Laurie's Tennis articles

Grigor Dimitrov seems to have quite a large responsibility on his shoulders, a responsibility he may not realize the size of yet.   That responsibility is to take up the mantle and be one of the dominant players of his generation with a single hand backhand.   A lot of people call him Baby Fed but from what I’ve seen so far I also see a “Baby Pete” in the making. Oh and that responsibility?   To follow a long tradition; John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer to be number 1 players with an all court game.   Since Federer lost the number 1 ranking it seems as though a single hander getting to number 1 is a thing of the past. To me, Dimitrov’s game is reminiscent of Sampras in terms of strategy and physical appearance.   The classic Wilson racquet with a slightly smaller head size and Nike clothes is now the classic combination.   The first thing that comes to mind is the physical appearance....

Lizzy Yarnold The winter Olympics in Sochi has been a great event with so many sports to enjoy.   From ski jumping, downhill skiing, speed skating to ice hockey, figure skating and snow boarding, there is one recurring theme throughout the games. Which is the athleticism of the participants on display in virtually every sport I’ve watched so far.   The speed, power, endurance, twists, turns and bravery is there for all to see and is a sight to behold; especially as so many of the sports come with a “don’t try this at home tag”.   And Lizzy Yarnold’s dominance to take gold in the Skeleton is a culmination of all of those things mentioned. Lizzy Yarnold’s achievement is incredible for a number of reasons.   After taking gold, she was interviewed on BBC radio 5 live and immediately made herself available to schools in her local area of Kent! where she offered to go in and give inspirational chats to schoolkids and girls in particular to chase their dr...