Wiping The Slaters Clean

‘SEEING how Tim Henman has affected EastEnders’ output, it was spiriting to see two of the Slater sisters being allowed to work the Wimbledon crowd.

Kat among the pigeons?

Not being a fan of that soap opera, I am unsure who or what Lucy Rusedski and Oonagh have slept with and the position they occupy in the great morning bathroom line-up.

They are, though, Slaters to the core, right down to the assisted hair colour, the inch-think layer of slap and the way they can make an audience cringe.

Other lasting memories of this year’s Wimbledon are few, but a couple do linger in the memory as far as today.

The pick of the bunch has to be Tim Henman’s shot against David Nalbandian. The ball had bounced twice, but Tim, tigerish to the last, was so keen to hit it back he forgot to count.

Should we give Henman the benefit of the doubt? Did he know the ball had bounced twice?

Is it as easy to count from the stands and the sofa as it is when you are an outstretched arm away from the ball?

Let’s just call it Henman’s fighting spirit, rather than outright cheating.

It’s a similar tenacious approach to the game that saw Greg Rusedski, the player married to one of those Slater girls, deliver his best volley in ages, albeit one of abuse.

Here were the British players showing their mettle. The foreigners cheat (only they didn’t), so why don’t we? The foreigners swear and curse (only they didn’t), so why don’t we?

After years of waiting, British tennis was finally ready to fight dirty.

Meanwhile, the rest had moved on. The Williams girls, who conduct themselves with grace and poise in the face of much unwarranted criticism, were unstoppable.

Mark Philippoussis, a shy man off the court and on it, fought a final with the quiet, modest Swiss, Roger Federer.

There was no swearing. There were no histrionics. It was all very much in keeping with the best traditions of Wimbledon.

Perhaps Greg and Tim can learn from the foreign stars and less from EastEnders…

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Posted: 8th, July 2003 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink