World cup 2018

Initially I was disappointed but then I found out that they get to play for third place so I still have another stress free shopping session left after all
I went into Cafe Nero the last Sunday game and had the place to myself! The staff were so bored that I raised my hand and they came running with a refill. Footballs great

@silu I agree. Federer took four and a quarter hours to lose at 37 years old. Incredible athlete.

 

The third place game won't be a big crowd puller @longk . How the Belgium and England teams motivate themselves for this rather pointless game is beyond me . Who ever remembers the team that comes third ! Anyway a poor football game will always be better than a good tennis match

 

Crikes - I don't even know who won it!

Heathen

We're all different and each to their own and all that but the skill, physical fitness and athletiscism of top level tennis is sensational. I suspect that the physical demands of grass are even higher (@silu ?).

 

Totally agree , @misterQ post was a comment on the game . Not in the slightest bit negative
And I am sure he is proud to be English !

 

Personally I found playing on grass less taxing than hard surfaces as the grass does have a wee bit of "give". Also because the surface is faster to play on you don't tend to get as long rallies which are hard work! A good fast service is also more effective on grass which again can reduce the length of each point. Anderson, Isner and Raonic are good examples of players who benefit from playing on grass with their huge services.
The down side of grass is it is not so easy to control sliding on and you are more likely to fall and injure yourself. It was my favourite surface. If anybody thinks it's a game for pansies and isn't that physically taxing when being played at a high level then they are in cloud cockoo land. Many of my tennis compatriots are now living with permanent injuries from their tennis careers, (John Lloyd has at least 1 replacement hip). I am sporting! 2 replacement hips which I eventually got in my early 50s but could have done with in my early 40s (surgeons said I was too young to get them and had to wait till I was older!) and an elbow which isn't too clever either.
Maybe @HarryS you should try and find a replay of the match between Del Potro and Nadal played yesterday. It was an extremely fine example of 2 big strong guys in 1 hell of a battle giving everything they had to try and win. The physical and mental ability to play like that is to be admired whether you like tennis as a game or not. Both players have had numerous surgeries over the years to repair injury yet still put their bodies through hell to try and win. If you can, hand on heart say a match like that isn't better than some boring nil all draw between 2 mediocre sides then I give up. I am passionate about all sports and while I may not know all the technicalities about the different ones more often than not the winner/s the 1 who has the greatest desire to do so and mentally the strongest to take the pressure.
The English team certainly didn't let their country down but perhaps it might have been a good idea for some of their supporters to not rubbish the opposition prior to the match. They look pretty stupid now.

 

Just read that an English football supporter in Somerset has been arrested for assaulting a police officer and punching a police horse, . Wish the horse had kicked the you know what out of him.

 

Massively Massively disapointed in the performances of both Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling (who incidentally I would not have him anywhere near an England squad)...
To be brutally honest England played minus a forward line...sorry for the negativity but it is a forum

 

That is more what I was thinking of. As a schoolboy county gymnast I can see that they move differently on grass and (conciously or not) work harder at keeping their bodyweight lower as they change direction. It is less aggresive than the hard surfaces but with a greater emphasis on ankle strength and upper body strength/control. I was a lousy player so they are just my observations.

Have we seen the last of Andy Murray?

 

Does anybody else think that Luca Modric could be Johan Cruyff reincarnated?



G.

 

yeah I thought it was him at one point