 picks

A whole raft of big names exited yesterday in an entertaining day’s play. Thanks to Amazon’s multi court coverage I was spoilt for choice at times but did enjoy Naomi Osaka fighting back from the brink against Blinkova. So the defending champ is safely through, but joining Sharapova and Angie Kerber amongst the former champs […]

US Open 2019: Serena dismisses Maria and other Day 1 stories plus my picks for Day 2

There were scares for Ash Barty and Roger Federer and other household names including Wawrinka and Pliskova certainly had to work hard for their victories. Of the seeds, we have already lost 2016 champ Kerber (Mladenovic) and Fognini. Of the homegrown, we say goodbye to Sam Querrey, Coco Vandeweghe and Taylor Fritz (Lopez). Some matchups […]

US Open 2019: Predictions and best match-ups of Day 1

Have been thinking recently about actually trying a digital detox and giving up some social media presence. To say this blog is in its death throes may seem a little dramatic, but I find my motivation dwindling outside of the majors. Here we are then, my first post since Wimbledon as we suddenly find ourselves […]

Wimbledon 2019: Finals review as two very different classics marred by disrespect

Illness has delayed this post, apologies. Apologies too for that rather negative headline, but all will become clear amidst the waffle. 2019 has undoubtedly been a classic Wimbledon, encompassed in the vastly different finals and encapsulated further by that truly epic men’s doubles contest in between. Yet, there was a continued theme of great champions […]

Wimbledon 2019: Seeds continue to fall on Day 2

It was another day of drama at SW19 with some legends struggling and a whole host of seeds falling by the wayside. Roger Federer and Serena Williams both struggled at times against their unheralded opponents, the Swiss even dropping a first round set here for the first time since 2010 (I was there and remember […]

Wimbledon 2019: Day 1 is choc full of shocks plus a look at Day 2

The lateness of this post can be blamed on a reimagined racing bandicoot (cryptic perhaps). But suffice to say that such were the goings on throughout Day 1 here that you would have stumbled across the headlines by now, rendering this post to a mere pause for breath and a chance to recap. I can’t […]