Recap: the US Open 2014

From August 25 on we have all enjoyed watching the US Open. It has been a tournament with lots of surprises and many highlights for different players.

The tournament has shown that the top of the men’s tennis is getting more vulnerable. The absence of Nadal and the relapse of Murray were clearly visible in the third quarter of the playing schedule. However, even the rest of the top men players could not make it to the final. This meant that for the first time in years there was a final that was not played by one of the famous names like Nadal, federer or Djokovic. Does this mean a new era starts with new names at the top?

The women also showed us some amazing matches after which the powerful Serena Williams eventually won her third title in a row by winning the final from Wozniacki.

Here are some movies from the most high-profile matches and other highlights of the tournament.

The women's final:

The men’s final: 

Wozniackie vs Errani 

Cilic vs Federer    

Williams vs Makarova    

Djokovic vs Murray     

Roger Federer's half volley lob shot

Hot dog shot of Ivan Dodig

Amazing shot of Monfils    

Sometimes Monfils makes the most crazy shots: 

There were also some funny moments during the tournament.

After all the US Open, again, was a controversial tournament during which we have enjoyed watching all the players.

Lack of Tennis Championships in Britain:discuss

The lack of tennis champions here in Britain has become a major issue. It is a well known fact that a British Tennis player has not won Wimbledon since the seventies. why? There could be several reasons .

The first is that tennis itself has not been heavily promoted in comparison with other sports, resulting in a 23% loss in people playing once a week, with this culminating in Sports England cutting its funding dramatically.

People wanting to join tennis clubs are also being discouraged, the reasons being examined in this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/05/tennis-cheap-friendly-thrilling-few-playing

　

Tennis also has to rid itself of its old stereotyped image of being elitist and being a "posh toffs " game. This would enhance the kudos of tennis as a whole and therefore encourage the masses to take up the game.

A further issue may be the state of the structure of tennis itself in the UK and how the system moulds Tennis players as discussed in this article: http://lupine-rob.hubpages.com/hub/Shambolic-state-of-British-Tennis



PS I never mentioned the great British weather-that would just be an excuse would it not?

 so lets hope this problem is resolved soon.

　

Tennis balls: pressures, weights and speeds

In theory, a tennis ball is an essential, but simple piece of tennis equipment. There are different lines and makes, but you know that all of the main brands are going to be of a good enough quality.

But for something so small, at just 6.7cm, a tennis ball is often far from simple. With variations in weight, felt, pressure and rubber, no two lines of ball are ever the same.

This, of course, isn't something exclusive to tennis. The unpredictable swerve, and subsequent goalkeeping blunders, caused by the adidas Jabulani ball in the 2010 football world cub was barely off the back pages, while the swinging Tiflex cricket balls, used in the County Championship second division last season, hasn't gone down too well with some batsmen. But in tennis, a sport in which getting a good feel of ball on racket is extremely important, there is certainly a credible case for a more standardised ball.

For the casual player it's not necessarily a big deal - whatever tennis balls they can get hold of they will make the most of. But for the more serious, competitive player, the disparity from ball to ball can sometimes be a frustrating experience.

With varying degrees of aerodynamics, some balls will fly through the air while others arrive noticeably slower. With precision and timing so important, even the smallest of changes can be the difference between a ball landing perfectly on the line, and flying several feet beyond the baseline. Different weights of ball can have an impact on the speed through the court, while two balls with an identical bounce is not a common sight. Even the ATP and WTA will use different balls depending on sponsors, so imagine the mix and match present on the club scene.

The major disadvantage is that it's hard for tennis players to have any continuity and consistency. But you could also argue that this is the main plus point. Playing with different balls can, potentially, give a player more experience in different conditions and situations. A big part of tennis is being able to thing, adjust and adapt, so surely there's an equally strong argument for actively trying to practice with a wide range of tennis balls in order to prepare yourself for the challenges a competitive tennis match throws up at you.

With the increasing popularity of pressureless balls for training, and the colour coded 1-2-3 balls for young juniors, the variety is, if anything, continuing to increase. Both sides have a solid argument, but no matter what you're opinion, if you're a serious tennis player then it's time to start getting used to the quirks of different balls - because they're not going away anytime soon!

This week's tennis: WTA curtain call and the race for the o2

In a few weeks time, London's o2 will host the second biggest UK based tournament, the ATP finals. But this week it is the turn of the world's top eight women, who take to the court in Istanbul. The eight participants are split into two groups of four, with the top two from each progressing to the semi finals.

And as is often the case with Women's tennis these days, the field is wide open with the bookies seemingly unable to call it. That said, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka are both narrow joint favourites. Kvitova, who won Wimbledon this year to record her first Grand Slam title faded away somewhat in the latter part of the season, but bounced back well with a recent win at Linz.

Azarenka perhaps under performed in the majors, but managed a pretty solid season otherwise, the highlight of which being a straight sets win over Maria Sharapova in Miami

Sharapova herself is third favourite having moved back up to number 2 in the world. She is the only player in the field to win the tournament having defeated Serena Williams in 2004. World number 1 and last years runner up Caroline Wozniacki is only considered 4th favourite despite a typically consistent season.

The other two major winners, Li Na and Sam Stosur, who won the French and U.S. Open respectively, are considered outsiders. Both have been inconsistent since their big wins, and as a result Vera Zvonareva and Agnieszka Radwanska are more heavily fancied.

This weeks ATP tennis is less of spectacle, with just a couple of 250 tournaments taking place. Even so, the Erste Bank open in Vienna could still have a bearing on who takes to the court in London next month. Current world number 9 Jo Wilfred Tsonga is the only player in the mix to play. Should the Frenchman win he will move in touching distance of Mardy Fish above him. With Tsonga's home Masters, on the fast indoor hard courts of Paris, still to come, a win in Austria will put him in serious contention.

Meanwhile, 44 year old Thomas Muster will retire for the second time after he bows out in Vienna. The former Roland Garros champion made an unlikely comeback in 2010, but currently sits at 1078 in the rankings.