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.

 

What’s next for Chris Froome Lollipop?

After becoming only the second British man to win the Tour de France that is what everyone is asking.

The 28-year-old took the title by more than four minutes ahead of Colombian Nairo Quintana and Joaquim Rodriguez of Spain.

After winning stage eight’s mountain-top finish at Ax 3 Domaines Froome took the race leader’s bold yellow jersey and kept it all the way to the finish in Paris.

If Lollipop were him she would never want to take it off. You would never want to forget the day your team succeeded in making two back to back British victors on the toughest cycling circuit.

It took Coach David Brailsford four years to make Team Sky unbeatable and now at the top of their sport it will be fascinating to see where they go now,

There is no London 2012 to set their bikes on. Other events like the Tour de Pologne and the Clasica San Sebastian take place this summer but for Froome his target will be the rainbow jersey on offer for September’s UCI world road race championships in Tuscany for which the champion will prepare in the mountains of Colorado.

“My focus has just been on the Tour up until now, but being world champ, that’s probably the second biggest thing after wearing the yellow jersey,” said Froome.

So it seems we will be seeing a lot more of this champ as he hopes to be riding in the Tour de France year after year.

For Froome this is only the beginning of something he’s worked so hard for. His fiancée Michelle Cound told BBC Sport: “People are saying Chris has come from nowhere but it has taken him more than 10 years to become an overnight success.”

Many will want to compare him to last year’s victor Sir Bradley Wiggins but Froome is younger, determined and ready to win again.

Our champ was born in Kenya to English parents in 1985. He has a Welsh grandmother and his family moved to Africa from Gloucestershire. As a skinny teenager he struggled to make it to the roads in Europe – He did not even visit the UK until he competed in the 2007 Tour of Britain but says he has “always felt British.”

He joined Team Sky in 2010 when the spotlight was clearly on Wiggins. Now three years on after winning Bronze in the Olympic Games Time Trial and now the 100^th Tour de France things have definitely changed.

He dedicated his incredible triumph to his mother Jane, who died of cancer in 2008.

Only Froome could truly say where he aims to go from here. And despite cycling going through a torrid period after Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in his seven Tour de France wins it’s amazing to see Team Sky hurtling to success with Lollipop and I racing to catch up.