Off The Net: Mourinho must manage Murray, Jurassic Rafa faces extinction

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Murrinho anyone?

    When mankind first encountered grass, two things came to mind. One: this stuff would go really well with sabre-tooth steak and two: this would be the perfect surface for smashing a ball back and forth at ferocious speed. Indeed, it’s a little known fact that when man made the wheel its invention was solely intended for a makeshift umpire chair, and the very first human skeletons were found to be clutching a bowl of dusty strawberries.

    It’s no wonder then that Wimbledon has so much history. And the anticipation of the 138th instalment has been ratcheted up even further this year by extending the break between the French Open and Wimbledon from two to three weeks. It is the most high profile over-extension in tennis since the Pete Sampras Slam Dunk. We assume that call was made to give players a longer rest period or, more conceivably, John Isner requested privacy as he attempts to finish off a tie-breaker that began in 2010.

    Federer still one Halle of a player

    Last week, Roger Federer won the Halle open yet again. The grass tournament – which it has been claimed was established by Oscar award-winning actress Halle Berry – has now been won by Federer eight times. That’s enough wins to place a trophy on every planet in the solar system and that spacious approach to storage is well advised as the sparkling gold Halle trophy is absolutely ginormous. It’s the kind of thing a Victorian British archaeologist would pull from an Egyptian pyramid and haul back to a London museum for ‘safe-keeping’. 

    As well as supreme upper body strength, the title also gives Roger momentum going into a tournament where his classy style fits in perfectly with the elegant surroundings. Federer arriving at Wimbledon is like a manicured intensely moisturized hand slipping into a tailored silk glove.

    Blockbuster return for Rafa?

    Rafa Nadal also picked up silverware by winning the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, his first grass-court victory since 2010, but just two days later was dumped out of the first round at Queens by Alexandr Dolgopolov.

    Rafa is the Jurassic World movie of tennis right now. Depending on who you listen to, he is either just as good as the original or a fading shadow of his glory days. Indeed, there is something dinosaur-like about Nadal. The Spaniard used to have the speed, tenacity and voracious hunger of a Velociraptor but now resembles a fossil being paraded around tennis courts as a sign of a long lost era. Will this year’s Wimbledon bear witness to the extinction of Nadal’s slam-winning potential?

    Murray King of Queens

    Andy Murray has snaffled a pre-Wimbledon trophy too, becoming the Queen’s Club champion for the fourth time. His hugely impressive performances were graced by the presence of one of the biggest names in sport; Jose Mourinho. The Chelsea manager, who this week admitted he cried when Murray won Wimbledon in 2013, clearly has a strong bond with the world no.3. This got Off The Net thinking. With Murray’s coach Amelie Mauresmo set for maternity leave soon, should it be ‘The Special One’ rather than Jonas Bjorkman joining the Murray coaching staff as back up? Yes, Bjorkman has won 4 titles on grass, but Jose Mourinho has won a massive 22 on the green stuff. You can’t argue with those stats. The man is a grass specialist. Granted the rather rigid ‘1’ formation in singles tennis lacks the tactical nuances of a ‘4-3-2-1’, but the Portuguese would find a way to transfer his win at all costs mentality to help Murray grind out glory. If ‘Murrinho’ takes shape in the next two weeks, there’s a very good chance that the Scot will go on to become the first player to win Wimbledon whilst hitting both no winners and no unforced errors. The LTA may take issue, however, if a parked bus ends up ruining its luscious lawns. 

    Serena on song

    Both world number ones have once again avoided any pre-Wimbledon tournament exertion of note. The only thing we’ve seen of Serena is a video of her performing The Sound of Music classic ‘So Long, Farewell’ in training.

    Though just a few seconds long, there’s more physical exertion on offer for Serena here than most of her successful slam campaigns. The only genuine threat to her dominating Wimbledon is the flu, a testy competitor that came out of nowhere at the French Open to claim a shock win over Maria Sharapova’s immune system in the fourth round before pushing Serena all the way in the Final. Judged on recent form, there’s no doubt the millenia old virus deserves the No.2 seed at Wimbledon. 

    Recommended