tennis gut

The divas have gathered, the grass is fresh, the blades are out, the Venus Rosewater Dish beckons. Is there a favourite?  There are only three former champions in the draw, and while they may be among the top picks it’s dangerous to count on any of them: Kerber (past her prime), Rybakina (constantly sick), and Vondrousova (chronically unreliable).  So who will it be lifting the plate in two weeks’ time?   First Quarter Iga Swiatek (1) is the top seed and has pretty much nailed down this slot across the board for the last two and a half years.   But grass is her least-accomplished surface.   She pulled out of her warm-up tournament citing emotional recuperation after her fifth slam crown and third consecutive at Roland Garros.   But there is cause for hope among the Swiatek-azzi. She made the quarters last year in a game effort against a surging Svitolina.   Her strokes should hold up well on grass, although I think she loses some of the movement...

Young blood. Finally! The awful tyranny of 1980’s-born players at Wimbledon was broken by a player from the 2000’s – Carlos Alcaraz.   And his primary rival Jannik Sinner, along with Holger Rune, Ben Shelton and Jack Draper are also from the 2000’s.   Will these new superstars squelch the tall skinny 90’s and consign them to mothballed also-rans? No player born in the 1990’s has have ever won men’s Wimbledon.   It could be the first winner-less decade since Wimbledon began. There have been some close calls for the 1990’s – Raonic, Kyrgios, Berrettini – but if the decade is to be salvaged it might need to come from Medvedev, Zverev, Hurkacz, or Fritz. Likely? Probably not…   First Quarter Jannik Sinner is #1.   It feels a little strange.   Despite my jibes at 90’s players, he too fits the tall and skinny mold.   But he is more complete somehow than his slight elders. His ground strokes are powerful and reliable off both sides.   His mo...