The Tennis Spot

Designed to provide news, information, opinion and insight about the great game of Tennis.

27 October 2005

Changing of the Guard?

Tim Henman and Andy Murray finally ran into each other in an ATP draw. And if you visit the BBC website it was the “heralding of a new era in British tennis”. That may be the biggest overstatement of the year. Tim Henman has had one of the worst years of his career. He has been battling injuries all season, the Basel tournament being only his second since sitting out a number of months to rest his back. Tim is obviously lacking matches and confidence. Murray is definitely on his way up; there is no denying that. I really like the kid too. He plays hard and with a lot of emotion. Murray did walk away the victor but he was quick to play down the British media’s urge to make this match into more than it was. I feel for Tim Henman and all he has endured through his career and I hope that these same burdens and stresses don’t dog Andy Murray throughout his. I guess that is what you get being born into a title-starved country that hosts the greatest event in sport.

10 October 2005

Where does Federer's Winning Streak Stand?

I am excited to see that Roger Federer's amazing play is finally garnering mainstream recognition. If you did not know Roger Federer has now won an astounding 24 finals in a row. The last time he was beat in a final was in Rome in 2003. A recent ESPN poll asked the question "what is the most impressive active streak in sports?" Federer's accomplishment was voted the overwhelming winner. I must admit I was a little shocked by the results. His 24 match streak was up against the Atlanta Braves 14 divisional titles, Brett Favre's 227 starts and USC's 24 wins. Roger Federer's 24 match winning streak snatched up 53% of the 37,585 votes submitted, one of those being mine.