12 Jul Two Weeks of Sporting Bliss
British sport this time of year doesn’t get any better.
My two sporting loves are golf and tennis (baseball’s a close third) and with Wimbledon winding up its second week on the lawns of the All England Club, we move to lawns of a different kind the following week for the Open Championship. It’s a fortnight of being immersed in some of the greatest sporting moments in history.
My family and I went to Wimbledon a couple of years ago and sat a few rows back on Centre Court a couple of times in the early rounds to watch Roger Federer roll through opponents in his usual effortless style. The only equivalent to being in that cathedral of sports for me is being at St. Andrews for the Open. It’s hallowed ground on both counts and the atmosphere walking around the two venues is simply electric.
I love the similarities between grass court tennis and links golf. For one, tennis began its origins on grass while golf the same on links land. The old school craftiness required to be successful on both is more prevalent than at any other major as well. The bounces at both events are the most varied too. In tennis, the predictability of the bounce is much easier on clay and hard courts than the grass, while on links courses you can hit the middle of the fairway and easily end up in the rough! Grass courts change as the tournament goes on with wear and tear much like the weather affects Open venues as each day brings something new.
In any case, I’m glued to the box for a couple of weeks to see who lifts the coveted trophies at Wimbledon and the Auld Claret Jug at the Open Championship. By the way, whether you call it the British Open or The Open doesn’t really bother me, but if you call it the former while in the UK, you may be asked to leave the country 😉
Cheers,
Nick
#itsallgood
No Comments