‘Stan The Man’ Wawrinka Deserves His Big Moment
Locker Room
January 23, 2014
Who isn’t delighted for Stanislas Wawrinka? His four-set victory over Tomas Berdych means that Stan The Man has earned his reward for all the great entertainment he has given us in recent times. Those epic five-setters against Novak Djokovic, all those years of trying to break into the sport’s elite…now Wawrinka has something to show […]
Roger Rolls Back The Years!
Locker Room
January 22, 2014
Graceful Roger Federer moved like a youngster but used years of experience to defeat a ring-rusty Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. Let off a controversial double bounce on the way to glory, Federer nevertheless deserved his win, having squandered match points in the third. Now we can look forward to yet another epic between […]
Novak Out In Epic…Stan’s The Man !
Locker Room
January 21, 2014
Stanislas Wawrinka produced one of the great Grand Slam shocks to end the extraordinary winning run of Novak Djokovic. The gutsy Swiss won another five-set epic 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7. In doing so, he ended Novak’s 28-match winning run, a separate 25-match winning streak at Melbourne, and a 14-match sequence of victories over Wawrinka […]
Sharapova-and-Out!
Locker Room
January 20, 2014
Why is women’s tennis so unpredictable? Now third seed Maria Sharapova has been dumped out of the Australian Open by Dominika Cibulkova in the fourth round. The Slovakian is almost a foot shorter than willowy Maria, which won’t have helped the proud Russian to swallow defeat any more easily. Despite winning the first set 6-3, […]
Stunned Serena Crashes Out to Comeback Queen Ana
Locker Room
January 19, 2014
Red-hot favourite Serena Williams saw her dreams of a Calendar Slam destroyed in the very first month by a resurgent Ana Ivanovic. Williams blamed a back injury, which isn’t thought to be too serious in the long run. ‘I almost pulled out,’ she admitted. ‘I’m such a competitor, I probably should have.’ She still won […]
FEDERER: ‘In Better Shape Than Rivals’
Locker Room
January 18, 2014
Roger Federer has thrown down the gauntlet to his younger rivals in Melbourne by suggesting that he is in better shape than them – even at the age of 32. The much-loved Federer cruised through to the last sixteen of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia. Then […]
Li Na – Coach Saved My Marriage
Locker Room
January 17, 2014
‘Coach Saved My Marriage,’ claims Li Na She looks Chinese, her accent is Chinese, she is Chinese. It’s just that every word which dances out of Li Na’s mouth could have been spoken by a thoroughly modern woman from the west. Regular visitors to this website will know what we think about Li Na, the […]
Sorry Doctor, In Melbourne I’m backing the Antelope…
Locker Room
January 16, 2014
Focus at the Australian Open has turned once more to the searing heat, which remains in the blistering early forties during the fiercest part of the Melbourne day. Croatia’s Ivan Dodig complained he could have died before retiring from his match, Jamie Murray suffered heatstroke while battling through the doubles, and play had to be […]
Murray Accepts Mission Impossible
Locker Room
January 14, 2014
Make no mistake, if Andy Murray wins the Australian Open, it will be the finest achievement of his career. You can talk about the first psychological break-through of hard-court glory at Flushing Meadows, his Olympic triumph, or the supreme mental feat of winning Wimbledon. But if you are talking pure gladiatorial tennis against the true […]
Seeds Tumble in Melbourne
Locker Room
January 13, 2014
She was hailed as ‘the next great thing’ in tennis by the legendary Billie Jean King after winning Wimbledon in 2011. But Petra Kvitova crashed out in the very first round of the Australian Open, losing 2-6, 6-1, 4-6 to the little-known Luksika Kumkhum in Melbourne. The world number 87 from Thailand kept her cool […]