Out of the Open and out of pocket Lollipop

Day 2 of the French Open and our British debutant James Ward has shown signs of brilliance despite losing to 17^th seed Tommy Robredo in the first round.

Yes. Ok Lollipop Robredo won the rain-interrupted contest 4-6 6-4 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 53 minutes to reach round two but Ward progressed further than ever before through three qualifying rounds to reach the main draw in Paris.

Before his quick exit Ward became the first Brit in 40 years to make it through qualifying and reach the French Open.

The 27-year-old beat Blaz Rola of Slovenia 4-6 6-4 12-10 to match the achievement of John Lloyd in 1973.

After his incredible win against a player who ranked 75 places above him at 94 in the world Ward said: “It’s massive because it’s a Grand Slam. It’s the reason you play tennis. It’s special.”

The Brit also went on to discuss issues off the court. The gap between poor and rich was put in the spotlight as Ward said “It’s very difficult because you’re paying your expenses and your coach’s.”

He also added “You’re paying for your food, hotel and travel for two people and if you lose in  the first round you’re  getting $300 minus tax. It’s embarrassing.”

French open singles champion will earn €1.65m (£1.33m) in comparison to Ward’s First-round losers sum of €24,000 (about £19,400).

Ward argued: “There shouldn’t be such a massive gap to the guy who can’t even get [free] transport leaving here, because he’s lost in the first round of qualifying.”

His words are definitely something the top seeds of the game should take note of. Low ranked players have so much more to prove and they’re not here to be the underdog or make up the numbers. No player is.

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic even observed this on Friday and said: “All of the 128 players are extra motivated to perform the best they can in the grand slams, because all the sport’s attention is directed to this tournament. This is where they want to shine. That’s why for us top players it’s always tricky to face opponents who have nothing to lose in the opening rounds.”

Wimbledon champ Murray welcomed Ward’s success at the French Open and said: “What he can achieve is really up to him and how much he wants to achieve.” The world No 8 added: “If you look at his results, he’s beaten very good players. He has the form in big matches to suggest that he could be ranked 50, 60 or 70 in the world.”

So the British world number three definitely has potential. With Murray not at his best just yet Ward could be Lollipop’s one to watch as long as he keeps his focus on court. The damp weather and rain delay clearly did not help his game. The Londoner dropped serve late in the second set and Robredo then broke his serve at the beginning of the third and fourth sets to ramp up the pressure.

But Ward is optimistic and so is Lollipop. “It’s a positive and I’m looking forward to taking the momentum into the next few weeks on grass, where I’ll have a few good chances.

“I’ll give it my all and I’m sure win a few more matches.”

We also hope it does not take some strong words from our rising Brit to make tournament organisers realise the financial gulf in the sport. Yes the winnings may have gone up in the French Open this year but things need to improve all round to increase rivalry between the Grand slam winners and the first time qualifiers.

Better winnings next time Ward.

Next up of the Brit bread line players. 22-year-old Heather Watson against Czech Barbara Zahlavova Strycova in round one.

Get ready Lollipop.

 

Can MCFC build on success Lollipop?

After a rather comfortable end to the Premier League in comparison to 2012 Manchester City are Champions as they beat West Ham 2 nil at the Etihad Stadium and left rivals Liverpool with nothing.

With four games to go the title seemed destined to be Liverpool’s but Brendan Rodgers’ side capitulated against Chelsea and Crystal Palace to give Manchester City pole position on the final day.

Although Liverpool came back to win 2-1 against a nine strong Newcastle side it was not enough as City’s Samir Nasri and Captain Vincent Kompany scored in their final game.

After the victory City manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “Big teams cannot be satisfied with just one title. This club and players deserve more titles.”

But how can this be achieved in such a competitive era when each team will be focused on strengthening their squad?

After breaking the Financial Fair Play rules Manchester City’s title defence could be jeopardy even before the start of next season.

City are believed to have been marked down for overinflating the value of their sponsorship deal with the Etihad airline, worth £35m a year, and for creative accounting that allowed them to raise £47m from the sale of image rights and intellectual property in 2012-13.

Negotiations between City and Uefa over a potential deal on financial and sporting sanctions are yet to be concluded and things should become clearer by Monday. But a reported £50m fine, their Champions League squad reduced from the standard 25 players to 21 and a wage cap which would peg City’s spending on their squad has believed to be levied.

Lollipop knows such sanctions would detriment any side even Premier League Champions.

Despite having a 24 man squad City will be looking to strengthen their team just as other contenders will do this Summer.

BBC plaudit Robbie Savage said, “For me, Pellegrini needs a centre-half, another defensive midfielder and another creative midfielder.”

Unlike their rivals Manchester United It’s not a major rehaul that is needed but with sanctions and FFP in place things could turn difficult for the highest-paid team in world sport.

Perhaps they should not concentrate on buying more players but on commercial revenue, match day profits and building homegrown players which they are clearly lacking with just two English players James Milner and Joe Hart on the pitch today. This is also a stipulation of the sanctions given that eight English players must be included in the reduced squad of 21.

The fact that City are also holding out on an agreement with UEFA could leave them isolated from the other Premier League team who have stuck to their guns.

Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger argued that a punishment as severe as a  ban from European competition should be emplaced.

He said “You would think that you accept the rules and you’re in the competition, or you don’t accept the rules and you’re not in the competition,”

“There are rules. You respect them or you don’t respect them. If you don’t respect them you have to be punished.”

Of course a rival manager would say that, of course a team that has remained in line with the FFP rules from the start would back them and of course a team that has not would argue it ruins natural competition in the sport.

But forget Wenger. City need to remain on track if they want to secure the title next season and not squander their chances like in 2013.

Forget FFP. City are champions and their open tour bus celebration in Manchester will have their fans singing once more.

But nothing stays won forever and the champs have a financial war on their hands.

 

 

 

Baltacha the fighter

The tennis world is in mourning today for former British number one Elena Baltacha. The tributes are still coming in for the 30-year-old who died peacefully in the early hours of Sunday morning from Liver cancer.

But how will her death truly affect women’s tennis? Earlier today World number one Serena Williams tweeted: “My deepest prayers, thoughts, concern and love goes out to Elena Baltacha’s family. I am deeply sorry for your loss. Revelation 21:4.0”

The current British No1, Laura Robson, said on Twitter: “Impossibly sad. Forever a teammate. Sweet dreams Bally.” Heather Watson, the No3 also tweeted: “We’ve lost our lovely Bally, too young. Rest in peace. My thoughts are with Nino and all of her family xx.”

Their words prove what an influential character Baltacha was as her and Brit Anne Keothavong once ruled British tennis. The Scot represented Britain in the Fed Cup for 11 years and was the nation’s No1 female player between 2009 and 2012, reaching a career-high world ranking of 49 in 2010.

Despite her ongoing health issues Baltacha was a fighter and its up to Robson, Johanna Konta and Watson to continue her work on the court.

But with Robson out of Wimbledon and the French Open with an injured wrist that has plagued her hard-hitting game for over a year the no.1 Brit may not keep her ranking.

Robson has not played since January when she lost 6-3, 6-0 to 18^th seed Kirsten Flipkens in the first round of the Australian Open this year.

Watson on the other hand has only just come back from an injury stint. The 21-year-old beat Virginie Razzano 6-1 6-4 and Teliana Pereira 6-2 6-2 to secure her progress in the BNP Paribas Open in California.

But the former number one Brit has missed out on a direct entry into the main draw of the French Open and will need to play the qualifying event if she wants to make it to the 128-player main draw.

Brit number 2 Johanna Konta has also missed out on the French Open ranking cut off and failed to progress in the BNP Paribas Open as she was eliminated by Casey Dellacqua in her final qualifier.

So our youngsters are struggling and although we’re not used to success in women’s tennis we need our top players to be in form.

When a death so tragic as this happens it inspires people-players to do something better in their lives – in their games.

Baltacha truly lifted our young tennis stars. More than 50 players, including British number one Andy Murray, held a minute’s silence on the centre court at the Madrid Masters on Monday.

Lollipop and I just hope her memory lives on in British tennis and on the court. Her achievements were huge as she reached the last 32 of a Grand slam on three occasions. If any of our top three can continue where she left off it will be a tribute to her life.

But which Brit will hit hardest? Lollipops not asking for a grand slam just a fighter like Baltacha will do.