All’s well that ends well

The concluding report of this year’s Wimbledon has many nuggets; posing the challenge of complying with the limitation of space; especially in the aftermath of the European Football Championships. Years ago, while on the Platform of Holland Park station to take the train to Wimbledon, a gentleman saw my Press Bag, and struck a conversation. “Going to Wimbledon? Sissy sport. In football, you have a stadium of 30,000 people and 22 men battling it out.’

Whether it is a game of a small table tennis ball, or the mammoth crowd watching Cricket, American Football, Baseball or Rugby’ all sports constitute trivia; in the larger consideration of life on earth.
However, it is not about getting the little yellow ball over a net or scoring a goal; sports is big entertainment business; providing employment for millions all over the world. This recognition is aptly expressed in Rudyard Kipling’s enduring words, seen by competitors about to step out to Wimbledon Centre-Court: “If you can face triumph and disaster, and treat those two impostors the same; then you are truly great.”The two singles champions, Serena Williams and Andy Murray, reflected the import of those words. Serena was “Madam Serenity”; only letting out a sustained “come on” after winning a point from a long rally from her unyielding opponent, Angelique Kerber, the female equivalent of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic. Unusually, Murray let out a few smiles during the battle with Canadian first-time Grand Slam finalist, Milos Raonic. He had learnt to relax! Then with victory in pocket, involuntary tears rolled down his eyes.

Serena, on her part, fell back, face to heaven, dazed, and took moments to get up. There was much behind the emotions of the two conquerors. The visible is but the effect of the invisible.
Murray later narrated the period of hard work; the contribution of his parents to the development in tennis of his brother Jamie and himself. We are grateful for the sacrifice of the Murrays; driving seven hours to junior tournaments, and releasing their young boys for training residency in France. Then for Murray, there were years of the twin nemesis: Federer and especially Djokovic; who had deprived him of six Grand Slam titles. The luck of the draw saw those two out of Murray’s path to glory.
Patrick Morataglou, Serena’s coach, said: “The real Serena is back” revealing that all the while; in her semi-final loss to Roberta Vinci at the US Open, the finals’ losses to Kerber in Australia, and Muguruza in Paris, the champion was nor her full all-conquering self.
Milos Raonic attained the feat of the first Canadian player to reach the finals of a Grand Slam. By including the volley in his game plan, he gave hope of a resurgence of that exciting shot, and thereby reducing the boredom of watching long rallies from the baseline. That master of the serve-and-volley game, John McEnroe definitely had a hand in that. His country, however, has consolation in the victory of Denis Shapovolov, who won the Boys’ Singles title.
Although we do not know what would happen in future, we hope Denis will join the ranks of John Alexander, Lleyton Hewitt, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who won junior titles in their rookie days.
In history, Nigeria’s high point was in the 1985 Championships, when Nduka Odizor reached the fourth round and had a slim chance of upsetting defending Champion, John McEnroe. It was a feat that earned him the accolade “The Duke of Wimbledon” in the headlines of the British newspapers the Sunday after. Those were the years when Richard Berens, the Wimbledon Press Officer ensured Nigeria was fully represented in the Media Box, with Chuka Momah (Vanguard), Ayo Ositelu (The Punch), Godwin Kienka (News Agency of Nigeria) and Jacob Akindele (Daily Times and later The Guardian).
This year’s Wimbledon was without Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki (Turakin of Ilorin) and Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas (Asoju Oba of Lagos); eminent Nigerians and tennis enthusiasts, who were conspicuously missing in their regular Centre Court seats. C’est la vie! Good-bye from Wimbledon!