Sport FIlE

servIng THe rIgHT mIx?

Is TennIs
casion, but its properties have become so common, theyre often taken for granted. For a period of two weeks four times a year men and women compete in their respective championships alongside each other. What other major sport can promote this kind of gender-equality, inclusion and collectiveness? Whats more, the prize-money

a
86 Qatar today
july 2011

Not EvEry Sport haS thE capaBIlIty oF StagINg ItS ShoWcaSE EvENtS oN thE SamE tIckEt, But tENNIS IS cErtaINly ShoWINg that It could BE a WINNINg oNE, SayS rory coEN
for both is analogous. This is by no means a fresh inclination by the promoters or federations either. Men and women have been sharing the same major venues and dates for decades. A Women's Championship was added to the Wimbledon card in 1884, seven years after the inaugural Mens Singles Championship,

s Ni La lifted the French Open title last month at Roland Garros, I couldnt help but admire what a fantastic sport and institution tennis is. I have been watching tennis since the late 80s and remember finals from that era with great fondness. Iconic players such as Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg and Martina Navratilova were household names through-out the world, and the media were engaged in their rivalries. A tennis grand-slam is indeed a grand oc-

maria SHarapova
tHE russian is tHE HigHEst paiD fEmalE atHlEtE in tHE worlD.

Sport FIlE
and this tradition has lasted the years. I was gripped a little by tennis that weekend. I was treated to one of the all-time classics although it didnt go the distance, which dulled its gloss a little between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Mens semi-final. Both men lost serve twice in an opening set, which was rich in shot-making from scrambling positions; it was almost to your advantage to have a do-or-die shot. The following afternoon served up another gripping match; this time it was the Women's Final between Ni La of China and Italys Francesca Schiavone, and it didnt disappoint either. The quality on show was obvious again, as both girls peppered the corners with shots of all shapes and sizes. Such is the quality the women can produce, its arguable that their technical skills are right up there with the men. Theyre effectively able to play the same shots, the only discernible difference being the power and speed affected by both genders. So what has this tradition of playing both championships concurrently done for the women's game? Would it be reaching todays heights if they were played separately? Would I have tuned in to watch the Women's Final, had I not been stimulated by the Federer-Djokovic match the previous day? Would Li Na have enjoyed the same pay-day as Nadal or Federer? By allowing both events to run together, they create this amazing synergy, where instead of one deflecting attention from the other, they actually combine to produce an effect which is greater than the sum of their parts. Mens tennis is all the greater because of the womens presence, as much as the reciprocal. Can other global sports like football, rugby, golf or motor-racing compare with tennis in this regard? Not even close. Forbes.com report that the top three highest-paid female athletes in 2010 were tennisplayers Maria Sharapova, and the Williams sisters whilst Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic were also in the Top 10. Sharapova has deals with Nike, Sony Ericsson and Tiffany, and pulled in over $24.5 million in one year, most of which came from these endorsements. It could be argued that athletics also benefits from dual-participation; men and women compete at various big-time Athletics meets including the World Championships every other August and its this sense of inclusion which gives these events extra bite and publicity. Could other sporting organisations follow their model to promote their games?

rafael nadal
naDal's frEnCH opEn winnings EQuallED li na's

Has rorY sTolen TIgers aura?

atar Todays May Sports File referenced how wed need to see Rory McIlroy walk the walk instead of hearing him talk about the lessons hed learned from previous crumbles in Major Championships. He put to bed any notion that he would feel any final day jitters at the recent US Open, by putting himself into an unassailable position, six shots clear of South Koreas YE Yang. His birdie on the first hole coupled with the inability of any of his closest challengers to mount an early charge meant he was able to freewheel his way to victory; and what a lap of honour it must have been for the Irishman, as the crowd cheered every shot he played. It didnt seem anybody wanted him to relent to make the Championship more interesting; they probably knew it was futile, and instead rallied behind the young man who is being touted as the next Jack Nicklaus, not just by golfing enthusiasts, but by his fellow professionals. What Tiger Woods was making of it all is

rory mcilroy
tHE nortHErn irisHman is now tHE favouritE for tHE opEn at sanDwiCH, starting July 14

anybodys guess. The Open at Sandwich (July 14 - 17) cant come quick enough now for McIlroy and the golfing world, as we embrace ourselves for what he will achieve there. His opening 63 at last years Open was as magnificent as the 80 he shot the following day was brutal, but look what he has achieved since.

He helped Europe regain the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor last October, after promoting a rather blas attitude towards the event beforehand. He was quick to change his mind having experienced the pressure and the team-element that Major Championships cant compete with. Last March, Lee Westwood said he would have a talk with McIlroy over his comments that Tiger Woods had lost the aura he once had and no longer scared him. In April, he famously blew a four shot lead on the final day of the US Masters, having explained to the worlds media beforehand that he had learned his lesson from the 2010 Open. Whether he has that killer instinct on the final nine holes of a Major Championship may still be up for debate, seeing as how easy his final round at Congressional was; he certainly wont win all his Majors with such grace and ease. It will be very interesting to see how he copes with the aura that now surrounds him at the Open. follow

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