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feather_ghyllSo, the US Open results have been mildly surprising – past results made me assume Murray would easily win against Nishikori, but no, and I also assumed Serena was locked in to the final, but she fell at the semis stage once again. And while I did see Pliskova playing her big sister. I don’t think I realised how good a player she is, particularly as a server, because this is the first time she’s gone deep into a grand slam. But, by winning through to the final, Kerber was guaranteed to be world no. 1. Obviously, it would be sweeter and more fitting if she did so as the only winner of two grand slams in women’s singles, and she managed it – I did wonder if her experience at this level would tell, and in that she came back from a break down in the third, it sounds like it did. The other Murray also won in the men’s doubles...and then Wawrinka’s match play and other strengths got him to a third slam win (equalling Andy Murray's slam tally, but not the Olympic golds). It seems like when he’s good enough to get through to the final, he manages to be unbeatable there, while Djokovic’s relatively wobbly summer continues.
Now, I didn’t see any of this – but I have been watching the Paralympics, especially cycling, swimming and athletics. On a very superficial level, all these finals mean there are fewer dull bits. Channel 4 has been canny - I actually stayed up long past my bedtime to watch Jonny Peacock, which is more than I did for any of the Olympics.
I know that it puts forward a certain view of disability, but I do think there’s some merit to the ‘inspiring’ narrative, in the clear evidence of the teenagers who have been inspired by 2012, more so than in able-bodied sports. I would imagine that if you see someone with the same condition as you being so successful, you might well think ‘I can do that’ and there must be power in that after being told that there’s so much that you can’t.
The individual stories and the impact of different impairments on how people approach disciplines are interesting, and many of these athletes have become familiar names through the London Paralympics, and bits and bobs that I’ve seen since then.
Now, I didn’t see any of this – but I have been watching the Paralympics, especially cycling, swimming and athletics. On a very superficial level, all these finals mean there are fewer dull bits. Channel 4 has been canny - I actually stayed up long past my bedtime to watch Jonny Peacock, which is more than I did for any of the Olympics.
I know that it puts forward a certain view of disability, but I do think there’s some merit to the ‘inspiring’ narrative, in the clear evidence of the teenagers who have been inspired by 2012, more so than in able-bodied sports. I would imagine that if you see someone with the same condition as you being so successful, you might well think ‘I can do that’ and there must be power in that after being told that there’s so much that you can’t.
The individual stories and the impact of different impairments on how people approach disciplines are interesting, and many of these athletes have become familiar names through the London Paralympics, and bits and bobs that I’ve seen since then.
