Fred Perry to Andy Murray: Why Did It Take 76 Years to Win a Grand Slam?

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: January 4, 2013

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The net post tilts at a 45-degree angle. The January rain and wind whip across the potholed tarmac. Teenagers swear as their football disappears through the rip in the wire mesh fencing.

In three months’ time, a weak sunshine will penetrate Britain’s permanent grey lid. Paunchy bank managers and solicitors will dig out their single Babolat and prepare for a season of American tournaments, rain-blighted barbecues and drizzled-out league fixtures.

Back in the 70s, the kids in the clubhouse would have cursed the voting down of the ''junior priority’' court at the Annual General Meeting—but these days there are plenty of spare courts. And the club got an LTA grant. New clubhouse, new facilities.  So now the plasma TV is always on and they can watch Manchester United thrash Chelsea with their mates.

The fact that Andy Murray, a Scotsman, lifted the US Open trophy last year barely registered across much of the UK. England has a population of around 53 million, while there are five million Scots. The feud never really ended with the disemboweling of William Wallace.

Middle England will never forgive Scotland for winning the race to the first men's grand slam title since Fred Perry in 1936.

 

Strange Bedfellows

Tennis and Great Britain have always been strange bedfellows. We run the most prestigious tournament on the planet, yet if tennis participation was measured on the Richter scale, ours would be a mere speed bump in the road. The wind, mist, and rain batter our defences daily, yet the idea of indoor tennis largely passed us by.



 

Fred Perry, Andy Murray. Why the three-generation gap? How long have you got? In days of yore, it was snobbery. Tennis was for the elite, as advertised by the summer Pimm’s party at Wimbledon and presided over by an organisation known as the Lawn Tennis Association. Today, it’s t...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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