Reign of Djoko?

Djoko is rampant. He is dead set on toppling GoNads off the number 1 spot and looks well on his way to doing just that. He clocked up his 33rd straight win of the season by beating Lukasz Kubot at the Rome Masters 6-3 6-0. He took just over an hour to see off the Polish qualifier and goes into the third round with that number 1 spot if not likely, then at least achievable – if he wins and GoNads doesn’t make it past the quarter-finals, he’s world number 1.

GoNads not making it past the quarters? Impossible! Jog on, Djoko, there’s no way that’s… What now? He nearly went out to a qualifier ranked 148 in the world? This doesn't sound like the Nadal we all know but for the third consecutive match GoNads lost the first set and had to play some rather unattractive, desperate tennis to fight his way back into the game. He eventually beat Paolo Lorenzi 6-7 6-4 6-0 but the scoreline doesn't reflect the story. Only in the third set did Nadal find anything close to his clay-court best, a fact that Djoko will relish. For most of the match Nadal played short, slow balls which his delighted opponent dealt with admirably as GoNads missed smashes, hit shot long and wide and generally looked a little tired and hugely beatable.

Could tennis see the first world No1 player that is neither The Fed or GoNads since 2003? I think by the time Wimbledon rolls out its beautiful green grasses that will be the case.

There have been two sad deaths in sport this week:

The great Seve Ballesteros died, aged 54, after a long battle with cancer. Seve won three Opens and two Masters amongst his 87 career titles. He also played a huge part in many Ryder Cups, winning 22 1/2 points from 37 matches as well as captaining the European team in its 1997 victory.

Belgian cyclist Wouter Weylandt died after crashing during Monday's third stage of the Giro D'Italia. The 26 year-old is thought to have died instantaneously although paramedics worked on him for more than half an hour. His death has, inevitably, led to a look into safety in Cycling.

I'll keep you blogged...

Grammar

Have just re-read my post earlier today and feel sick at all the grammatical errors. That's what you get for sneaking in a post at work. Egads!

I'll keep you blogged...

Making a come back...

A few weeks ago, after the Spurs/Arsenal game (3-3 draw, excrutiating to watch if you're an Arsenal fan), I was asked whether I was a football fan, or an Arsenal fan. Initially poo-pooing the question as moot I spat out a speedy reply insisting they were one and the same - how could I like Arsenal if I don't like football? On reflection, however, I've come to understand the deeper meaning of that question; the subtleties.

So I've been asking myself these past few weeks; am I a football fan or a team fan? I want to say I'm a football fan. I want to revel in the purity of the game itself. I want to be able to sit back and appreciate a great game between Stoke City and Birmingham, or Reading and QPR, or Lancaster FC and Witton Albion and think 'Yes, what a brilliant game - definitely not a total waste of two hours that I'm never going to get back.' But, you see, the problem is... I don't feel that way. I find the majority of football games exceedingly dull. I couldn't watch one of those matches and not get itchy feet, even if it was a brilliant, enthralling, end-to-end stuff. Does this make me a team fan only? I'm not sure. Because I have seen entire matches that don't involve Arsenal (or England) that have captured my full attention. They just happen very rarely.

Also, I'm not convinced about how much of an Arsenal fan I am. I know people who are willing to die for their team. People who travel all over the country to watch them lose 5-0 in the pouring rain and freezing cold. People who can't sleep for fear of their teams being relagated, or joy at them being promoted. People who would never wash again should their favourite footballer happen to spit in their direction.

I've never seen Arsenal live. I probably never will. The idea of going to an Arsenal game scares me. I will watch cricket and tennis all day long - I wish I could watch cricket and tennis all day long - I dream of watching cricket and tennis all day long... I've never, not once, dreamed about Arsenal.

I feel wretched and throw things if they lose, especially when they throw away major opportunities (Carling Cup final... Countless times this season where Man U have given them an opening and they've lost feebly to a Wigan or a West Ham...), and I would be incredibly happy if they ever decided to win anything again, but my life would not change, my world would not rock, and I would most definitely not lose any sleep over it. I doubt I would even have sweaty palms.

Must I conclude, then, that not only am I not a football fan, I am also only a fair-weather Arsenal fan?

Elsewhere in sport Ray-ray is not having a good time of it. Having lost in the first round of all three of his tournaments post Aussie Open final drubbing by wonder-boy Djoko, he finally made an impression in Monte Carlo where he pushed eventual winner GoNads in the semi-final all the way. This was, we predicted, his come-back. His path back to winning ways and the majestic tennis we know he can play. He then had to pull out of Barcelona with an elbow injury and made his competitive return in Madrid this week by beating dangerous Giles Simon in three ragged sets. With Nadal's prediction of Ray-ray doing well on clay and being a threat to him, we once again thought, 'Ok, great, here we go' only for Ray-ray to limp out pathetically to world number 36, Brazillion Thomaz Bellucci, 6-4 6-2. Ho hum. He still has no coach and who knows how much that, as well as all the media attention it attracts, is affecting him?

English cricket has had a re-shuffle and a great furore it has caused! Personally, I think it could work out beautiful. The basis is this:
*Strauss will be Test captain
*Cook will be ODI captain
*Broad will be Twenty20 captain
They will work together, with Strauss as the McDaddy, but will be individually in charge of their format of the game. Three seperate captains has not been attempted before and sports journalist everywhere are panicking and predicting doom and gloom. Yes, Cook hasn't actually played in an ODI match since early last year and Broad hasn't captained a team since he was at school, but everyone has to start somewhere, right? Strauss was once a young, inexperienced captain and now look at him - poised, eloquent, confidence exuding from every pore, and with many a success to back up that belief in himself and his team. I think Cook and Broad deserve their time to shine and with Strauss acting as advisor and the three of them sharing their ideas, England could become a formidable team in all three areas of the game.

That, my dear dear readers, is that.

I'll (I promise!) keep you blogged...