Sports & This'n'That

With the football world cup in Qatar looming large on the horizon it is a matter of great concern that England presently find themselves in an alarming slump. Indeed, compared to the glorious highs which the team has ascended to in recent years, England’s form in the ongoing UEFA Nations League has been nothing short of catastrophic. Following an enormously concerning run of six winless games in the UEFA Nations League’s group phase England has been relegated to the second tier of the European football competition. Disturbingly, the three lions ended the group phase without picking up even a single victory. Naturally, England’s alarmingly shoddy form has prompted the country’s perpetually vocal sports media to call for the three lions’ gaffer Gareth Southgate to change tactics so as to ensure that the team returns to winning ways. It is hoped then that if Southgate changes his tactical approach, successful results will consequently follow. Having said that though it cannot ...

Photo by Zoë Reeve on Unsplash The moment all tennis fans have been dreading has unfortunately arrived: the Swiss maestro Roger Federer has announced that he will retire after this weekend’s Laver Cup. A sporting icon who commanded such high levels of respect from his peers and immense adoration from his millions of fans, Federer, was for huge chunks of his unforgettable career, unmatched in terms of his prodigious talent which saw him claim a record haul of a whopping 20 grand slam trophies. Admittedly, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who were the Swiss master’s most formidable rivals throughout his career, have won more grand slam titles than he has.                                                                                    ...

Image: Wikimedia Commons. Serena Williams US Open 2013 After more than two decades of unrivalled supremacy in global women’s tennis the icon widely regarded as, the greatest of all time (GOAT), Serena Williams, has called it quits to the dismay of millions of tennis fans. Despite having taken a hiatus from women’s tennis for around the last year and a half, Serena Williams displayed few signs of rust at the US Open as she treated the crowds to her unique and extensive repertoire of exceptional skills which when mingled with her famously steely resolve made her such an intimidating opponent to go up against. With the partisan home crowds at Flushing Meadows in New York willing her on, Serena Williams drove them into raptures when she fended off the challenge posed by the tournament’s second seed Annet Kontaveit to eventually win their second round contest in the tournament’s opening week. In the immediate aftermath of that pleasing triumph, there was a palpable feeling in the air ...

Ahead of the new season, Arsenal fans must have been troubled by a severe case of the jitters over how the Gunners would fare in the new English Premier League (EPL) campaign. Indeed, it should be noted here that the Gunners got off to an embarrassingly dismal start to their league campaign last season, which saw them lose their opening three games in humiliating fashion. These abysmal displays saw Arsenal rooted to the bottom of the league’s standings last season and they also sparked grave fears among the Gunners faithful that their beloved club had taken giant strides backwards. However, Arsenal’s start to this, a brand new season, has been a totally different kettle of fish. Indeed, the Gunners have a 100 percent record in the EPL thus far, having played five games and won them all. This sensational form has propelled Arsenal to the apex of the EPL, and understandably, the Gunners’ sterling showings have set tongues wagging. Nevertheless, before we get carried away, it sh...

Photo by Dylan Freedom on Unsplash Despite being blessed with loads of talent, the Aussie tennis star Nick Kyrgios also has a combustible temperament which has undoubtedly held him back throughout his career. Indeed, Kyrgios’ career to date has been sadly marked by multiple and lamentable occasions when he has shot himself massively in the foot. However, if his sterling displays at Wimbledon earlier this year are anything to go by, it does finally appear as if the fiery Aussie has found a way to keep his demons in check. At Wimbledon, Kyrgios quietly went about his business and displayed the prodigious talent which we all know that he has in abundance. Nevertheless, the million dollar question now confronting the tennis world is: which part of Kyrgios will show up at the U.S Open, which is only days away? Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde? Indeed, the answer to that query is still up in the air. But one cast-iron guarantee that we can be assured of is that it will be pretty interesting to watch.