Wimbledon

[Howyoudoin]

Anyone else bored stiff with the same players making the semi final and particularly, the final, year after year?

Even though I really like/admire Federer/Nadal/Djokovic/Williams, I’m amazed that people will actually pay hundreds of pounds to watch them. All around the World.

Very disappointed with Djokovic cupping his ear to the crowd every time he came back from being ‘down’ today.

The simple fact is, that Brits love an underdog and he would have benefitted from that in his early days.

HYD

[richfool]

Just watched a great semi-final between Nadal v Federer.

Though I do know what you mean about supporting an underdog.

[gryffron]

Never liked tennis. But it seems to me that if the same person always wins, then it must be a game of skill. If a different person wins every week then there's much more luck involved. Like golf, for example.

Gryff

[didds]

i'm not sure wimbledon is really much different from other global sports compettions - world cups etc.

Football - 21 world cup finals - 8 winning countries, one of which hasnt been close since 1950, and two which have won only once (counting west Germany & Germany as a single country here!) - so in more modern times there have been only 5 winning teams

Rugby - 8 world cup finals - 4 winning nations, one of which has only won once. Only one other nation other than those winners has played a final.

Cricket - 11 world cups - 5 winning nations, three of which have won it only once. Two other nations have been finalists (one three times!) but not won. As of Sunday there will be a 12th CWC final with a new winner - and the losing finalist has already been in a final.

Domestically, Wigan won Rugby League's Challenge Cup Final 8 times in succession 1988-1995, and 9 out of 12 with a win in 1985 also.
Ed Moses (US 400m hurdler) won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) over a decade (1977-1987).



didds

[Howyoudoin]

That’s more like it.

It’s good for the game for someone new to have their name engraved on the trophy rather than the same people, year in and year out.

Congratulations on demolishing Serena, Simona Halep.

HYD

[PinkDalek]

Muguruza, Kerber and Halep and all new names in so far as Wimbledon is concerned.

[brightncheerful]

Mrs Bnc is the only devoted tennis fan I know nowadays and thanks to her knack of being chosen in the ballot we've been to Wimbledon four years running. Centre court twice, No.1 court twice. Lunch in the restaurant on each occasion. Won't go again, Mrs BnC's health reasons (sunshine) and I don't care enough about tennis to want to sit through hours of it, or wander around passing the time if it's raining as it was off and on the last time we went, fortunately thanks to one the players who refused to go on court in light rain all ticket money was refunded: had the player done as told no refund. As well as the t-shirt that I've haven't worn yet, I have more than enough photos of top players that I took on the first couple of times if i want to ogle at manicured lawns and fit women.

I too used to think it as boring, the same players, etc. Until I began to respect and admire the skill and watch the tactics and generally find some points of interest to focus my attention on, such as observing the camera crews' lens around alighting on a pretty girl in the crowd. And if you are a tennis player, or rather if you play tennis, then judging from some of the comments I overheard from people chatting around us, they really appreciate the standard of play.

I play badminton at social standard but I'm not such a fan as to want to watch top players play, I have difficulty enough when sitting out in between games watching people I play with regularly play. But I think it's the same with any sport, You're either the sort of person who enjoys playing it and that's enough or the sort of person who both enjoys playing it and watching the top players in action, or in the case of any sport where age comes into it the sort of person that used to play but now just watches it. people that watch it seem to me contribute to the running commentary too.

The thing about the regulars tennis players is that they make it look so easy yet with tennis, on the few times I've had a go, the court is big and the tennis balls come at you fast and serving is demanding. Another thing is that is not only about winning one year but winning year after year. Federer at 37 is old for a tennis player. The lad, whose name I can't pronounce, Djokovic, is young. He might not be the crowd's favourite but read what Boris Becker says: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/48981819

I am not a tennis fan but even I know that you don't reach the mens final at Wimbledon and have the stamina to last the longest match in history and beat Federer without being very good at tennis and its tactics.

[Gersemi]

Djokovic is 32, so younger than Federer, but not that young..