Moving swiftly through
After being comprehensively dispatched from the singles by Roger Federer on Thursday, Jay Clarke still has his mixed doubles date with Cori Gauff to come. But the shine has come off that a little after it was revealed he ditched his previous partner, Harriet Dart, by text. Having herself progressed to the third round of the singles, Dart had the chance to share her view of the affair on Thursday. She was curt and to the point. “That’s in the past, I’m going to look forward.” She didn’t look pleased.
Murray media in overdrive
Murray Mania is in full flow at SW19 and the media, naturally, are hungry for any fresh angle. With that in mind there was breaking news from the Falkirk Herald on Thursday, though they may have had some collective tongues in their cheeks. “Former Gairdoch United star teams up with Serena Williams at Wimbledon 2019,” read the headline, above an article recounting the exploits of a young Murray at the “Carronshore‑based amateur side”. Fair play guys, fair play.
Evans unlucky to eat words
The spirit versus the letter of the law is one of the most fiercely contested rivalries in jurisprudence and it continues here this week. On the spirit side, we see Bernard Tomic, hit with a record fine for an apparent lack of effort in his defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. This despite the fact Tomic won, for example, four games in the third set.
On the other side of the ledger, Dan Evans also looks set to lose some prize money after the Briton was caught swearing on court. Grand slam rules prevent any “audible obscenity” on the part of players but that doesn’t stop cursing from being a common part of matches. Yet when Evans swore, under his breath in response to his own double fault, against Nikoloz Basilashvili it was picked up by a line judge, who referred it to the umpire. Evans now admits he is probably facing a fine of his own. Sod’s law, let’s be honest.
Mourinho shares thoughts
José Mourinho was on siteon Thursday, watching his fellow Jorge Mendes client (and Evans’s next opponent) João Sousa on Court 12. Never reluctant to share his thoughts with the media, Mourinho later told the in-house TV channel that he believed Rafael Nadal could have made it as a footballer. “I am happy he didn’t, but I think he could also have been a fantastic football player,” Mourinho said. “His uncle [Miguel Ángel Nadal] was my player in Barcelona in 1996. I know that Rafa can play football, and well. So he could have played with his physicality, mentality, and his skill, too. He could be. Thank you so much he wasn’t. Because in tennis he is what he is.”
