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Come rain or shine, British tennis is still sinking
It is June, the sun is shining and the British public are eating strawberries, drinking Pimms and watching what has quickly become their favourite sport – tennis. Yet come August all this - which, for the purpose of this article, we shall call ‘Wimbledon’- will be forgotten; tennis rackets hidden away in garages and everyone back to playing football on the not-so-green grass again.
Perhaps this is why we are so bad at playing tennis. It seems the British public’s brief infatuation with the sport is matched by their playing counterparts: they come alive just before the grass Grand Slam, duly lose and then disappear off the radar for another year. Along with all the customary hats, sun burn, umbrellas and drinking habits, first round exits for British singles players are all too familiar sights at Wimbledon. The proof is all too readily available as well: this year nine fell at the first hurdle with eight of those only earning their place - or not, as the case may be - through wildcards.
Anne Keothavong, the British number one, did earn her place in the draw without a handout after a successful season, but still failed to progress past the first round. After leading Austria’s Patricia Mayr 5-3 in the first set, the world number 51 went on to lose 5-7, 2-6. Keothavong later broke down in a press conference and was clearly very upset about the defeat; yet, despite her undoubted commitment, she was unable to make the most of her opportunities and failed to convert a set point when in control of the match.
This seems typical of British tennis in general – even when in winning positions both the men and women often (almost always) fail to get over the line, regularly hitting balls past this point in the process. But then aren’t I forgetting someone? Of course, as the BBC so delightfully put it in the pre-match build up, the ‘muscled, marauding and magnificent’ Murray saw off Robert Kendrick 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 and now faces Ernests Gulbis in round two. The world number three - that’s more like it isn’t it? - has been installed as second favourite after Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal through injury and, at 22, represents our best hopes of a Wimbledon champion for years, be it this time around or in the coming decade. It is refreshing to see someone represent Great Britain with a real winning mentality but unfortunately Andy Murray is the exception as opposed to the rule. Like Tim Henman was for so many years, he is the only top class tennis player Britain has and, considering we host one of only four Grand Slams every year, this is just ‘not acceptable’ as Murray put it himself. Henman may have failed to win that elusive slam but he did reach number four in the world rankings – a feat that no one else seems likely to repeat anytime soon (Murray apart) considering the British number two is a certain Alex Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic has been hitting the headlines at present and not for the first time either, but on this occasion it is for all the wrong reasons. In 2002 the Independent asked “can the Belgrade-born left-hander become the next Tim Henman?” They answered “possibly” but seven years on the answer is an emphatic “no”. Yesterday the 191 ranked player lost his eighth consecutive first round singles match at Wimbledon and has become the latest scapegoat for British tennis’ obvious failings.
What is even more frustrating is how successfully neighbouring France have infiltrated the men and women top 100s, with 11 men and nine women making the cut, and plenty more on the periphery. Britain has just two and so, as ever, the Lawn Tennis Association certainly has much to answer for. To gloss over that damning evidence, on a positive note we have Elena Baltacha in round two of the women’s singles and a real prospect in Laura Robson, who won last year’s Wimbledon Junior Girls’ Championship. The 15 year-old eventually went down 6-3 4-6 2-6 to world number 32 Daniela Hantuchova on Monday, but showed flashes of brilliance on her main draw debut.
However, to rest much of our hopes on a teenager shows the desperate situation the LTA find themselves in. Despite the abundance of strawberries, it looks like British tennis will have slim pickings for a while yet; so, Andy Murray, Wimbledon glory rests solely on your sculpted shoulders – not that you need telling, of course.
You forget that when Henman at the top of his game Greg Rusedski was also at a similar level, and was higher than Tim in the rankings for a large part of his career...
The problem with the British is that we are all too often happy to by the corageous loser, 'it's not the winning etc..' I think we need a sea change in our attitudes towards competition before we can produce ten plus top players at a time, until then we shall rely on the fiery Scot.
Come on Andy!
By Roger Federer on 24.6.2009
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