Football the benchmark, says tennis chief

The chief executive of the All-England Club says tennis can learn from football in its quest for popularity.

The man who holds the position, Ian Ritchie, believes that tennis can look at how football has taken the world by storm and hope to replicate that.

“I think there is a lot to learn from being exposed to the general activities in football as well as tennis,” Ritchie told Omnisport at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester on Thursday.

“I think there is a great crossover (between football and tennis) about how things work.”

“The main issue is about how you get a spectator experience working, what are you doing with your sponsors, how is your broadcast arrangements working. All of those are pretty common.”

The All-England Club hosts the annual Wimbledon Championships, one of four tennis grand slams.

Thu 31 March, 2011

Tennis stars come out for charity

World number two Novak Djokovic organised a charity football match in Miami on Wednesday to aid victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Serbian Djokovic formed a team with some of the world’s best tennis players to take on North American Soccer League outfit the Fort Lauderdale strikers at Ransom Everglades High School.The event raised close to $US100,000, with the money used to help people affected by the devastating earthquake that struck off Japan’s northeast coast on March 11, triggering a massive tsunami that has so far claimed over 10,000 lives.Djokovic teamed up with Chile’s Marcos Baghdatis, Scot Andy Murray, Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer, Austrian Jurgen Melzer and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the match, which the Strikers won 5-2.The Serbian claimed it was his side’s defence that had let them down, with everyone keen to press forward and get among the goals.Baghdatis and Murray were the men to get on the scoresheet for the tennis all-stars.”Baghdatis took a pen and paper, and he says, ‘let’s organise’,” Djokovic said. “Let’s see who can be in what position.” “We gathered 10 or 15 players, and every single one of them wanted to be on the attack. So, I said I will be in left defense. Our midfield was terrible; we need to work on that.” “Most of the players really love playing football, and you could see that.”

Fri 25 March, 2011

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50 Year Old Diego Maradona Juggles an Orange and a Tennis Ball (Video)

1 comment by Mad Dog and Glory on November 7th, 2010

Proof that Diego Maradona still has immense ability in that left foot. Shame he looks like a dancing bear in that ill fitting suit.