Sampras is out

Well, here we are at another Wimbledon, and isn’t it lucky that it started before the World Cup finished. Now we can all focus our attentions on willing Timothy on to the finals instead of whining about England getting knocked out by favourites Brazil.

That was really starting to get on my nerves, actually. What a bunch of hypocritical tossers people can be – firstly, no one thought England would qualify, then they didn’t think that England could get through the Group of Death, and then we weren’t going to get past Denmark… then when Brazil knock us out suddenly it’s ‘not good enough’, and the team are a ‘failure’. Come on! We should be damn proud that they got so far! The team was a young and (to some extent) inexperienced one, key players were carrying injuries, and Brazil are well known for slaying us at footie. Add to that in inconsistent ref, and Seaman’s horrible fall which really shook both him and the rest of the team and it’s no surprise that we suffered at the hands of Ronaldo and his chums. Of course it’s a disappointment that we got knocked out, but really, there’s no need to slag our lads off. They did better than expected, and all deserve a very big hug. Specially Becks…

Anyway, back to Wimbledon. All those instant footie pundits have now become instant tennis pundits (and yes, I count myself amongst that number!), and I’m sure that all of them were just a tad surprised to see so many of the top seeds knocked out yesterday. And it’s only Wednesday! But I’m quite pleased that Sampras’s out. It’s dull when the same people always win (cf. the World Cup final, and F1), so with Safin, Sampras and Agassi out of the running, who knows what will happen next. Maybe our fair Timothy even has a chance – or Rusedski. Of course, if Tim doesn’t make it, everyone will shake their heads knowingly and say that they never did think he was really capable, and what a disappointment he is. The fact that he’s one of the best players in the world, and that he’s achieved so much in his career will just pass them by. After all, it’s far easier to criticise failure than it is to celebrate partial success. Especially when it’s someone else that you’re criticising.