Hooked on Wimbledon?

I could hardly call myself a tennis expert. In fact, I still struggle to understand the rules. However, I am once again hooked on the competition, and thought I'd post my feelings so far as it has not gone as expected so far! I'm sure there will be a few tennis fans among the blog readers but there may also be a few who decide to check a game out if I do a good job of reviewing it, as it has been good fun.

As a Brit, I am so proud of our two representatives in the fourth round. I cried when Andy Murray lost in the final to Roger Federer last year, despite previously thinking he came across as unfriendly. I was yelling at my TV a few weeks later, as I then watched him win gold at the Olympics. What a way to show a positive attitude? He seems on top form at the moment, after winning his first slam in the aftermath of the Olympics and now coasting fairly easily to this point of the competition. The shock of Wimbledon 2013 will surely be Roger Federer being knocked out to an almost unknown player in the second round of the competition. I can't believe the second week will throw up a bigger surprise than this. I think Djokovic is still the man to beat, but my favourite is looking good and I will be supporting from the comfort of my sofa while he runs himself ragged on the tennis court...

It must be an inspiration to some readers to see young sports players coming through, and a great example would be Laura Robson. I watched her third round match today and was so impressed that she was able to come back from a significant loss in the first set to then beat her opponent. Sometimes it takes real mental strength to be good at sport in addition to the natural sporting ability, and so I hope you can take something from watching young people succeeding in what they have chosen to do. I think she'll be a major contender in a few years. Of course this blog is not designed to focus on the British players because many of you live in other parts of the world with your own professionals to favour. Perhaps you might want to comment about who you like and which games you've enjoyed? If you haven't watched any so far, check one out - it seems to me that tennis is one of few sports that has retained its character and the class expected of the players. I especially like that swearing is not allowed, as some sports have let this slip.

It turns out there is a tennis club just down the road from where I live. I could be tempted to check it out, although my focus is currently a half marathon in September and so I need to run rather than play ballsports. I worked on an American summer camp with fantastic tennis facilities, and was given some tips by a great tennis coach... but I promptly forgot them all. One thing that has stayed with me is one of the talented youngsters I watched improve dramatically during her time on the court - so perseverance can be rewarded if you keep working hard. My conclusion from this is that tennis may not be a sport for me to play. However, that doesn't stop me being glued to my TV for the next week!