Who is your Sports Personality of the Year?
Tonight 10 British sports stars will fight it out to be crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Voted for by the public, it is a much coveted accolade which every athlete wants to win to round off an already successful year.
But who should win? I take a closer look at the worthy contenders.
Mark Cavendish
Cavendish won five stages of the Tour de France in 2010 – giving the 25-year-old a total of 15 stage wins in his career.
The HTC Colombia rider is yet to claim the green jersey but followed his success in France by winning the point jersey at the Tour of Spain in September.
Known as the “Manx Missile”, Cavendish is only the second Briton to secure a sprint title in one of the top three stage races and is looking to emulate fellow cyclist and 2008 Sports Personality Chris Hoy by lifting the title.
Tom Daley
Already a world and European champion, Daley added to his impressive medal tally in 2010 with victory at the Commonwealth Games.
The 16-year-old won the 10m synchro event with partner Max Brick before going on to claim individual gold in the 10m platform final.
Daley was in last years’ Sports Personality top ten and will be one to watch out for as the 2012 Olympics approaches.
Jessica Ennis
Heptathlete Ennis was a double gold medallist in 2010, topping the podium at the World Indoor Championships in Doha in March and at the European Championships in Barcelona in July.
The 24-year-old did not compete at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, instead choosing to focus on her preparations for the 2011 World Championships and 2012 Olympics.
The Sheffield-born athlete came third at the 2009 Sports Personality contest held in her home city.
David Haye
The WBA World Heavyweight champion survived two challenges to his title in 2010, proving he is class above the rest.
The “Hayemaker” stopped American John Ruiz in April before knocking out fellow Briton Audley Harrison in a much hyped-up clash in November.
The 30-year-old is now looking to take on the revered Ukrainian Klitschko brothers, before retiring from the sport in 2011.
AP McCoy
AP McCoy sealed his fate as the greatest jump jockey in history this year when he won the Grand National on the 15th attempt.
In an illustrious career the 36-year-old has been champion jockey a record 15 times in a row and has ridden over 3,000 winners.
The Northern Irishman is aiming to become the first jockey to lift the Sports Personality of the Year trophy.
Graeme McDowell
Golfer McDowell became Europe’s first U.S. Open champion for 40 years, when he claimed victory at Pebble Beach in June.
Now ranked in the world’s top 10, the 31-year-old also won the final singles match at the Ryder Cup in October, earning the point which secured the trophy for Europe.
The Northern Irishman’s triumph in America made him the first player from the UK to win a major since Paul Lawrie claimed the British Open in 1999. And McDowell could become the first golfer to win Sports Personality since Nick Faldo in 1989.
Graeme Swann
Swann was the England cricket team’s leading wicket taker in their victory over Australia in the World Twenty20 final in 2010.
The 31-year-old also took his first 10-wicket haul in a Test match against Bangladesh, and twice took five wickets or more in an innings in the Tests series against Pakistan.
The ECB Cricketer of the Year Swann is now attempting to help his country to victory over Australia in the Ashes series.
Phil Taylor
Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor has won six major darts titles in 2010, including the World Championship, Premier League and World Matchplay crowns.
Now a 15-time world champion, Taylor has cemented his status as the one of the greatest darts players of all time/
The 50-year-old could become the first from his sport to win Sports Personality should he be voted by the public on Sunday.
Lee Westwood
Westwood became the world’s number one golfer in 2010, ending Tiger Woods’s 281-week reign at the top of the rankings.
The 37-year-old’s season included runner-up finishes at the Masters and the Open and winning two-and-a-half points out of a possible four at the Ryder Cup in October.
Westwood is the first European to top the world rankings since Nick Faldo in 1994 and like McDowell is aiming to take over from Faldo as the last golfer to be crowned Sports Personality.
Amy Williams
Williams became Britain’s first individual Winter Olympics gold medal for 30 years in 2010, with victory in the skeleton bob at the games in Vancouver.
It was the 28-year-old’s first appearance in an Olympics, after missing out on a place four years previously in Turin when fellow Briton Shelley Rudman claimed silver in the same event.
This year Williams has also been appointed an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, as well as an Honorary Freeman of the City of Bath.
Sports Personality of the Year is on BBC One on Sunday 19 December at 19.00 GMT.
Top five moments of the 2010 tennis season
From the Australian Open in January to Paris, London, New York and everywhere in between, 2010 has been quite a year for tennis. There have been new champions and new nations emerging at the helm of the sport, close encounters and rivalries brewing and of course those at the top of the game continuing to prove they are the best.
With the Davis Cup final in Serbia marking the end of the season, I take a look back at five of my best moments from the tennis year.
Rafael Nadal
The performances of Rafael Nadal are one of the highlights of the 2010 tennis season
It is hard to pick out one particular standout moment of the world number one’s year when there were so many highlights. The Spaniard won the French Open for the fifth time, Wimbledon for the second and claimed his first U.S. Open crown in September to seal the career grand slam and become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three majors back-to-back.
Add to that Nadal only dropping two sets in a phenomenal unbeaten clay-court season, and it is easy to see why many experts are already hailing the 24-year-old as one of the greatest players of all time.
And when you consider his year in 2009 – losing in the fourth round of the French, being unable to defend his Wimbledon crown, watching his parents get divorced, and having to retire from the Australian Open in January 2010 with ongoing injury problems – everything he has achieved since is all the more spectacular.
French Open final, Schiavone v Stosur
It was not the big-name line-up that the press had been hoping for, but the final between Italy’s Francesca Schiavone and Australia’s Samantha Stosur was one of the best Roland Garros has hosted for many years.
Champion Schiavone was a worthy winner of the crown – Italy’s first female grand slam single’s winner – and at 30 years old proved that it is never too late to achieve your dream.
In reaching the final both Schiavone and Stosur took advantage of the gap at the top of the women’s game, and have become serious contenders at all future tournaments.
Wozniacki becomes number one
There has been a great deal of controversy surrounding Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki’s rise to the top of the women’s rankings this year, with the 20-year-old having never won a grand slam title — just like her recent predecessor’s as world number one Jelena Jankovic and Dinara Safina.
However, Wozniacki has progressed to the top of game through consistency and winning a lot of tournaments – unlike Jankovic and Safina who one could argue only got there at the expense of others.
Yes Serena Williams in injured, but Wozniacki is the greatest active player in the world at the moment and at such a young age her time will surely come to win a grand slam.
Isner/Mahut at Wimbledon
It is a match I and many other people will never forget, particularly as I was lucky enough to see several hours of the 11 hour and 5 minute contest, which took place over three days at Wimbledon this year.
The longest tennis match in history, American John Isner eventually beat France’s Nicolas Mahut 70-68 in the final set – a scoreline that will surely never be repeated.
Just a first round game, both players spent more time on court than 2009 women’s champion Serena Williams did for the whole of that tournament. It was a shame either had to lose but they both received a commemorative trophy for their part in the record-breaking match.
Serbia win Davis Cup final
Serbia making history by claiming their first Davis Cup title, beating France at home in Belgrade, was the perfect way for the 2010 tennis season to come to a close.
The former Yugoslavian state only entered the competition for the first time in 1995 and did not take part as an independent Serbia until 2007. Nevertheless, with the support of the crowd and the excellent play of their top players, the nation beat the nine-time Davis Cup champions France by three rubbers to two.
World number three Novak Djokovic described at as the biggest success his country has ever had, confirming Serbia’s status as a tennis superpower.
Tennis at the Commonwealth Games
Tennis made its debut at the Commonwealth Games last month, which took place in Delhi from 3-14 October.
The Games — which take place between the 54 Commonwealth nations, all but two of which are former British colonies — features ten core sports, plus an additional seven optional sports of which tennis can be one.
Given the wave popularity the sport is enjoying amongst Indian people, There could not have been a more appropriate place in which to welcome the sport to the Commonwealth-wide competition.
The southern city of Chennai, also hosted India’s Davis Cup World Group playoff tie from 17-18 September, which the team won to find themselves back in the World Group of the competition and at the top level of men’s tennis.
So, with tennis enjoying such prominence in the Indian calendar, could the Asian country be about to follow in the footsteps of Eastern Europe and China and become the next big tennis nation?
Inspired by Vijay Amritraj — the first Indian to play on the tennis circuit in the 1970′s — along with India’s host of current international tennis stars, tennis academies are popping up all over the country with young and old wanting to pick up a racket and try to replicate the feats of their professional Indian counterparts.
The likes of Rohan Bopanna, who made headlines when he reached the final of the men’s doubles at September’s U.S. Open with his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi — as well as the final of the mixed — is setting the example for the next generation of Indian tennis players.
Fellow doubles specialists Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who won 25 doubles titles whilst playing together and many since finsing new partners, have also raised the profile of the sport in the once exclusively cricket-mad nation.
And former world number 27 Sania Mirza — who was front page news in India when she married Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik earlier in the year — is flying the Indian flag for the singles players, along with rising men’s top-100 star Somdev Devvarman.
All were part of the Indian tennis team in Delhi vying to win the five gold medals up for grabs in the sport. Deverman was successful in winning gold in men’s singles, while Mirza managed silver in the women’s event.
India were always confident about the chances of topping the podium in Delhi and so it proved right. But how much is this about the standard of the competition in the Commonwealth, rather than the nation’s superiority in the tennis world?
In the current men’s top 100 singles — aside from India’s Devvarman — only Scot Andy Murray, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, Cyprus’ Marcos Baghdatis and South Africa’s Kevin Anderson were eligible to play in the Games, but none of the quartet will be making the trip to South East Asia.
Winning gold in Delhi was therefore the equivalent to a title on the challenger circuit – a tier below the main tennis tour. So it is hardly surprising the likes of Murray and Hewitt chose to defend their ranking points at the October’s China Open and Shanghai Masters events instead of competing for their country.
Hewitt, although passionate about representing Australia in Davis Cup, has spoken out about tennis’ place in the Commonwealth Games, describing it as “a little strange”.
“I didn’t even know tennis was in the Commonwealth Games,” he said in Australian newspaper the Sydney Morning Herald. “With the tour we have, you can’t cram too many more tournaments or events in our schedule. Especially for top players.”
Mukerjea has acknowledged the abscence of the Commonwealth’s best, but doesn’t want it to take away from the success he hopes India will have in the competition.
“The pullouts have taken the sheen away from what is tennis’ debut at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“It would’ve been great to see Andy Murray and Lleyton Hewitt play, but at the same time there will be some good players and we will still see good tennis.”
However, Bhupathi belives tennis’ inclusion in India’s Commonwealth Games — one of the biggest sporting events the country has ever hosted — will propel the sport even further into the spotlight in his homeland.
“It has become big for us because it is being played in our backyard for the first time,” he said.
And regardless of the standard of the competition Bhupathi has a point. After all success is said to breed success and with many Indians having seen tennis played in their country for the first time and more importantly seeing their stars win — many more could be inspired to pick up a racket.
In a few years time we could be seeing a whole wave of Indians tennis stars dominating the world game.
Top ten U.S. Open moments
As the 2010 U.S. Open gets underway at Flushing Meadows in New York we take a look back at 10 of the most memorable moments of the last, but definitely not least, tennis Grand Slam of the year.
The U.S. Open has provided many memorable moments over the years
The tournament began back in 1881 in Forest Hills and has since grown into one of the four biggest tennis competitions in the world. And over its 100 plus year history there have certainly been many great finals, champions and unexpected moments for us to savour.
Arthur Ashe makes history 1968
1968 marked the start of tennis’ Open Era and for the first time, professional players were invited to compete at in New York.
However, 1968 is most famous for Arthur Ashe’s victory over Tom Okker in the final. A lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Ashe was not a professional so could not claim his $14,000 prize but made history by becoming the first African American man to win a Grand Slam.
In 1997 a new stadium court was opened at Flushing Meadows named after Ashe. It is now the main court at the U.S. Open.
Tracey Austin becomes youngest ever U.S. Open winner 1979
At the tender age of 16 years eight months and 28 days, pint-sized Tracey Austin became Flushing Meadows’ youngest ever champion when she defeated fellow American darling Chris Evert in the final.
Austin also put out the great Martina Navratilova in the final as well as ending Evert’s bid for a fifth consecutive U.S. Open title.
The teenager went on to claim her second American title at the age of 18, this time defeating Navratilova in the final.
John McEnroe gets revenge on Bjorn Borg 1980
After their epic Wimbledon final earlier in the summer, where Borg was victorious despite losing that tiebreak, McEnroe was looking to get the better of his Swedish rival at his home slam.
The defending champion put out his other fierce rival Jimmy Connors in the semis in a five set thriller, and went on to defeat Borg in an equally long contest in the final.
It wasn’t the classic that crowds had witnessed at SW19 but McEnroe became the first Amrerican man to win back to back Open titles for almost 40 years.
The arrival of Pete Sampras 1990
Of his five U.S. Open singles titles, Sampras’ first in 1990 – at the age of just 19 — was probably his most memorable.
The teenger knocked out a string of big names to reach his first ever Grand Slam final, including Ivan Lendl, Thomas Muster and John McEnroe.
And in the final Sampras made light work of fellow American Andre Agassi, defeating his opponent in straight sets to become the youngest ever men’s singles champion.
Andre Agassi becomes first unseeded player to win in New York 1994
After a rocky, injury ridden patch, which saw Andre Agassi slip down the world rankings, the Las Vegas boy found himself in the U.S. Open final.
He defeated German Michael Stich to win the tournament, his second Grand Slam title after winning at Wimbledon in 1992.
Agassi made history by becoming the first player who wasn’t seeded to win the title.
Monica Seles recovers from stabbing to make final 1995
The 1995 final was fought between long-time rivals Monica Seles and Germany’s Steffi Graf.
The match was even more pivotal however, as it was their first meeting since Seles had been stabbed during a match against Graf in Hamburg two years earlier.
Seles lost to Graf in a three-set match but the tournament signalled her return to form after the enforced two-year break from the sport.
Agassi v Federer final 2005
There are some matches that seem as if they are a changing of the guard, and the 2005 men’s singles final between American legend Agassi and Swiss star Roger Federer was one of them.
Agassi had battled past rising stars such as compatriot James Blake to reach the final, becoming the oldest U.S. Open finalist at 35.
However, Agassi had few more weapons when he came up against defending champion Federer, losing in four sets. Federer went on to win the next three years at Flushing Meadows.
Serena explodes 2009
It wasn’t the first time Serena Williams had lost her temper at the U.S. Open but it was certainly the worst.
After receiving a foot-fault two points before losing to Kim Clijsters in the semifinal, the younger Williams sister embarked on a profanity-laced screaming fit, threatening the line judge who made the call.
Serena was fined for the incident, which was certainly one of her more memorable exits from a Grand Slam tournament.
Kim Clijsters’ triumphant comeback 2009
Surely one the most spectacular comebacks in sport, Kim Clijsters won the U.S. Open last year in only her third tournament back on tour after a two-year spell of retirement.
A wildcard, Clijsters won added to her 2005 U.S. Open crown with a victory over Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in the final.
After giving birth to daughter Jada while on retirement, Clijsters also became the first mother since Australia’s Evonne Goolagong-Cawley in 1980 to lift a Grand Slam trophy.
Juan Martin Del Potro halts the Fed express 2009
When it transpired that five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer was to face little known Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro in the 2009 final, no-one thought a sixth consecutive title for Federer was ever in doubt.
Del Potro certainly produced the shock of the tournament beating Federer in five sets to win his first Grand Slam title.
Unfortunately, a long-term wrist injury has prevented Del Potro from playing for most of the year and he will not be able to defend his title. So can Roger win it back or will there be another name on the trophy – Nadal, Murray or maybe Djokovic? And what memorable moments will the 2010 contest provide?
Sports to watch now World Cup is over
After a month of watching football almost every day, and sometimes two or three times a day, it is understandable that we might be feeling a little blue now that the World Cup has come to an end.
And for all those who have also been glued to the lawns of SW19, the fact that Wimbledon is over too is a double blow – and we are now left with a big sport shaped hole in our lives and nothing much to watch on telly.
Well, there are actually some other big sporting events taking place this summer and tuning into them could be the perfect antidote to those post-world cup blues.
Tour de France
The 97th Tour de France began on 3 July in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and will end on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on 25 July. The race covers approximately 3,600 km of France and its neighbouring countries.
The Tour is broken up into day long stages with the winner of each stage awarded a yellow jersey. The times for each stage are added up at the end of the race to determine a winner.
Spain’s Alberto Contador won the 2009 race but America’s Lance Armstrong holds the record for the most wins with seven between 1999-2005. There is plenty of British interest in the race too, with Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins, who finished fourth in 2009.
Daily coverage of the Tour de France 2010 can be found on Eurosport and highlights on ITV4.
The Open
The 2010 Open Championship is to return to the home of golf at St Andrews, from the 15-18 July. The tournament is held on one of nine courses around England and Scotland on a rotation basis.
The Open is one of four major golf tournaments that take place each year, but it is the oldest and the only to be held outside of the U.S.
Stewart Cink was the surprise winner of the 2009 event held at Turnberry. In the modern era Tom Watson holds the record for the most championships, currently holding five.
The Open will be broadcast on the BBC from 15-18 July.
European Athletics
The 20th European Athletics Championship will take place in Barcelona from 27 July – 1 August.
The event takes place every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games which is to be held in Delhi, India later in the year.
Great Britain traditionally do very well in the event and lie third in the all time medal table, behind the Soviet Union and East Germany. This year athletes will be hoping they can impress ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
The European Athletics will be broadcast on the BBC from 27 July – 1 August.
Formula One
The 2010 Formula One season began back in March and will end in November in Abu Dhabi. There are 19 races over the season, with a drivers and a constructor’s championship to compete for.
This season has seen the return of the most successful driver of all time, Germany’s Michael Schumacher, after a spell of retirement.
And it turns out that motor racing is a sport that the UK is quite good at. Reigning F1 champion Jenson Button partners 2008 champion and fellow Brit Lewis Hamilton at McLaren and the pair currently top the drivers’ standings.
Formula One 2010 is broadcast on the BBC.
Premier League
But if you really can’t wait for the football to start again, it isn’t actually that long until the world’s biggest and best football league starts up for 2010/11 in September.
Tottenham and Manchester City will open proceedings on 14 August, with 14 further teams in action on the Saturday.
So if none of the other sports on offer are for you, then you only have a few weeks to wait before football kicks off all over again.
Wimbledon 2010 review
70-68
John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played the longest tennis match in history in the first round of Wimbledon 2010
Whatever else Wimbledon 2010 will be remembered for, no-one will ever forget that first round match between America’s John Isner and France’s Nicolas Mahut. They played for 11 hours over 3 days and broke just about every record ever set in tennis, that it was a shame that Isner winning the match meant Mahut had to lose. Needless to say after taking longer to win one match that Serena Williams did to win seven at 2009 Wimbledon, Isner barely turned up for his second round encounter against Thomas de Baaker which he lost in straight sets. After the marathon match Isner and Mahut were presented with a commemorative trophy for their effort — as was the umpire — but poor Mahut looked like he wished he could just run off court after coming out on the wrong side of one of the most historic moments in tennis. Since returning to the U.S. everyone has wanted a bit of Isner and the 6ft9 world number 21 has appeared on numerous talk shows across his home country.
End of an era?
After five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams got knocked out by world number 82 Tsevtana Pironkova in the quarter-finals, we didn’t think there would be any bigger shock at the tournament. However, just 24 hours later six-time winner Roger Federer became another surprise quarter-final casualty going down to Czech Tomas Berdych. So will the two best grass-court players of the last decade return triumphant to the All England club in years to come? Well, right them off at your peril. But their absence from the draw has certainly allowed some other tennis stars to shine. Who would have thought that Pironkova, Petra Kvitova and Vera Zvonareva would have been contesting the Wimbledon semi –finals? And could beating Federer be the making of Berdych’s career that has so far promised so much yet delivered so little. Only time will tell. But we have seen there that there definitely depth in both the men’s and women’s game – and the next year could be a very exciting time for tennis.
The return of the Belgians
With Kim Clijsters playing her first Wimbledon since 2006 and compatriot and twice beaten Wimbledon finalist Justine Henin appearing at the first since 2007, it was great to see the two Belgian starts back on the hallowed turf. It was a shame they had to meet so early in the tournament, but their fourth round clash – which Clijsters managed to clinch in the final set – was definitely one of the highlights of the women’s competition. Let’s hope they keep coming back to SW19 for many more years – it would be fantastic to see one of the two such popular players lift the Wimbledon trophy.
Heat-wave
Ever since the All England Club spent £15 million on a fancy retractable roof for Centre Court, South West London has been bathed in never-ending sunshine and rarely has a cloud been spotted in the sky. In 2009 the roof was used just the once to finish off a match between Andy Murray and Stanislas Wawrinka, but because of bad light rather than bad weather, and the same in 2010 for Novak Djokovic second round match. Will we see more action from the roof in 2011? For once everyone in Wimbledon is praying for rain.
Great Champions
They might not have been the finals that we expected – no-one thought two weeks ago that Vera Zvonareva and Tomas Berdych would have given themselves a shot at Wimbledon glory – and they might not have been the great finals that Federer, Nadal and Andy Roddick have treated us to over the last couple of years. However, the stunning finals performances of ladies champion Serena Williams, and mens champion Rafael Nadal, confirmed both players as the best in the world. For Serena – who served 89 aces and did not drop a set all fortnight – her fourth Wimbledon title, and for the Williams family, the ninth in just 11 years. The win also marked her 13th Grand Slam singles title moving her above the legendary Billie Jean King in the all-time standings. And given the lack of anyone coming up to take Serena’s place as the world’s best player – even at 28, few would bet against her returning and winning some more. As for Rafa it was a kind of justice that after being unable to defend his Wimbledon crown in 2009, that we was able to reclaim it in such style in 2010. After struggling through a couple of five-setters in the early rounds, the Spaniard produced a dominant performance over world number 4 Andy Murray in the semi-finals , which he went on to repeat beating Berdych in straight sets in the final. In the kind of form he was in no-one had a chance against the 8-time Grand Slam Champion, who frighteningly is still only 24. Humble in victory and a crowd favourite, there is no doubt that Nadal will be a feature of many more Wimbledon finals in years to come.
Changing of the guard at Wimbledon
Over the last ten years we have got so used to the Williams sisters and Roger Federer dominating the Wimbledon finals – you have to go back to 1999 since there was a Williams-less final and to 2002 since there was a Roger-less one – that the British public have never really got to know any of the other top players on the tour.
Novak Djokovic is a former Australian Open champion but has not made a big impact at Wimbledon until this year
And with six-time champion Federer, and five-time champion Venus Williams making an earlier than normal exit at the quarter final stage of the tournament, there is a feeling that there is a changing of the guard at Wimbledon this year.
Who knows if the two great champions will come back and win more titles at the All England Club in the future — I have given up making predictions in the world of tennis after this week’s shocks – but if not, here is what you need to know about some of the players who have made it through to the latter stages of the 2010 competition. If they don’t lift the title this year could well do so in years to come.
Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic
Born in the small town of Valasske Mezirici in the Czech Republic, Berdych began playing tennis at the age of 4 and quickly became a top junior.
The 24-year-old rose to a career high ranking of 9 back in 2007, and is currently 13th in the world. Until beating Roger Federer in the quarters of Wimbledon 2010, his best Grand Slam result came at the French Open earlier the same year where he los t to eventual runner-up Robin Soderling. He has also played in 14 Davis Cup ties for his country, and reached the final of the competition in 2009.
As well as tennis, Berdych is a big fan of football and ice hockey, and he has met many his fellow Czech’s who play in the NHL.
Novak Djokovic, Serbia
Djokovic also began playing tennis at the age of four but moved to train in Munich at the age of 12.
At 23 the Serb is the youngest player in the open era to have made the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments and is the only player from his country to have won one, after claiming the Australian Open title in 2008. He has finished number 3 in the world for five years in a row.
Djokovic comes from a sporting family – his father, uncle and aunt were all professional skiers and his younger brother’s all play tennis. He also has a restaurant named after him in Serbia’s capital Belgrade, which his parents opened in 2009.
Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
The 20-year-old comes from the same tennis club as fellow Wimbledon semi-finalist and fellow Czech Tomas Berdych.
Before Wimbledon 2010 the youngster had never won a match on grass, and had lost in the first round of the tournament on her two previous attempts. But at six-foot tall has suddenly found her game suited to the green stuff. Her best performances at Grand Slam’s prior to Wimbledon were fourth round appearances at the French Open in 2008 and the U.S. Open in 2009.
Ranked just 62 in the world, she has been as high as 40, but would love to make in to the top 30. The Czech has only ever won one singles title in her career.
Robin Soderling, Sweden
The 25-year-old Swede began playing tennis at the age of 5, and by 16 was the number one ranked junior in the world.
Twice a French Open finalist, beating Rafael Nadal in 2009 and Roger Federer in 2010 to get there, Paris is by far where he has had his best results. He reached his first Wimbledon quarter final in 2010, but has never progressed beyond the second round of the other two majors.
Currently ranked six in the world, Soderling is the first Swedish player in the top ten since his coach Magnus Norman back in the year 2000 and is the only man from his country within the top 300 in the world.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
Born in Le Mans, where his family still live, Tsonga was number 2 in the world as a junior and won the U.S. Open junior title back in 2003.
Now 25 and ranked 10 in the world, the Frenchman has been as high as 6 and has reached one Grand Slam final, the 2008 Australian Open, where he lost to Novak Djokovic. There are ten French players currently ranked within the top 100, but Tsonga has consistently finished the best of them.
Tsonga inherited some of his sporting pedigree from his father who is a former Congolese handball player, and his brother who is an up and coming basketball player in France. He is also nicknamed Ali, because of his resemblance to the boxing legend.
Vera Zvonareva, Russia
Zvonareva’s mother, a former Olympic hockey player, introduced her daughter to tennis in her home city of Moscow at the age of 6.
The 25-year-old has been ranked as high as 5 in the world, but is currently at 21 after a series of injuries. She is a Grand Slam doubles champion, having won the U.S Open ladies title with Nathalie Dechy in 2006 as well two mixed titles. And she is also an Olympic medallist, winning bronze in the singles competition in Beijing in 2008. Until her run at Wimbledon in 2010, her best result in Grand Slam singles came in 2009 reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Zvonareva is a graduate of the Russian state academy of Physical Education and is currently studying for a second degree in international economic relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.
When tennis met fashion
Over recent years tennis players have ditched traditional sports attire in favour of more on-trend fashionable pieces that would not be out of place on the high street.
Venus Williams' 2010 Wimbledon outfit was inspired by a dress worn by Tina Turner
Wimbledon — unquestionably the most glamorous of the Grand Slams with its umpires and ball-boys decked out in Ralph Lauren, and players dressed head-to-toe in white — is where we have seen some of tennis’s most fashionable moments.
From Roger’s three-piece suit to Andy Murray’s retro Fred Perry ensemble last year, waiting to find out what the players are going to wear for the tournament, for some people, is almost as exciting as the tennis itself. And 2010 has been no exception.
Maria Sharapova
The pin up girl of women’s tennis, Sharapova has had no shortage of glamorous and skimpy tennis outfits to wear over the years and has a deal with clothing company Nike reportedly worth £43 million – the most lucrative ever for a female sports star. Last year Sharapova’s Wimbledon tuxedo top and shorts combo did not receive the attention it deserved after the Russian made a second round exit. However, her classic tired dress for the 2010 Championhsip made it all the way to the fourth round.
Serena Williams
Serena and big sister Venus rarely disappoint in the fashion stakes, and despite having sported some interesting choices on the court over the years, (I’m thinking black catsuit, denmin skirt and boot combo), always seem to get it just right at SW19. This year Serena has been modelling a strawberry and cream inspired outfit — an off-white dress and red hotpants, of course accompanied by a plethora of jewels and sparkly nails — which just manages to fit into the mostly white rule. Serena also has the three years she has won Wimbledon — 2002, 2003 and 2009 –printed on her shoes. As the overwhelming favourite for the title this year, she might need to leave a space for 2010.
Venus Williams
Venus designs her own tennis wear through her fashion line, Eleven. Just weeks after turning up at the French Open in a racy black lace number and flesh coloured shorts — which it is safe to say grabbed more headlines than her performance on the clay — the elder Williams sister arrived at Wimbledon in what she described as a Tina Turner themed dress. The lace top and flapper-style skirt echo the biggest trends for 2010 — but the chic outfit has not helped Venus’ form on the court, as she was knocked out in the quarters of the tournament she has won five times before.
Roger Federer
The six-time Wimbledon champion was one of the first men in the modern era to set tennis fashion trends amongst the male players. With his white bag, suit jacket, and all his other paraphernalia embroidered with RF — Federer has allowed other men to care about their on-court appearance. This year Roger’s off-white and gold t shirt has panels down the front resembling a dress shirt and despite still wearing a bandana, looks as ever the perfect gentleman.
Rafael Nadal
When Nadal first appeared at Wimbledon in knee length pirate-style shorts and sleeveless vest top, looking more like a basketballer than a tennis player, it is fair to say that the members of the All England Club did not really know what to make of the flamboyant Spaniard. However, Nadal has now ditched that look in favour of smarter and more traditional gear — a v neck t-shirt with red trimmings and matching shorts — still stylish but more in keeping with the Wimbledon set.
Surprise Wimbledon contenders
If you had asked for my Wimbledon predictions before the tournament began, it is safe to say that I would not have come up with the women’s semi-final line up that was produced after the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Wimbledon often produces a surprising order of play in the latter stages of the competition
With Vera Zvonareva beating a resurgent Kim Clijsters, Tsvetana Pironkova knocking out five-time champion Venus Williams, and Petra Kvitova sealing victory over Kaia Kanpei in the battle of the unknowns – the only name you would expect to see on the order of play on Thursday is Serena Williams, who put out China’s Na Li.
It is hardly the all-star billing that the crowd might have wanted but the grass of SW19 is renowned for throwing up some bizarre results, and creating names of lesser known players who somehow manage to creep through to the latter stages of the competition.
Here are a few of the more memorable surprise contenders – some who have disappeared of the radar, and others that became household names — who to everyone’s amazement found themselves in the mix in the closing days of the tournament in years gone by.
Boris Becker, winner 1985
The 17-year-old may have won the Wimbledon warm-up event at Queens days earlier, but no-one expected the teenagers run of good form would take him right the way through to the final.
Becker beat South African Kevin Curren in four sets to become the youngest player, the first German and the first unseeded entrant to ever win the Wimbledon title. Of course it wasn’t just beginners luck as Becker went on to defend the title in 86, win it again in 89 and finish as runner-up a total of four times.
Anna Kournikova, semi-final 1997
Russian-born Kournikova may no-longer be famed for her tennis prowess but on her Wimbledon debut in 1997, she became only the second woman after Chris Evert to reach the semis on her first attempt on the grass.
Unfortunately, Kournikova was unable to back up her impressive start to her career and is now remembered for having never won a singles title in her career, as well as for her model-like looks.
Vladimir Voltchkov, semi-final 2000
Voltchkov was a qualifier in 2000 when he slid unnoticed through the draw to meet seven-time champion Pete Sampras in the semi-finals. Needless to say the Belarusian lost the match but became the unlikely star of the tournament, having to borrow shorts and trainers off his fellow players as at the time he was without sponsorship and did not bring enough kit with him to last him the tournament.
However, Voltchkov never capitalised on his Wimbledon run, never progressing beyond the second round of any of the other slams. He figured on the challenger tour until about 2007, but has since all but disappeared from the game.
Goran Ivanisevic, winner 2001
Ivanisevic was a three-time runner up when he reached the final in 2001, but as a wildcard entrant having slipped out of the top 100 rankings, no-one really had high hopes for the Croatian. However, after knocking out Tim Henman in that infamous rain delayed 3-set semi-final match he went on to beat Pat Rafter on people’s Monday to take the title on his fourth attempt in one of the most memorable finals in history.
Content with his one Grand-Slam title, Ivanisevic has since retired and is always thankful that the All England Club gave him the chance to play in 2001 and that he was able to finally win the title.
Marion Bartoli, runner up 2007
One of only a handful of players other than the Williams sisters to have competed in the Wimbledon final over the past decade, Bartoli beat two-time runner-up Justine Henin to reach the final against Venus Williams.
The Frenchwoman was over awed by Venus in the match, but vowed if she was ever in the position to win a Grand Slam title again, then she would not loose. Unfortunately for Bartoli, she has not come close to having the opportunity since and few would predict her reaching the end of a Grand Slam again. However, we should know by now that we can never really predict what is going to happen at Wimbledon…
Murray mania is yet to reach the heights of Henmania
There had been other British tennis players before Tim Henman who had done reasonably well in Grand Slams and progressed nicely up the rankings, but given the frenzy that the man from Oxfordshire created every time he walked onto a tennis court you would never have thought so.
Tim Henman was and always will be adored by crowds at Wimbledon
Henman reached four Wimbledon semi-finals in the late 90’s and early 00’s (as well as getting to the semis of the French and the U.S. Open), had a hill named after him and caused normally sane people to queue for hours or even days festooned in Union Jacks just to watch him play.
However, Henman is long since retired and now we have arguably an even better hope of ending Britain’s 74 year wait for a Grand Slam champion in Andy Murray.
I may be looking back at the Henman era — and those summer nights sat on the edge, and sometimes behind the sofa, biting away my nails — with rose tinted spectacles, but I don’t believe that Murray mania has quite taken over from Henmania.
During Murray’s third round match against Gilles Simon on Saturday Centre Court was awash with empty seats and the crowd considerably quieter. Henman Hill is yet to be christened Murray Mount – and here are the reasons why.
Henmania came first
Yes, we had had British players before but none had seemed more likely of winning a Grand Slam title than Tim Henman, and specifically none had seemed more likely of winning at Wimbledon. Henmania became something of a cult that everyone wanted a piece of. Even today you may occasionally here a cry of ‘Come on Tim’ at Wimbledon today, even though Henman would only ever be found in the commentary box these days.
Henman was more open with the public and the press
As a player Henman was confident and at ease when talking in front of the camera, which he has been able to transfer to his new television career. Although Murray has grown more relaxed with age, he often comes across as quiet and grumpy and the public are yet to become as enamoured with his personality as they have with his tennis.
Murray doesn’t have Henman’s Wimbledon record
Tim Henman’s consistent presence at the end of the Wimbledon fortnight raised his profile amongst the British public, who only ever really saw him playing well, and were unaware of his more shaky records on other surfaces. Murray on the other hand, while his Wimbledon record is not bad, has performed better at other tournaments winning Masters events in North America and Europe and reaching two Grand Slam finals which the British public have not always been able to see. Unfortunately the British are obsessed with Wimbledon and not necersarily tennis, which means Murray almost has to establish himself at SW19 before the public fall in love with him.
Murray is a better player
In my house we always used to say that watching Tim Henman play was bad for your health because he always seemed to have a little dip in form in the middle of a game which would make you doubt if he was going to win it. This undoubtedly made matches more exciting to watch and the crowd would increase in volume to help Tim get through. So far this year Murray has hardly broken sweat in his matches and is the only player left in the draw to have not dropped a set in the tournament. And having reached as high as number two in the world, Murray bestows much more confidence on the spectator that he will eventually come through a match.
Murray is Scottish
Unfortunately for Murray he will never be able to live the comments he made about supporting anyone but England in the last World Cup in 2006. For anyone south of the border he will always be a scot rather than a Brit, especially when he loses. However, should he continue his run to the semis and dare we imagine Wimbledon finals this week he of course would be forever British.
