Serena Williams out of Wimbledon, retired from her match injured. Time she faced facts, never going to equal or break Margaret Court's record. Which must really stick to Billie Jean King, knowing the greatest female player is an anti-gay zealot
yeah, theres quite a few who really ought to have called it. Williams was never getting a better shot than this one with the field decimated.
She was never really going to win though. Even with all those players out the women's draw is easy to predict, Ash Barty is by far the standout and really should win.
Yes but the big serve and a bit of luck on the day was possible. Now really she hasnt a hope and should retire.
you would have retired Mark cavendish who i just watched (yesterdays highlights ) for his 31st TdF stage win and was in absolute bits with emotion Cav
No I wouldn't cos I couldnt give a crap. I would have advised froome to get out before they finally catch him I only follow the tennis cos my mum does.
so why should Williams stop . Honestly i don't understand the attitude that if you are no longer at the top you should stop competing .
Its not about money, its about rep and image thats all. When you are the GOAT then you've a choice IMO. Look at bolt for example. he was probably just a tiny bit over the hill in his last outing, but was wise. he know the drugs cheat was going to beat him. in 2016 bolt won the lot again and even then there was talk he was going to get done by gatlin in 2017 he finished 2rd in a tight race in the 100m worlds and pulled a hamstring in the relays. He just about got out with the GOAT reputation shining brightly. I am sure that federer, nadal and djokovic are hammering off each other to have the title of GOAT. If federer was in a position like williams i'm sure he'd have walked away. right now federer and nadal are tied tist with djokovic one behind and aming to beat them both. Its all ego but they can make the last 4 if they enter still. Williams is chasing court but is the modern era utterly dominant figure and has eclipsed graf. its the only reason she's trying but shes now how many slam events past here best and failing to get there. Last year she made a final though. The way I look at it is if you are that good then taking the sheen off is a shame. but its not like boxing where you can get seriously hurt i suppose (unless you are murray of course) You will only be rememebred for what you did last really not what you did 5 years before.
This. If I was a professional football, I'd drop down all the leagues to keep playing because I love to play the game. Hell, I bloody pay to play it in reality!
and if your body was screaming at you? These guys can be carried by their teams but individual athletes have nobody to help them as they get slower and older. you are describing chris waddle or strachen or others like that there so its certainly something that so it does happen. i think waddle was kicking about mid 40s in various non league settings? certainly a lot of footballers are probably quite lost after retirement. Ronaldo is probably going to go on til he is 40. he is not 36 and wont be winning any more WPOTY awards. Zlatan is at that point.
i think we are wired completely differently as i just think all competitive sportsmen will decline from the heights they achieve , and that is how it should be , but to me that does not diminish the glory of the heights they reached for example Maradona .
Williams hasn't won a Slam since Oz 2017. So unless she wins the US later in the year, it'll be 5 years chasing that record. Shes gone from being 34 to 39 so clear the chance of her getting that 24th is almost gone. Federer, again 39, himself hasn't won a slam since 2018, so his time is probably almost up. Nadal and Djokovic have the advantage of being slightly younger, 35 and 34. And Nadal has been fairly smart with the latter years of his career focusing on the French a tournament he knows he can win. If you're looking at Boxing, Ali fought into his 40s, which in hindsight was a bad decision as he took alot more hits and probably the cause of his Parkinsons. I think its all about how your body feels after a hard career (if you've been successful its been a hard career as you've had to put the work in to be successful), but at the same time you have to accept a shift in expectations. Can Federer and Williams go out and play good tennis and progess to the later rounds...Yes. Are they going to win the tournament...No probably not. As an older player it depends on how you view and if you willing to accept the lowered expectations as to whether you should carry on. And I think in Murray's case he's come to accept that just being on a tennis court playing is acceptable. I also think media needs to accept the limitations of an older player just playing for the love of playing rather than touting them as winners.
Its a fair assessment, I just think it takes the gloss off. eg. ali is remembers as much for getting hurt as he is for his boxing career in some quarters Or mayweather is considered a bit of a joke at this point whereas at one point he was talking himself up as a best pound for pound fighter who couldn't be hit. He is now pretending to fight mouthy mma twats or youtubers etc. Its like fame and moeny is more important tan legacy. I don't know what that really means long term but i suspect he will be remembers more for exhibitions than the hard graft of about 48 odd real fights. I just think if you are that damned good you lonly make yourself look ordinary. That's why woods winning the masters was amazing and a massive achievement. Had williams won this Wimbledon somehow it would be the same and its why i hope federer somehow wins through though its highly highly unlikely.
It's well past when youd see results so have to say Russell excellent Ferrari moronic Verstappen killer. Norris brilliant. Perez keeps on impressing. Bottas, pointless individual. Mercedes have no answer here and are likely to finish maybe off the podium or scrape in 3rd. The world championships both look nearly over.
F1 Race... Spoiler Lando! Lando! Lando! No chance Lando deserved the penalty, glad Perez got two after complaining to get Lando that penalty! Very dominant by Max @ Lewis
