The King of Clay Triumphs Again
The King of Clay Triumphs Again
By Praveen Nvs: It has been a very familiar story at the Roland Garros – a story that has repeated itself a record eight times in the last nine years. As expected by everyone, Rafael Nadal emerged as the winner of the final of this year’s French Open.
An absolutely clueless David Ferrer ran into a red-hot Rafael Nadal, the King of Clay successfully defended his crown by crushing his compatriot in style. Yet another French Open to his name and yet another feather in his cap.
Nadal, who was the overwhelming favourite ahead of the final, did not give any room for Ferrer to pull off a spectacular upset and finished off the match in straight sets. With a commanding victory, he reiterated his dominance on the Clay court.
A valiant Djokovic stretched him in the semi-final but the final was a one-sided affair. Although Ferrer fought hard, he could never make the contest look even. He simply did not have the firepower in him to beat a player of Nadal’s calibre.
Serena Williams Is The Champion
Serena Williams Is The Champion
By Praveen Nvs: It has been a long wait for Serena Williams at the Rolland Garros since she first won the French Open way back in 2002 but, she finally ended it with a commanding victory(6-4,6-4) over the defending champion Maria Sharapova. It is another feather in her cap, which is already filled with many.
In the last decade, Women’s tennis witnessed many talented stars grab their share of limelight and fade away quickly but Serena managed to stay at the top and dominate in spite of some stiff resistance from the younger generation.
Her longevity is simply amazing!
Sharapova is by no means an ordinary player. She is a player of the highest class. However, when Serena is on the rampage, she makes any opponent look ordinary. Sharapova fought hard but overcoming a player like Serena is never an easy task.
Can the Manchester dominance be broken?
Can the Manchester dominance be broken?
By Mikael McKenzie: With the top three clubs in Britain starting the 2013/14 campaign with new managers, it is the biggest opportunity for the Manchester dominance of recent years to be broken. Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of this season’s campaign, former Everton manager David Moyes was installed in hot seat at Old Trafford. While Moyes has all the ingredients to succeed, will he be able to continue the dominance we have seen from United in recent seasons.
David Moyes arrival at Manchester has seen a shake-up with the backroom staff, Goalkeeping coach Eric Steele and assistant Mike Phelan have both left the club. Moyes will be looking to replace the backroom staff with his own personel.
Sir Alex Ferguson has warned David Moyes the biggest challenge will be the “enormity” of Manchester United when taking over as manager and said his successor will decide if Wayne Rooney should stay at the club, Ferguson does not know if Moyes could persuade Rooney to stay. “I have not spoken to David about that. I’m sure he will address it, ” Fergie said.
Whether David Moyes can lead the club like Sir Alex has done for the past 15 years remains to be seen, but you can certainly count on the former Everton manager to give it a go.
Ivan Gazidis: Wenger has cash to spend
Arsene Wenger
By Neil Johnson: Arsenal’s chief executive has said that manager has funds to spend at Arsenal and is not ‘scared to spend’, but will only spend wisely should the right player become available.
Arsene Wenger in previous season has been cautious with paying big fees in comparison to his Premier League rivals.
However, it’s is believed that the Frenchman will have a bigger war-chest to spend than in previous season and he is keen to bolster his squad to mount an assault on the Premier League next season, Ivan Gazidis and the board has suggested that Wenger will have considerable backing in the transfer-market.
Reports have been circulating that Arsenal are willing to pay £200,000 per week in wages should the right player become available, the Gunners have made it clear that they have financial power to compete for top-level players.
Gazidis has insisted that although there is money spend, it does not all have to spent. Arsenal ethos has always been quality is more important than quantity.
