Although Graf’s stock of greatness rises yet further with this result Sanchez too is now a
Posted in General on 25. Jul, 2010
Although Graf’s stock of greatness rises yet further with this result, Sanchez, too, is now a Wimbledon heroine They say nobody remembers who came second. But she has lived with it to remain unbeaten in all six of the tournaments she has entered, including the French Open in Paris last month where, as here, Sanchez was the player who had to yield to her in the final.That match was also a three-setter, but paled by comparison with yesterday’s contest. The 26-year-old German began the year fearing for her future in the game because of a chronic back problem. Graf served out to love to complete a match which will live in the memory for years.Another chapter is thus added to the Graf legend. As with all the best sporting encounters, it was the fluctuations in the match and the way it built in excitement before reaching a sensational climax that made it so memorable.
There were distinct phases: an early period of gloriously open tennis from both players in which Sanchez deservedly emerged with the first set; a stretch of Graf domination in the middle in which she won the second set and went a break up in the third; Sanchez’s recovery, when tiredness seemed to have done for her, to lead 5-4 in the third.And then there was the game that Sanchez served at 5-5 in the third – 32 points, 13 deuces, eight game points, six break-points – which for sheer tension bore comparison with the Borg-McEnroe tie-break of 1980 But once Graf had broken her, it was all over. Graf beat Sanchez 4-6 6-1 7-5 in two hours, two minutes of utterly enthralling tennis, culminating in an extraordinary, 20-minute penultimate game which Graf finally wrested from her opponent to set herself up for victory. ONE OF the greatest finals in Wimbledon history yesterday offered the best possible riposte to those who say women’s tennis lacks quality when Steffi Graf beat Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to claim her sixth title here, and her 17th in Grand Slams.
The truth, for once, is less interesting: it’s some cows ignoring the Tour de France Photograph: AP. In the background, John Major leads the Westminster Eurosceptic Cycling Club on its first London to Brussels rally. “Promise you the earth when they want your vote, then you don’t see them again for five years.” “We’re not a bunch of sheep, you know,” said Daisy. Had they been impressed? “They’re all the same, politicians,” said Gert. Police in Holland are catching criminals by using the earprints they leave while listening at windows.DEAR DAIRY: a group of cows pictured yesterday being addressed by the new Minister of Agriculture, Douglas Hogg (out of picture, foreground). “We were seeking assurances that there would be no discrimination against dairy workers in favour of the pork trade,” said Gert (first left), afterwards. “It’s an obvious worry, given his name,” said Daisy (centre) Buttercup (right, chewing vigorously) refused to comment.
Guinea pigs make up 1.4 per cent of Britain’s pet population, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association … Deaf burglar Klaus Schmidt, of Berlin, was jailed for four years following his arrest by police after he had failed to hear the alarm going off … A Roman Catholic priest had 70 doves roosting on the roof of his church in Rugby shot by a pest control company … Guests bombarded a gunman with sandwiches after he burst in on a German wedding reception He fled empty-handed, without even a sandwich … Thieves stole an entire street in east London, using a mechanical digger to carry away more than pounds 100,000 of Victorian cobblestones …