Laurie's Tennis articles

The Australian Open has a habit of throwing up surprising results and brilliant stories for fans of tennis and sport in general. In 2014 Stan Warwinka beat Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal and Rafael Nadal in the final to win the Australian Open in dramatic fashion.   This weekend Angelique Kerber pulled off a similar feat, defeating Vi c toria Azarenka in the quarterfinal and Serena Williams in the final.   Like Wawrinka, Kerber found something deep inside herself, an inspiration to come up with an aggressive game plan to go for her shots and overcome players who had been dominating her in the head to head rivalry.   We were treated to a riveting final and at the end of it there was not a dry eye in the house, a very emotional victory, even Serena Williams felt emotional for Angelique!   So, how was Angelique able to transition to grand slam champion?   Let us have a look at her progression over the last few seasons which brought her to this ...

First we had the answer to the annually asked question of ‘When will we have a British Wimbledon Champion?’ in July 2013 and now we have an answer to British success in the Davis Cup! British tennis is buzzing with a positive vibe felt by many across the country and the hope that this success will propel us out of the shadows we’ve been in for many years. What Team GB achieved in the Davis Cup was something quite remarkable after only being in the Europe/Africa Zone Group 2 in 2010 with a play-off match against Turkey which decided whether they would be demoted to the bottom level of the competition. At this time, reaching the final like they did in 1978 or even going one step further like they did in 1936 where they won would have seemed a million miles away. A lot has changed since 1936 and other countries have overtaken Britain in the sporting arena, but it takes one or two exceptionally great players to change a nation’s fortune. What the LTA did back in 2010 when they ...

Madison Keys The 2015 season was a remarkable one. Serena Williams at the age of 34 was within two matches of a calendar grand slam; and with Flavia Pennetta winning the US Open, all grand slam tournaments were won by players age 33 years or older, which has to be a record for the open era. The implications are significant, as in the mens game, the upcoming players have been completely shut out of an opportunity to win the biggest tournaments.   However, we have to think that younger players will come through soon.   It is worth taking a look at some of the young players under the age of 25 who could be contenders at the major tournaments in 2016.   Garbiñe Muguruza age 22; End of Year Rank 3 Garbiñe is definitely one of the players identified to be a future champion and maybe a future number 1 player.   Garbiñe is not the typical Spanish player, at 6 ft. tall and powerfully built, Garbiñe has a game that is tailor made for hardcourt...