So, it will not be a British name inscribed on the Australian Open men's singles tennis trophy in Melbourne on Sunday evening. That dwindling band of British sports fans who remember the great Fred Perry will remain the only ones to witness one of their own triumph on the courts Down Under. I hate to say I told you so, but I did try in a recent column to temper British hopes for Andy Murray. But are we downhearted? I do not think so. The nagging fear that Murray may follow in the footsteps of previous British hopes Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, neither of whom ever managed to get beyond the last 16 of the Aussie Open, is not supported by his performances in Melbourne.
There was nothing in Murray's play to contradict the conventional wisdom that the Scotsman has made great strides in every aspect of his game; the technical, the physical, and the mental; and if we Brits wish to seek a silver lining behind the cloud we can comfort ourselves in the knowledge that Roger Federer competed in 17 grand slams before winning one. This was only Murray's 13th. . The truly encouraging aspect of Murray's defeat was his reaction to it. He did not attempt to draw attention to the sore throat and headaches he suffered before his third-round win over Austria's Jurgen Melzer, nor did he make reference to the intense Melbourne heat. He paid generous tribute to his Spanish opponent.
That is tennis for you. You do not always beat players you are expected to beat. That, in short, was Murray's view, and it is one I share. It is what makes tennis such a glorious game. I heard some clown on the radio the other day complaining about the scoring system. He said he saw no reason for the second serve - "You don't get a chance to take a corner again in football if it doesn't work out, so why should you get another go in tennis?" were his words - and could not see the point in dividing a match up into games and sets, believing the points should be just totted up; 1-0, 2-0, and so on. Nonsense, of course. It is the scoring system that makes tennis the glorious game it is. Say, for instance, a set is going with serve, and the favourite is comfortable at 40-15, when from nowhere the underdog plucks an unlikely passing shot, bringing the score to 40-30. This could easily plant a seed of doubt in the favourite's mind, and before he knows it, the seed has sprouted, he has lost another point, and is fighting for his life. Because what goes on between the ears is so vitally important in tennis. It means there are no guarantees in tennis, and that is what makes it endlessly fascinating.
Ten years ago, Premier League managers were asked to imagine they could take any one player from a rival team, and, if so, which player would it be? Overwhelmingly, the answer came back: Ryan Giggs. You can see why; a winger with pace to burn, an accurate crosser of the ball, and, what is more, a player not afraid to roll up his sleeves and graft. Also, despite having had a high-profile girlfriend or two, he seemed to have a knack of keeping himself out of the newspapers. Now, at 35, Giggs is a bit-part player at Manchester United, but his form and attitude have been magnificent. Against West Brom the other week, deep into the second half of a match already won, the winger raced back 80 yards to make a tackle. In my opinion, he is the best midfielder of the Premier League era, and if the League's managers were asked again the question posed 10 years ago, I reckon one or two even now might think about Giggsy.
There is nothing more thrilling than a great sporting comeback, and the story of Kurt Warner, the Arizona Cardinals' quarterback about to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in tomorrow's Super Bowl, is one of the best. He is 37 years old and his career was widely believed to be over when he was benched by the Cardinals at the start of the 2005 season. Also, Warner has overcome the litany of injuries customary in American Football to put his body on the line once more, against the rough, tough defenders of the Pittsburgh Steelers in tomorrow's spectacular. If you are the kind of person who enjoys the Rocky movies, or the new Mickey Rourke film The Wrestler, you will be rooting for him. mkelner@thenational.ae
