Emma Raducanu Wins!

Quite an evening for emotions and blood pressure. The main story was, of course, the 18-year-old Brit who came through the qualifying rounds to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament without even losing a set. Emma Raducanu's journey is incredible, but it happened. And it was a pretty good match as well.

And all this after my beloved R's came back from 1-3 down to grab a draw in injury time away to the Fake Hoops. What a great sporting day!

Final word, though, is for Emma, who is surely a shoo-in now for SPOTY. Brava!

Don't Look Back. Or Maybe I Should!

Grant Hall intercepts a Wolves attack

This is a photo taken from my season ticket seat in the upper tier with a compact camera at the last QPR home game. It's not bad. It's probably not as good as I used to be, but I don't get to practice that much. 

Why do I still take pictures, even though nobody uses them and they are mostly rather pedestrian? I say to myself that I am keeping my eye in. I think it's probably being a bit of a fangirl. I suspect I may kind of miss the good old days when I used to be on the pitch, and had a proper photographer's view of the action.

Possibly it is time for a kick in the pants, ravaj! If I had wanted a longer career as a football photographer, why did I give it up and go to rabbi school? I was very clear at the time, saying to anyone who would listen that when I was older and looked back on my career, I didn't want to see that all I had done amounted to some random bits of newspaper floating in the wind. I wanted to look back and see a life that had been useful and hopefully made a positive difference.

It's all very well being nostalgic for the "good old days". However, if I'm going to look back, then perhaps it's better to agree that I had some great experiences, enjoy some of those memories, and then turn to the question - if I am waxing so nostalgic, what is that telling me about now? What is the problem that needs to be addressed!

John Elway at Wembley Stadium

Nu, hurrah that I got to see the Denver Broncos play at Wembley in 1987 (1987, how can that be 29 years ago already?!). 

I've seen great moments at the Oval ...

Sir Viv clean bowled

... photographed icons at Wimbledon ...

Jimmy Connors

...  & in the theatre.

The Cherry Orchard 1989 with Dame Judi Dench

I've been welcomed by people at their office ...

Kermit with his boss

... and have been thrown out of Hammersmith Odeon by another (I'm looking at YOU Joan Baez).

accidental double exposure after reusing Baez slide film for Arlo

Lots of stories to tell. Meanwhile, it's time to stop procrastinating, look forward, and go do my Italian prep for my class on Monday. A presto!

Magnificent Murray

Wimbledon winner Andy Murray at his moment of triumph.

Britons across the world will now claim this Scot permanently as one of their own

Please enjoy these few moments of joy. Normal service will be resumed sooner than we'd wish.

Triumph and Defeat

There's something about tennis ... it's a sport, a game, a pastime that can enrich one's life by engendering good health and fun. It can also be quite enjoyable on tv, especially when it is televised against the Jubilee weekend!

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the French #1 played yesterday against Novak Djokovic, the World #1 in the quarter-final of the French Open tournament at Roland Garros in Paris. The ups and downs of this match were quite heart-rendering (as the Omi of ravaj used to say). Tsonga didn't show up for the first set, and was trounced 1-6. Then somehow he clawed his way into a 2 sets to 1 lead. In the fourth set he had several match points, but couldn't put them away. And he lost the tie-break.

Djokovic was incredibly tough. The nearer to defeat he got, the harder he played. And it broke the will of Tsonga. He crumbled in the final set.

What I find so fascinating about this sport is the influence the mental state of the players ultimately has on the result. They are physically so fit and so talented and so experienced. What often tips the balance between losing and winning is their mental toughness. And that is what Djokovic had. At the start of the match I was rooting for the fairytale of the Frenchman in Paris. I decided that Djokovic was growing a goatee to hide his unfortunate resemblance to President Assad of Syria. But Novak won me over. It was mostly the power of his will to win. However, the piece de resistance was that in the middle of his struggle, he was able to applaud when his opponent beat him with a superior shot. More than once. There's nothing I love more than a good sport!

So bad luck Monsieur Tsonga, and well done Mr Djokovic. I hope you go on to make a proper Grand Slam.

Tennis B*ll*cks

Marion Bartoli of France lost to Sabine Lisicki of Germany today in the Wimbledon Ladies Tennis Quarter-Final. Bartoli, who had knocked out the reigning champ Serena Williams in the previous round, has been noticed for the unusual stance and wind-up of her serving motion. It got her several aces against Williams, who has possibly the world's greatest female serve. However, in combination with her perpetual twitchy jerky motions between each point, it appears to have offended the tennis purists.

The journalist Alix Ramsey writes on the Wimbledon website:

"Her serve is all arms and legs, a collection of mismatched limbs that makes the whole motion look like a giraffe going for a spin in a tumble drier."

Amusing, perhaps. Bloody rude, though. She beat Serena Williams with it! Ramsey should be so lucky.

That's my mind made up. The ravaj is going to get herself some tennis lessons!

Anyone for tennis?

This is an old pic the ravaj took in her photographing days. It reminds her that the serious tennis season is upon us. The quarter-finals on the red clay are coming up, and then all too soon it is time to slump in front of the tv and watch the rain pouring down on Wimbledon in-between wonderful old matches like Navratilova vs Evert or a bit o' Borg 'n' Mcenroe. Hurrah for Major Walter Wingfield!

poor old steffi

the associated press reports that poor old steffi graf needed three stitches on her lip yesterday when her husband andre agassi accidentally smacked her in the face with his tennis racket. the doctor who paid $70k to play tennis with the two of them was the one who sewed her up!

this picture is from about 20 years ago at wimbledon. in those olden days there was a standing area on centre court for which tickets were available only on the day. i would queue for such a ticket, for a place that was right behind the photographers' pit, and take my own pictures. some of the black and white ones i would print up that night and try to flog them to other people in the queue on the next day i was there. this is a scan from an old slide.

i spent the weekend relaxing in brighton, but am not sure if there will be a pic of piglet at the pier because my trustly old digicam got a bit wet during a game of crazy golf and doesn't feel very well right now :-(

happy b-day part deux

piglet waits for lindsey davenport
Originally uploaded by ravaj.

the good news was that the rain held off for the outdoor wedding i performed on thursday afternoon.

the bad news was that the rain arrived about twenty minutes after i did.

i sat under my brolly in the arthur ashe stadium, my best british bravado on display; and was rewarded with the brief sight of the players knocking up. lindsey davenport's outfit was scarlet on the jumbo screen above me, and rather more orange waaaaay down below. but the rain returned, and the women went back indoors. d. arrived a few minutes later, and we sat for a few minutes at the top of the bleachers before coming to our senses and, with one last look back (seen here), going back to the car and off for some dinner.

happy birthday to me

piglet sharapova
Originally uploaded by ravaj.

so i gave up a second night in a great room in quoge to come back for the u.s. open. we'd bought the tickets at the temple auction months ago, and it just happened that they ended up being on my b-day.

d. has never seen a live tennis match before (a profi one that is) and we were rather excited to be there. ms. sharapova, however, seemes even more excited to be in the presence of our friend piglet.

wimbledon women's final

CAWLEY_Evonne_1980_GH_R
Originally uploaded by ravaj.

i remember sitting down with my little sister to watch evonne goolagong that was (although being smartarses we liked to call her evonne dinnergong ... and then of course there was jelly bean king my other favourite) and saying we had to support her because she was a mother and a mother hadn't won wimbledon before. she was also a bloody good tennis player. i wonder whatever happened to her? hang on a sec ...

well, correction number one (thank you google) is that she was the first mother to win in 66 years.

i also found:

"When Evonne's mother, Linda, died in 1991, Evonne realised she didn't know much about her Aboriginal history. Since then, she's discovered a great deal about her past and has written a book about her life.

"I didn't have a history before when I did my first book and found out about my family. I want something else to pass down to my kids so that they have a history there to pass down to theirs. To me, it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me.""

and

"She returned to Australia to live in 1991 at Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland and has travelled around Australia, coming to understand the importance of her Aboriginal heritage and introducing her American born children to their indigenous culture. She was a member of the Board of the Australian Sports Commission from 1995-1997. Since 1997, she has held the position of Sports Ambassador to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Communities."

o, and i'd really like mauresmo to win, because, well a lot because she's queer and a lot because i like seeing people getting over their insecurities and becoming mentally and emotionally tougher. i suspect, however, that since henin-hardenne already is that much tougher, she will probably make her career grand slam. now, though, i should go to bed to have any chance of waking up in time to listen to some of it live!