I’m asking my Dr for a new hip like Andy Murray 
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You won’t be missed.
Leaving aside the tennis, the UHD stream on iPlayer looks awesome!
That’s a bit like “Leaving aside the music, listen to that hifi sound!”
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My apologies. I’ll go back to watching it on standard def to make sure I’m doing it right. Better yet, I’ll take off my glasses so it’s just a blur.
Now, where’s my hair shirt got to?
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Wouldn’t it be fantastic to see some archive footage of older sporting events in HD though? Classic rugby ties, tennis matches etc? Most BBC stuff I suspect on video but there may well be some cine footage capable of being digitised at higher quality than stuff broadcast live.
Wouldn’t change the skills on show but a lovely way of documenting thos achievements in better quality.
There are some astonishing bits of pre-1950 film footage which has been tidied up and colourised very effectively on YouTube. Seeing red London buses going around a very brown and grimy Trafalgar Square with all the men wearing suits and hats is quite something.
Mark
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Fantastic final, great result, Carlos Alcaraz is a fantastic player.
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Yes. We were well pleased. Maybe if Mr D had got vaccinated when he had the chance, it might all have been different…
And that smashing of his racket was perhaps a window into his true self, however nice he was during the interview at the end.
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The media have been out to dis him for 3 years now at any opportunity. Maybe, if he had been vaxed his career would have been over already like many other peoples.
Great champion succeeded by the new generation who may go on to beat his many great achievements.
Well the arguments get polarised. No doubt Novak hasn’t endeared himself to the public and media in the way of Rafa and Roger. But he is arguably the most complete player of them all and isn’t as bad as made out. However @davidhendon is right smashing a racket is totally unacceptable, indeed there should be an immediate default for such behaviour.
Regards,
Lindsay
I totally agree smashing your racket is not the best thing to do but these people are extraordinary and I don’t think most people have much understanding of their mental application and dedication to achieve absolute greatness. Like many before him in many sports, sticking a label on them for their behaviour shows a lack of understanding of the commitment they have made. They have total tunnel vision from the age of 4 or 5 to get where they get and achieve greatness. Much like Max Verstappen is much maligned on this forum as a spoiled brat etc but he is a pure genius.
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There is a difference between some who are brilliant sportsmen and come across as nice people (Federer, Nadal and indeed Hamilton) and others who come across just as brilliant sportsmen. I will leave it there.
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Novak has been fined for the racket smash.
While I agree, my childhood would have been more boring without McEnroe’s antics and we’d never have had the NTNOCN sketch.
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I just got to watch the final on catch-up, although I knew the result still enjoyed it immensely. We watched Alcaraz play a couple of his earlier rounds and marvelled at his all round game and general exuberance but I am not sure I thought he’d beat Djokovic. I think he was the better player on the day though and deserved it. Great mental strength to serve it out!
Can someone please explain the shot clock? Is it a rule, or not? I can understand the odd breach after a 25 shot rally for example but when a player clearly deliberately and repeatedly transgresses I don’t understand why it is not enforced far sooner. Oddly I can understand and perhaps forgive a one off racket smash that isn’t clearly intended to gain an advantage.
Shouldn’t detract from a fine match. Watching Alcaraz is going to be great for many years I hope
Bruce
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Gone right off Djokovic, He pushes the rules to the limit like bathroom breaks and having treatment to try and break his opponent’s rhythm.
Also feigning injury to get treatment and stop the game for a bit.
It was good that he got a time violation,he should have had more.
Trouble is he’s always (well as long as I can remember) had his routine before serving and it must be incredibly hard to change that mindset even if it slows the game and potentially annoys spectators or opponents.
Still haven’t seen it all but I think the umpire was potentially at fault for not enforcing the rule far earlier - doing so in a tie break at the end of the second for the first time (I think) set probably wasn’t the most impartial thing to do.
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In fairness Rafa stretches the 25 second rule.
Sure he has done. So are umpires afraid to enforce it against the big names? I’m not specifically calling out Djokovic but it was obvious in the final that it took an age to penalise him. First point or match pont is it the rule or not?
Players (and pundits) seem to complain that it comes at key moments and this is somehow ‘unfair’ but if the umpire acted sooner this wouldn’t happen. Plus it is surely those key moments that shouldn’t be manipulated by slow play.
Anyway, it was a great tennis match, and it did feel like Alcaraz was not only talented enough but also brave enough to go toe to toe…and win.
Bruce
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