Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Off Topic => Sports Arena => Topic started by: Villa Lew on January 11, 2019, 10:30:33 AM
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Sad but not unexpected news, Andy Murray announces he will be retiring after Wimbledon or it could even be after next week's Australian Open.
Had surgery on his hip 12 months ago and has only played 14 matches since returning to the court in June.
Britain's greatest ever tennis player and one of Britain's greatest sportsmen. Winning Wimbledon twice was brilliant, but the most thrilling match he played in, I reckon was when he won his first slam at the US Open in 2012, beating Djokovic in 5 sets. Remember stopping up until the early hours, the match lasted nearly 5 hours.
With Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, he played in the greatest era the men's game as ever known and it's pretty certain if he had played at a different time he would have won many more majors.
Said not to be very popular with the British public, but he's the only person to win 3 Sports Personality of the Year awards, so he can't be that unpopular.
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Easily one of the best Sports people produced by Britain in last 50 years.
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I watched his very emotional press conference earlier and it was difficult to not shed a tear along with him.
He is without doubt the greatest British player of all time. I really hope he can get through Aussie Open and somehow manages to get his
wish and bow out at Wimbledon....odds very much against i think.
Then i just hope he stays involved in British tennis and bring through the next generation of 'Andy's' and 'Andreas' for that matter.
He singlehandedly brough British Tennis into the 21st Century.
Wish him nothing but the best.
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He achieved something I thought would never be done in my lifetime when he won Wimbledon, I can remember where I was when he did as well. In the Forge Tavern Digbeth, surrounded by Small Heath "memorabilia". Yuk. It didn't spoil the moment though and he's one of the greatest sportsmen I have ever seen, the fact that he always seemed to wind up all those Little Englanders used to delight me as well.
Anyway, he needn't worry about retiring, he's nailed on for a TV chat show I would've thought.
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He suffered like Steve Davis with Britain often preferring a plucky underdog over a true winner. He often seemed to get less support than the less talented Tim Henman, even though Henman himself wasn't exactly Mr Charisma. I watched all of his grand slam wins and his olympics victory and his self deprecation and dry humour was often misinterpreted.
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Very sad news indeed. I think 2016 really took it out him....he played an incredible amount of matches to reach World Number One. That probably did most of the damage. A great career sadly coming to an end too soon.
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Agreed with everything said above, sad day for him.
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Easily one of the best Sports people produced by Britain in last 50 years.
Yep, would go along with that. Probably a bit unlucky to play in the same era as three all-time greats, but still managed to win a number of major titles. Along with him being the first British player to win Wimbledon in decades, his performances in GB's run to winning the Davis Cup will be long remembered.
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And two gold medals, plus a silver. Which makes him the equal most succesful male tennis Olympian ever. He's outright first in the modern era.
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Alan ‘I’ve cried myself to sleep every night since May 1981’ Brazil has criticised Andy Murray, saying ‘I don’t do blubbing.’ Tw*t.
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Alan ‘I’ve cried myself to sleep every night since May 1981’ Brazil has criticised Andy Murray, saying ‘I don’t do blubbing.’ Tw*t.
He cries every afternoon when Greggs closes, the fat ******.
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I never really warmed to Andy Murray but watching his press conference was uncomfortable viewing. His achievements were fantastic though.
On Radio 2 at lunchtime today they were asking if he was Britain’s best ever sportsman - I don’t think he is but some do - however they did ask why he didn’t have have a hip replacement a year ago to see if he could come back from it. Interesting theory.
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I never really warmed to Andy Murray but watching his press conference was uncomfortable viewing. His achievements were fantastic though.
On Radio 2 at lunchtime today they were asking if he was Britain’s best ever sportsman - I don’t think he is but some do - however they did ask why he didn’t have have a hip replacement a year ago to see if he could come back from it. Interesting theory.
Great player, fabulous competitor and thoroughly decent person. It's a shame he couldn't end as he'd like.
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Fantastic player and apart from his "ABE" 'bantz' that time with Henman I never got why people didn't like him. Nowhere near our greatest ever sportsmen though, especially as imo he's probably not even the best ever British tennis player.
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Fantastic player and apart from his "ABE" 'bantz' that time with Henman I never got why people didn't like him. Nowhere near our greatest ever sportsmen though, especially as imo he's probably not even the best ever British tennis player.
Always difficult to compare amateur and professional eras.
Considering Fred Perry success was in 1930s we're not far off a century in terms of length of time so Murray being best tennis player in last 80 years is decent chunk of time.
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I'm not a huge tennis fan, but Murray has been a great sportsman, and man. To have lived as a child through the unimaginable horror of Dunblane, and to have achieved what he has, in the way that he has, humble, determined, rounded and grounded, congratulations.
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Federer out beaten in 4 sets by Stefanos Tsitsipas a 20 year old Greek. Remember at Wimbledon last year the pundits were saying he looks like a future top player. Changing of the guard?
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Federer out beaten in 4 sets by Stefanos Tsitsipas a 20 year old Greek. Remember at Wimbledon last year the pundits were saying he looks like a future top player. Changing of the guard?
Like watching a young Bjorn Bork - very impressive !
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I was expecting a 5 setter, but Djokovic thrashes Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-3. Only 9 force errors from Novak against 29 from Rafa. He's now got 3 grand slams in a row and 15 in total, at the age of 31 must have a very good chance of ending up with more slams than Federer, 37, whose currently on 20.
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Oh, the Mallorca-born Real Madrid supporting, bum-picking grunting Francoite lost? That's a shame.
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I was expecting a 5 setter, but Djokovic thrashes Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-3. Only 9 force errors from Novak against 29 from Rafa. He's now got 3 grand slams in a row and 15 in total, at the age of 31 must have a very good chance of ending up with more slams than Federer, 37, whose currently on 20.
Which when you think about it is incredible. As dominant as Federer appears to have been, he has very nearly been and quite possibly could be matched by these two. Now granted, without Paris, I don't think Nadal would be in the conversation, however, he has proven he can win on other surfaces while Federer and Novak have struggled on clay.
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That's a little unfair on Federer and Djokovic - Federer is joint 3rd on the all-time list of French Open final appearances (with 5) and Djokovic joint 7th (with 4). It's just that they have come up against the single most dominant player on any given surface when Nadal gets on clay. Nadal has only ever lost 2 games at the French, in 13 years.
Hypothetically - my understanding is that the Wimbledon grass has been much slowed down over the years and thus it is quite possible that neither Nadal nor Djokovic could have touched Federer at Wimbledon. Had this been different, Federer could have been looking at 23/24 Slams rather than "just" 20...
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Yeah, that probably sounded unduly harsh. Testament to how utterly dominant Nadal is on clay.
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Epic choke from Jo Konta. Set points in both sets and loses 0-2.
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Epic choke from Jo Konta. Set points in both sets and loses 0-2.
With all the favourites already out, I doubt that she'll get a better chance to with a Grand Slam title
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Bit of a scoop for Birmingham.
http://thebirminghampress.com/2019/06/venus-williams-to-pay-edgbaston-tournament/
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Not much of a tennis fan but seeing a 15 year old beat Venus Williams (and then seem to apologise for it when they shake hands) is one of my new favourite things.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/48828120
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Not much of a tennis fan but seeing a 15 year old beat Venus Williams (and then seem to apologise for it when they shake hands) is one of my new favourite things.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/48828120
It was fabulous, brought a lump to my throat.
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Amazingly no Brits knocked out on Day 1.
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Watching Dan Evans winning - he's a Villa fan apparently.
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Great news Dan The Villa Man through in 3 straight sets.
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I visited the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island a few days ago.
Well worth a visit
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Tomic.
What a bellend.
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Agree I saw some of his match, never seen anything like it, he was making absolutely no effort at all. Should be docked his £45k appearance money.
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Long way to go but Konta looks good so far, service very impressive. The Villa man also through, well done Dan.
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That Kyrgios really is a massive helmet.
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Once a bell end...always a bell end.
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Agree I saw some of his match, never seen anything like it, he was making absolutely no effort at all. Should be docked his £45k appearance money.
He has been docked £45k well done Wimbledon.
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Loving the Coco story so far, so mature and composed, until she won and was acting like a kid again jumping around. So great to see.
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Enjoyed watching Coco make her come back from the edge of defeat today. She has a highly successful and wealthy lifestyle ahead of her.
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Konta looked as if she was going out in the 2nd set, but that was a superb comeback.
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Yep she did really well. It's when she's leading that she gets a bit flaky.
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Our man Dan looking good,on his way to a 2nd set .
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Our man Dan looking good,on his way to a 2nd set .
Cracking game so far. The commentator mentioned he was a Villa fan earlier too.
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Our man Dan looking good,on his way to a 2nd set .
Cracking game so far. The commentator mentioned he was a Villa fan earlier too.
Yes, it’s a great game.
I love it when we get a namecheck like that, and you can tell it’s a proper commentator because he said Dan ‘supports The Villa’.
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Shame he didn’t pull it off but it was a good and exciting match. Will look out for him in the future now.
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Great effort again from Konta coming back from a set down to beat a top player, although did get a bit nervy in the last few games.
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Very disappointing performance from Konta, but fair play to Strycova, unseeded and never reached a semi of a Major, that was a superb performance.
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I watched the tail end of the second set and I don't think I saw Konta win a point. She was awful.
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On BBC2 they are moving from a Men's singles quarter final, only in the 2nd set on number 1 court to no 2 court, for a 3rd round mixed doubles match. Unbelievable BBC.
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On BBC2 they are moving from a Men's singles quarter final, only in the 2nd set on number 1 court to no 2 court, for a 3rd round mixed doubles match. Unbelievable BBC.
Eurosport were driving me up the wall in the early games of the African Nations Cup by joining the action twenty or thirty minutes into games to show the end of cycling and motor cycling races.
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I'm really struggling this year, little challenge to those dominant colourless players in the Mens game, the Ladies is slightly better but Konta's hissy reaction to the press showed a weak mental side, the BBC have been well below par as referenced above, Beckers commentary drives me mad and it's about time they put the fuckin towels on a pole or table at the side of the court and the players can fuckin well fetch them themselves.
The highlights were the 15 year old doing well and the big Aussie acting the goat.
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Ooh Federer, Djokovic and Nadal all through to the semis.
What I love about men's tennis is how exciting and unpredictable it is.
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Just turned over from the cricket to see Halep win her semi, would like to see her win it.
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Mon e Federer, beat the arse picker
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As a nipper I loved watching the likes of Connors, Borg and Mac but Roger Federer is on another level altogether. Almost 38 and still playing the most sublime tennis you will ever see.
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As a nipper I loved watching the likes of Connors, Borg and Mac but Roger Federer is on another level altogether. Almost 38 and still playing the most sublime tennis you will ever see.
Saw him live at Wimbledon 2 years ago and he was superb. Looks effortless
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As a nipper I loved watching the likes of Connors, Borg and Mac but Roger Federer is on another level altogether. Almost 38 and still playing the most sublime tennis you will ever see.
Connors was my fave. Great player with a real swagger about him
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As a nipper I loved watching the likes of Connors, Borg and Mac but Roger Federer is on another level altogether. Almost 38 and still playing the most sublime tennis you will ever see.
Connors was my fave. Great player with a real swagger about him
I liked Mac because you never knew when he was going to explode. An entertainer but for me Federer is the greatest, oozes class.
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Those top three guys are so good that I can't help but think men's tennis is going to enter a kind of dark ages when they've all retired.
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I still find it impossible to enjoy watching Federer. I can appreciate and admire the skill but he is like a machine, barely breaking sweat, showing little emotion yet easing to victory.
Although true to the seedings, this has been the poorest tournament for years. Predictable, straightforward and almost technically perfect in both codes. Great tennis, poor entertainment.
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I've enjoyed watching Federer over the years far far more than Nadal and Djokovic.
His style has always been so graceful.
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Those top three guys are so good that I can't help but think men's tennis is going to enter a kind of dark ages when they've all retired.
It's mental. What really struck me today is how diminished they all are compared to their primes, but they're *still* this much better than everyone else. It just goes to show how superior they were to everyone back when they were still at their best, and when there were still a few other players around who had the experience of closing out a slam. It's really crazy.
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Those top three guys are so good that I can't help but think men's tennis is going to enter a kind of dark ages when they've all retired.
It's mental. What really struck me today is how diminished they all are compared to their primes, but they're *still* this much better than everyone else. It just goes to show how superior they were to everyone back when they were still at their best, and when there were still a few other players around who had the experience of closing out a slam. It's really crazy.
It is. It also makes you realise what an achievement it was for Murray and Wawrinka to win three slams each in this era.
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Yep, in any other era they're each looking at 5-10, maybe even 12.
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Wow. That was one of the best performances I've ever seen from a female player. Halep was getting the ball back in play like Djokovic.
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Serena Williams made a lot of unforced errors, but that was brilliant from Simona Halep. Great stuff
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Wow. That was one of the best performances I've ever seen from a female player. Halep was getting the ball back in play like Djokovic.
Indeed. And even me, an old cynic, could not be anything but moved by the gloriously gracious, eloquent and humble way in which she handled the on-court interview in the immediate aftermath of her victory.
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While waiting for New Zealand to bat, just checked Djokovic won 13-12 in 5th set tie break.
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From the scores, it looked like an amazing final...shame it was overshadowed by the cricket.
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No major shock for Dan the Villa man, beaten in 3 sets by Federer.
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Wow 19 year old Bianca Andreescu wins the US Open, beating Serena Williams 6-3, 7-5. Williams now lost last 4 grand slam finals.
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Serena loses another final having come back from 5-1 down in the second set to level it up.
She's now lost her last four grand slam finals and six out of her last eight, having only lost four of her first 25. Starting to wonder if she'll ever break the homophobe Margaret Court's record.
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Nadal wins the US Open and his 19th Grand Slam, only 1 behind Federer now. It's good to see a new kid on the block in the Russian 23 year old Daniil Medvedev, who took him to 5 sets. Hopefully he will be able to break the 'Top 3's stranglehold on the majors. No one born in the 1990's has won a grand slam, which is an amazing stat.
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That men's final was sensational. Medvedev looks like a glue sniffer who just wandered in from the car park but he's an absolute Trojan.
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Amazing European Open win in Antwerp for Andy Murray by beating old foe Stan Wawrinka! Incredible considering major hip surgery earlier this year. He's well and truly back!
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Yes a brilliant effort, what an athlete, still a fair way to go before he can be considered a grand slam contender again, but it's a good start.
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I'm guessing by how low down this thread is that the new Davis Cup format hasn't exactly enthused folks? Anyway, disappointed to wake up to news that GB went out in the semis.