'WIMBLEDON 2019, ( SOME OBSERVATIONS )

This year's Wimbledon Championships have so far dished up a smorgasbord of Journalist delights, however not all of the action has been on court and we have the walking, talking billboard Nick Kyrgios to thank for that.
Let's, however, start with some on-court observations;
Maria Sharapova, the screeching Russian who has battled to find her way back amongst the World's elite once more since her well-documented drug suspension a few years ago, did herself no favors in Round 1.
How can't you finish a match at 0-5 down in the third??
Was it too much of a dent to her huge ego to simply play the final set out or did it all have to be about her latest 'injury'? 
Whatever the facts were surrounding the supposed injury it's an unwritten law in tennis that you let the opponent take just a 'hint' of glory if you are trailing by daylight in the final set. 
Man up, cop it on the chin, accept the fact that you were outplayed, injury or otherwise.
At 0-5, C'mon, grit the teeth, swing at a few, go through the motions, lose with dignity.
Complain about the shoulder in the Press Conference but don't make it all about YOU on the court.

Now speaking of Press Conferences, I fully understand that it's a necessity for Journalists and Newspaper Companies alike that they take place but seriously, I do not blame  Nick K for treating them with contempt.
Some of the questions he was asked were a little lame, to say the least.
For a start, 11 pm in London is probably about an hour or so after it gets dark at this time of year so if Nick was at a pub at that hour should it really be front page news? 

By all reports he wasn't drunk so was he simply out for dinner and a lemon, lime, and bitters while enjoying his time in London as opposed to what all of the other 'robots' who play the game were probably doing at the same time?

Here's a question thrown at Nick by a Reporter;

"Do you regret going to the pub last night and do you think you would have played better if you hadn't?"

“You look way too excited to ask that question. You must have a really boring life.”

I thought that was a pretty good answer.

Another tennis enthusiast described Nick's night at the pub as 'legendary status', obviously referring to the Aussie's outrageously down to earth approach to his chosen sport.
Whilst most Tennis Pros are stuck inside their tiny bubble as far as training, diet and early nights are concerned it seems the sport now has someone who spends more time out of the bubble than in it.

After all, isn't it an Aussie tradition the night before the local Club Championships to go to the pub with ya mates and sink an ale or two to keep it real? 

How can we not love Nick's way of dealing with taking on one of the sport's all-time greats? Stay at home, play the match over in your head and get minimal sleep or go out and take your mind off it.

Have a few laughs.

Love it.

Whilst the Media outlets had a field day with that particular story I found the whole thing to be somewhat endearing towards Nick K's rather polarizing personality. 

The guy actually treats tennis as a job and not a matter of life or death and in this era where the outrageous egos of Roger, Rafa and Novak are still trying to outdo one another for the 'GOAT' status ( Greatest of all time), well, I find it somewhat refreshing.
Now just on Rafa, I don't mind him but seriously the guy flaunts the rules doesn't he?
I mean, how many service lets did he hit during the Kyrgios match and was it really necessary to go through that whole painful routine after each let serve?  
Is it just me or does the rule need a slight tweak?
Why after a service let is it not a priority to serve the next ball almost instantly and in particular without a superstitious routine thrown in for good measure? Rafa, along with Novak's ball bouncing antics will be the reason why tennis one day gets limited to ONE SERVE ONLY which may, in fact, make tennis a whole lot more interesting than some of the matches we endure as spectators.
Can you imagine an Isner/ Anderson match with ONE SERVE each?? Oh the joy of that scenario.
Have you seen the highlights of the Connors/ Navratilova 'Battle of the Sexes' match from a few years back? Now there was a ridiculously entertaining tennis match where the great 'Jimbo' was only allowed ONE SERVE and boy was it fun to watch. 
Whoever invented the two serve tennis rule obviously was a player who lacked the technical qualities required to start a point without a free swing first.
Funny rule when you really give it some thought.
Now to Serena and Ash.
A lot of the talk has been about whether or not Serena 'disrespected' Ash by acting surprised in a Press Conference at the fact that Ash was, in fact, World Number 1. Personally, I found it all a bit ho-hum. Whilst I am not really a Serena fan I can see her point on this occasion.
I mean seriously, does a player who has won that many titles and that much money still get up in the morning and log on to the World Tennis Rankings website and take a deep breath "I can barely contain my anxiety level here, what number am I today? "
C'mon, get a grip, let's give Serena the benefit of the doubt on this one, as Australia's very own 'Tennis Expert' Sam Groth perhaps should have also done. Grothy attracted the ire of many as he hammered Serena in an article he recently wrote which went down as well as a fish milkshake for Serena fans.
One even suggested that Grothy is as good a Reporter as he was at tennis.
That was harsh.
Now just on our very own new World Number 1 Ash Barty; 
Brutal isn't she? 
At 6-1, 5-1 up in her second round clash she had the audacity to challenge her helpless opponent's first serve which was called in however Ash was merciless in her approach and was not simply prepared to cough it up without another look at it.
Yet that's what the greats of the game do, they are merciless and meticulous in everything they do and probably not out at the local Pub at 11 pm kissing female Journalists on the cheek as Nick K was spotted doing in London the night before he was due to face Rafa.
Each to their own.
Wimbledon week 2 is sure to be full of tennis, tennis and more tennis but unfortunately for those of us who like a bit of the feisty stuff and entertaining post-match interviews, well Nick won't be around, in singles that is. 
I am sure he will behave himself in the Mixed Doubles.
Between you and me, I find the thought of that rather uninspiring.

Time for the 'Tour de France'........

Glenn Thompson
( Author of 'PERSPECTIVE' A Tennis Point of View)
Available on Amazon.com, paperback, and Ebook