Laurie's Tennis articles

 Andy Murray lost the final of the 2013 Australian Open in 4 sets to Novak Djokovic   Murray started strongly taking the first set on a tiebreak and had three breakpoints at the start of the 2nd set but was unable to convert them.   After that, Djokovic started to find his rhythm on his groundstrokes and serves and took the 2nd set to a tiebreak, which he won to square the match.   I got the distinct feeling that it was going to be difficult for Murray to regain the momentum, taking into consideration he played Roger Federer in a tough 4 hour battle two nights before.   That turned out to be the case as Murray was broken at 4-3 in the 3rd set, leaving Djokovic to serve it out. The 4th set proved to be a procession for Djokovic, breaking Murray twice who by now was spent physically and emotionally, Djokovic taking it 6-2 to win his 4th Australian Open and 3rd in a row.   The interesting thing was that the pundits were prepared to say ...

The 1994 Wimbledon final between Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic took place on an unusually hot July day for London.     Beforehand, everybody knew the rallies were going to be short and points quick.   However, no one would have predicted the importance that match would play in the direction of modern tennis.    The match was won by Sampras in straight sets with a strange scoreline of 7-6 7-6 6-0.   After Ivanisevic lost the two tiebreaks, he crumbled in the 3rd set as Sampras pulled out an array of returns and passing shots.   However, what seemed to get the media going was how the match unfolded, with a series of strong serves, aces, mishit returns or returns into the net on an incredibly regular basis.    With the temperature around 30 degrees centigrade and the ball flying as a result, there were zero rallies as a consequence.   Ivanisevic hit 25 aces and Sampras 17, whilst many of Sampras’ serves were consisten...

Jonny Marray has found fame and fortune late in his career. Jonny broke into the public consciousness in emphatic style, claiming the Wimbledon doubles title as a wildcard with Dane Freddie Nielsen; which can only be described as an amazing achievement. The most incredible thing about the victory was that both guys literally smiled their way to the title; always playing in the moment and treated success and failure the same with each passing point, especially the key ones. It must have been unnerving for each of their more illustrious opponents, particularly the Brian Brothers in the semifinal and the pair of Lindstedt / Tecau in the final. In fact, in the final Lindstedt often had the look of “what the hell is going on here? We’re losing to wildcards!!” Which made the spectacle even more incredible and engaging for the Wimbledon crowd plus the millions who watched on prime time television. Jonny’s win was also the catalyst for what is now described as the grea...

British Tennis celebrated a great weekend with Heather Watson winning the first singles title of her career and the first WTA title by a female British player since Sara Gomer won in Aptos in 1988.   Watson defeated Chang Kai-Chen of Taipei in 3 hours 11 minutes of tense and intense tennis with both players going for their first title.   Watson took the match on a third set tiebreak after serving for the 2nd set and saving match points in the 3rd.   Not only did Watson win her first singles title, she also reached the doubles final partnering Kimiko Date Krum but lost to the US pair Spears/Kops-Jones. However, this has not been the only success for Heather Watson this year.   Earlier this summer, Watson teamed up with Marina Erakovic to win her first WTA doubles title in Los Angeles.   Watson also reached the 3rd round of Wimbledon, the first player to do so since Elena Baltacha in 2004   Meanwhile, Laura Robson has also had an excellent summer...